Cataclean?
 

2011 Crown Vic here with 305k miles, and today my engine light comes on. Scan at the local Advanced comes up with 4 codes on the cat converter. Guy says I need to get something called Cataclean and run it through the gas tank to correct the problem.

Is it worth doing this...will it make the engine run better or get better gas mileage?

Should I use Cataclean or some other product to get this done?

Re: Cataclean?
 

I looked it up - $25 for 16 oz. Save some money - go to a hardware store and buy some lacquer thinner. Add it to your fuel at a ratio of 1 gallon to 20 gallons of fuel.

I used this method on my van 8 years ago and my catalytic converter code hasn't returned yet. It's not necessarily going to do anything to help the engine run better or improve fuel mileage (at least not noticeably) but it will probably save you the cost of replacing a catalytic converter.

Knowing the exact codes would help us to answer your questions more completely.

Re: Cataclean?
 

Ive heard the lacquer thinner works as well. Never had the stones to try it myself though.

Old mechanic friend used to pull a vacuum line and get it to run lean saying that it would get the cat hotter to burn off any junk on it.

Cataclean...
2 years ago I bought a Mazda P5 with a blown head gasket. Cat was drenched in coolant. Supposedly a death sentence for a 300$ cat. Smog guy says try this Cataclean stuff. Says it "might" work. Emphasis on the might part. I ran 2 bottles through it. It came back clean. Passed smog easily.

Smog guy says he says that it "might" work every time he recommends it to someone. Says he has been recommending it for years now just waiting for one that it doesn't work on. Still waiting

Last year I was trying to get rid of some old gas by mixing it with some new gas in the '97 ford rat van with a 5.4. Didn't realize it was the 2 stroke for the boy's KDX. This thing has 2 cats that are worth more than the van itself and threw a code intstantly. O2 sensor issues. Blowing light smoke from the tailpipe (just like the damn dirt bike). I dumped a bottle of Cataclean in and filled it up with new fuel. Drove it for 100 or so miles and the code / light went away.

Apparently the cataclean is some pretty nasty brew. But then again so is lacquer thinner. :lol:

Re: Cataclean?
 

Yeah, I was going to say don't breathe the fumes. You probably should wear a respirator just pouring it in the gas tank.

Lacquer thinner is acetone. One good whiff of it will have your head spinning.

Re: Cataclean?
 

What 4 codes are you getting? There are only 2 converter codes that come to mind, P0420 and P0430. Are the other 2 codes oxygen sensor codes?

Re: Cataclean?
 

Sorry it took so long to get back. The check engine light went off but it came back on yesterday so I got the codes read again. Guy's machine read 4 codes but said they were all the same code...P0430.

I'm game for the lacquer thinner thing. I see low voc lacquer thinner for sale. Wonder if it matters which version you use?