seafoam treatment?

[NWMO 95 Prizm Lsi]

Hello again,

Assuming a car is running well, but high mileage (190,000 miles) with questionable maintenance, is the Seafoam treatment on the intake a good treatment. I'm getting ready to change my oil anyway and am trying to get the car straightend out maintenance wise. I've cleaned/replaced the antifreeze, it had new plug wires and NGK plugs and I still need to change the power steering fluid. It looks like muddy water, about like the antifreeze I took out.

95 Prizm Lsi with 1.8L engine, idles down to 750 rpm or so. Manual tranny was replaced right before I got it, so gear oil should be good, but I will check it as well. No CELs.

I already ran a Toyota EFI cleaner with the gas, but do most folks do the 1/2 can Seafoam pulled into intake through one of the vacuum hoses and the other 1/2 added to the gas tank? Also, distilled water before the Seafoam?

OR, am I asking for trouble stirring stuff up and knocking carbon loose?

TIA

Chris

PS - I think I tracked my "gemlin" down, but want to drive the 30+ miles into work before saying so.

[zppeacock]

I use seafoam in all my cars in my sig with no problems.

[good_old_geo]

I would just go ahead and clean the intake the hard way. I recently cleaned mine and no amount of seafoam would have removed all of the gunk. There is an excellent DIY posted on these forums that I followed. Its really easy just remove the intake hose then the throttle body then remove the top half of the intake manifold (2 allen wrench bolts and 2 12 mm bolts). You can even reuse the metal gaskets.

heres a few pics. Im thinking of writing a few DIY articles myself since Ive fixed my car several times already.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/members/27064-good_old_geo-albums-diy-intake-manifold-cleaning.html

[96coroll]

Originally Posted by good_old_geo

I would just go ahead and clean the intake the hard way. I recently cleaned mine and no amount of seafoam would have removed all of the gunk. There is an excellent DIY posted on these forums that I followed. Its really easy just remove the intake hose then the throttle body then remove the top half of the intake manifold (2 allen wrench bolts and 2 12 mm bolts). You can even reuse the metal gaskets.

Ya would always be good if you could share your experience. I'm going to try and find the DIY thread that you followed. Do you think you could post in here the link?? Cause i'm interested in doing this job as well.

[cipher93]

I used it and have noticed a notable increase in MPGs. however my motor is 18 years old with 170,000 on it, and I used it more to clean out the cylinder head surface, pistons, and valves. I do not expect it to clean the manifold and that is something best left to doing it by hand. I did about a 1/4 can in the oil just prior to change, 1/3rd can through the brake booster line, 1/3rd in the fuel tank. Smoked out the neighborhood after letting it sit for five minutes, then drove it hard for about 10 minutes/miles, then changed the oil so as not to leave that stuff in the oil for too long.

My MPGs have jumped from around 24-26 to 28-30+, it idles smoother than it ever has, and it runs like factory new requiring less effort to get going and get up hills. However, as I mentioned my engine was old and likely neglected in the past. I suspect it will make less in difference in a newer, lower mileage engine that has been well taken care of. The key is to just be careful and feed it in very gently; too much at once and it's akin to hydro locking the engine... not good.

If you just want to try a fuel system cleaner again, I highly recommend Lucas.

[NWMO 95 Prizm Lsi]

Thanks CJ,

My car sounds very similar to yours, though I am getting about 32 mpg average in the first 3,000 miles I have driven it. I will likely remove the intake and clean it out and then pull in some seafoam and run some through the tank right before changing my oil. I'm going to pass on adding it to the oil.

That said, I will wait until I have a convenient time to mess with it, a little to busy right now and still trying to figure out a miss.

Chris