How To: Seafoam

mburnickas · August 4, 2006

I just seafoamed my combustion chamber and gas tank, it appears to be working wonders!!

Thanks for the heads up!

Going to Seafoam this weekend! The way you all talk about it I feel like I'm going to have a brand new car rather than the 94 ES I have currently afterwards! Or...perhaps closer to it than now.

Trying to restore acceptable gas mileage (getting 14mpg city now) with this (also replaced O2 sensor 1)...how much success should I expect? It's going in the gas and oil as well as brake booster.

No clue. I no there is no way that I would add it to my oil. I was reading on BITOG and even the chemist guys say no. Maybe they are wrong. I would use a safer fluid (solvant) in my oil; but that is me. If you do use it. I would run for about 15 minutes (as a flush, then drain).

But the brake booster is the way to go. Wow, 14 city is pretty bad. Have to cleaned the TB or IVAC at all? PCV

mrbutz1 · August 4, 2006

I just seafoamed my combustion chamber and gas tank, it appears to be working wonders!!

Thanks for the heads up!

Going to Seafoam this weekend! The way you all talk about it I feel like I'm going to have a brand new car rather than the 94 ES I have currently afterwards! Or...perhaps closer to it than now.

Trying to restore acceptable gas mileage (getting 14mpg city now) with this (also replaced O2 sensor 1)...how much success should I expect? It's going in the gas and oil as well as brake booster.

No clue. I no there is no way that I would add it to my oil. I was reading on BITOG and even the chemist guys say no. Maybe they are wrong. I would use a safer fluid (solvant) in my oil; but that is me. If you do use it. I would run for about 15 minutes (as a flush, then drain).

But the brake booster is the way to go. Wow, 14 city is pretty bad. Have to cleaned the TB or IVAC at all? PCV

Forgive my ignorance :huh: ...I am learning as I go on this board. What do TB (timing belt?-if so, no, not due for another year or so) and IVAC stand for? Even without knowing I can say no, they've not been cleaned. All I've done is the new sensor, checked tire pressure, etc... I am planning to replace the plugs in the next few weeks (how tough a job is that for a novice?) as well as oil change in same time period. PLEASE TELL me this won't screw up my new O2 sensor, however...?

mayur1130 · August 4, 2006

I want to seafoam my 96 es. Should I be worried? I never used the stuff before and from the pics in the first post, looks like the stuff works. Only looking to do one treatment. My dad drives the es and he doesnt take care of the car. The intake is disgustingly dirty and I thought that it would be good to give it a nice clean up eh? I already dumped a bottle of gumout in the gas tank (had bottles of it laying around). Waited for three more fill ups and dumped in a bottle of Redline brand cleaner in the tank. Seems to be a bit better but I want to give it a real good clean up and not spend too much money.

coleycoleman1906 · August 5, 2006

all i can say is i pput it in my brake booster, and in the gas tank, i started to pour it in my oil , but changed my mind, even though about 2 -3 teaspoons dripped inside. Regardless , i'm telling you theses guys know what they are talking about!! It did smokw for a while and kept switching gears as i drove! I even applied a second treatment, all i can say is i use to have a dragging sensation in my 97 es 300 with 120000 miles, but im sure i gained some horsepowe! Its evident because i use to be very cautious when switching lanes on the hwy, now i can cut off anybody, LMAO. That should speak for itself.

Thanks , Toy and SK

Toysrme · August 5, 2006

np yall. There's a reason why seafoam hit the toyota truck forums & exploded. Then I took it to places like Toyota Nation & It's pretty much defacto every you go *somebody* is going to say to do it on an engine more than a few years old. It's cause the stuff does exactly what it claims to do. It gets rid of the carbon on the combustion chambers & around the valves & like any descent oil treatement, it thins the oil some & cleans surfaces. Bearings, etc.

S why most engines more than a few years old idle smoother after you do anything to them in the oil. BG44 (Toyota's cleaner), seafoam, Auto-rx, Marvil Mystery Oil, Diesel/kerosene, etc.

mrbutz1, it aint ngunna hurt, but good lord 14mpg is horrid!?

tb = throttle body

IAC/IACV/ISC/ISCV = Idle Air Control (valve) / Idle Speed Control (valve) In your case, it's an IAC.

