Seafoam

[rayder34]

I am very pleased as to results I got from doing a seafoam treatment on my 98 ES300 using the brake booster hose. Problem now is I cannot find the same hose on my 2003 RX300. I am sure it is there but it is not in same place and I am not a mechanic... can someone point me to the right location so I can do same treatment on my RX?

Thanks

[cuda]

I also want to know where is the vacuum line for my 99 Rx300. :cries:

[edbro]

I am very pleased as to results I got from doing a seafoam treatment on my 98 ES300 using the brake booster hose.

Sorry, I don't have the answer but I do have a question. Did you have to change the plugs after this treatment? I want to do the Seafoam but I just changed the plugs and I don't want to foul them. They are a royal pain to change on this car.

[bciesq]

I am very pleased as to results I got from doing a seafoam treatment on my 98 ES300 using the brake booster hose.

Sorry, I don't have the answer but I do have a question. Did you have to change the plugs after this treatment? I want to do the Seafoam but I just changed the plugs and I don't want to foul them. They are a royal pain to change on this car.

I've used Seafoam on lots of different types of cars and never changed the spark plugs because of it.

[blk_on_blk]

I just Seafoamed both our 1995 ES300 and our 1999 RX300 yesterday. The brake booster line is in the same place on the RX300 as it is on the ES300, but it's back further against the firewall under the strut tower bar on the RX300. If you pull the top of the hose (and you can get to the clamp with a pair of needle-nose pliers), you can then just rotate it down to suck up the Seafoam. I did the 1/3 pint, sucked it up slowly, cut the engine (you'll want to put your thumb over the vacuum line or the engine will keep dieseling and turning over roughly... putting your thumb over the vacuum line will finish killing the ignition), put the vacuum line back on, let it sit for 5-10 minutes, started it up, cleaned out the ploom of smoke, and it's running nice and smooth. Seems to have cut down some of the engine clattor I had (that I was told was due to carbon build up). I'll give it a few months and then Seafoam the RX again. Our ES also kicked out tons of smoke, but looks and runs great now.

Seafoam and Auto-RX are two of the very few products I've come across that really seem to work. Well, I used Lucas power steering pump leak stop in my BMW and that worked well, but as far as really impressive products that do what they say, Seafoam and Auto-RX are impressive.

[edbro]

I just Seafoamed both our 1995 ES300 and our 1999 RX300 yesterday. The brake booster line is in the same place on the RX300 as it is on the ES300, but it's back further against the firewall under the strut tower bar on the RX300. If you pull the top of the hose (and you can get to the clamp with a pair of needle-nose pliers), you can then just rotate it down to suck up the Seafoam. I did the 1/3 pint, sucked it up slowly, cut the engine (you'll want to put your thumb over the vacuum line or the engine will keep dieseling and turning over roughly... putting your thumb over the vacuum line will finish killing the ignition), put the vacuum line back on, let it sit for 5-10 minutes, started it up, cleaned out the ploom of smoke, and it's running nice and smooth. Seems to have cut down some of the engine clattor I had (that I was told was due to carbon build up). I'll give it a few months and then Seafoam the RX again. Our ES also kicked out tons of smoke, but looks and runs great now.

Seafoam and Auto-RX are two of the very few products I've come across that really seem to work. Well, I used Lucas power steering pump leak stop in my BMW and that worked well, but as far as really impressive products that do what they say, Seafoam and Auto-RX are impressive.

I also did the Seafoam treatment but I poured it through the PCV line as it is closer to the manifold. Mine pumped out about 10 minutes worth of white exhaust and made a significant difference in power and fuel economy. Even my wife remarked that the car seemed more powerful.

[nocaster]

My '00 has started knocking when under load or uphill and the overall performance has decreased. I started using 91 octane gas and noticed the engine runs much better. Would my engine be a good candidate for Sea Foam? Could a buildup of carbon in the cylinders be causing pre-detonation?

[blk_on_blk]

Yeah Nocaster, it sounds like you have the same symptoms I had, but my knocking was/is a strange 'clattor' sound... so hard to tell if it was a strange form of pinging/detonation or something else. I read many postings all over the place (most on Toyota Nation) that kept going right back to carbon build up in the cylinders/valves. After the Seafoam treatment my RX doesn't clattor nearly like it used to, but it still does a little. I'll probably do another treatment at my next oil change and go from there.

