ou sig

I know there are countless threads about this but I am bored at work! I wanted to encourage any of you that are experiencing some rough idle and/or sub par fuel mileage to get this done. Spend the $20 on a can of Seafoam and 2 cans of carb cleaner and about 2 hours of your time. You will not be disappointed. It has been about 40k miles since I did this last time and I noticed my idle was a little rough at times so I figured the EGR port was probably getting clogged up, sure enough it was over 50% clogged at least.

After taking the IM and TB off and cleaning them up real good - along with the EGR port I put them back on and ran about 1/2 can of Seafoam through the TB vacuum line. Thanks to the most recent DIY Seafoam posts I used this different line vs. using the vac line on the back of the IM that only fed 3 of the cylinders. Let it sit for about 10 minutes then went to smoke up the streets!

It did not smoke for near as long as it did the 1st time I did this, only for probably 2 or 3 blocks worth of VTEC. Then just a little bit after that. Oh ya I also cleaned my K&N filter.

I have 154,000 miles and the car idles like new, very smooth with 0 RPM fluctuations. I really think this is a very important maintenance step these engines need more than other engines. The only real important thing is to remember to only torque the IM and TB bolts down to around 17ft lbs; and be sure to put all the hoses back on securely.

jjashaa

iTrader: (23)

good to hear
probably do this again when i paint my stuff..

01tl4tl

iirc torque is 16 foot pounds

Try a full can of seafoam thru the Main vac port at the TB
Follow seafoam diy warm up and after drive instructions for best results
Use a can in 1/2 tank of gas now

Make sure to clean the throttle butterfly plate inside the TB - both sides and edges- use a toothbrush and rags if really bad

1 egr port? must be a 99, later years have 6, and there is a really good Acura method to clean the intake runners and egr ports so everything is like new

It seems that every 75k miles is good to pull the intake and clean it

ou sig

I did warm it up like necessary but I probably could have used the whole can like you said. And I cleaned the TB also, but it was not very bad. Just a very thin black coating that came off very quick. When cleaning the IM I just kept on spraying the carb cleaner in all of the runners and running water through it until no more carbon came out. It did take nearly 2 full cans.
Yes it is a '99TL, should have mentioned that before. Wonder if the EGR design/flow is just bad or what reason would cause it to clog up so quick? I would say with my car the fact that there is only 1 very small port could be the reason...

01tl4tl

even with 6 ports- the later years have the same problem
Stupid smog equipment

01tl4tl

repeat the seafoam in gas and vac in a month - will finish off the cleaning and then good for a year /15k miles

slavver01

iTrader: (3)

lol thats random i did my egr port cleaning this afternoon too. idles much better now of course. didnt run the seafoam thru tho, i just did the deep creep+crankcase+gas tank seafoam when i changed my oil last month.

Rajca

iTrader: (8)

i was changing my fuel injectors and decided to clean the whole intake manifold and the egr ports. i but about 10-15k since i last cleaned it and did the seafoam, it had a bit of residue in the egr port. but not much.

02type-s

I need to do this

mklaudt

thank you for convincing me to get off my lazy butt and get this done - did the EGR last year but have had the can of seafoam just collecting dust in my garage. Yes - tons of posts about this, but how can you not write about doing something this gratifying?? Unfortunately it was windy as all heck tonight and I was apparently doing this downwind. Hey - maybe inhaling all that burnt seafoam will clean out my lungs. Or maybe I'll just be blowing white smoke out my butt all day tomorrow. We'll see. Thanks again.

SupaRookie

seafoam is great. the white smoke is still scary though

01tl4tl

the smoke is simply the oils in seafoam reacting to heat in the cat
No smoke- not enough heat!

Try pointing the nose of the car into the wind to avoid fumes

01tl4tl

DeepCreep works really well to soften and remove a lot of that crud in the intake, give it a spray- maybe some toothbrush and follow with carb cleaner to rinse it out

deepconcentratn

I have used Seafoam on my 1990 Integra and I am very tempted to try it on my 2000 TL. Tell me, where do I feed the Seafoam? Where exactly? I am going to buy some today and Seafoam my brothers car as well.


How difficult is it to pull off the intake manifold? Are there any special adjusments when putting the Throttle body back on?

ou sig

you can look at the DIY section for specific instructions. if you look at your throttle body you will see a vac line on the top front. that line goes over your air intake tube. follow that to where it connects on the sensor. I took it off there and pulled the tube over. when the engine is running it sucks very hard through this tube so you have to be carefull and barely touch it to the seafoam.
some say not to use the stock vac line and to get a spare piece to connect to the same spot on the TB.

very easy to take off the IM - 9 bolts and a few hoses/lines that you can easily see from looking at it. just be sure to torque the bolts down to around 16 or 17 ft lbs

no adjustments needed for the cables, they use 2 bolts to hold them in place now. just loosen 1 of them to take them off their bracket. then when you put it back on you only have to tighten that one bolt and it will be exactly in the same place

ou sig

random thought - my wife drives my mom's old car - 2001 Avalon. currently has 118k miles and the engine runs as smooth as new, same said for the transmission. I know the only work done on the engine is a spark plug/timing belt replacement and the transmission fluid has been drained/filled 1 time. Now I would never want to drive this car over my car, but what is Honda's deal?