PCV = Positive Crankcase Ventalation

Did you get around to changing the plugs yet?

mrbutz1 · August 5, 2006

np yall. There's a reason why seafoam hit the toyota truck forums & exploded. Then I took it to places like Toyota Nation & It's pretty much defacto every you go *somebody* is going to say to do it on an engine more than a few years old. It's cause the stuff does exactly what it claims to do. It gets rid of the carbon on the combustion chambers & around the valves & like any descent oil treatement, it thins the oil some & cleans surfaces. Bearings, etc.

S why most engines more than a few years old idle smoother after you do anything to them in the oil. BG44 (Toyota's cleaner), seafoam, Auto-rx, Marvil Mystery Oil, Diesel/kerosene, etc.

mrbutz1, it aint ngunna hurt, but good lord 14mpg is horrid!?

tb = throttle body

IAC/IACV/ISC/ISCV = Idle Air Control (valve) / Idle Speed Control (valve) In your case, it's an IAC.

PCV = Positive Crankcase Ventalation

Did you get around to changing the plugs yet?

Yes, 14mpg is about as good as the Hummer that someone in our condo building owns...surely I can at least beat that earth crusher!

I'm going to Seafoam tonight thru brake booster, add to gas and oil and then drive for a few hundred miles before oil change. After that I will change the plugs too, maybe even sooner (how difficult is it to do this--I've done before on another car, but years ago)

Thanks for the definitions, Toys, if things don't improve after these couple steps I'll look into them. Auto repair is not something I (obviously) know anything about, and $$ is tight...so want to try the cheaper steps first.

This forum rocks, I love learning from you all. Thanks much again.

Toysrme · August 5, 2006

Cleaning those things takes an engine cleaner, and a brush. :) It's cheap.

PCV valves are not generally expencive (Maybe $10).

Plugs can be whatever u want to spend. Keep it NGK, or Denso brands only. Copper core plugs would run less than $15 to change. Iridium plugs can run about $10 a plug.

mburnickas · August 5, 2006

Cleaning those things takes an engine cleaner, and a brush. :) It's cheap.
PCV valves are not generally expencive (Maybe $10).

Plugs can be whatever u want to spend. Keep it NGK, or Denso brands only. Copper core plugs would run less than $15 to change. Iridium plugs can run about $10 a plug.

Toysrme - Since you are the seafoam expert here, after I do 1/3 can in brake booster line do I need to do a oil drain? Does this process add or hurt anything on plugs? I was reading online and it said something like I need to watch out for O2 sensors and plugs.

reason: I am in the middle of an Auto-RX phase right now. So wanted to know if I should wait till "done all the way", or wait till "right before I end the cleaning phase then clean with seafoam.

All I want to do is clean the dirty intake....

I know many like adding it to the oil but I am taking other routes. (lc20 and ARX) .

Going down to Advanced auto to see if they have it; napa did not.

mayur1130 · August 5, 2006

I heard that adding it to your oil can be bad. Should I change it right away after treatment?

mrbutz1 · August 5, 2006

I heard that adding it to your oil can be bad. Should I change it right away after treatment?

Toys...thanks for the tips. I suppose if I buy a Lexus ES repair guide (any particular recommended?) I could figure out how to locate, remove and then clean all these parts you've mentioned. You will turn me into an auto mechanic shortly. Much obliged.

mburnickas · August 5, 2006

I heard that adding it to your oil can be bad. Should I change it right away after treatment?

Toys...thanks for the tips. I suppose if I buy a Lexus ES repair guide (any particular recommended?) I could figure out how to locate, remove and then clean all these parts you've mentioned. You will turn me into an auto mechanic shortly. Much obliged.

The TB is easy to clean along with the IVAC. It is one here somewhere. The PCV I would just replace. It is like $6 for an OEM part (to your door).

mburnickas · August 5, 2006

just did the wifes car! WOW, did it smoke (white) pretty bad. Based on color and BITOG, engine was clean. Drove it down the road and back (about 4 miles). Kept RPM's above 3K...After about 2 miles [smoke] was done.

Any diff; so far no. I will do my ES tonight.

SKperformance · August 5, 2006

I find the more smoke the more carbon it is removing.

mrbutz1 · August 6, 2006

I find the more smoke the more carbon it is removing.

