Scotty's lacquer thinner tip worked for me! I drove the car another 5 YEARS and the CEL never came back on. When I scrapped the car it had 325K on it. I love telling people about the lacquer thinner trick. I just put a gallon of lacquer thinner in my present car to clean the gas-level-sender-- and it looks like it worked again!
From someone who has done this many times and has helped others do it successfully as well, the ratio is 20% lacquer thinner to 80% gasoline. When people say a gallon to half tank of gasoline that's based on a smaller capacity tank, so just do the math based on the size of tank you have. The more you dilute the mix, the more you will have to drive to get it to clean properly. At a proper 1:5 ratio the lacquer thinner will do its job in about 150 miles at highway speed. Flog it a few times too because you want to get that cat HOT. RPM's should be kept close to 3000 during that time. One thing to clarify.... this is not meant to fix a DAMAGED catalyst. For example, if the catalyst matrix has cracked or chunks missing, or if you have another issue such as leaker fuel injector(s) which have been constantly dumping too much gas in to the mix (rather than properly cycling) or bad coil pack(s) that will eventually MELT the catalyst and in both of those cases (damaged matrix or melted matrix) there is no point in trying Lacquer thinner because lacquer thinner will NOT fix a damaged/melted catalyst, you will just have to replace the damaged/melted cat itself. So key thing here , if you are able to inspect your cat first, I suggest getting a bore scope and inspecting it by removing the upstream oxygen sensor then pass the bore scope through the oxygen sensor opening and inspect the catalyst honeycomb for any signs of holes, missing pieces, cracks, or if it looks melted. If you find any of those don't bother with the lacquer thinner, just go get yourself a new cat or if you are in a non-emissions state some people would just bore than damaged cat out to make it hollow and call it good. Let's be clear about something here though. If you have a cracked/damaged/melted catalyst and you then proceed to try running lacquer thinner through your fuel system and the lacquer thinner does not work, that does NOT mean that lacquer thinner doesn't work for dirty cats it means YOU tried to use lacquer thinner for something that it simply cannot work for but to then jump to the conclusion that because lacquer thinner did not fix your DAMAGED cat that that proves that it won't work (name your % here) of the time is completely unscientific and absolutely NOT proof of anything other than you make a fool hardy assumption and tried to use a product to fix something that cannot be fixed. In the case of a simple dirty cat, yes, the above mentioned % of lacquer thinner to gasoline driven near 3000 rpm for about 150 miles will do the trick most of the time. If it does not do the trick and you know your catalyst is not damaged in any way, then at least you know that you need to trouble shoot other areas as to why you are getting the code and there are many reasons.
@@goshgolly8305well if you are sure its just a dirty cat that needs some carbon dissolved off of it and not something else that's wrong then yes you can try this but I do NOT recommend you do it over several days as that will let the lacquer thinner sit in the tank and and entire fuel system for too long. Some people have done that and been ok, but I iust don't recommend that. Instead wait until you have a few gallons of fuel left in the tank, then take your car out on the freeway to get the cat nice and hot first. Then once the cat is hot you can dump in 1 gallon of lacquer thinner to 5 gallons of gasoline and get back on the freeway and burn through all of that mix. Keep the revs up and floor the pedal often to get the cat as hot as possible which is when the best cleaning will be done. After you have run that mix as close to completely empty as possible then stop at the fuel station and fill your tank back up with just gasoline but I highly recommend you go with either Chevron or Shell gasoline when you refill as they will continue the cleaning process over the next few tanks. Your best chance for keeping that CEL from returning is stick with either Chevron or Shell from that point forward. Remember to always dump your motor oil and add new oil after you have done a lacquer thinner cleaning! For cars with timing chains (vesus timing belts) I recommend skipping the Lacquer thinner and instead go with TC-W3 at a ratio of 1 oz per 5 gallons of gasoline. The TC-W3 will do the same thing as the lacquer thinner but it's a better bet when timing chains are involved but in the case of the TC-W3 it works more slowly than lacquer thinner does so it takes about 3 complete tanks of fuel with the TC-W3 added to the fuel for enough cleaning to have been accomplished to notice a difference and for the CEL to turn off. During those 3 tanks with the TC-W3 you may notice a hum/vibration at idle which is normal and you may also notice a lot of smoke coming from the tailpipe. The smoke is not from the TC-W3 since that product is ashless but it has a very high detergent package which will start dissolving carbon and varnish deposits from every nook and cranny where it has become deposited including from the piston tops, the oil control rings and seats, and will also flush out the injectors. All of those contaminants getting dissolved and combusted will be the smoke you will notice from the tailpipe at idle, especially when getting off the freeway and stopping at a traffic light right afterwards. In the case of both lacquer thinner and TC-W3 you will most likely notice a temporary drop in MPG's but the MPG's will recover once you go back to just regular gasoline with no additive and in most cases you will end up with even better MPG's than before you started the whole process. If you decide to do the TC-W3 method instead just go in to it knowing it will take about 3 tanks with the right amount of TC-W3 added each time before you should expect any results. TC-W3 is also gentle enough that you can continue using it every few tank refils or so to keep your entire fuel system clean and keep your car getting maximum fuel efficiency. I don't know what type of vehicle you have so the ratio of 1 oz per 5 gallons of fuel is just the "general purpose" ratio. Some people get better results with slightly less and some with slighty more, depending on the type of vehicle.
@@JA-rn5qv I literally just did the lacquer thinner in my 2005 Toyota Matrix today. I put 3.78 litres in with half a tank (22 litres) of gas. I drove it 220 kilometres. No dice. It didn't work on my car. Oh, for the record, my car has 135,000 Kms on it, or 84,000 miles.
Worked outstanding for me and I got the word from Scotty Kilmer and that man knows his shit. As I said he said do it and I just automatically did it. Over 1,200 miles no code.
If cat is partially clogged, then this really helps with 20% dilution (1 gal per 5 gal gas). If something else is the problem like bad CO2 sensor, dying cat, bad fuel injector(s), or something else then this will not help.
Scotty kilmer said to use 1 gallon of thinner on a half a tank of gas, so you're saying 1 gallon of thinner per 5 gallons , and ive already done it once Kilmer style and it didnt turn off p420 code. Would you recommend trying it again with i gal. Thinner per 5 gallons gas?
I just did this in my 2000 Hyundai Accent - drove about 150 miles - worked great. Fault code is gone and I can tell that the motor is running much better - no misses - running smoother - and I expect my good MPG will return. Oh - and I only used 1/2 gal of the lacquer thinner in about 5 gal of gas in the tank.
@@WISEPREACH Buy one what? Lacquer thinner/ I got mine at Home depot. The OBD device I got at Harbor Freight for around $80. BTW: The fix was good - no further "check engine" lights. If someone claims this doesn't work, I say they didn't follow instructions - or they just like to lie.
I followed the instructions and it didn’t work. What did I do wrong? I bought lacquer thinner like the one on the video and drove 150 miles and it didn’t work.
@@WISEPREACH 1998 Pathfinder 200K low cat efficiency. Followed directions and check engine light went out. Came back on but after another tank of gas went out and has stayed out.
I did it on my Mitsubishi gallant 2004 and my P0421 code disappeared after driving it 100 miles. I added 1 gallon of thinner to 7 gallons of gas(½ tank) just like everyone else is doing it. And it worked. Am happy I saved myself from spending thousand dollars plus.
"Drive it like you stole it" seems to be the fix. My CE light came on on the way home last night. I watched all the thinner videos and decided to try an "Italian Tune up" instead. I let the car warm up for 10 minutes this morning and drove it fairly slowly until I got on a two lane highway with a few passing zones. After three WOT passes I pulled into my works' parking lot and LO and Behold the CE light went off. I noticed it was running a lot smoother than usual on the way home and so far no light.
Yep or pull some long hills at 70, even Scotty K says drive it 65 + plus. You got to heat up those cats 45 wont do it. WOT or long grade is the solution .
Let's remember one thing. I've never heard it said, that putting lacquer thinner in your gas tank, was a miracle fix for P0420. All that's being said is, it's a way to clean your converter, without removing it, if the problem is being caused by a dirty cat. There are a lot of other problems that could trigger the P0420, such as intake valve gaskets, to name one, that can't be fixed simply by cleaning your converter.
True enough, however, lacquer thinner is a cheap shot at fixing the dreaded P0420, 430 cat inefficiency codes. If it doesn't work- then explore other possibilities. If you have misfire codes-you have a clue where to start.
Lacquer thinner does what a lot of additives do; And I believe it does it better. You use more (Scotty says 5 to 1 ratio) and run it through your engine. Scotty recommends driving 150 miles. I drove my '04 4Runner 90 miles & the 420 & 430 codes disappeared. This cleaning works on cats that are not totally destroyed. (rattling from cat indicates bad cat-cannot be fixed with any cleaner) The honeycombs get clogged from hydrocarbons- The lacquer thinner loosens the crud up and out it goes, opening up the honeycomb. It won't hurt your engine or components. Lacquer thinner is made from petroleum distillates. One guy here on UA-cam actually ran his car on pure Lacquer thinner with no adverse effects. Another guy used 2 gallons. I would stick with 1 gal. In Calif. we have to smog test every two years. I will so another treatment a couple of months before testing.
