wicked write-up and thanks to everyone who contributed (I especially enjoyed the little catfight in the middle of the thread) ...

I am going to do this this weekend... I was averaging about 27 mpg on the TL and now that has dropped off... I am going to try this out on my motorcycle first and then do it to the car...

Thanks Gentlemen....

 

Just follow the directions about warming the engine first and hot foot drive after~
Use the Big Vac Nipple at the Throttle Body housing going straight into the intake manifold

2 oz Seafoam per gallon of gas for the bike (or car) will clean those carbs or FI system really well too

 

A few questions, just so i am not missing anything....
The steps to be followed are:
1. Warm the engine
2. Remove the Plastic Engine cover (engine is off)
3. Get a peice of vac tubing connect to vac port and dip other end into Seafoam
4. Turn car back on, allow the vaccuum to suck all SeaFoam in
5. Once all Seafoam is in, turn off car, WAIT 10-15 minutes.... connect original vac back on...
6. Go on spirited drive.

Questions:
1. Confirm above steps?
2. Does one have to drive the vehicle or can i just rev the engine high while stationary?
3. What size tubing did you use as I am going to the hardware store and don't want to play trial and error?

Let me know...

 

Yes
Go for a drive
Just remove the other end of the hose from its source. No need to go buy hose.

 

its ok to remove the engine cover before the warm up drive
Its ok to leave it off afterwards too- wont hurt anything

note: dip and remove the hose/ raise and lower the can up to the hose, so little bits of seafoam go in at a time- too much at once and the engine stalls- just restart and use right hand to push on the throttle cable a little bit, not looking for 2000 rpm, just keeping it running. slurp- slurp- slurp is about right timing of seafoam into engine ~!
it become obvious right away!
Have fun- run it up into vtec 4700+ rpm and cruise at 4000 rpm to superheat and blow out the loosed crud. repeat in 2000 miles, then every 5000 or as desired for best engine performance.
Get ready for the switch back to summer blend gas- seafoam!!!!

 

Don't drive, let it idle for about 10 minutes, and then do the oil change.

 

Chris- much like our former belief that the vac hose to the rear manifold fed all the cylinders, its also ok to drive a bit with the seafoam in the oil.
It may even get more stuff loose and out of the system. Ziners who have done 30 minutes drive (seafoam allows up to 500 miles for deep clean of dirty engines)
the oil drain was much blacker than usuall- thats good- oils 2nd job is to carry away contaminents so why not get all of them loose as possible.
If you had a crud filled engine it would be one thing, but most of us keep the oil changed.
The fact that seafoam is a blend of hi detergent oils allows it to be in there and not have anything freak out.

 

man, cant wait to try out that new line you found
i actually ran outside after reading it to find the nipple, just in case haha

quick question. im planning on cleaning out the egr, changing oil, spark plugs, seafoam obviously, and install my soon to arrive outlaw engineering spacer and TB kit. oh and hopefully do the tranny flush and fill (yes, the 3x method). what the best sequence you guys think? im planning

1) clean EGR
2) install spacer
3) Seafoam
4) change plugs
5) change oil
6) tranny fluid (does it matter when?)

yay or nay?

 

your tranmission is sealed so changing the fluid at the beginning or end makes no difference. You probaly want to change the transmission fluid first if you havent done so in 50,000 miles...

Two tips i want to add are:

1. Use a throttle body cleaner first to clean out the upper regions of your intake manifold and butterfly, this should let the seafoam flow freely down deeper to the areas where the throttle body cannot reach and really focus on cleaning the gunk there.

2. Use a bleeder nipple to dispense the seafoam liquid into the vacuum hose. This will lend for a slow but steady drip of seafoam over the course of a few minutes (8-12 minutes) thus working itself through into the system. Ive applied seafoam several times in jeeps, compact sedans and full sized cars and noticed that the best applications were done using this drip method. pouring it into the engine will cause a stall while cleaning however i doubt the amount of cleaning and extend thereof would be the same.

good luck and let us know of your progress.

 

can't wait to do the new procedure with seafoam right before oil change, i have 2 bottles at home, put one in new vac line and one in oil right before oil change sound good?

 

one in the new vac nipple at the TB
one can in gas tank when low on fuel
1/3 to 1 can in crankcase/engine oil, idle or drive as desired and then change oil/filter

for slavver:
you clean the egr ports as part of the thermoblock install- see diy

run seafoam first to clean out as much as possible before working on it
do thermoblock install- test drive- let cool completly- do not change plugs when hot- installation torque is a cold spec

change plugs and trans fluid
Seafoam again, intake manifold and gas
Done

citydweller has a very good point- use TB cleaner spray into the TB so the plate gets cleaned on the sides - better sealing
Usually done with thermoblock install since everything is taken off the car,
or lift the air filter cover and shoot thru the tube if just doing maitenance.
Better if you remove the tubing to the TB and get right at it with the spray and wipe out the debris.

