Seafoam'd the 4Runner

[Mpower3]

Well the first time I did it I had a it under 100k on the clock, now I have 110k and I have been the only owner. I use BG44 probably every 40k or so. This is probably the last time I will be using seafoam unless I make it to 200k.

I did it on my 1st Gen and one of my neighbors almost called the fire department there was so much smoke.

 

[runner707]

I seafoamd the vacuum line yesterday. I kinda live in the ghetto... Some black lady runs out her house screaming oh mah gawd theres a fire!

 

[RonMAIDEN]

I said "oh lord jesus,it's a fire"

Sweet Brown - Ain't Nobody Got Time for That (Autotune Remix) - YouTube

 

[WhiteManFlail]

Solid reference.

 

[runner707]

I said "oh lord jesus,it's a fire"

Sweet Brown - Ain't Nobody Got Time for That (Autotune Remix) - YouTube

PRetty Epic

 

[Snesley Wipes]

Seafoam'd my Runner with 69k miles...attached 2 clear tubes about 10" each at the same time thru those 2 intake lines right in the engine. Sucked it up in about a second then died. Smoked up the neighborhood real good. Did it twice for good measure. Didn't think the engine could run any smoother but it does now big time!

 

[dmalis12]

Just a little more info for the V8 people..?

Seafoam'd my Runner with 69k miles...attached 2 clear tubes about 10" each at the same time thru those 2 intake lines right in the engine. Sucked it up in about a second then died. Smoked up the neighborhood real good. Did it twice for good measure. Didn't think the engine could run any smoother but it does now big time!

Where did you put the "10" hoses? did you connect the hoses right to the top of the engine and let it suck it up? Please just a little more help for the V8 people wanting to do this. Any other pis?

 

[Snesley Wipes]

Where did you put the "10" hoses? did you connect the hoses right to the top of the engine and let it suck it up? Please just a little more help for the V8 people wanting to do this. Any other pis?

1) Empty ~1/2 can Seafoam into a small glass jar.
2) Start car and leave it running enough to be at normal operating temperature.
3) You see those little plastic intake things I circled in my pic? Disconnect the black hoses from them (while car is running) and attach hoses/tubes cut to ~10" each (you can buy tubing at Home Depot)...enough length so you can bend them and stick both ends in a jar with the half a can of sea foam.
4) Stick both ends of the tubing in the Seafoam jar at the same time and watch it suck it up in about a seconds time. Car should die.
5) Reattach factory vacuum lines to the plastic intake things.
6) Let your car sit ~5-10 minutes before starting.
7) Drive.

Hope that clarified things a little...

 

[JohnnyT]

When the seafoam gets sucked up, where does it go and what does it clean?

 

[NJshadow93]

1) Empty ~1/2 can Seafoam into a small glass jar.
2) Start car and leave it running enough to be at normal operating temperature.
3) You see those little plastic intake things I circled in my pic? Disconnect the black hoses from them (while car is running) and attach hoses/tubes cut to ~10" each (you can buy tubing at Home Depot)...enough length so you can bend them and stick both ends in a jar with the half a can of sea foam.
4) Stick both ends of the tubing in the Seafoam jar at the same time and watch it suck it up in about a seconds time. Car should die.
5) Reattach factory vacuum lines to the plastic intake things.
6) Let your car sit ~5-10 minutes before starting.
7) Drive.

Hope that clarified things a little...

Thanks for clarifying. I believe you can have it sip the Seafoam as well to avoid the engine from stalling.

 

[dmalis12]

Seafoamed V8

Thanks man! i've been reading every seafoam thread with some one who has actually done it on a v8.

 

[Snesley Wipes]

Thanks for clarifying. I believe you can have it sip the Seafoam as well to avoid the engine from stalling.

I wouldn't...you want the Seafoam to get in the cylinders and soak. If you "sip" it in without the car stalling, it will burn off from combustion before it actually gets a chance to soak and break all those carbon deposits.

 

[talonjade]

i honestly have reservations about "killing it" by forcing it to induct more "fuel/cleaner" then it can handle...i understand the soaking is necessary to break up the carbon...its not the release of the carbon im worried about but the stalling of the engine sounds like it could potentially put the motor at risk i.e (putting excess strain on it)


I understand that for the long run; using it in the gas tanks should have similar results (again im thinking long term over 4-6 months.) that the sea foam will slowly eat the carbon buildup... the fact that the sea foam takes the same path through the engine as pouring it into the vacuum line. Will it work the same but just slower and over a greater span of time or is there something special about pouring it directly into the vacuum line that "brings all the smoke to the yard"... (bad pun is bad)

anyone have input?