I have a 2014 Chevy Cruze with 185,000 miles. I was getting P0420 check engine coming on. I cleared the error and tried the 1 gallon of Lacquer Thinner in a half tank of Gas. I drove 160 miles. I had to refill the gas I used super. Its 3 days I drove around 300 miles and No check engine light. So far it worked. I went to Home Depot for the gallon of Lacquer thinner.
Funny thing, I've got the same car with close to the same mileage as yours. I've had the P0420 code for about 6 months as well. My question is will this be safe to do on a Cruze with Turbocharger?
Did pour one gal of lacquer thinner in my 01 Grand Am and it passed emissions. About a 13 gal tank blew a dirty catalytic converter code and studied pouring a gal in the gas tank. Results arit smoothed out my rough idle and assuming cleaned the converter because removed all codes in computer and blew a clean code so the one gal of lacquer thinner did help me pass my MO emissions as of 11/15/21.
I knew his results was going to fail because I have not done this test yet but everyone who has been successful with the test draw the vehicle over a hundred miles the same day he did it over. Of a couple of days using the vehicle and his daily routine you have to get the catalytic converter hot and burn off the stuff that it builds up
@@FixingWithPassion yes you are right when they collapse burn up or fall apart nothing can be done usually when there is a code that says your catalytic converter or below the threshold they are still good but something is blocking the flow they are still flowing. Just somthin could be carbon buildup
@@donellis1631 Actually that is not true. there are many people that have these videos that drive theirs over a few days with success for the 150 plus miles.
@@michaelcoleman687 I've had 3 autos this year that had clogged cats (inspected with borscope) tried this first...drove 200 miles in 24 hrs...no dice! $200 dollars later and a new cat...all is good. Too much build up in the cat. Hard as a rock. Nothing could be done.
@@FixingWithPassion I think the point that's being made is that your definitively declaring that it won't work based on your sample size of evidence is no more viable than the sample size of those who say it does work and also it's always been a disclaimer that if the catalytic converter is actually bad that this strategy was never going to be effective.
I used 1 gallon of lacquer thinner, in 4 gallons of gas. Drove about 100 miles. Light went out. Cleared all codes. Scanned again, and had zero codes. Worked for me.
For said real please said real I have p420 gave me a headache don’t want dole out $2000 for new cat in. California smog check 2 years from now thanks god/ need to fix for good /!is your engine light went off after used thanks
It worked for me in germany. N62 engine secondary air problem. I didnt add lacquer thinner.... i bought a additive oxgensensor cleaner cat cleaner ... it smells like laquer thinner..
This worked for me. I had an 88 Crown Vic that hasn't been smogged since 2018. I ran some lacquer thinner and drove the hell out of it for a while and it passed. Before that, I was getting high noxs four times
I have a 2012 Honda Pilot that I bought new. The check engine light came on for the third time. I took it to get it checked and that P0420 code came on. The mechanic said it was the two catalytic converters. The only symptoms I noticed with the car was slow at acceleration and a rattling noise that is only heard from inside the car not outside. After taking to other mechanics, I heard about Lacquer Thinner cleaning process one gallon to about half tank of fuel. I did it and drove the car on freeway until most of the gasoline was used. I had an over 300 mile trip to take advantage of this treatment. Acceleration takeoff has improved. The noise diminished to half percent, to give an idea. The check engine light has not lighted up. It has been one month and three weeks so far. My car has 278,348 miles, most of them freeway miles and have been very attentive to regular maintenance. I am very satisfied with my car for it has not given me major issues. So if it turns out later on that the catalytic converters are beyond repair, I will be okay, but I wondered if it was right that two would go bad at the same time. And that is why I decided to try the lacquer thinner cleaning method which I would not call a myth, especially when there are other technical, electrical, scientific factors to consider.
lacquer thinner worked for me my truck was not showing a check engine light but it was not showing the catalytic converter on the scanner either so it would pass emission I saw a video o Scottie Kilmer doing this to a car and I decided to take a chance and try it on my vehicle, I used a full gallon of thinner in about 12 gallons of gasoline I drove the car for about 40 miles on hwy and about 10 more on the street when I noticed that the scanner was showing the catalytic converter I took my car to retest for emissions and bang passed!!
My Xterra was limping along until I added the lacquer thinner to 10 gallons of gas. I ran the SUV for 30 minutes but kept it in park while keeping the RPMs at 2.5. My VDC and slip light warnings cleared, the Xterra stopped shuttering and idling, and gas efficiency returned to normal. However, all of this occurred AFTER the tank emptied and filled again with fresh gas.
ASE Certified Technician here, that code popped on my 4 cylinder Toyota, I poured a gallon into a half a tank, ran it to empty, refilled with 92 Octane from Chevron afterwards, the code has been gone for about 2000 miles so far, just got back from a trip to Baja, it DOES work! Did for me
It WORKED for me. The P0420 codes was tripped on my vehicle for about 6 months straight. I finally tried the lacquer thinner trick and without manually resetting the code with the plug-in tool the code reset itself through driving. I have a GMC Acadia. I put 1 gallon of lacquer thinner into ~10 gallons of gas. I then drove around my city's interstate beltline at about 65 mph for approximately 2 hours. The check engine light went off, the car reset the code on its own. It hasn't come back on and it has been nearly 2 months. Worked perfect when following the instructions perfectly: Add 1 gallon lacquer thinner to ~10 gallons of gas and then drive at highway speeds non-stop until all 10 gallons are gone. Voila, code gone.
Yeah I don’t dispute his findings at all. I’m about to try this myself. I think even Scotty Kilmer said it might not work, which is why he gave a second method. This also gives me realistic expectations. What’s important to me is after watching about five of these different texts I’m not as worried thatI’m going to somehow destroy my car . A gallon sounds awful lot of lacquer thinner. My tank best holds 11 gallons. He put 2 gallons into a 22 gallon tank. So I may get timid and put in a little less than a full gallon.. But I feel more comfortable putting a lot in then I would’ve ordinarily.
Possible damage to the engine of my wife's Subaru is what has made me hesitant to try this, but no one has reported any problems due to this mixture. I've looked at quite a few different videos of people attempting the cat clean using lacquer thinner on different vehicles. Now I'm leaning toward trying it, besides changing the O2 sensors, PCV valve and air cleaner, plus cleaning the MAF and EGR. The car starts and runs fine, although it's mileage has dropped some. Just giving up over $3000 for the OEM Subaru CARB compliant cats without trying some inexpensive things doesn't make sense. I (and others) have to try. I've read that changing O2 sensors when changing cats is standard anyway. Good luck to all.
i have GMC truck 350 1997 245 thousand mile with the 0420 code Multiple misfires almost dead mis at 75 mph or better. It cleared mine up just follow the correct way to do by Scotty. I now have NO CODE. Runs better than ever no complaints it did take over a hundred miles but worked great.
it's not luck is it works the majority of the time. I dumped two gallons in 23 gallons of fuel, drove 150 miles @ 70, 40 miles in 5th of 6 gears in my F150 (2500 RPM) did not clear any codes, on the way back home after filling with 87 octane reg the lite went off after 80 mile, drove another 270 and it never came back on!
You should try a using a wall paper steamer and put this down the air intake allow steam to go down 15/20 mins to clean out carbon deposits in both the engine and exhaust components. I found this to be the best method.
Use boiling water or from hot water heater into pressure washer. Pressure washer itself works insane. I'd bet anything boiling cats in various things for hour or so works as well.
I see this more as a preventative measure than anything else. Once you have clogged holes or areas in the cat, that causes other areas to overheat and could result in irreparable damage. Overheating can also be caused by bad combustion, ie spark plugs, fuel/air (probably from bad o2 sensor), or carbon buildup. If you're getting a code, you should probably remove the cat to physically clean it. To prevent it in the first place, use a high-PEA fuel treatment like Techron, Gumout, or Lucas, optionally adding Gumout or Seafoam to your oil as well, and change oil after. Clean and regap spark plugs and replace upstream o2 sensors if you're extra worried. Lacquer thinner should only be used as a cheap immediate last-ditch attempt and only if you're certain that it is pure lacquer thinner and has no other chemicals (which many do).
I followed instructions and my 2004 Lexus ES330 was fixed with this method and I had tried every catalytic cleaner on the market, I saw Scotty’s UA-cam channel.
A gallon of thinner in half-tank for my car is 8.6 gal gas plus 1 gal of thinner. For equivalence, you could try 2 gal of thinner plus 17.2 gal of gas. With greater than 17.2 gal of gas, use greater than 2 gal of thinner. You may need 3 gal of thinner then 150 highway miles.
I just want to say the way that I've gotten rid of this code is I used O2 sensor buns or spark plug spacers I drilled out and now I get better gas mileage
P0430 cleared yielded a CAT Not Ready, had to perform a drive cycle to prep the OBD2 system to clear all monitors not ready status, drove 55MPH on freeway for 5 minutes with OD off to increase the RPM for a hotter CAT temperature, slowed down and reversed the process the other direction for another 5 minutes, checked the next morning with a now CAT Ready status and no codes, SMOG test passed so it works, 1996 Ford 3.8L V6 >192K miles
@@kevinerupp It was a 2006 XLT. Full tank premium gas, half gallon of thinner. Drove almost 2.5 hours til almost out of gas. Next day, check engine light was off.