01tl4tl

ou sig
I cant figure out what you used to put the seafoam in--sensor?
the one on the driver fenderwell? thats been found to be wrong

The Correct vac port is right at the TB housing- a small finger size hose with a clamp you can squeeze with your fingers to open
Its the ONLY hose and clamp like that to be found~ Look for the CLAMP
Remove the plastic top engine cover for access

That nipple feeds direct into the manifold at 20inches vac so there is no doubt its getting all 6 cylinders
the smaller hose that feeds off the rear of the manifold is the WRONG hose- it only gets 3 cyls- bad news- the old way-

see the first and last pages of seafoam diy
You WILL need a clear tube to fit the vac nipple or use clear bottle so you can see whats happening- makes tornadoes inside bottle!)
or buy seafoam in spray can version as DEEP CREEP, not all stores carry it- autozone and its offshoots do have it- easy to use and cleans the TB inner round plate

See Thermoblock Spacer in DIY section for how to remove intake manifold, should be a supplemental detailed EGR cleaning diy there too with the special acura method of upside down flush then right side up and flush intake runners and egr ports

ou sig

sorry "sensor" was probably the wrong word. if you follow the vac line you are talking about from the TB to where it is connected to, I took it off there and kept it on the TB. so I am using the same hose/nipple you are talking about. I just used the stock hose and did not bother with a different one. but yes I highly suggest pouring the Seafoam in a plastic cup so you can regulate it much better.

long story short I think this is a 3 out of 10 on the difficulty (if that). take your time at 1st but there is no special tool or skill needed.

Comet2404

The one thing I don't get is the 16-17 pounds of tightening. How do you know you've tightened them enough (or too much)? Is there such a thing as tightening them too much? I don't have any special tools - just a regular old socket wrench.

ou sig

honestly I would go buy a 3/8 inch drive torque wrench or rent one from Autozone. this is the only way to be sure. if you go to tight you will strip out the threads and that will not be good.

some people with a lot of experience trust their "feel" but I would not recommend (17 ft/lbs is not very tight - for example 80 ft/lbs is used to put your tires on)

mklaudt

I got a torque wrench from Autozone for about 25 bucks - nothing fancy - has a needle that points to the amt of torque you're applying. They make much more expensive ones that will stop torquing when you've hit a "pre-dialed" torque. I don't use it enough to justify the cost of that one. This one gets me in the ballpark. Yes, you can tighten things too much - without getting into the physics, bolts can only handle so much load, based on their size and material. Too much torque, the bolt (or plug or whatever) will break. Obviously more of an issue when you're talking about caliper bolts for instance than perhaps intake cover, but still...

I thought I did. Wind changes.....

01tl4tl

actually the caliper bolts are often put on way past their spec with an air gun
but their size protects them better-
I have seen the threads of the caliper mounting bracket ripped out of the bracket! and stuck on the caliper bolt when removed!

The very small intake manifold bolts will break if too tight- happened to a member recently- thats a bummer requiring removal of manifold and broken stud

01tl4tl

trust a loaner torque wrench- I dont think so!!
harbor freight tools has the 3/8 drive on sale for 15$ all the time or sears or your choice place for 25

Note: Leave your torque wrench set at 10 foot pounds when stored to maintain a slight tension on the spring --holds its calibration better

Thats why I say no loaner tool- no one else has taken care of it- probably left it cranked up to 80 which will throw your reading off - 16 wont be 16 anymore...
A leaking intake manifold will prevent the car from running properly- sucking in massive air-vac leak

01tl4tl

One way to check how tight something should be-
try tightening it with a normal box end wrench before removal...
observe, how much muscle force does it take to make it tighter- just a little tighter!
Now when you put it back together- your muscles will recall the amount of force needed to set the stop point

Rajca

iTrader: (8)

can u reuse the oem gasket. or is it better to get a new one?

ou sig

original is fine as long as you do not nick or bend it - if you are not in a hurry I would order a new one first just in case. take your time and this is very easy

Rajca

iTrader: (8)

i know its easy. i was just wondering.

ou sig

oh I was just giving you good luck confidence - most important have fun working on your car. you will always have more pride and save money doing it yourself! let us know how it goes.

Rajca

iTrader: (8)

thx. ive been hitting bump after bump doing this project. if only i had a 6spd, way easier to work around and know what im doing.

mklaudt

True- what I meant was I'd rather have an intake cover bolt break while driving than a bolt holding on my brakes.

Any easy way to check calibration of the torque wrench? I've always wondered if I'm going to go through trouble of using that thing, how do I know if I'm getting an accurate reading??

01tl4tl

Mine has to go to the snap-on dealer

If you have the torque spec for a few places on the car that have not been touched- check the existing indicated torque on them compared to spec

The intake bolt will break while tightening,
while the brake bolt may break during heavy braking
repeat 3 times fast

grip

i might do all this crap this weekend....i need to get as many mpg out of my daily driver as possible.

right now im getting about 230miles to a full tank, when i bought the car i was getting close to 300 miles to a tank.

Rajca

iTrader: (8)

wtf. im getting around 320 on my tlp. about 85% highway use though. i learned how to be easy on the throttle. shifts about about 2k or so. and i cruise at about 65 so its at about 1700-1800rpm.

Rajca

iTrader: (8)

for the newbies. this is how u use a torque wrench. quick and to the point. only thing is, u can u and extension but your torque will not be correct. their is math involved in order to get the right torque

click on the youtube link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOJqUpZSlLw

grip

i dont do any highway driving, all stop and go, about 35 miles a day mon-fri, and then misc here and there miles on weekend's.

i still need to install my AEM cai...hopefully that combined with new plugs, an oil change, egr port cleaning, new pcv valve, and maybe a sea foam will help me get some good gas mileage out of my beater.

mklaudt

230 per tank still sux - even stop and go. I'm sure you'll get some improvement with all that stuff, though. Since you're doing the EGR and taking out the plugs, may as well check your valves - if they're out of spec, that'll really mess with your mpgs.

Rajca

iTrader: (8)

230 for stop and go traffic is not that bad, it can be a bit higher but still pretty good, imo