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Fuel Bladder Q

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by qmanqman, Mar 16, 2021.

  1. qmanqman

    qmanqman Active Member

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    Do fuel additives damage the fuel bladder in these rigs?

    I remember watching a Scotty Kilmer video where he poured lacquer thinner from a gallon jug into his fuel tank to clean things up. I've also seen/read where folks used acetone.

    I've seen carb cleaner dissolve toothbrush bristles and isn't it similar to lacquer thinner?

    Will these kinds of things, as well as Cataclean, BK44G, etc. damage the fuel bladder?

    I ask because I've used a couple containers of Cataclean in my daughter's 2007. She said her car feels a little peppier and smoother. At $25/bottle I'd rather use lacquer thinner. But not at the expense of dissolving the fuel bladder.
     
  2. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    1) I would net use any of those unless my car had a problem I was solving.
    2) I would not take Scotty Kilmer's advice on any topic.
    3) No, it shouldn't. But WHY?
     
  3. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    There's a sniffer that regularly checks for leaks from the rubber bladder and in all my years of being on here I can't say I've ever read a post of someone dealing with a rubber bladder leak. The main problem with that part of the car is the bladder not fully expanding as well as sometimes the gas gauge being inaccurate.

    And as Jimbo above says, fuel additives sometimes can help fix stuff, but in general aren't wise. Acetone is highly volatile and risk of engine damaging pre-ignition is possible. Also anyone out and about who gets a strong inhale of your car exhaust with all that extra poison added to it might get sick.
     
  4. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    I'm not sure that any of us here would really know. Anybody have a kid looking for a science fair project? Could pick up a boneyard tank, cut little squares of the bladder, soak them in different solvents....
     
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  5. qmanqman

    qmanqman Active Member

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    Is the bladder rubber of plastic? If so what kind of rubber or plastic?

    I wouldn't use the solvents in amounts that would be dangerous. Lacquer Thinner and carb cleaner are pretty much interchangeable. I've used acetone in my 72 F100 to increase gas mileage from 11 to 12 mpg LOL. don't laugh it actually worked. I tracked mpg before and after for a long, long time and you only use like an ounce or so per 10 gal of fuel.
    I guess I'm trying a top down cat cleansing. My daughter's Prius keeps throwing the P0420. I've changed both O2 sensors and have run two bottles of Cataclean through it. I clear the code and it will stay off for a month and then pop on. Rinse and repeat. She said the car runs better (smoother and peppier) since running two bottles of Cataclean. I'm gonna run another but they're $25 each. I'd rather use lacquer thinner but I don't want to dissolve the bladder and I don't want to dissolve the bladder using Cataclean.

    My theory is I didn't get the sensors changed soon enough (she drove with the CEL on for a couple of years) and now the CAT is dirty. I'm trying to clean it.
     
  6. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    You can remove the cat and soak it in hot soap and water as a last effort if you want, but you're fighting a losing battle that you won't win. Just buy an aftermarket cat on ebay for $130 and it takes an hour or two to install you can sell the clogged cat to a rare metal scrapper for $1K. More info here: Prius Cat Theft Tracking | PriusChat
     
  7. qmanqman

    qmanqman Active Member

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    I did not know that. Not only is it a losing battle it's a waste of money. I'm throwing money at money that could be coming back to me. I don't usually do stupid sh!t like that. LOL
     
  8. ToyotaGal

    ToyotaGal Member

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    I purchased my Prius almost a year ago. I looked over what was done at the dealership. At about 50k miles the previous owner complained about loss of mpg. They could not find anything wrong but added BG Cleaner. I do not know how it got resolved. When I got the car it had a avg of 48 or 49 and that was what I got until it got bitterly cold.

    I also have a 05 Sienna. About 5 years ago It was throwing the 320 code. I tried cataclean, seaform, lucas, and something else numerous times. The code kept coming back right away. I did see Scott's video on the acetone and saw videos disclaiming it. I got a oem cat on ebay for $300 (yes 300) the dealership was going out of business. Mechanic charged me 70 to put it in.
    2 years ago, it through the 420 code. Took it to a exhaust specialist to see if there was a hare line crack. ( nope) . I had one more year for it to pass emissions . After that I only have to do safety checks (after 15 years emissions not required) Problem was the second cat.

    I ended up doing the non fouler trick. Buy a plug at auto zone for $6.00 drill it out so a o2 sensor fits. put the fouler where the sensor goes and the sensor goes into the fouler. Code has been off for 2 years. video on you tube on how to do it. At the time it had 300k the cat was around 1200.00 Did not know how much longer I was going to keep the car.

    Based on my experience:
    No more cataclean. Beyond cleaning
    take it to a exhaust specialist
    either change the cat or do the fouler trick
    Clear the code and then take it to get inspected then it doesn't matter if the light is on for a whole year.

    hope this helps and let up know what happens.

    Linda
     
  9. qmanqman

    qmanqman Active Member

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    Thanks Linda. We don't have to do inspections. What does the fouler do?
     
  10. ToyotaGal

    ToyotaGal Member

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  11. qmanqman

    qmanqman Active Member

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    Does it actually "fix" anything or is it a workaround?
     
  12. ToyotaGal

    ToyotaGal Member

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    It a work around. You still are polluting the environment :(
    Your tricking the system.

    In my situation I could not justify the cost of the repair. I did not know how much longer the van was going to last.
     
  13. ToyotaGal

    ToyotaGal Member

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    I actually think replacing the cat and selling the old one is your best solution.
     
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