Just the comment I needed. I have a 2005 expedition xlt. Did the code originally come up as an 02 sensor? Mine came up for bank 2 sensor 1. I will try and clean first and if that doesn’t work I guess I will try this method.
It's worth a try in an older vehicle, it certainly won't harm anything, but yeah, it usually doesn't change a thing. Replacement of the cat and O2 sensors is inevitably the only fix. If you do your own work, it's not a big deal. I understand the cost of having a shop do the work is pricey so sure, give the thinner a try
You only drove 246 miles. In the other videos I watched, those people drove a lot more than that. Techn' Moto had to drive 407 miles before it worked. And isn't it recommended that you run it at high RPMs for a while to get it to work better?? I'm not taking your video as reliable.
Thanks man I appreciate it and I won't do to mine because I already used two catalytic converter cleaners. Thanks 👍 when I bought it the check engine was on but u don't know for how long.
@@rauler007 Clogged oil/air separator, carboned up oil control rings. Oh I did have the code come back shortly after my original comment, still lasted years for me though.
Nathan Rohrbough It’s not luck when u actually add up the number of people, including me and my cousin as well, who’ve used this method successfully...many more than the ones who’ve tried it and it didn’t work. Thank u for ur input though.
Use carb cleaner, spray it in no. 1 o2 sensor hole on each cat , half can or more and reinstall o2 sensor let sit for a few minutes then start eng and let it idle at 3000 rpm for five minutes or more so the converters get , you will see black carbon coming out the exhaust and at the same time your check eng light will go off then check the temperature at the front and rear of the cat, mine was hotter at the end of my cats was working fine also start using higher octane fuel and put two bottles of heat in your fuel tank, mines never clogged again.
I say if you catch it early chances are far better for success. If it's an old issue then it will take more then one try. You have to understand that every time you drive it accumulates the longer you have the issue. You have to do it early. I'm willing to bet if you ran a gallon of laquer thinner every full tank it will work. Also if you can weld. You could take the cat off and let it sit in dawn soap n water for a few days. Then scrub inside and rinse.
Ur supposed to drive all at once at high speeds. Do it all over again and do it the way scotty does it man. Theres very little videos of people doing it the right way and people need to know if this works dude. You're clearly one of the few people who care about people enough to try it so do it again please.
@@FixingWithPassion you have to drive all at once and ur tank looked a little below half in ur last video. In ur last video u say ur not concerned with leaving it over a day. According to Scotty you're supposed to do it at 2.5 rpm for a half hour or about 150 miles on the highway. You shouldn't let that stuff sit in ur tank from what I've read. I'm saying 2 points in this message. From what I read, ur not supposed to leave it in over a day, in my opinion at all, and secondly, ur supposed to drive all at once.
@@CanadianBullFrog He did. He said ~14 gallons (tank). It's not a science though just an approximation of the ratio. So about 1 gallon per 7 gallons of petro.
@@michaelcoleman687 my worry was if I have a 40 liter tank, which I do and then use 14 gallons, 52 litres... then I am kind of like where is there room for the gas?
Yes thanks god this video my turned out good im so happy save $2000 in california , took care in 30 days dont wait too long ,i did like he said no code no engine light normally 71 light come up but 107 so far so i know its work hope it never come up/ must take care right away . My less than 30 days once light come up. Lacque thinner work people .
Be careful with cheap cats I bought a $140 shipped mainifold and cat (it's all welded together) from fleabay and my 06 Malibu doesn't like it P0420 I now got to pay return shipping. I endend going to car-parts.com and found a junkyard willing to ship a used cat, now some I called wouldn't I but after a few calls I found one who would
I did it and it worked. I bought some lacquer thinner and mixed it one liter per ten liter super premium gas and just drove as usual. the check engine light which usually popped on at high revs never came back on again. good solution. really saved a lot of effort and bucks. of course I was pretty sure I wasn't dealing with busted grid inside catconverter.
You shouldn’t turn your engine light off and you put the dinner in it. You Shoulda ran Lacatena Out in the engine light went off. Then you reset the engine light and you have ran it. And the engine light disappears. Erasing the engine light why are you running like it then I threw it at the beginning only guarantees that the sensor did not read it clean.
Scan your ECM for cylinder misfires. It's a bad coil or coil packs allowing extra raw fuel into the catalytic clogging it up with soot. Mine had thick tan colored soot on the first screen in the cat. Meow! I replaced the cat and coil pack, no more stalling, no more engine power loss and no more check engine light.
@@FixingWithPassion I've sprayed the sensors clean with the proper sensor chemicals, removed the throttle body and sprayed that bitch spotless and replaced the throttle body gasket, new plugs and everything else to get it running better.
talk to any muffler shop doing a volume of repairs... they will tell you that there is way too much cheap gas in this country (USA), with high & higher levels of ethanol is the real problem. If you run good gas, and particularly pure gas (with no alcohol content) this will save your cats. So run real gas, pure gas, from a major brand like Exxon or BP or Shell, and your problems will disappear. It is that easy. If using the Lacquer Thinner, one gallon mix to 10 gallons of cheap gas ain't gonna cut it. Try one gallon of the Lacquer Thinner to six gallons of quality gas and run the vehicle on the freeway at 70 or 75 or 80 mph. For best results, also mix in one bottle of CataClean catalytic converter cleaner ($20. - $25.00 at Advance, AutoZone or O'Reilly's) with the lacquer thinner... your chance is way way better than 50% ! Putting alcohol in our fuel is maybe one of the dumbest things ever imposed on us by the Feds and farmers. Almost as dumb as global warming !!!
I agree totally with you regarding the stupid idea of running corn ethanol through our combustion engines. The government allows farmers subsidies and promotes corn growth to be used as a fuel. The gas companies have to run toluene like solvents in the gas to keep the 1/2 burnt ethanol from clogging up the fuel injectors , catalytic converters and intakes. Don't believe it take off an injector or intake manifold and look at the black tar (burn sugar) . We the public inhale the free radicals from the exhaust pipes and get cancer. What a toxic insane mess in some many ways. Medical and pharma industries love it. You tell this to people and they say oh well. What can I do? I have written my senator without a response. Apathy is a choice. Look what it has done over the decades to our country, heath, stc... Now the world adopts alternative transportation and energy and dodges the bullets. I have lot friends to cancer, I am a cancer survivor, so is my girl friend. This ain't fiction.
How do you know that it's the catalytic that is at fault? Did you perform any tests on the rear sensor to determine that it is functioning properly or if the wiring is not damaged? Did you perform a visual of the exhaust system? Some vehicles have 4 O2 sensors.
Damaged wiring sets a code on the first trip. And a cat monitor will not run with an o2 sensor code because it needs to know the truth from the o2 sensors
I somehow randomly stumbled upon this video and kept thinking "that looks like the road to Buckhannon" and assumed I was wrong and then saw you pull into where Kroger's used to be. Also, good video.
I was thinking of trying this is. A 07 ranger 4.o But first wanted to ask anyone what the cons can be if it does not help such as fuel pump inside the tank or seals or spark plus . What can go wrong .
Nothing really considering it will only be in the fuel system for a short time and it's being diluted by the gasoline. You dump the gallon of Lacquer thinner in with about a half a tank of gasoline (5 or 6 gallons of gasoline) and then you go drive it on the highway for about 150 miles or until you've gone through that batch of fuel, then you fill back up again with just gasoline. Now if you were to fill up the tank with lacquer thinner only and let the car just sit in one place for months at a time, then maybe there would be some issue. Gasoline is a solvent as well, so fuel systems already come solvent resistant.
I have '08 Honda Odyssey that had P0420 code when we were driving down to FL from NJ. While we were in FL i searched internet and UA-cam about catalytic converter problems. I came across with this CataClean product. I gave it a shot. I read the instructions and followed it step by step. I poured one into my gas tank when it was almost empty and cleared the code then drove 20miles before I filled it up with premium 93 octane. The code came back on after 400+ miles when we were in GA (halfway to NJ). I repeated the same thing.....bought one in GA, filled it up with high octane, and cleared the code. So far, it did not came back on...(yet)!. I been driving around NJ, NY, and took my in-laws to see Ontario and Montreal in Canada last week (1st week of September '19)....I already drove 1K miles plus and the code did not come back on yet. My tip is to repeat the process twice or 3times because the instructions says use it up to 4x in one year. Do not forget to fill it up with high octane gas after driving 20miles and drive it aggressively to remove the carbon in the catalytic converter on that 20miles....It worked on my minivan!
@@FixingWithPassion the carbon causes the sensor to activate the code but if this loosen up with this Cataclean it will take long time to come back on....you have a choice>>>1. go to mechanic and have it replace for hundreds of dollars cost or 2. Give this a shot for only $25 and a full tank of high octane gas....its up to you...Good Luck!
I'm no expert, but could it be a leaky fuel injector on that bank or a vacuum/exhaust leak throwing it off? I haven't ruled out that lacquer thinner works since as a solvent it might be just enough cleaning to make a marginal cat good, at least for awhile.
