A-107: DIY-Seafoam on 3rd gen TL ('06 5AT specifically)
 

Allright, the prep work is easy as hell.

Get your stuff:
Seafoam(16oz bottle is enough for what I did)

1foot hose(I got for free at Murray's. The inside Diameter should be 1/4 inch)

Something to open the clamps with, I use vise grips since I can't find the pliers.
In the video, I also got everything started last night and decided to do it today.

First video is where I prep'd... not much to do.

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/n...ingseafoam.jpg

The second video is of me pouring seafoam into the gas tank. I poured the beer into a cup and cleaned it thoroughly. Then, I just filled it up with Seafoam.

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/n...mtoGastank.jpg

The third video is of me doing the 'sip,sip, slurp,slurp" method.



I let it sit for 15 minutes.

After the wait, I let it idle for 3-5 minutes until idle felt smooth. Then, I drove smoothly around until the engine felt good, well it felt good to begin with...
After I drove around for roughly 10 minutes, I hit 4000 RPM in 3rd gear. I have not seen any smoke throughout the whole procedure. After about 10 minutes of 4k runs, I found a long strip that I did several 10-50 runs.

Anyways, my engine might already be clean since I keep the car as clean and new as possible.

Good luck to any of you who give this a try. It is a fairly easy DIY.


I couldn't upload the 3rd video because it was over 5 minutes and over 100mb. Anybody know how I can cut and save it so they are separate videos?

If you can, please PM me and we can work something out. Maybe I can send you the video.

I will post the 3rd video on youtube and leave link here.

** Couple of tips
After the wait, I let it idle for 3-5 minutes until idle felt smooth. Then, I drove smoothly around until the engine felt good, well it felt good to begin with...
**You can usually just wait a minute and then start driving slowly 2nd gear- you want to make heat in the engine and exhaust right away and keep it there- once smoothed enough to run decent- hit the freeway

After I drove around for roughly 10 minutes, I hit 4000 RPM in 3rd gear. I have not seen any smoke throughout the whole procedure.
** Drive at 4000 rpm for about 10 minutes then do the multi low to mid speed full throttle runs NOT to exceed 5500 rpm
Driving casually for 10 minutes is not the same as doing it right~
Smoke is most evident on start up and is not the true tell all of engine cleaning
Unless you had a friend follow you to report the smoke o WOT runs- you cant tell.
Its like when someone with a dirty engine gets on the gas and belches smoke at you- higher pressures of accelleration will blow more out

Oh, well I did not see any smoke. I drove around at 4000rpm for a while... probably 15-20 minutes. and then I tried some 10-50 runs.

Back to the smoke, I didn't see any at start up, during the seafoam *sip*sip* or while I was driving. Could it be that my engine is already clean? =\

Also, the car only has 16000 miles

Oh, and I couldn't upload video to youtube either...

I don'tknow whats wrong...

But the 3rd video is just the sip sip process. Everytime I felt the engine is going to stall, I let it rest a few seconds.

I let it slurp some out, give it air, slurp, give it air , slurp....

and 01tl4tl, is it okay for me to leave the tank as is? I drove it down to 1/8 of the tank, but I don't have time to drive aroundall night. I'll drive it to school tomorrow, and it should be downto E... then fill 1-2 gallons and finish off the foam.

I didnt mean you have to drive it all off in 1 sitting- just use it full strength as possible
and refill a few gallons to keep the doseage strong-
if thats not feasable for you- just refill it and drive and dont worry- anything is better than nothing

Thanks, I just hope everything is well since no smoke came out =P. Maybe I just didn't see smoke through my tints =\ haha....
oh well, it felt really strong. I was cruising around in 3rd gear at 4k rpm, and that thing takes off the second I step on the gas. Feels G R E A T
idle feels smooth... can't tell the difference if there was one...
start-up impressed me.. didn't think seafoam could do that, but it does. It starts up right away with great response. Thanks again Seafoam!!

Good Job-
I forgot you had low miles- but at 15k, its on ~schedule~ for keeping everything clean and at peak performance and minimum emissions
Yeah 5% tints in back will make anything hard to see~

What's the sip sip slurp slurp method?

Also curious is that STP Fuel injector cleaner necessary if I use seafoam? Is FI cleaner good at all, I don't see it retailing at some gas stations anymore, lol.

sip sip- means you allow very small amounts of seafoam to be sucked in the vac line at a time- then let engine stabilize and sip sip some more
That allows the cleaners to do their thing and stay in the engine longer.
You can suck a can thru in seconds, but its throwing money away
FI Cleaners help a bit- you need to use at max strength for any real effect.
If it says treats 8 to 25 gallons- how strong is it at 25 gal dilution- not very is my guess!
Seafoam and some other products are proven to do an excellent job
FI cleaner is a different substance altogether than seafoam.
Foam is what is used in the fancy 100 dollar cleaning machine at dealer or speedlube shops. The differance is we do a way better job ourself!

Be-in my TL: Thanks for the video! waiting for the 3rd part :)
let me know if you need some tutorial how to split it.

Ok so let me do a quick run through to make sure I've got the procedure narrowed down:

Pop open the vaccum line,
put a tube so I can put seafoam in it,
then put some seafoam in the gas tank (only a quarter full)
then put seafoam through the vaccum line (turn the car on right before I do this?)

Thanx for the tip Be-in my TL! I decided to "Seafoam" today. I got a 1/4 " vinyl tube that cost me 20 cents a foot at Lowe's. It worked and you can see how the fluid gets sucked through the clear tube. I posted a video of it on Youtube. I had to use one hand to hold the camera- otherwise I would have used one hand to hold the cup of Seafoam. I used an entire cup of Seafoam but the video only shows the last few ounces being taken.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ1wpO6Oj8E

clear tubing- there's the answer to how much is going in- and keeps glass bottles away from the car.
Thats why I use clear tube on brake bleeding- to see whats happening-
who woulda thunkdeded to use it on this project!