There's one other thing I've noticed, and it was on my ES300... and that's once I Seafoamed the engine, it started to smoke. I'm starting to think it might have been smoking before I bought it, but the seller put in some oil treatment to get it to stop... the Seafoam and the new oil change back to straight 5W-30 could have cleaned things out to where it was smoking again. I put in some Bardahl's No-Smoke and the smoking stopped after the first drive. Now, the point I was getting at was that the ES300 engine would knock under load when pulling away from a stop light and right after I would get on the gas after coasting for a bit... and that's the same time a puff of smoke would come out. I thinking burning a little oil could cause detonation and the knock. Now that the No-Smoke is in there, there's no more knock, and no more smoke.

So, even if there is no smoke from burning a touch of oil, it's possible our RX's could be burning just enough oil under load to cause the clattor/knock/pinging. Often overlooked as a cause of detonation/pinging is oil migration into the cylinder bore. Is yours very high mileage? Mine's at 116K. If that's the case, then what many people do when the oil rings start to lose their sealing power on higher mileage engines is switch to a higher viscocity (thicker) motor oil... and/or one of the high-mileage oils like Valvoline Max Life. The thicker oil won't seep past the rings and therefore not burn, and not knock/ping. It could be that you are compensating for this slight aspect of oil in the cylinder bore with higher octane fuel. These 1MZFE engines should run just fine on regular 87-89 octane fuel. I'm going to step up a viscocity grade at the next oil change. I'll post the results and if the clattor/ping/knock is reduce or even gone. Here's some more info on detonation: http://zhome.com/ZCMnL/PICS/detonation/detonation.html

BTW Edbro, cool to see someone on here from the Land of Enchantment... I'm a UNM grad. I kind of miss good ol' Abq, but the Pacific Northwest is home for me.

[nocaster]

Yeah Nocaster, it sounds like you have the same symptoms I had, but my knocking was/is a strange 'clattor' sound... so hard to tell if it was a strange form of pinging/detonation or something else. I read many postings all over the place (most on Toyota Nation) that kept going right back to carbon build up in the cylinders/valves. After the Seafoam treatment my RX doesn't clattor nearly like it used to, but it still does a little. I'll probably do another treatment at my next oil change and go from there.

There's one other thing I've noticed, and it was on my ES300... and that's once I Seafoamed the engine, it started to smoke. I'm starting to think it might have been smoking before I bought it, but the seller put in some oil treatment to get it to stop... the Seafoam and the new oil change back to straight 5W-30 could have cleaned things out to where it was smoking again. I put in some Bardahl's No-Smoke and the smoking stopped after the first drive. Now, the point I was getting at was that the ES300 engine would knock under load when pulling away from a stop light and right after I would get on the gas after coasting for a bit... and that's the same time a puff of smoke would come out. I thinking burning a little oil could cause detonation and the knock. Now that the No-Smoke is in there, there's no more knock, and no more smoke.

So, even if there is no smoke from burning a touch of oil, it's possible our RX's could be burning just enough oil under load to cause the clattor/knock/pinging. Often overlooked as a cause of detonation/pinging is oil migration into the cylinder bore. Is yours very high mileage? Mine's at 116K. If that's the case, then what many people do when the oil rings start to lose their sealing power on higher mileage engines is switch to a higher viscocity (thicker) motor oil... and/or one of the high-mileage oils like Valvoline Max Life. The thicker oil won't seep past the rings and therefore not burn, and not knock/ping. It could be that you are compensating for this slight aspect of oil in the cylinder bore with higher octane fuel. These 1MZFE engines should run just fine on regular 87-89 octane fuel. I'm going to step up a viscocity grade at the next oil change. I'll post the results and if the clattor/ping/knock is reduce or even gone. Here's some more info on detonation: http://zhome.com/ZCMnL/PICS/detonation/detonation.html

BTW Edbro, cool to see someone on here from the Land of Enchantment... I'm a UNM grad. I kind of miss good ol' Abq, but the Pacific Northwest is home for me.

I would describe my noise as clatter as well. I thought it was something really serious until I noticed it happened when going uphill. When the oil starts getting old and due for a change I start hearing the same sound for about 1 second when the engine starts cold. It's a bit unnerving but an oil change always makes it go away. My RX has 96,000 miles. I never notice any decrease of oil on the dipstick between changes. If the engine is burning oil it would have to be a very small amount.