Real diagnosis is by a trained tech understanding how the systems work and knowing which tools to use. Best practice is strategy based diagnosis. In short, if the front and rear o2 sensors have similar outputs then it is likely the cat is not storing and releasing o2 properly. Occassionally, errant software or an upstream exhaust leak is the cause of a p0420 or p0430. A couple other things are possible. Testing is required. Not just a code.
If those conditions (leaky fuel injector or vacuum leak were present...the upstream O2 sensor will indicate a lean condition with a vacuum leak and a leaking EGR valve, an ignition miss and an upstream exhaust leak. The downstream oxygen sensor only monitors the efficiency of the catalytic converter and does not affect performance
Why not just remove the cat and soak it in a bucket of lacquer thinner? In California (and other stupid states) you can't get a cat from a junkyard. It's actually illegal.
I want thank you , 12/30/20tried lacque thinner right after work ,got 1 gallon $20 put in my suv mdx 2003 code p420 cat/holly cow its work normaly engine light comes up 71 miles ,after drove on free way and get home 107 miles and still no light and no code/ you must drive right away 80 miles man you save me $2000 for new cat .i almost not try after your second video you said its not worked for you/but i read a few comments said it work for them, hell what i got to loose, i go straight to home depot and like you said 1 gallon lacque thinner just like brand in your video and 1/2 tank of gas ,back and forth pass 71 miles ,normally light engines come on ,but nothing ,and got home 107 miles still no engine light ,i think the lacque thinner smog loose up the cat honey combs holes ,surprised i got more power once i put it in the gas tank like more octane. Wow.. thank you so much hope other people read this and give it try ,i just save $2000
I have a 1999 Ford F150, 315K miles, Put Lacquer thinner in 12 gallons of gas. At the start my engine had the codes PO401 EGR A Flow Insufficient Detected. The recommended Fix from my Blue Driver Scan tool indicated to replace the DPFE Sensor. During the use of the 12 Gallons of gas I cleared the code out and then scanned the truck again. The light did not come back on and the codes are all clear. The truck is running much better and my gas mileage has improved 3-4 MPG. The lacquer thinner for a price of $14.00 at Walmart made a vast improvement in the power, mileage and performance of my truck. The truck had a kind of rattling noise under load up hills prior to the treatment. (Gone now) WORKED FOR ME. Thank you for the video : )
Randy M. 5 months ago I think this is a very sketchy practice, because 'Lacquer Thinner' has many different formulations that consist of different chemicals. So without knowing exactly which lacquer thinner Scotty used, you probably are not using the same chemicals as he used. The other thing to be aware of is, lacquer thinners used to have a high concentration of Toluene, which may be the chemical ingredient that actually does the cleaning. Now days, all of the lacquer thinners that used to have high concentration of Toluene are now discontinued by their manufacturers. The bottom line is, there is a very high likelihood that the chemicals in the lacquer thinner Scotty used in this video are different from the chemicals you will get when you buy lacquer thinner.
If you are reading the same before and after a cat, then you were never dealing with a plugged cat, but instead an open cat. Probably got a big hole burned through the catalyst and you can wash that.
I did it on my Mitsubishi gallant 2004 and my P0421 code disappeared after driving it 100 miles. I added 1 gallon of thinner to 7 gallons of gas(½ tank) just like everyone else is doing it. And it worked. Am happy I saved myself from spending thousand dollars plus
I've tried this and the code came back on. However fuel economy went from 26 to 30, in a 2015 Nissan Rogue Select with 165K + miles. I had already replaced Both O2 sensors prior to the lacquer thinner. I had doubts that it could clean the convertor after being burned in the engine. I do feel it may have cleaned the fuel system (tank, pump, lines, fuel injectors, & valves). About 6 months later I had the catalytic converter changed, and the light came back on after 150 miles. Having read a tech bulletin from Nissan code P0420 could be set by many things besides the O2 sensor such as an air leak, injector seals leaking, &, etc. Overall I am happy going back to better fuel economy. Looked at the old catalytic converter but did not look plugged.
scotty said nissan cat cannot use third party cat use only oem parts nissan oem cat is very expensive. toyota and honda can use walker or third party cat also he said O2 senser is use only oem cheap senser and low quality o2 senser will fail
Thanks for your video. Giving honest results of a test is the scientific thing to do, and this doesn't work for every person, or every problem with an emission system. I'm going to try it instead of simply paying over $3k for the Subaru CARB compliant cats. It's a cheap try.
This also has a lot to do with how many miles your car has. I think those with fewer miles get better results and those with higher miles (assuming their converters are dirtier) should try it more than once. I wouldn’t do it more than 3times max. If you still get a check engine light after 3x then your converter needs to be changed.
i have an 07 ranger with 2 so called bad cats a 4.0 engine if that matters ....... if the cats are clogged how would i be recieveing a strong steady stream of exhaust through the tail pipe ? unless they are craked or broken is that the only possability
The CAT interior can also be coated with a carbon layer thus the reactive material has no chance to work and is called "clogged" As time goes on more carbon builds up and then the gas flow stops or is restricted more.
Who else is here after watching Scotty Kilmer pour thinner in his gas tank cleaning the caytalic converter
Scotty's lacquer thinner tip worked for me! I drove the car another 5 YEARS and the CEL never came back on. When I scrapped the car it had 325K on it. I love telling people about the lacquer thinner trick. I just put a gallon of lacquer thinner in my present car to clean the gas-level-sender-- and it looks like it worked again!
worked for me.
Worked for me also.
It worked for me. It dropped hydrocarbons over 100.
@@joepiecora426 is it turpentine or aceton ? How can i find Out what is the name of the product where i live ?
From someone who has done this many times and has helped others do it successfully as well, the ratio is 20% lacquer thinner to 80% gasoline. When people say a gallon to half tank of gasoline that's based on a smaller capacity tank, so just do the math based on the size of tank you have. The more you dilute the mix, the more you will have to drive to get it to clean properly. At a proper 1:5 ratio the lacquer thinner will do its job in about 150 miles at highway speed. Flog it a few times too because you want to get that cat HOT. RPM's should be kept close to 3000 during that time. One thing to clarify.... this is not meant to fix a DAMAGED catalyst. For example, if the catalyst matrix has cracked or chunks missing, or if you have another issue such as leaker fuel injector(s) which have been constantly dumping too much gas in to the mix (rather than properly cycling) or bad coil pack(s) that will eventually MELT the catalyst and in both of those cases (damaged matrix or melted matrix) there is no point in trying Lacquer thinner because lacquer thinner will NOT fix a damaged/melted catalyst, you will just have to replace the damaged/melted cat itself. So key thing here , if you are able to inspect your cat first, I suggest getting a bore scope and inspecting it by removing the upstream oxygen sensor then pass the bore scope through the oxygen sensor opening and inspect the catalyst honeycomb for any signs of holes, missing pieces, cracks, or if it looks melted. If you find any of those don't bother with the lacquer thinner, just go get yourself a new cat or if you are in a non-emissions state some people would just bore than damaged cat out to make it hollow and call it good. Let's be clear about something here though. If you have a cracked/damaged/melted catalyst and you then proceed to try running lacquer thinner through your fuel system and the lacquer thinner does not work, that does NOT mean that lacquer thinner doesn't work for dirty cats it means YOU tried to use lacquer thinner for something that it simply cannot work for but to then jump to the conclusion that because lacquer thinner did not fix your DAMAGED cat that that proves that it won't work (name your % here) of the time is completely unscientific and absolutely NOT proof of anything other than you make a fool hardy assumption and tried to use a product to fix something that cannot be fixed. In the case of a simple dirty cat, yes, the above mentioned % of lacquer thinner to gasoline driven near 3000 rpm for about 150 miles will do the trick most of the time. If it does not do the trick and you know your catalyst is not damaged in any way, then at least you know that you need to trouble shoot other areas as to why you are getting the code and there are many reasons.
Completely agree well said
Do I have to drive at 150 miles all in one shot or can I do it over time over a few days?
@@goshgolly8305well if you are sure its just a dirty cat that needs some carbon dissolved off of it and not something else that's wrong then yes you can try this but I do NOT recommend you do it over several days as that will let the lacquer thinner sit in the tank and and entire fuel system for too long.
Some people have done that and been ok, but I iust don't recommend that. Instead wait until you have a few gallons of fuel left in the tank, then take your car out on the freeway to get the cat nice and hot first. Then once the cat is hot you can dump in 1 gallon of lacquer thinner to 5 gallons of gasoline and get back on the freeway and burn through all of that mix. Keep the revs up and floor the pedal often to get the cat as hot as possible which is when the best cleaning will be done.
After you have run that mix as close to completely empty as possible then stop at the fuel station and fill your tank back up with just gasoline but I highly recommend you go with either Chevron or Shell gasoline when you refill as they will continue the cleaning process over the next few tanks.
Your best chance for keeping that CEL from returning is stick with either Chevron or Shell from that point forward. Remember to always dump your motor oil and add new oil after you have done a lacquer thinner cleaning!
For cars with timing chains (vesus timing belts) I recommend skipping the Lacquer thinner and instead go with TC-W3 at a ratio of 1 oz per 5 gallons of gasoline.
