rickybramble

Hi, I don't know where to start so I'm just going to list it
Back ground:
-Bought a 95 4runner 2x4 3.0 V6 in november 2017 with 160,000
-It was never rebuilt and had some work done to it ( fuel pump, radiator replaced, and a lot of other things) the thing was running well
Recently:
I have noticed a lack of power in my driving, and my rpms were acting really weird. In 2nd and third gear when the rpms would hit 3000, drop down to 2800, then it'd push back up to regular and drive normal. My idea to fix it was to seafoam it (I don't really have money to take it to a mechanic but I feel like I will have to eventually). I researched how to do it and watch a billion youtube videos and read a hundred posts on how-tos. I poured 1/3 of the seafoam bottle in the pcv hose and let it smoke out my neighborhood, then I put it in my gas tank and drove around (to make it short I'm just gonna leave specifics out of it). I'm more than sure I did it right and I do think it worked, my engine was quieter and driving was much smoother and the lack of power was gone. I did an oil and oil filter change cuz I noticed my oil got dark after the seafoam. I put 5 quarts of oil into it, let it sit, then drove it around. HOWEVER, 10 minutes into driving it around a lot of problems started happening.
-whole car would shake while idling in park, not like it used too (idk if this is normal)
- at 1500 rpm in park the shaking got much more aggressive but then disappeared after 2000
-While driving it was smooth but then anything passed 4000 rpm the steering wheel would shake along with the car
- when I would come to complete stop, a rattling noise would come from the truck, which I've located to the catalytic converter, but then when resuming driving it wouldn't make any noise, nor would it when I'm parked and idling

I don't know what to do and I would like some ideas on what the problem is
Thank you!

akwheeler

did you finish off the tank of fuel with the seafoam in it yet?

irab88

iTrader: (4)

-Is the catalytic converter clogged?
-What is the condition of the spark plugs? (eg, what do the electrodes look like?)
-Is the compression good? (Auto parts stores sometimes have free loaner tools, like a compression tester)
-What does the coolant look like?
-What does the oil look like? And oil level?
-Change the oil, drag a magnet through the old oil. Does the magnet pick anything up?
-Are the air intake hoses on tight? Vacuum lines?
-Any leaks?

rickybramble

rickybramble

akwheeler

I'm not a fan of voodoo in a bottle and it seems to me you might have overdone it, maybe you should have went with a full tank. for now I wouldn't add any more of anything, just finish off that tank and fill 'er up. maybe try a full tank of premium and drive it like you stole it, see if you clean some more crud out. swap out the fuel filter too, maybe you loosened up some scale in the tank.

rickybramble

rickybramble

Update on my car problem.
I have kind of identified the problem.
Once I got home from work, I noticed a lot of heat coming from below the car so i peaked under and guess what. the catalytic converter was GLOWING red. like lava.
So now I know I need to get that replaced. But now i gotta figure out what caused the converter to glow. Anyone have any ideas? I know its not from physical external damage, I've never done any offroading (yet), but are there any common defects on the 95 (2nd gen) 4runner?

Co_94_PU

iTrader: (-1)

Seafoam is essentially, kerosene with some IPA and other ingredients, a very powerful solvent. You loosened up unknown quantities of built up carbon/coke deposits that could have gone numerous places.
You want to check oil pressure, oil filter contents (replace it, cut it open and look for ferrous and non ferrous metals run the remnants of fuild thru a coffee filter), carbon/coke is also not good if anything looks less than clean you need another oil change and use the "baby it break in methods" because you got rid of all the "buffer".

There is also the propensity for loose sludge "gumming up the works", either in the intake system or oil feed (hence the oil pressure checks). For examples. Sludge/coke has lodged in the oil pressure by-pass, resulting in oil not circulating into the filter. Carbon/coke has fouled an intake or exhaust valve. It's not hard to see how carbon could eat at aluminum when it has the kinds of energy behind it as running thru a motor at velocity..

You ran seafoam through the system with the catalytically converter attached. This is such a bad idea I can even imagine how hot that might have got. Drop the cat see if it melted and is plugged.

Co_94_PU

iTrader: (-1)

See above. A catalytic converter is designed to "burn" hydro carbons into an inert form (they use the same materials in rockets, heat plus platinum plus fuel equals lots of energy/heat), you put kerosene thru it (aka rocket fuel) when it's used to seeing the remains of a gasoline combustion.

rickybramble

rickybramble

Co_94_PU

iTrader: (-1)

Yes.. Pretty much all of the above.

There are two scenarios when you use sea foam, the first one makes the second more likely.

Solvent dissolved and/or loosened carbon, which has to pass through the cat screen. If it is to large to pass through, or sticky, it plugs it up which increases heat build up due to lack of flow.

Unburnt hydrocarbons react on the surface of the catalytic converter, an exothermic reaction (again they build rocket engines with this configuration, all though more robustly). The flow of cooling air (yes odd to imagine but exhaust gas as a coolant) and unburnt fuel is taken into account in the catalytic converter design, to much or not enough of either and it's not going to work as intended. The results being it doesn't work at all, sluffs off material, melts screens, plugs up, or barfs its internals into the downstream.

space-junk

iTrader: (1)

If the trucks got over 160k, my bet is that it's the original cat. That thing wasn't long for this world to begin with. In fact, it might have been what started this whole chain reaction.

Co is right about the king EVERYTHING. Even the plugs as it can carbon foul them too.