Seafoamed this evening via brake booster. After pooping myself when it would not even hint at turning over after four or five key turns, finally it did and the wonderful MASSIVE cloud of smoke that was produced brought a warmth to my heart, and dirty looks from the neighbors - JOY!. Will let you know how it drives over the next few days. Again, thanks for the help everyone.

93ls400walt · August 6, 2006

How are you cleaning the IAC? Does this happen with the seafoam via the booster hose? Or another method? Also I just replaced my plugs with Iridium's. Will I foul them with this procedure?

mrbutz1 · August 6, 2006

How are you cleaning the IAC? Does this happen with the seafoam via the booster hose? Or another method? Also I just replaced my plugs with Iridium's. Will I foul them with this procedure?

I have not yet taken the IAC and other components apart to clean them individually, but the seafoam treatment has definitely made a difference in the engine, it's noticeable, some power restored, quieter, smoother acceleration. I'm going to buy a Lexus repair manual and following the cleaning steps others on this list have described in the coming weeks. From what I've read the seafoam MAY dirty up your plugs, but I think you can take them out and clean them too?

Toysrme · August 6, 2006

Sure you can clean them.

It's o2 sensor safe, plugs should be fine.

mrbutz1 the 93 ES Factory Service Manual is on the sticked FSM post. As is the '94 camry, part of the 89 es 250, and the 97 es 300, and another one (05 if i remember?). You want the '94 Camry manual for any engine / draivetrain & brake information & either the 94 camry, or 93 ES for everything else.

93ls400walt it must be removed to be cleaned.

mburnickas · August 6, 2006

some pixs of todays dust storm! This WAS treatment #2 of 1/3 seafoam. Removed brake booster and sucked in. then shut off car ASAP. Let sit 10 minutes then started.

Toysrme · August 7, 2006

Ah that aint that bad.

SKperformance · August 7, 2006

I can still see your car!

The first time i did my LS it crossed my 2 lane street then crossed the 5 lane road and into the parking lot across from me . It took about 1/2 to clear and i swore the fire department was on the way. Lucky it was 3 in the morning when i was doing it.

I just did a run rite cleaning a few days ago and it is 5 times better than seafoam is but also more expensive. It doesn't evaporate the way seafoam does. Also it doesn't cause rubber to swell or degrade which can be a problem.

godfather18 · August 7, 2006

I can still see your car!

The first time i did my LS it crossed my 2 lane street then crossed the 5 lane road and into the parking lot across from me . It took about 1/2 to clear and i swore the fire department was on the way. Lucky it was 3 in the morning when i was doing it.

I just did a run rite cleaning a few days ago and it is 5 times better than seafoam is but also more expensive. It doesn't evaporate the way seafoam does. Also it doesn't cause rubber to swell or degrade which can be a problem.

I just installed new spark plugs and I wanted to do a seafoam treatment to my intake and I was wondering if it will foul my plugs and do I have to replace O2 sensors or will I just be fine. Also will I notice a difference in power or response when I do this?

Toysrme · August 7, 2006

No, it's not going to hurt anything. (Unless those plugs ar ejust so old they're caked & bearly firing). Yes, on a 96 you'll most likely pick up some throttle responce.

Slooooooow · August 7, 2006

Always saw the mention of Seafoam over on CL, but this is the first detailed explanation of what it is and how to use it. And I'm sold. After experiencing my 1st episode of the "stalls after coming to a stop after highway driving" and passing my 2nd attempt at state inspection, I stopped by the auto parts store and picked up 2 cans of seafoam. I'm going to perform the engine part tonight and add it to the oil in a few weeks before my oil change.

I'm going to record on video the results of the seafoam block cleaning tonight. If I can find a place to host the vid clip I'll post a link.

Wish me luck! I'm a little nervous. Especially after reading this post:

After pooping myself when it would not even hint at turning over after four or five key turns, finally it did and...

The good news is that his engine fired up eventually, so here I go...

Toysrme · August 7, 2006

I'll host it on Sean's FTP site.

Slooooooow · August 7, 2006

Two starting attemps and it was off and running.

Nothing like what I expected with 165k on the odometer, and in fact this still shot looks quite uneventful:

The video clip shows quite a bit more activity (I'll fire that your way, Toys), but what I really wish I'd taped is me driving it off down the alley and then down the street. Pretty good smoke show there, folks, but still nothing like what I expected. Apparently this preventative maintenance stuff, cleaning here and inside there every chance you get, pays off! :)