The TC-W3 will do the same thing as the lacquer thinner but it's a better bet when timing chains are involved but in the case of the TC-W3 it works more slowly than lacquer thinner does so it takes about 3 complete tanks of fuel with the TC-W3 added to the fuel for enough cleaning to have been accomplished to notice a difference and for the CEL to turn off. During those 3 tanks with the TC-W3 you may notice a hum/vibration at idle which is normal and you may also notice a lot of smoke coming from the tailpipe.
The smoke is not from the TC-W3 since that product is ashless but it has a very high detergent package which will start dissolving carbon and varnish deposits from every nook and cranny where it has become deposited including from the piston tops, the oil control rings and seats, and will also flush out the injectors.
All of those contaminants getting dissolved and combusted will be the smoke you will notice from the tailpipe at idle, especially when getting off the freeway and stopping at a traffic light right afterwards.
In the case of both lacquer thinner and TC-W3 you will most likely notice a temporary drop in MPG's but the MPG's will recover once you go back to just regular gasoline with no additive and in most cases you will end up with even better MPG's than before you started the whole process.
If you decide to do the TC-W3 method instead just go in to it knowing it will take about 3 tanks with the right amount of TC-W3 added each time before you should expect any results.
TC-W3 is also gentle enough that you can continue using it every few tank refils or so to keep your entire fuel system clean and keep your car getting maximum fuel efficiency. I don't know what type of vehicle you have so the ratio of 1 oz per 5 gallons of fuel is just the "general purpose" ratio. Some people get better results with slightly less and some with slighty more, depending on the type of vehicle.
@@JA-rn5qv I literally just did the lacquer thinner in my 2005 Toyota Matrix today. I put 3.78 litres in with half a tank (22 litres) of gas. I drove it 220 kilometres. No dice. It didn't work on my car. Oh, for the record, my car has 135,000 Kms on it, or 84,000 miles.
20% to 80 % is a ratio of 1:4 not 1:5.
Worked outstanding for me and I got the word from Scotty Kilmer and that man knows his shit. As I said he said do it and I just automatically did it. Over 1,200 miles no code.
I’m Here because of scottys video
@@markmem1234 me too
yo its been 5 months, did the code ever come back up? how many miles has it been now?
I did it one week a go and light is off
@@davidarroyo8831 what year and car do you have?
If cat is partially clogged, then this really helps with 20% dilution (1 gal per 5 gal gas). If something else is the problem like bad CO2 sensor, dying cat, bad fuel injector(s), or something else then this will not help.
Mike K4ISR bad fuel injectors throw codes and are really obvious to spot
Scotty kilmer said to use 1 gallon of thinner on a half a tank of gas, so you're saying 1 gallon of thinner per 5 gallons , and ive already done it once Kilmer style and it didnt turn off p420 code. Would you recommend trying it again with i gal. Thinner per 5 gallons gas?
I just did this in my 2000 Hyundai Accent - drove about 150 miles - worked great. Fault code is gone and I can tell that the motor is running much better - no misses - running smoother - and I expect my good MPG will return. Oh - and I only used 1/2 gal of the lacquer thinner in about 5 gal of gas in the tank.
Glad it worked!
JungoJerry can I buy one in Walmart?
@@WISEPREACH Buy one what? Lacquer thinner/ I got mine at Home depot. The OBD device I got at Harbor Freight for around $80.
BTW: The fix was good - no further "check engine" lights. If someone claims this doesn't work, I say they didn't follow instructions - or they just like to lie.
I followed the instructions and it didn’t work. What did I do wrong? I bought lacquer thinner like the one on the video and drove 150 miles and it didn’t work.
@@WISEPREACH 1998 Pathfinder 200K low cat efficiency. Followed directions and check engine light went out. Came back on but after another tank of gas went out and has stayed out.
You tried it once, on one vehicle, and came to the conclusion that it will not work 95% of the time? That is funny shit right there.
Its from all the people who have tried it....very few have positive results ;(
I did it on my Mitsubishi gallant 2004 and my P0421 code disappeared after driving it 100 miles. I added 1 gallon of thinner to 7 gallons of gas(½ tank) just like everyone else is doing it. And it worked. Am happy I saved myself from spending thousand dollars plus.
Just tried it for me and it worked after just 55 miles. You drive a shitty ford product.. that plays a big part.
@@FixingWithPassion not true check comments
@KGB yep
"Drive it like you stole it" seems to be the fix. My CE light came on on the way home last night. I watched all the thinner videos and decided to try an "Italian Tune up" instead. I let the car warm up for 10 minutes this morning and drove it fairly slowly until I got on a two lane highway with a few passing zones. After three WOT passes I pulled into my works' parking lot and LO and Behold the CE light went off. I noticed it was running a lot smoother than usual on the way home and so far no light.
Yep or pull some long hills at 70, even Scotty K says drive it 65 + plus. You got to heat up those cats 45 wont do it. WOT or long grade is the solution .
Let's remember one thing. I've never heard it said, that putting lacquer thinner in your gas tank, was a miracle fix for P0420. All that's being said is, it's a way to clean your converter, without removing it, if the problem is being caused by a dirty cat. There are a lot of other problems that could trigger the P0420, such as intake valve gaskets, to name one, that can't be fixed simply by cleaning your converter.
Yep, so true!!
Or a misfire on a plug ( coil pack was the culprit) but is did cause a po420., with the misfire code
True enough, however, lacquer thinner is a cheap shot at fixing the dreaded P0420, 430 cat inefficiency codes. If it doesn't work- then explore other possibilities. If you have misfire codes-you have a clue where to start.
Lacquer thinner does what a lot of additives do; And I believe it does it better. You use more (Scotty says 5 to 1 ratio) and run it through your engine. Scotty recommends driving 150 miles. I drove my '04 4Runner
90 miles & the 420 & 430 codes disappeared. This cleaning works on cats that are not totally destroyed. (rattling from cat indicates bad cat-cannot be fixed with any cleaner) The honeycombs get clogged from hydrocarbons- The lacquer thinner loosens the crud up and out it goes, opening up the honeycomb. It won't hurt your engine or components. Lacquer thinner is made from petroleum distillates. One guy here on UA-cam actually ran his car on pure Lacquer thinner with no adverse effects. Another guy used 2 gallons. I would stick with 1 gal. In Calif. we have to smog test every two years. I will so another treatment a couple of months before testing.
Nice!
I have a 2014 Chevy Cruze with 185,000 miles. I was getting P0420 check engine coming on. I cleared the error and tried the 1 gallon of Lacquer Thinner in a half tank of Gas. I drove 160 miles. I had to refill the gas I used super. Its 3 days I drove around 300 miles and No check engine light. So far it worked. I went to Home Depot for the gallon of Lacquer thinner.
Good for you!
Funny thing, I've got the same car with close to the same mileage as yours. I've had the P0420 code for about 6 months as well. My question is will this be safe to do on a Cruze with Turbocharger?
Did pour one gal of lacquer thinner in my 01 Grand Am and it passed emissions.
About a 13 gal tank blew a dirty catalytic converter code and studied pouring a gal in the gas tank.
Results arit smoothed out my rough idle and assuming cleaned the converter because removed all codes in computer and blew a clean code so the one gal of lacquer thinner did help me pass my MO emissions as of 11/15/21.
My cats were trashed ;(
I knew his results was going to fail because I have not done this test yet but everyone who has been successful with the test draw the vehicle over a hundred miles the same day he did it over. Of a couple of days using the vehicle and his daily routine you have to get the catalytic converter hot and burn off the stuff that it builds up
True, but later I found out my cats were burnt out or "melted". Nothing could fix that.
@@FixingWithPassion yes you are right when they collapse burn up or fall apart nothing can be done usually when there is a code that says your catalytic converter or below the threshold they are still good but something is blocking the flow they are still flowing. Just somthin could be carbon buildup
@@donellis1631 Actually that is not true. there are many people that have these videos that drive theirs over a few days with success for the 150 plus miles.
@@michaelcoleman687 I've had 3 autos this year that had clogged cats (inspected with borscope) tried this first...drove 200 miles in 24 hrs...no dice! $200 dollars later and a new cat...all is good. Too much build up in the cat. Hard as a rock. Nothing could be done.
@@FixingWithPassion I think the point that's being made is that your definitively declaring that it won't work based on your sample size of evidence is no more viable than the sample size of those who say it does work and also it's always been a disclaimer that if the catalytic converter is actually bad that this strategy was never going to be effective.
I used 1 gallon of lacquer thinner, in 4 gallons of gas. Drove about 100 miles. Light went out. Cleared all codes. Scanned again, and had zero codes. Worked for me.
For said real please said real I have p420 gave me a headache don’t want dole out $2000 for new cat in. California smog check 2 years from now thanks god/ need to fix for good /!is your engine light went off after used thanks
It worked for me in germany. N62 engine secondary air problem. I didnt add lacquer thinner.... i bought a additive oxgensensor cleaner cat cleaner ... it smells like laquer thinner..
Nice!!
