What's the alternative to cataclean? Lacquer thinner??? I have no idea

 

i have used Lacquer thinner when i first read this thread, i pour 1 gal on my half full tank... and since then no CEL, and improve my fuel consumption for about 50 km per tank.
i may repeat this method once again so it will clean the converter thoroughly. you think its safe?

 

Laquer thinner contains some very volatile components including xylene which is known to damage rubber goods. Diluted it may be OK, but you're experimenting and could get surprised.

good luck

 

I did some reading on this and some sites say that lacquer thinner may be pretty bad for plastic pumps and rubber seals.. so if you do it, definitely make sure it doesn't stay in there long. Also a couple of people said that it all burns off anyway, so they're not sure how it would clean the cat.

Also seafoam is supposed to have be very similar but a more safe mixture for the seals and plastics and I have been using that for years and it is AMAZING. Some people say the same thing about seafoam too though- that it ain't great on seals or the pump

 

The CEL/P0430 came on 620 miles since I reset the light with a scanner. (The last 100 miles were harsh miles, with cold starts and 1-2 mile-long trips in city.)

So, Catalean did work, but not permanently. (Remember that before I applied Cataclean, the CEL took only about 20 miles to come back.) Also, the car did seem to run smoother after I put it in. Now I'm considering putting another bottle of cataclean in. I really doubt my cat converter has been damaged enough to warrant a $1000 replacement. It likely just needs to be cleaned some more. I hope.

 

More update: on the 23rd, I put another cataclean bottle in a gas tank that had four gallons of fuel in it and drove for 20 miles and filled up. Since then, my MPG has improved from 16 to 18 in city. (Remember that my trips are very short-under 2 miles- so the hybrid feature doens't even kick in most of the time, and my Accord is basically a normal V6).

For the next gas fill-up, I'm going to apply a seafoam bottle. After that, Lucas Oil fuel system cleaner. Then, Red line fuel system cleaner. I'm starting to believe these additives actually work and I'm going to apply all of them one by one. Still cheaper than replacing a cat converter :P