 

seafoaming the intake manifold has no effect on the oil- you can do them seperate.
Do the seafoam today if you have a can sitting there!
I keep a can or 2 on the shelf for neighbors- or if I decide to run some in the gas.
Yesterday, neighbors truck- CEL, funky codes. Tested battery bad and replaced- no CEL.
truck sits a lot so I found a direct intake port and walaaa! it works on big trucks too!

 

when using the vac port at the TB method on the TL, its easy to do a raise and remove of the can onto the hose, allowing just a little bit of seafoam in at a time, use your right hand to give it just enough throttle to keep running. The slower the application the better, and you will see smoke out the exhaust at 1/3 to 1/2 a can in- thats good, keep adding more if you can... without someone calling in a fire......then put whatever is left in the gas.
Wait 5-15 minutes- you want all the goo hot, and go for the 4000 rpm 3rd gear drive. If you dont have a place to do a bunch of hot runs 20-60 mph, then just cruise at 4k for 15 minutes.

 

ehh, so alot of drama with my little project
first of all, ran the seafoam, did half can in the gas tank (prbly had less then 3 gallons in at the time), half can in crankcase for oil and full can into the new line. did it myself, using the butterfly to rev it up. i actually had no smoke at all coming from my exhaust tho. anyway, let the car sit a few minutes while i grabbed a beer before the drive.. (Just kidding ) and then took off. lol smoked up my quarter mile dead end street nicely

anyway, spacer install. took off manifold cleaned out my egr and all, it was disgusting, clogged up yada yada, switched the bolts with the kit ones, put on the TB, and then end up realizing the sent me the wrong spacer. the EGR port on the spacer was like half inch off. so had to put it all back together again, minus the manifold spacer. did change my plugs tho but ya, called up Outlaw Engineering next day, left a message, got a call back from a really nice lady, who ended up apologizing sincerely and priority shipped the proper spacer to me. so ill have it by saturday. man, i thought i was a retard, couldnt get the spacer to fit right


oh, and a question. when i took off the stock airbox, the piece that connects between the TB and the actual filterbox, well there was this weird smelling liquid in the box thing underneath it. i dumped it out, but is it anything bad? it smelled funky, dont even know how to describe it. oh, and also, can i spray the TB cleaner into the tubes going into the lower manifold? they were dirty too. and that EGR port.

 

Lol, seafoamed the TLS yesterday and I looked over to see our sad junky old push lawnmower that's been passed down thru the family line for a generation. Sooo I thought, what the heck ... fired it up after a few tries and did the direct pour into the carb...

Funny to see it coughing and spewing smoke, but definitely starts much easier. It seems like it runs a little more reliably also, however that could just be my mind playing tricks. Just funny to see is all. Good stuff.

-Chris

 

says right on the can - good for lawnmowers~ use it in the gas- 2 oz to 1 gallon, or a splash into the mower tank- she will run like the TL when done!
and cut mowing time by 18 seconds!
may add .2 HP!!!
(not all claims verified)

 

lol ^

I just took a closer look at the new Vac line that is posted in the recent pics up there... was that a 1st Gen TL or maybe a TL-P? My '03 Type-S vac line comes out in a different manner and connects from the large diameter rubber tube to thinner diameter metal tubing (which then runs to the back of the eng compartment).

With the '03 TLS, you can simply unhook the short rubber tube from the thin metal pipe and use the stock line, it's perfect length and all... No need for an extra tube as described.

Good news for many of us.

-Chris

 

yes the newer pic is an 01TL-P
The intent was to show a port at the TB, not the old method using the hose that went to the rear of the intake manifold and only fed 3 cylinders.
New place has 20+ inches of vac at idle- thats suction~

 

My dads northstar sucked the sides of the can in

 

I Seafoamed the TL a couple days ago and it definately made the idle smoother and it also seems to accelerate smoother. Mine didn't smoke a whole lot though and I used the entire can. No CEL during or afterwards either. I have to do my Dad's 89 Mazda pickup next.

 

So I tried to seafoam my car today, and even went to autozone and bought a foot long hose along with a couple cans of seafoam.

I took the engone cover off, and I couldn't find the spot to plug in my hose, I have a 02 TL-S so I'm guessing that the picture in post #147 is a older TL???