This worked for me. I had an 88 Crown Vic that hasn't been smogged since 2018. I ran some lacquer thinner and drove the hell out of it for a while and it passed. Before that, I was getting high noxs four times
I have a 2012 Honda Pilot that I bought new. The check engine light came on for the third time. I took it to get it checked and that P0420 code came on. The mechanic said it was the two catalytic converters. The only symptoms I noticed with the car was slow at acceleration and a rattling noise that is only heard from inside the car not outside. After taking to other mechanics, I heard about Lacquer Thinner cleaning process one gallon to about half tank of fuel. I did it and drove the car on freeway until most of the gasoline was used. I had an over 300 mile trip to take advantage of this treatment. Acceleration takeoff has improved. The noise diminished to half percent, to give an idea. The check engine light has not lighted up. It has been one month and three weeks so far. My car has 278,348 miles, most of them freeway miles and have been very attentive to regular maintenance. I am very satisfied with my car for it has not given me major issues. So if it turns out later on that the catalytic converters are beyond repair, I will be okay, but I wondered if it was right that two would go bad at the same time. And that is why I decided to try the lacquer thinner cleaning method which I would not call a myth, especially when there are other technical, electrical, scientific factors to consider.
lacquer thinner worked for me my truck was not showing a check engine light but it was not showing the catalytic converter on the scanner either so it would pass emission I saw a video o Scottie Kilmer doing this to a car and I decided to take a chance and try it on my vehicle, I used a full gallon of thinner in about 12 gallons of gasoline I drove the car for about 40 miles on hwy and about 10 more on the street when I noticed that the scanner was showing the catalytic converter I took my car to retest for emissions and bang passed!!
My Xterra was limping along until I added the lacquer thinner to 10 gallons of gas.
I ran the SUV for 30 minutes but kept it in park while keeping the RPMs at 2.5. My VDC and slip light warnings cleared, the Xterra stopped shuttering and idling, and gas efficiency returned to normal. However, all of this occurred AFTER the tank emptied and filled again with fresh gas.
Nice!`
so we dont have to drive it around we can keep it in park and just rev the engine?
@@DigitalLoom Yes. Scotty Kilmer said keep it over 2.5 rpms when doing that, so that's what I did.
ASE Certified Technician here, that code popped on my 4 cylinder Toyota, I poured a gallon into a half a tank, ran it to empty, refilled with 92 Octane from Chevron afterwards, the code has been gone for about 2000 miles so far, just got back from a trip to Baja, it DOES work! Did for me
It WORKED for me. The P0420 codes was tripped on my vehicle for about 6 months straight. I finally tried the lacquer thinner trick and without manually resetting the code with the plug-in tool the code reset itself through driving. I have a GMC Acadia. I put 1 gallon of lacquer thinner into ~10 gallons of gas. I then drove around my city's interstate beltline at about 65 mph for approximately 2 hours. The check engine light went off, the car reset the code on its own. It hasn't come back on and it has been nearly 2 months. Worked perfect when following the instructions perfectly: Add 1 gallon lacquer thinner to ~10 gallons of gas and then drive at highway speeds non-stop until all 10 gallons are gone. Voila, code gone.
Yeah I don’t dispute his findings at all. I’m about to try this myself. I think even Scotty Kilmer said it might not work, which is why he gave a second method. This also gives me realistic expectations.
What’s important to me is after watching about five of these different texts I’m not as worried thatI’m going to somehow destroy my car . A gallon sounds awful lot of lacquer thinner. My tank best holds 11 gallons. He put 2 gallons into a 22 gallon tank. So I may get timid and put in a little less than a full gallon.. But I feel more comfortable putting a lot in then I would’ve ordinarily.
Right! Good luck.
Possible damage to the engine of my wife's Subaru is what has made me hesitant to try this, but no one has reported any problems due to this mixture. I've looked at quite a few different videos of people attempting the cat clean using lacquer thinner on different vehicles. Now I'm leaning toward trying it, besides changing the O2 sensors, PCV valve and air cleaner, plus cleaning the MAF and EGR. The car starts and runs fine, although it's mileage has dropped some. Just giving up over $3000 for the OEM Subaru CARB compliant cats without trying some inexpensive things doesn't make sense. I (and others) have to try. I've read that changing O2 sensors when changing cats is standard anyway. Good luck to all.
I would say that YOURS was an extreme case of being totally clogged up, did you also have drops on gas mileage?
i have GMC truck 350 1997 245 thousand mile with the 0420 code Multiple misfires almost dead mis at 75 mph or better. It cleared mine up just follow the correct way to do by Scotty. I now have NO CODE. Runs better than ever no complaints it did take over a hundred miles but worked great.
it's not luck is it works the majority of the time. I dumped two gallons in 23 gallons of fuel, drove 150 miles @ 70, 40 miles in 5th of 6 gears in my F150 (2500 RPM) did not clear any codes, on the way back home after filling with 87 octane reg the lite went off after 80 mile, drove another 270 and it never came back on!
You should try a using a wall paper steamer and put this down the air intake allow steam to go down 15/20 mins to clean out carbon deposits in both the engine and exhaust components. I found this to be the best method.
Use boiling water or from hot water heater into pressure washer. Pressure washer itself works insane. I'd bet anything boiling cats in various things for hour or so works as well.
I see this more as a preventative measure than anything else. Once you have clogged holes or areas in the cat, that causes other areas to overheat and could result in irreparable damage. Overheating can also be caused by bad combustion, ie spark plugs, fuel/air (probably from bad o2 sensor), or carbon buildup. If you're getting a code, you should probably remove the cat to physically clean it. To prevent it in the first place, use a high-PEA fuel treatment like Techron, Gumout, or Lucas, optionally adding Gumout or Seafoam to your oil as well, and change oil after. Clean and regap spark plugs and replace upstream o2 sensors if you're extra worried. Lacquer thinner should only be used as a cheap immediate last-ditch attempt and only if you're certain that it is pure lacquer thinner and has no other chemicals (which many do).
Yea tons of testing on that.
I have a question with the mixing method. Shouldn't we POUR THE GASOLINE ON TOP of any fuel additive to get a thorough and best mix in the tank?
No
I followed instructions and my 2004 Lexus ES330 was fixed with this method and I had tried every catalytic cleaner on the market, I saw Scotty’s UA-cam channel.
worked for me on my nissan
A gallon of thinner in half-tank for my car is 8.6 gal gas plus 1 gal of thinner. For equivalence, you could try 2 gal of thinner plus 17.2 gal of gas. With greater than 17.2 gal of gas, use greater than 2 gal of thinner. You may need 3 gal of thinner then 150 highway miles.
In Australia, the price of thinner is expensive, like $40 for 4 litres...So I think I rather use petrol up first. 🙂
At least it's cleaning your injectors.
It worked great for my 2000 Honda Accord with 200k miles.
Great to hear!
Worked on my 06 Nissan Altima.
It worked on my 2005 Honda accord with 272k+ miles! 😊
What does it mean that it’s running lean in banco 1?
You’re supposed to add 1 gallon of lacquer thinner to a 1/2 full tank of gasoline
And then drive it 100-120 miles to flush it out or run for 30 mins at 2500rpms.
@@maddogrob7744 Scotty Kilmer 😂
@@maddogrob7744 why not pedal to the metal, that seems like it would clear it out a lot better?
@@amroualkady1 yeap
1/2 TANK MEANS NOTHING ON DIFFERENT MODELS . ALL TANKS ARE DIFFERENT!! MY TANK IS 32 GALLONS FULL! SAMES YOUR 1/2 TANK
Did you replace the upstream and downstream O2 sensors on exhaust ?
I just want to say the way that I've gotten rid of this code is I used O2 sensor buns or spark plug spacers I drilled out and now I get better gas mileage
Seems you should have cleared the codes after you ran the thiner through, not before.
It’s one gallon not 2 gallons. And at a half a tank of gas. It worked on my car.
P0430 cleared yielded a CAT Not Ready, had to perform a drive cycle to prep the OBD2 system to clear all monitors not ready status, drove 55MPH on freeway for 5 minutes with OD off to increase the RPM for a hotter CAT temperature, slowed down and reversed the process the other direction for another 5 minutes, checked the next morning with a now CAT Ready status and no codes, SMOG test passed so it works, 1996 Ford 3.8L V6 >192K miles
Worked like a champ !! No code since.
dang man!
It worked on my Expedition with full tank and half gallon. Cleared by itself. Also, is 'Service Engine Soon' the same as 'Check Engine'?
What year Expedition. I have a 2000 Expedition that I might try this method on.
@@kevinerupp It was a 2006 XLT. Full tank premium gas, half gallon of thinner. Drove almost 2.5 hours til almost out of gas. Next day, check engine light was off.
Just the comment I needed. I have a 2005 expedition xlt. Did the code originally come up as an 02 sensor? Mine came up for bank 2 sensor 1. I will try and clean first and if that doesn’t work I guess I will try this method.
You should use up all of the fuel ; keep at high rev/speed. Fill up and drive some more to clear the thinner.
I Used cataclean... GOT ME SMOGGED...the light came back on eventually... seems like the emissions are only lowered when the cleaner is in the gas
Yea...o man!
Maybe the lacquer thinner didn't work because maybe you have an exhaust leak. That would cause a P0420 code to come up
This Process of elimination told me that the cat was gutted during its early age and from improper care in its early life.