[blk_on_blk]

Hmm... I've been trying to find more info on this 'symptom' since I got my RX, and I've come across many posts with people having it. One guy even went through a couple rebuilds by the dealer just to have the noise keep coming back after 10K miles or so. The dealer finally told him it's "just specific to your car... just drive it that way". What a strange explanation.

Anyhow, momentary clattor on cold start up with an older engine is almost always 'lifter tick' in the drivetrain... not uncommon for a high mileage engine. It's just that moment or two when the engine is turning before the oil pump can pressurize the lubrication system. I know our 1MZFE engines have solid lifters that aren't really adjustable, so it could be carbon build up on the valves causing them to not fully seat that's giving you the loose tolerances (or just wear)... Seafoam should clear out the carbon. Also, it sounds like your issue is very minor if changes in viscosity due to new/old oil effects it.

I also haven't noticed any change in oil level on my dipstick, but from what I've read even a trace amount of oil can effect the combustion cycle. I guess my biggest question is what viscosity of oil would be best in a higher mileage engine like ours? Obviously thicker oil is less prone to seep into the combustion chamber. I've done a lot of research on what viscosity or 'oil weight' to use in an engine and why. The answers I have found are vague at best. They say thinner oils are good for cold weather start ups and get the lubication system up to speed quicker, but the verdict is out on thicker oils. One site said, "In a worn engine it may be okay to increase the viscosity of the oil because the bearing clearances have become larger." http://www.nordicgroup.us/oil.htm#Oil%20Viscosity Sooo... is it 'recommended' to use a thicker oil in a worn engine, or just acceptable? We all know after 80K miles or more that tolerances have opened up, carbon has formed somewhere, and there is wear & tear on the valve train in some form, as with anything else. So, wouldn't it make sense to run thicker oil? Not only to provide better lubrication protection but to ensure there is no oil seepage into the combustion chamber?

I'm just thinking out loud here... I had an older BMW 3-series with some valve train clattor upon start up. I switched to Mobil 1 15W-50 (thick stuff) in it and the clattor went away, it seemed to run smoother, quieter, and with more power (I also drove the car like a raped-ape, so it needed all the protection it could get :whistles: ;) ). Mobil describes it as, "Mobil 1 15W-50 is also recommended for older valve train designs that may benefit from a higher level of anti-wear normally not required for newer generation vehicles" on their site. Do they mean older as in vintage, or older as in wear and miles?

So, would it be advantageous to step up to a thicker oil in a higher mileage engine? I hear the 5W-30 is just a manufacture's 'balance' of the best of all worlds for their vehicle's, so that's what's recommended, but does that apply at 100K miles?

[nocaster]

On the subject of carbon buildup. Is it possible to have carbon built up on the valve or seat that would cause the valve to not properly close? I've had an occasional P1130 code but it always goes away. I've had sluggish performance and poor fuel economy. The engine makes the clatter upon startup as I mentioned before. I also hear a faint tick coming from the valve train when the engine is at idle. I started noticing all of these things at about the same time. Running 91 octane fuel makes the engine perform as good as it did when I bought it with 60,000 miles and I just used 87 octane and the RX ran fine. I can't help but think all of this is related to the same thing. I've held off on changing the O2 sensor because the code usually clears within 100 to 150 miles. Am I stretching here to think that something as simple as carbon buildup could cause predetonation and make an O2 sensor read out of parameter?

[blk_on_blk]

It's very possible... almost probable. The P1130 refers to a bank one, sensor one, air fuel ratio sensor, and it's sporadically popping up because it's dying. It has to do with a time-out circuit and your sensor is slow to respond, so it times out and gives the code, but other times it cycles within the required time (at least that's a very common scenario for the sporadic code appearance). What that means is that sensor probably isn't reading well, and therefore skewing your air/fuel mix, burning rich or lean, causing incomplete combustion, and very likely leaving deposits and residue (depending on how clean your gasoline is). You're probably loading up your system, and a good Seafoam cleaning will definitely clean it out. The thing is if you don't change out that sensor you'll load your system right back up into the position you are in now.

Now, the tick could be caused from deposits on the valve and not allowing it to seat properly, thefore getting blow-by, incomplete combustion, and more. It all fits with the poor gas mileage and sluggish performance.