 

[Snesley Wipes]

i honestly have reservations about "killing it" by forcing it to induct more "fuel/cleaner" then it can handle...i understand the soaking is necessary to break up the carbon...its not the release of the carbon im worried about but the stalling of the engine sounds like it could potentially put the motor at risk i.e (putting excess strain on it)


I understand that for the long run; using it in the gas tanks should have similar results (again im thinking long term over 4-6 months.) that the sea foam will slowly eat the carbon buildup... the fact that the sea foam takes the same path through the engine as pouring it into the vacuum line. Will it work the same but just slower and over a greater span of time or is there something special about pouring it directly into the vacuum line that "brings all the smoke to the yard"... (bad pun is bad)

anyone have input?

An engine stall due to vapor-lock will NOT hurt your engine.

Yes, putting the foam in your tank takes the same path as the vacuum line but the concentration needed to acheive the same results would be unattainable. I imagine you would have to use a full can in each tank to acheive any type of positive result. Just a guess though.

SFing is harmless. The dealer will do it for you if your uneasy about it...they call it an "induction" or something like that. Not cheap though...

 

[NJshadow93]

An engine stall due to vapor-lock will NOT hurt your engine.

Yes, putting the foam in your tank takes the same path as the vacuum line but the concentration needed to acheive the same results would be unattainable. I imagine you would have to use a full can in each tank to acheive any type of positive result. Just a guess though.

SFing is harmless. The dealer will do it for you if your uneasy about it...they call it an "induction" or something like that. Not cheap though...

I like the approach you took and I am considering trying that myself very soon, but, I would be concerned with the chance of the hoses being sucked through the intake. Is that possible? Or is my thinking completely off?

 

[dmalis12]

Just seafoamed my 06 limited with 118k and smoked out the neighborhood. worked great and used 3/8 tube for the V8 in the vacuum hoses Snesleywipes posted pics above. Worked great and running smoother than ever. Thanks for the pic.

 

[Snesley Wipes]

Just seafoamed my 06 limited with 118k and smoked out the neighborhood. worked great and used 3/8 tube for the V8 in the vacuum hoses Snesleywipes posted pics above. Worked great and running smoother than ever. Thanks for the pic.

Yep! I actually used the 7/16"x5/16" clear vinyl tubing from Home Depot, same as 3/8"...$3 for like 10 feet. Hitting both vacuum lines at the same time ensures a more even distribution. Glad it worked out for you.

 

[WhiteManFlail]

So I seafoamed my '06 last week. And long story short, I live in St Louis, in a relatively high populated area and smoked out the house two doors down. Word of advice, do it after rush hour and after dusk.

Sorry for the bad picture. I had to high tale it out of the neighborhood ASAP!

 

[swo life]

Seafoamed the 4Runner

So I did the Seafoam treatment today. Definitely makes a difference. I've done Seafoam in the oil and gas before, but never through the vacuum line. For what it's worth, I really think it's not even worth doing if you don't do the vacuum line portion.

My 4Runner is 2006, has 90K miles. I'm doing this just prior to the 90K maintenance. I used 2.5 cans of seafoam since I had some laying around, and if you read the directions on the can you need more than one if you want to treat oil, gas, and vacuum.

First I warmed up the car and then found a new neighborhood under construction so I didn't smoke anyone out. I turned the car off, and pulled off this vacuum hose that was posted earlier in this thread.

The right one is under the engine cover, but is easy to get off without removing the engine cover. When you start the car, the hose will have a noticeable vacuum suction. If you pull the other one, you won't feel any suction.

With the engine at idle, I slowly poured seafoam down the tube. It was slow enough that it was pretty much sucking the seafoam off the lip of the bottle. I used about 1/2 a bottle. There was light smoking from the exhaust during this. The engine also slowed down while adding the seafoam. I just stopped when it did so it didn't stall.

After pouring it in, I cut the engine, poured half a bottle in the oil, and a bottle and a half in the gas. I let it sit about 6-7 minutes.

I fired up the 4Runner, and it sent a plume of smoke, but when I started driving it made a ton of smoke. I couldn't see out the rear view. I also had a misfire on cylinder 6. I drove about .5 mile, shut it off, turned it back on, and everything felt fine. Took about 10 minutes to stop smoking. After 30 minutes of driving I pulled over and cleared the CEL from the misfire.

It might just be a placebo effect, but I felt like it required much less effort for the 4Runner to get on the highway, AND to maintain 80 mph. It felt much more effortless, and passing (85-90mph on I-95) felt responsive and easier.

Anyway, I figured I'd share my experience. This was MUCH easier than I anticipated and great results. Oh, the engine idles lower now too, just around 500 rpm. It was up close to 1000 rpm before. I'm going to run the tank of gas through and then take it in for service.

 

[NJshadow93]

Thinking about doing this tonight. If I do, I would drive it down to a dead end street with no houses to avoid smoking people out. I will do it through the two vaccuum lines [MENTION=46399]Snesley Wipes[/MENTION] showed. Has anyone had problems, such as any CEL or fouling spark plugs or messing up O2 sensors? I will most likely be changing the spark plugs next Sunday so I want to make sure nothing is messed up during the week before that.