Did you try replacing one of the O2 sensors first B4 replacing a cat?
yea
It's worth a try in an older vehicle, it certainly won't harm anything, but yeah, it usually doesn't change a thing. Replacement of the cat and O2 sensors is inevitably the only fix. If you do your own work, it's not a big deal. I understand the cost of having a shop do the work is pricey so sure, give the thinner a try
You only drove 246 miles. In the other videos I watched, those people drove a lot more than that. Techn' Moto had to drive 407 miles before it worked. And isn't it recommended that you run it at high RPMs for a while to get it to work better?? I'm not taking your video as reliable.
nor this comment
Thanks man I appreciate it and I won't do to mine because I already used two catalytic converter cleaners. Thanks 👍 when I bought it the check engine was on but u don't know for how long.
Hopefully a while.
it's Winter . Never had a chance to heat up properly . . .
Yea.
I believe your gas tank was too big. It should be 1/5 ratio lacquer thinner/gas
It has gas.
I had P0420 that kept coming back, did the lacquer thinner trick about 3 or 4 years ago, never had the code come back.
U luckeys dog!
Very! 95% didn’t work
I've also repaired the issues with the car that lead to the p0420 shortly thereafter like oil consumption, that probably helped.
@@trapperjohn3400 Out of curiosity, what issues were causing you the oil consumption?
@@rauler007 Clogged oil/air separator, carboned up oil control rings. Oh I did have the code come back shortly after my original comment, still lasted years for me though.
I did it yesterday. It worked for me.
Drunk a 5th of Everclear to dilute, pissed in the tank, now everything is fine! She loves me again..
worked just fine for me on an 08 ridgeline.
Lucky you!
is it still working? I'm considering trying it on my Civic hybrid
Nathan Rohrbough It’s not luck when u actually add up the number of people, including me and my cousin as well, who’ve used this method successfully...many more than the ones who’ve tried it and it didn’t work. Thank u for ur input though.
Use carb cleaner, spray it in no. 1 o2 sensor hole on each cat , half can or more and reinstall o2 sensor let sit for a few minutes then start eng and let it idle at 3000 rpm for five minutes or more so the converters get , you will see black carbon coming out the exhaust and at the same time your check eng light will go off then check the temperature at the front and rear of the cat, mine was hotter at the end of my cats was working fine also start using higher octane fuel and put two bottles of heat in your fuel tank, mines never clogged again.
Another one who thinks premium does something "special". It doesn't. Up to that point you had my attention though.
I say if you catch it early chances are far better for success.
If it's an old issue then it will take more then one try.
You have to understand that every time you drive it accumulates the longer you have the issue.
You have to do it early.
I'm willing to bet if you ran a gallon of laquer thinner every full tank it will work.
Also if you can weld.
You could take the cat off and let it sit in dawn soap n water for a few days. Then scrub inside and rinse.
Next car ....big time.
It may be the downstream sensor, just saying. Try to clean it with lemon juice overnight.
Ok....thanks.
All i took from this was use it before it gets to clogged lol so scotty is still right on my way to buy some now 😂
Yea if. there not all ready gone!!
Ur supposed to drive all at once at high speeds. Do it all over again and do it the way scotty does it man. Theres very little videos of people doing it the right way and people need to know if this works dude. You're clearly one of the few people who care about people enough to try it so do it again please.
I did drive it the HWY speeds....IT did not work for me. I had melted cats later I found out.
@@FixingWithPassion you have to drive all at once and ur tank looked a little below half in ur last video. In ur last video u say ur not concerned with leaving it over a day. According to Scotty you're supposed to do it at 2.5 rpm for a half hour or about 150 miles on the highway. You shouldn't let that stuff sit in ur tank from what I've read. I'm saying 2 points in this message. From what I read, ur not supposed to leave it in over a day, in my opinion at all, and secondly, ur supposed to drive all at once.
Scotty Kilmer did not tell the size of his gas tank so there is no way of telling how much to use.
@@CanadianBullFrog He did. He said ~14 gallons (tank). It's not a science though just an approximation of the ratio. So about 1 gallon per 7 gallons of petro.
@@michaelcoleman687 my worry was if I have a 40 liter tank, which I do and then use 14 gallons, 52 litres... then I am kind of like where is there room for the gas?
Did you drive at highway speeds for several hours? It worked on my dodge pickup!
No my cats were like little rocks inside....rip cat. Got new ones.
That what you have to do , is drive hard , the heat does something ! I feel like he misses some steps because he didn't mention it during the video
Well he did said his cat was like little rocks inside, which mean the honey cone was blown out.
Yes thanks god this video my turned out good im so happy save $2000 in california , took care in 30 days dont wait too long ,i did like he said no code no engine light normally 71 light come up but 107 so far so i know its work hope it never come up/ must take care right away . My less than 30 days once light come up. Lacque thinner work people .
Hay I found part 2 . I have another Question : Where did you buy your Cat. and did the replacement work? Thanks again Mike Morgan
I got my replacement cat on e-bay. I was about $150. It worked fine when it was replaced.
Thanks it looks like I'll be shopping E-bay got to replace both cats if the lacquer thinner fails.
@@FixingWithPassion Did you replace it w/ New o2 sensors?
How about a link to the cheap cat
Be careful with cheap cats I bought a $140 shipped mainifold and cat (it's all welded together) from fleabay and my 06 Malibu doesn't like it P0420 I now got to pay return shipping. I endend going to car-parts.com and found a junkyard willing to ship a used cat, now some I called wouldn't I but after a few calls I found one who would
Ebay. Bought mine for $150 and it's been working good for months now.
Lacquer thinner cleared my Cat code and increased my gas mileage 60 miles 1500 gmc pU
Nice!!
Unplug the 02 sensors and use contact cleaner corrosion can set those codes as well.
It worked on my Honda Pilot 2011. I put a gallon in and drove it until I needed gas(Helps that I drive Uber).No check engine light!
is it still working? I'm considering trying it on my Civic hybrid
@@rjsd7 unfortunately mine came back on. I bought mine used so I am guessing it has never received on fuel cleaning.
@@sheffey522 how long did it take to turn back on?
@@rjsd7 couple days
It worked on my 2008 fj cruiser
Nice!!
I did it and it worked. I bought some lacquer thinner and mixed it one liter per ten liter super premium gas and just drove as usual. the check engine light which usually popped on at high revs never came back on again. good solution. really saved a lot of effort and bucks. of course I was pretty sure I wasn't dealing with busted grid inside catconverter.
`Nice!
You shouldn’t turn your engine light off and you put the dinner in it. You Shoulda ran Lacatena Out in the engine light went off. Then you reset the engine light and you have ran it. And the engine light disappears. Erasing the engine light why are you running like it then I threw it at the beginning only guarantees that the sensor did not read it clean.
Needs more in way of cycles
Sad to see it didn’t work. My car is giving me the P0420 code also.
Yea my cats were toast nothing but little rocks.
Scan your ECM for cylinder misfires. It's a bad coil or coil packs allowing extra raw fuel into the catalytic clogging it up with soot. Mine had thick tan colored soot on the first screen in the cat. Meow! I replaced the cat and coil pack, no more stalling, no more engine power loss and no more check engine light.
Dang! You'r the man! Nice fix.
@@FixingWithPassion
I've sprayed the sensors clean with the proper sensor chemicals, removed the throttle body and sprayed that bitch spotless and replaced the throttle body gasket, new plugs and everything else to get it running better.
How much$$$$$$$$
talk to any muffler shop doing a volume of repairs... they will tell you that there is way too much cheap gas in this country (USA), with high & higher levels of ethanol is the real problem. If you run good gas, and particularly pure gas (with no alcohol content) this will save your cats. So run real gas, pure gas, from a major brand like Exxon or BP or Shell, and your problems will disappear. It is that easy. If using the Lacquer Thinner, one gallon mix to 10 gallons of cheap gas ain't gonna cut it. Try one gallon of the Lacquer Thinner to six gallons of quality gas and run the vehicle on the freeway at 70 or 75 or 80 mph. For best results, also mix in one bottle of CataClean catalytic converter cleaner ($20. - $25.00 at Advance, AutoZone or O'Reilly's) with the lacquer thinner... your chance is way way better than 50% ! Putting alcohol in our fuel is maybe one of the dumbest things ever imposed on us by the Feds and farmers. Almost as dumb as global warming !!!
Yep true!
I agree totally with you regarding the stupid idea of running corn ethanol through our combustion engines. The government allows farmers subsidies and promotes corn growth to be used as a fuel. The gas companies have to run toluene like solvents in the gas to keep the 1/2 burnt ethanol from clogging up the fuel injectors , catalytic converters and intakes. Don't believe it take off an injector or intake manifold and look at the black tar (burn sugar) . We the public inhale the free radicals from the exhaust pipes and get cancer. What a toxic insane mess in some many ways. Medical and pharma industries love it. You tell this to people and they say oh well. What can I do? I have written my senator without a response. Apathy is a choice. Look what it has done over the decades to our country, heath, stc... Now the world adopts alternative transportation and energy and dodges the bullets. I have lot friends to cancer, I am a cancer survivor, so is my girl friend. This ain't fiction.
