Lacquer thinner to clean catalytics

dymond · #1 12-06-2012, 01:04 PM

Has anyone heard of using lacquer thinner in gas tank to clean catalytics. Supposedly burns so hot that it burns up deposits etc in the cats.

thanks28 · #2 12-07-2012, 08:49 AM

I wouldn't go that route.... I would just use a treatment of Seafoam in it which is meant to clean out deposits and break down carbon build up and such. Plus you can treat your gas and oil with it.

Then after running it just do an oil change and your good to go.

ShiftingSkys · #3 12-07-2012, 01:23 PM

Who in the heck told you that? I have never heard of that before. I would not advise doing that as the thinner could contaminate the cat.

dymond · #4 12-09-2012, 08:59 AM

check out scottykilmer.com hes on youtube. supposedly a 30 year veteran mechanic from the U.K. Peaople are talking about it quite a bit. check it out. I havent gone this rout yet, thats why I was putting a feeler out about it.

ShiftingSkys · #5 12-09-2012, 08:55 PM

Well... It all comes down to the question... "can you afford to replace the cats if his method fucks em up?." if the answer is YES then I say go right ahead and try it if you got a trustworthy source. Let us know how it works. Who knows maybe it will o.o I just seriously doubt it.

dymond · #6 12-10-2012, 08:36 AM

what did you think of kilmer goin on and on about it?

irishprodigy · #7 12-10-2012, 01:19 PM

It's like running acetone for better fuel mileage. I've done it before and will confirm you get about 10-15% better mpg's. But, if you have a plastic gas tank or rubber hoses it'll eat through them as well as wear gaskets quicker. IF you have the means to where if it screws something up, then try it. Otherwise, stick with what works and was designed to do things like that (i.e. Seafoam).

dymond · #8 12-11-2012, 12:46 PM

He specifically advises not to use acetone because its too harsh and to make sure theres about half tank gas for the right mix.

I did the seafoam and that worksed great for gas milage, idle etc but i still have cat codes. He also talks of removing the cats and cleaning them in soapy water. Another potential money saver. Ever heard of that?
scottykilmer.com on youtube is the source.

irishprodigy · #9 12-11-2012, 05:00 PM

Da. Always did it on full tanks, you're safe as long as you use 1.5-2.5 oz per 10 gallons for the harshness of it. And that is it. Normal fill up was 17.5 gallons, and out of a 19 gallon tank I became comfortable putting in 4 oz.

Your X is an 04, I assume well over 100k miles, and you're not the original owner. Odds are good the cats are probably shot. If you're going cheap, then just cut the cats out and weld/have welded a straight pipe there. Then have some sort of proof where they came from, sell them for scrap (they contain platinum, they fetch a good chunk of money and hence why a lot of places won't buy them without any sort of proof), and then either: 1. profit, or 2. use that as a good chunk of money toward a replacement set.

irishprodigy · #10 12-11-2012, 05:11 PM

Oh, and I ran acetone because my friend who I know is a certified diesel mechanic and has been working in garages for about 15 years now when he proved to me he was getting 22 mpg's in his FJ.

Be careful about trying something somebody on the internet turns you onto as a huge money saver. I personally don't believe it would clean the cats, and if it did I can only imagine what kind of havoc that kind of heat would do to everything else in the engine and coolant system. All that shit that comes out of a cat I could see crumbling like little rocks and going down the pipe to the muffler where it just catches in the pathways and beats and bangs.