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Could you explain more about what your problem is and why you want to try and clean the cat? Most likely wont work and could damage the cat if it is still working correctly.
putting paint thinner through a catalytic converter will have minimal effect on making it work again really. especually if its already damaged and melted down inside too the point its causing drivability issues.
the job of the catalytic converter is essentially to burn left over hydrocarbons in your exhaust, this is done by the catalyst heating up to several thousand degrees, if the catalyst isn’t heating up anymore i am afraid running paint thinner through it won’t fix it, usually its just a warn out cat and needs replaced.
My 05 taurus broke down due to a melted intake maifold from what the mechanic said was a plugged cat. They replaced the intake and the rear cat with a new one and the front one with a used part. The car ran after that but the engine lite came on due to a PCV code according to an Autozone scan. I replaced the heated PCV and the lite went off right away but came on again due to o2 sensor 2198 code and PO171 & 174 codes. I took it to Samstone and they replaced the IMRC valve and the PCV inlet that showed melting of the intake in that area. That fixed the 171&174 codes but the lite came back on after 100mi due to 2198 & 2197 codes again and a new 430 code indicating a bad cat on bank 2. This is the cat that was replaced earlier with a used cat because of the price. To avoid the expenditure I thought I would try flushing it out with paint thinner in the gas tank as Eric suggests in a video. If the cat is fixed I might not have to replace the o2 sensor.
Well if you want to keep this car i would highly recommend not putting paint thinner in your gas tank! you can create all kinds of other problems. The first step in diagnosing any catalytic converter code is to make sure the engine is sound and has no engine performance issues. I would suggest diagnosing and fixing the codes first. After that you may very well still need a Cat. Most professional technicians will not put a used Cat on a vehicle. this is just bad practice. I have never heard of a melted intake due to a clogged cat. you might want to find a honest, reputable, competent technician to look at your vehicle.
I did this, pretty aggeessively.
Car runs better than it ever has, but it did not clear P0420 so, did not increase efficiency of the cat.
KEY: After your run it HARD for as LONG AS you can, DILUTE WITH FUEL, DILUTE WITH FUEL, DILUTE WITH FUEL, and DILUTE WITH FUEL AGAIN. Do NOT WAIT for tank to get low.. do it like at QUARTER TANKS. This will save whatever Ill effects of that stuff wants to do.
People tell me I am lucky I did not do damage with how much i used. If you do it in the course of about ONE DAY, AND DILUTE WITH FUEL.. You are still playing with fire, but you stand only a small chance of getting burned since that stuff damaged with PROLONGED contact. A few hours of hard use, goal is to make everything HOT, beat it up a little.. and Italian Tune-Up, if it doesn’t kill your car will make it run better than it ever has.
I still need a new cat, though 🙂 Or, try actual cleaning. If you have time, but not money, try that first.
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