Thanks,jchcmax! ....excellent video!

Lamo, thunkdeded.

I got my tube for free, so I didn't have to worry about clear tubes. haha

Anyways, you want to start the engine and have it running while you're doing this. I felt my engine want to stall many times, but my lady kept the car alive, throughout the whole process. She did a great job keeping the engine alittle above idle(1000-1200 rpm).

You might need a 2nd person to help you with that, unless you have a 4-foot-line that can run to the driver seat. =\ Iwouldn't recogmend, though.

the only downside of the fly by wire throttle- no manual cable control to use when adding seafoam
If you dont have a helper--- put seafoam in really slow- just 1 sip at a time, if it takes 10 minutes thats good- 30 minutes would be better but not practical- it gets HOT in there

Make sure the engine is warm before doing the foam- warm helps dissolve the gunk and transform it to goo that can be heated more and blown out on the after foam drive
I even use the after drive as a chance to bed brakes in if they need a little session

4 foot line- thats a heck of an ideeeeer there beinmy!
whyzit wazisit not mine is badaffinlin to me
I am supposed to know ALL

or as my shirt says
You can agree with me
Or
You can be WRONG

Great DIY yall! yo 01tl4tl I'm gonna do the seafoam this weekend. I got Brian helpin me out. I just ordered my intake, it should be here this weekend and still thinkin about swapping my pulstar plugs for the NGK's. Well I'm gonna check the gaping on the spark plugs first to see if its correct then i'll make a decision......

PK pull 1 or 2 front plugs and you will know whats happening- doubt its a gap issue

I can't even tell if you're being sarcastic or not any more. But the more I think about it, the more it sounds like a good idea to anyone who cannot find a helper.

You can insert seafoam and keep the engine alive at the same time.. wouldn't hurt for a longer hose.. the vac is still sucking haha.

Here's the end result of seafoaming after you let it sit for 10-15 mins and drive the car...for me it was 52,000 miles of crud smoked out. I am happy to report I now get 18 mpg instead of the 16 I was getting before. Still not great but better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJH01j6MXec

Repeat the seafoam procedure to the gas and intake manifold in 2000 miles for 1st timers
Then your good for a year

Not sure what you mean T......! What am i looking for from pulling 1 or 2 plugs?

Man i hate to see what mine will look like cause i'm gonna have 105k miles of crud built up! might not want to be on a busy street when doin it! might create a smoke screen and cause accidents!

this DYI is very confusing

How so? Ask questions, I'll answer.
Either me or 01tl4tl will answer.. lmao the procedure is very easy.

Do exactly what I do in my videos, and the 3rd one just imagine or watch the ther guy on youtube.

Anyways, I just want to post this after I filled up this morning.

Attachment 55583

I usually get 23-24 MAX and today, I hit traffic and still managed 26!!
GO SEAFOAM

and you are only what 4-5 days so far since foamin? It gets better, as what was in the tank when you filled up, diluted but working on the long term, like a nice 100 mile drive...
as the gas goes thru the system it cleans anything it can find.

Did I mention to repeat the intake manifold and gas tank methods again in 2,000 miles
for 1st timers. That makes sure its good and clean..then once a year or more often if you want.
Every 5000 miles, something in the gas is a good idea.

2mpg increase divided by 15 dollars worth of seafoam and 5 dollars of playing around gas=
ummm, it pays for itself pretty quick!

Next up is the engine oil/crankcase method. The importance of clean oil passages on an engine that uses oil pressure changes to activate the vtec system cannot be overstated
Engines are combustion byproduct crud factories- do everything you can to clean yours regularly.

I changed my oil at 15500, it's only at 16200 or so. I'll wait another 2300 miles, but thanks for that. Oh dont wannaread through 40 pages again, what exactly do I do there?

Put into engine oil directly?

Dang 01tl4tl, I think I'm becoming like you haha.

Ever since I used Seafoam I've been on this site so much, and the lady HATES IT!!!

how low would my gas tank need to be in order to pour seafoam in?

1/4 gotta read brotha.

can't post 3rd video, if anyone would like to post it, PM me, i'll send you the video via email.

hey guys, is there any negative effect on the emissions system/cat when this is blown out? thanks!

not as long as you follow the directions here and preheat the engine and exhaust-
do seafoam, then a 4000 rpm drive for 10 minutes foloowed by several full throttle 10mph to 50 mph runs to 5500, not to redline!!!
Thats blows everything out of the system
Those who dont follow directions MAY get a CEL light- it will self clear in a few days- you got stuff on the O2 sensor
next time follow the directions carefully

can't wait to seafoam my car! going to wait for my next oil change so i can put some seafoam into the crankcase as well. I cleaned out my local kragen's of all their seafoam haha. Had a 25% off customer appreciation coupon found here: http://dealspl.us/25-off-Printed-cou...-CHECKER_44442

You can input false info, just make up the order number name etc etc, but make sure to input the correct email as the print out coupon will be emailed to you. It can be used repeatedly, just make duplicates of it; or you can also just enter a diffrent email address.
Seafoam 16oz cans came out to $5.xx after coupon!

Do the intake and gas tank methods this weekend- enjoy better running Monday
then the crankcase when ready for an oil change.

Crankcase meaning where you fill the engine from??

crankcase- that area holds the crankshaft which all the other parts run off of!

The cap that says 5w20 or 5w30 engine oil- THATS where you add engine oil, or seafoam in this case.

when u say to go to 4000rpm, is that on a mannual? my 5at does not go over 2000rpm for regular driving...... max i hit is 2500