If I were you, I would run the Seafoam treatment, but change your oil right after. I've read of some reports of Seafoam seeping past the rings and into the oil, leaving it thinned. If I were you, I would Seafoam you engine, step up to a thicker oil, and change out that sensor as soon as possible. You should see noticeable results.

[tmastres]

If I were you, I would run the Seafoam treatment, but change your oil right after. I've read of some reports of Seafoam seeping past the rings and into the oil, leaving it thinned.

But hey, isn't that the same seafoam that you can pour right into the crankcase as an oil treatment? Maybe a different produt we're talking about but I thought the one that was being discussed could be used in the oil, gas or directly through the vacuum lines as you've described doing. Just curious, Thanks!

[blk_on_blk]

It's the same stuff, but from everything I've read, you aren't supposed to have Seafoam in your oil for very long. If you have weak rings and the Seafoam seeps down past them into the oil while cleaning the intake/combustion-chamber, and you run that oil in the crankcase for 2K-3K miles, you very well might have some problems. Seafoam is a pretty strong combonation of pale oil, naptha, and IPA (Isopropanol). Naptha is essentially petroleum distilliates; typically includes pentane, hexane, heptane, and derivatives thereof. It's not something I would want to have in my oil/crankcase in a very high volume for any length of time. Many engine treatments like Rislone and Lucas have solvents in them, but with the amount they recommend to add, it leaves a high ratio of oil to solvent in the crankcase. Seafoam is a little more intense and I wouldn't leave it in my oil for very long at all... in fact, I wouldn't run it in my oil at all. I would rather use something more mild and less aggressive in my oil, like Auto-RX. Auto-RX will clean things out just as well, but it just takes longer because it is more mild... and safe in my opinion.

Here are some other quotes from various sites about running Seafoam in the crankcase/oil:

"As far as diluting the oil, I have never (and will never) used Seafoam in the crankcase. Only in the intake. Does some of it pass by the rings and mix in with the oil? Possibly"

"I'd add it into the crankcase a few days before an oil change to let it clean out the build-up."

From everything I've read, people either say they would never use it in the oil, or if they have, they change out the oil within a few day's span. I personally wouldn't put it in the oil.

[Cory]

Haven't had to change the oil yet in my SC, but in my last car (240sx) I used the seafoam in the crankcase as well as the intake. I was told to do the crankcase first, run the engine for 5-10 minutes, then do the intake. That was the first oil change I did in that car, and I switched from conventional to synthetic - never had any problems. But I would definitely suggest changing the oil immediately if you use it in the crankcase.

[tmastres]

Haven't had to change the oil yet in my SC, but in my last car (240sx) I used the seafoam in the crankcase as well as the intake. I was told to do the crankcase first, run the engine for 5-10 minutes, then do the intake. That was the first oil change I did in that car, and I switched from conventional to synthetic - never had any problems. But I would definitely suggest changing the oil immediately if you use it in the crankcase.

Hmmm,

WellI can see perhaps not leaving it in for extended periods of time but if you change the oil immediately, how its it supposed to do anything? I'll sure be careful though, thanks for the heads-up

[Cory]

Haven't had to change the oil yet in my SC, but in my last car (240sx) I used the seafoam in the crankcase as well as the intake. I was told to do the crankcase first, run the engine for 5-10 minutes, then do the intake. That was the first oil change I did in that car, and I switched from conventional to synthetic - never had any problems. But I would definitely suggest changing the oil immediately if you use it in the crankcase.

Hmmm,

WellI can see perhaps not leaving it in for extended periods of time but if you change the oil immediately, how its it supposed to do anything? I'll sure be careful though, thanks for the heads-up

Well, that's why you let it run for 10 minutes after you add the seafoam. Then you seafoam the intake, then change the oil. The guy who told me about it said he would drive it around the block a few times to cycle the oil after adding seafoam to the crankcase, then change it out.

[SKperformance]

moved to general section

[brandondiem]

I found these vids on YOUtube illustrating the Seafoam treartment

search seafom on youtube for more

[mburnickas]

I found these vids on YOUtube illustrating the Seafoam treartment

search seafom on youtube for more

I have used seafoam in my ES and B12 Chemtool. B12 did not smoke at all, seafoam did. Now it one worked better, I have no idea.