How do you know that it's the catalytic that is at fault? Did you perform any tests on the rear sensor to determine that it is functioning properly or if the wiring is not damaged? Did you perform a visual of the exhaust system? Some vehicles have 4 O2 sensors.
Damaged wiring sets a code on the first trip. And a cat monitor will not run with an o2 sensor code because it needs to know the truth from the o2 sensors
Thank you for your efforts.
I somehow randomly stumbled upon this video and kept thinking "that looks like the road to Buckhannon" and assumed I was wrong and then saw you pull into where Kroger's used to be. Also, good video.
Good eye!
I was thinking of trying this is. A 07 ranger 4.o
But first wanted to ask anyone what the cons can be if it does not help such as fuel pump inside the tank or seals or spark plus .
What can go wrong .
Never hurt mine. Its still going today.
Nothing really considering it will only be in the fuel system for a short time and it's being diluted by the gasoline. You dump the gallon of Lacquer thinner in with about a half a tank of gasoline (5 or 6 gallons of gasoline) and then you go drive it on the highway for about 150 miles or until you've gone through that batch of fuel, then you fill back up again with just gasoline. Now if you were to fill up the tank with lacquer thinner only and let the car just sit in one place for months at a time, then maybe there would be some issue. Gasoline is a solvent as well, so fuel systems already come solvent resistant.
Did you ever clear the codes. You showed stored codes. Clear and then see if it comes back on.
Yep and the code came back. The cat was toast had holes in it.
I did this yesterday on a 2014 Kia Rio with 104000 miles
I have '08 Honda Odyssey that had P0420 code when we were driving down to FL from NJ. While we were in FL i searched internet and UA-cam about catalytic converter problems. I came across with this CataClean product. I gave it a shot. I read the instructions and followed it step by step. I poured one into my gas tank when it was almost empty and cleared the code then drove 20miles before I filled it up with premium 93 octane. The code came back on after 400+ miles when we were in GA (halfway to NJ). I repeated the same thing.....bought one in GA, filled it up with high octane, and cleared the code. So far, it did not came back on...(yet)!. I been driving around NJ, NY, and took my in-laws to see Ontario and Montreal in Canada last week (1st week of September '19)....I already drove 1K miles plus and the code did not come back on yet. My tip is to repeat the process twice or 3times because the instructions says use it up to 4x in one year. Do not forget to fill it up with high octane gas after driving 20miles and drive it aggressively to remove the carbon in the catalytic converter on that 20miles....It worked on my minivan!
Great! Hope it last!
@@FixingWithPassion the carbon causes the sensor to activate the code but if this loosen up with this Cataclean it will take long time to come back on....you have a choice>>>1. go to mechanic and have it replace for hundreds of dollars cost or 2. Give this a shot for only $25 and a full tank of high octane gas....its up to you...Good Luck!
It worked for me.
All-right!~!
For real I need the real answers I might try tomorrow’s I’m off work hope you answer me before I buy this stuff
It's work. I have the same issue. No more cat light. But depend on how bad it is
I'm no expert, but could it be a leaky fuel injector on that bank or a vacuum/exhaust leak throwing it off? I haven't ruled out that lacquer thinner works since as a solvent it might be just enough cleaning to make a marginal cat good, at least for awhile.
Could be....but if it was leaking you'd have a slight miss i'd think. Intake gaskets seem to be #1 (po430)
Real diagnosis is by a trained tech understanding how the systems work and knowing which tools to use. Best practice is strategy based diagnosis. In short, if the front and rear o2 sensors have similar outputs then it is likely the cat is not storing and releasing o2 properly. Occassionally, errant software or an upstream exhaust leak is the cause of a p0420 or p0430. A couple other things are possible. Testing is required. Not just a code.
If those conditions (leaky fuel injector or vacuum leak were present...the upstream O2 sensor will indicate a lean condition with a vacuum leak and a leaking EGR valve, an ignition miss and an upstream exhaust leak. The downstream oxygen sensor only monitors the efficiency of the catalytic converter and does not affect performance
Why not just remove the cat and soak it in a bucket of lacquer thinner? In California (and other stupid states) you can't get a cat from a junkyard. It's actually illegal.
Same here.
What are the codes when the sensors are bad. Does anyone know?
I want thank you , 12/30/20tried lacque thinner right after work ,got 1 gallon $20 put in my suv mdx 2003 code p420 cat/holly cow its work normaly engine light comes up 71 miles ,after drove on free way and get home 107 miles and still no light and no code/ you must drive right away 80 miles man you save me $2000 for new cat .i almost not try after your second video you said its not worked for you/but i read a few comments said it work for them, hell what i got to loose, i go straight to home depot and like you said 1 gallon lacque thinner just like brand in your video and 1/2 tank of gas ,back and forth pass 71 miles ,normally light engines come on ,but nothing ,and got home 107 miles still no engine light ,i think the lacque thinner smog loose up the cat honey combs holes ,surprised i got more power once i put it in the gas tank like more octane. Wow.. thank you so much hope other people read this and give it try ,i just save $2000
Can you do this in a Diesel engine?
The lacquer thinner is a cleaner. It is not pixie dust that repairs bad sensors.
Catalytic converters are worth a lot more than that nowadays
And now my 04 civic is throwing a PO497. Would the thinner course this due to the fumes ?
I have a 1999 Ford F150, 315K miles, Put Lacquer thinner in 12 gallons of gas. At the start my engine had the codes PO401 EGR A Flow Insufficient Detected. The recommended Fix from my Blue Driver Scan tool indicated to replace the DPFE Sensor. During the use of the 12 Gallons of gas I cleared the code out and then scanned the truck again. The light did not come back on and the codes are all clear. The truck is running much better and my gas mileage has improved 3-4 MPG. The lacquer thinner for a price of $14.00 at Walmart made a vast improvement in the power, mileage and performance of my truck. The truck had a kind of rattling noise under load up hills prior to the treatment. (Gone now) WORKED FOR ME. Thank you for the video : )
Randy M.
5 months ago
I think this is a very sketchy practice, because 'Lacquer Thinner' has many different formulations that consist of different chemicals. So without knowing exactly which lacquer thinner Scotty used, you probably are not using the same chemicals as he used. The other thing to be aware of is, lacquer thinners used to have a high concentration of Toluene, which may be the chemical ingredient that actually does the cleaning. Now days, all of the lacquer thinners that used to have high concentration of Toluene are now discontinued by their manufacturers. The bottom line is, there is a very high likelihood that the chemicals in the lacquer thinner Scotty used in this video are different from the chemicals you will get when you buy lacquer thinner.
Will it work for 2004 Volvo XC90
If you are reading the same before and after a cat, then you were never dealing with a plugged cat, but instead an open cat. Probably got a big hole burned through the catalyst and you can wash that.
I did it on my Mitsubishi gallant 2004 and my P0421 code disappeared after driving it 100 miles. I added 1 gallon of thinner to 7 gallons of gas(½ tank) just like everyone else is doing it. And it worked. Am happy I saved myself from spending thousand dollars plus
I have an 07 Mitsubishi Galant 4cyl, looking for ways to rid this 420 code. I'm at 220,000 miles wondering if I should make this attempt.
I've tried this and the code came back on. However fuel economy went from 26 to 30, in a 2015 Nissan Rogue Select with 165K + miles. I had already replaced Both O2 sensors prior to the lacquer thinner. I had doubts that it could clean the convertor after being burned in the engine. I do feel it may have cleaned the fuel system (tank, pump, lines, fuel injectors, & valves). About 6 months later I had the catalytic converter changed, and the light came back on after 150 miles. Having read a tech bulletin from Nissan code P0420 could be set by many things besides the O2 sensor such as an air leak, injector seals leaking, &, etc. Overall I am happy going back to better fuel economy. Looked at the old catalytic converter but did not look plugged.
scotty said nissan cat cannot use third party cat use only oem parts
nissan oem cat is very expensive.
toyota and honda can use walker or third party cat
also he said O2 senser is use only oem
cheap senser and low quality o2 senser will fail
Can you stick Merle spirits and I did ???
Thanks for your video. Giving honest results of a test is the scientific thing to do, and this doesn't work for every person, or every problem with an emission system. I'm going to try it instead of simply paying over $3k for the Subaru CARB compliant cats. It's a cheap try.
Thank you for video.
This also has a lot to do with how many miles your car has. I think those with fewer miles get better results and those with higher miles (assuming their converters are dirtier) should try it more than once. I wouldn’t do it more than 3times max. If you still get a check engine light after 3x then your converter needs to be changed.
not to mention that int the high mileage cars the actual sensor may be failing.
Where did you find a cat converter for $78 ?
E-bays
i have an 07 ranger with 2 so called bad cats a 4.0 engine if that matters ....... if the cats are clogged how would i be recieveing a strong steady stream of exhaust through the tail pipe ? unless they are craked or broken is that the only possability
and also should the pressure increase under a load or maybe 2k rpm ?
The CAT interior can also be coated with a carbon layer thus the reactive material has no chance to work and is called "clogged" As time goes on more carbon builds up and then the gas flow stops or is restricted more.