Anybody know where I could find this new vac line on a 02 TL-S?

 

I used the vac line that goes into the master brake cylinder. It looks the one from the TL just a little different, you can see the rubber hose connect to metal piper and then back to the rubber hose. It goes over the TB.

 

Ok....I have no idea what you just said

I'm not that smart when it comes to getting technical with cars, so it would really help me out ALOT if somebody could post up a picture

 

can somebody please point me in the right direction as to where I could find this new vac line on my 02 TL-S, a picture would be really helpful

 

No,

 

The pic in #147 is an 01
Yours should have a similar pipe/line in that area, If you cant fint that, you can look at the brake master cylinder on the driver side of the car. Behind it is a large round thing with a black hose going to it, and a clamp holding the hose on.
That is the brake booster- the hose goes direct into a place that works for getting seafoam in. Just pour it in a little bit at a time, it will try to suck it out with great force,
Now use your thumb on the gold thing with 2 cables- thats the throttle- and pushing down on the cables will rev the engine slightly so the engine doesnt stall.
It may stall a few times in the process- thats ok, just restart and continue- going less seafoam and more time between adding- if it takes 5-10 minutes to slowly get it all in, thats great...there will be smoke from the tailpipes by then- thats ok- now stop engine reconnect hose and clamp- wait another 5-10 minutes and restart- let it smooth out before trying to rev or drive- drive gently low rpm a few blocks until smooth and then go for a hot foot drive

 

my main concern is to get the seafoam to all the cylinders like the nearly discovered vac line does.

so if I use the brake booster, will that have the same effect as the new vac line?

 

It is the same vac line. You'll hit all the cylinders with it no prob.

 

yes- thats why 2 of us said to do it if you have no direct port at the TB
If you want to test a vac line- if it pulls your finger tight onto it- thats a direct input to everything
The other old way used the wrong hose and got minimal vac suction

 

Alright, so I just took a look under the hood to find this brake booster line you guys are talking about, and wasn't able to find it. Please bare with me as I'm not mechanically inclined as many of you guys are.

Is this thing reachable without having to take other things off the car?

The good news however is that I took off my engine cover and found the gold thing which controls the throttle, so now all I gotta do is find this damm brake booster...

any chance somebody could take a picture for me please?

 

for the guys asking questions along the lines of "should i do this?" dude, the next saturday or sunday you have off, go to ur auto store, buy a few cans, run it through the cylinders and the gas tank and smoke up the whole street, for real. i was so impressed at how quiet and smooth my car was after i used it i immedietly ran it through my mom's G35 with 95000 on it.... just figure out HOW to do it, and take 15 minute out of your day to do this, it really works great if you do it right!

 

If you cant figure out from my description where the brake booster line is- close the hood and back slowwwwwly away from the car
Then ask the parts store guy for help or a local ziner to show you around the engine

 

^ exactly, when i did my mom's G35 i went to the infinity dealership and got one of the maintenance guys to show me where the main vac line is... easy as that.

 

it works on things besides acura? I had no idea!!
but the lawn mower is a power machine now~

 

My car has only 55k miles on it, and I am debating should I do it, or just wait till I hit 70k? BTW, my car is running fine, and there are no problems with it, and engine is quiet too. So please advice me. lol

Thanks

 

engine noise is not the issue
Carbon and other combustion byproducts build up on the piston top and valve edges and shaft and seals- not good for sparking the gas
The fuel injectors get dirty and go from a fine mist spray to a splattered effect- not good for mixing and combusting fuel
Those ads from Shell are real- the dirty valves at 5000 miles on cheap gas vs the good Tier1 gas the TL requires.
The dealer now says every 15k miles to clean the fuel injection system for 100 dollars.
do it better for way less yourself!!!!
You can do it every 5k miles if you want- especially before long trips, or if you do a lot of commuting in heavy traffic and little hi speed runs.

 

If you buy 1 can for 5 to 7 dollars- it comes with a money back guarantee- do it correctly and you wont be returning to the store for anything but more seafoam- its addictive!!
then you fix the friends car, and your neighbors will thank you for their increased mileage etc.

 

Do I really have to change my spark plugs after i use seafoam?

 

I didn't replace mine, but I'm looking into a new set at Schuck's/Checkers/Whoknowswhatnamethey'llinventnext.

-Chris

 

i have an 04tl and i guess its a little different from the 2ng when it comes to all the tubing. i used the hose indicated by the red arrow to pull the seafoam into the engine. is this the right spot? i put the hose in the can and started the car and it pulled every last drop of seafoam into the engine in less then 15 seconds.




just waiting the 15 min before i go for a hot drive..