I recently saw a video where Scotty recommended putting lacquer thinner in your gas tank to help clean a clogged catalytic converter. If I use Klean Strip Lacquer Thinner for Sprayers and Tools, will that ruin a VVT-I engine? I have a 2JZ-GE and a slightly clogged catalytic converter. I was going to put in a gallon of Klean Strip to 9 gallons of gasoline for a 1:9 ratio.
Can confirm nothing was damaged. The pending code for a clogged converter has not come up after another 120 miles.
I don't think it'll do anything at all, unless your dunk the cat straight into the thinner, and even then ....
If I use Klean Strip Lacquer Thinner for Sprayers and Tools, will that ruin a VVT-I engine?
This has been an internet theory for many years now. The basic idea is the heated/burned solvent cleans your catalytic converter. I even tried it once and it did help my car. (Yes, I got the idea from Scotty) But my car smelled horrible and that was all, no check engine light or performance issue. My car had been running rich and I fixed it by cleaning the MAF & throttle body. I then drove the 150 miles with the lacquer thinner in the tank. The smell has never come back. VVT 1 or 2 has no effect. I used one blue Klean Strip can in about 8-9 gallons per the video: https://youtu.be/5icTmYItwiE?t=17
I think the smell would have gone away anyway after you fixed the rich mixture. Especially after a good Italian tune up.
Truthfully, that's exactly what I believe. I fixed the underlying problem first before adding the thinner. It was the 220 miles of steady high rpms that actually 'did the trick', not the LT.
The pending code for a clogged converter
I've never heard of a clogged converter trouble code. If it was clogged, thinner would not unclog it.
The pending code for a clogged converter has not come up after another 120 miles
Maybe the lacquer thinner helped? The P0420 code only indicates "a low catalyst system efficiency". It does not mean the catalytic converter is clogged. (There is no OBD2 code meaning it's a 'clogged catalytic converter')
The pending code for a clogged converter has not come up after another 120 miles.
If the catalytic converter were clogged, you would notice it every time you accelerate. A clogged cat means backpressure and reduced exhaust flow; the car struggles because the exhaust is restricted. If it appeared to accelerate normally, your converter wasn't clogged enough to generate backpressure.
