I SeaFoamed my Camry today. My experience and some tips inside...

[TRD VVTi]

As stated in the thread title, I SeaFoamed my Camry today. I'll share my experience and some advice for others, if they're interested.

First off, I made sure that the car was completely warmed up by driving to get the SeaFoam. This ensures that the catalytic convertor is hot so that it can more easily burn off all the residue that it will encounter.

I removed the vacuum hose at the VSV for the Evap system that's located on the air intake tube after the MAF sensor. This line goes to the base of the throttle body. Do not add any SeaFoam above the throttle body. With the car running I then inserted the vacuum hose into the can of SeaFoam and SLOWLY let the hose suck up the SeaFoam. After a few seconds the car stalled. I restarted the car and started sucking up the SeaFoam more slowly this time. When the car will barely stay running you're adding it at the perfect rate. The car would idle faster as the SeaFoam was being added allowing you to add it faster. It's hard to balance it perfectly and the car stalled again. I restarted it and added the last little bit. Be sure to remove the vacuum hose from the SeaFoam before restarting the car. If you suck too much into the engine you can cause damage. Never stall the engine on purpose either. If too much cleaner puddles in the intake, damage may result. For this reason I do not recommend using the brake booster hose. It's very large and can allow way too much cleaner to get into the engine at one time.

I reinstalled the VSV vacuum hose and proceeded to drive the car until all the smoke was gone. The harder you drive it the better. You want to get all of the SeaFoam out of the intake, work loose any carbon, and completely clean out the convertor. It took four 0-70 MPH runs for the car to stop smoking.

After getting back home I had to use instant detailer on the back of the car to get rid of all the droplets of soot/carbon/oil/residue that had collected on the rear of the car. I also had to clean the exhaust tip.

I couldn't believe how badly my car smoked with it's low miles and my aggressive driving.

[geoff5093]

Did you happen to take any pictures? I'm having a hard time picturing which vacuum line you used exactly. And did you use the whole can, or just the listed 1/3 of a can?

BTW, did you get a check engine light or anything after doing it?

[TRD VVTi]

Sorry, I didn't take any pictures.

Check the online manual for the VSV vacuum hose location. You can also just follow the vacuum hose from the base of the throttle body.

No, the MIL/Check Engine light did not come on.

I used the entire can.

Just now I finished cleaning the throttle body, cleaned the inside of the airbox, and banged the large debris off of my TRD air filter.

About a week ago I noticed that my battery was leaking slightly and replaced it with an Optima Red Top 34R, 800 CCA, 1,000 CA battery.

Everything else looks great, so I'm ready for winter.

[CharmCityES]

excellent write up as always TRD....i was waiting for someone to do a write up for the gen 5, because i have been wanting to do this for a while....ill prob seafoam, clean my throttle body and intake system this weekend before i do my sunday detail on it....i have 52k and i just changed my oil with some fresh mobil 1 synthetic and a toyota filter last friday....so it looks like ill be seafoaming this week, and doing a radiator flush and fill as well
and ill be set for winter too

[geoff5093]

It is a bit of a pain to remove the intake assembly, so i'll probably hold off a little while until I reach 15K miles, then i'll replace the air filter with a K&N.

[Mike Murrell]

TRD VVTi:

I realize the appraoch you took is the ultimate way to go.

Have you had any experience using Sea Foam in the gas tank vs. the direct feed you used?

Thanks for your time.

[JSM1284]

Using it in the tank will not be affective to clean deposits from the intake manifold.

[TRD VVTi]

Originally Posted by Mike Murrell

TRD VVTi:

I realize the appraoch you took is the ultimate way to go.

Have you had any experience using Sea Foam in the gas tank vs. the direct feed you used?

Thanks for your time.

Adding it as I did really just cleans the intake manifold, valves, and combustion chambers.

Adding it to the fuel tank will help clean the tank, pump, fuel lines, fuel rail, regulator, and fuel injectors. However, it's not the best cleaning process because it gets diluted greatly by the fuel itself.

I've found that using an injector cleaner and/or SeaFoam from time to time does keep the fuel system extremely clean.

Many shops and dealers have a system to disable the fuel pump and run the vehicle off of the concentrated cleaner itself. That's the best way to really clean the fuel system, but isn't needed if cleaners are added fairly regularly.

[lammydi]

TRDVVTi,
Nice write up man.

[geoff5093]

TRD, is this what you were referring to?

[y_one2000]

Originally Posted by TRD VVTi

The harder you drive it the better. You want to get all of the SeaFoam out of the intake, work loose any carbon, and completely clean out the convertor. It took four 0-70 MPH runs for the car to stop smoking.

I got some questions.
1 Can I put the gear in neutral and run it hard to clean out?
2 How often should i do the seafoaming?
3 Any good brand?
Thanks

[CharmCityES]

Originally Posted by y_one2000

I got some questions.
1 Can I put the gear in neutral and run it hard to clean out?
2 How often should i do the seafoaming?
3 Any good brand?
Thanks

1. yes you can...its just easier to drive the car instead of revving it in neutral
2. not quite sure...some people do it more often than others...any input TRD?
3. seafoam is the brand

[TRD VVTi]

Originally Posted by geoff5093

TRD, is this what you were referring to?

I can't really tell if that's the VSV or not.

Does the vacuum line with the filter/check valve (blue and white piece in the line) go to the base of the throttle body?

If so, use that line.

Originally Posted by y_one2000

I got some questions.
1 Can I put the gear in neutral and run it hard to clean out?
2 How often should i do the seafoaming?
3 Any good brand?
Thanks

1) Yes, but it's not nearly as affective. Running the car under load works much better. It creates more intake velocity to clean out the excess SeaFoam in the intake, creates higher exhaust temps, and combustion chamber temps. Driving it under load will also dislodge more carbon.
2) I would do it every 30,000 miles.
3) SeaFoam is it's own brand and has worked for me very well for decades.

You're more than welcome.

[geoff5093]

I found the VSV to the right of the engine, which has two vacuum lines and an electrical connector. Did you remove one of them before starting the car, or after it was running? And did which line did you disconnect, the top or the side one?

[lammydi]

I'm ready to do this SeaFoam. Can anyone with an I4 take a shot of pictures and/or video showing exactly where is the VSV line? I will really really appreciate your kindness.