Just a warning for anyone with a 96-97 4a-fe. Do not treat your engine with seafoam through the brake booster. The brake booster leads to cylinder #1 and only cylinder #1. So that half bottle of sea foam you're pouring down there isn't being split 4 ways into all the cylinders your just drowning cylinder #1 and depending on how much and how fast your pouring the sea foam serious damage could result.
If you'd like to treat your engine spray your cleaner down into the throttle body. This is the best way to be sure you are cleaning all four cylinders/intakes.
I know that this is the case because the 4a-fe intake manifold on this year comes apart for cleaning. And I saw where the brake booster leads to with my own eyes.
I will never again suggest to anyone to use the brake booster for treatment on ANY engine and YOU should also not ever tell anyone to do the same unless you are 100% of where the brake booster leads to.
Happy driving
Andrew
Last edited by JesusJones; 09-02-2011 at 11:01 PM.
Agreed, sea foam was orginally intended for boats for removing the varnish that builds up after sitting around without use. And sea foam does that job well. But in the automotive world there are more effective products available for injector, throttle body, intake manifold cleaning that I would spend my money on.
Sea foam Is not something I buy anymore Period. It's overpriced isopropyl alchohol mixed with naptha and a splash of oil.
But I know some people will still use it. And if they do I would rather they get a big smoke show and drive away with a smile, rather than hydrolock a cylinder and snap a connecting rod.
(also of coarse all the horror stories of red glowing cats, dead o2 sensors and valve ticking...etc.. after use but those are arguable)
Last edited by JesusJones; 09-03-2011 at 12:48 AM.
I did it on my 7AFE couple years ago through the booster hose. I don't know if it's different between the 4A and 7A or not.
7a motors could be different. I don't know. I have never seen one opened up with my own eyes. And that is why I say, "Unless you are 100% sure of where the brake booster goes, spray it down the throttle body"
And yes, I did it on my motor as well. Probably 2 or 3 times without any ill effects.(But I was aware of hydrolocking and made sure never to pour too much at once) But I also did not notice any positive effects. The only thing I saw was smoke and many people claim that smoke is the carbon burning off. So naturally I thought it was working. I no longer believe that claim, Sea foam smokes when burned because it contains a small amount of oil to begin with. (I also had no idea it was all going down cylinder #1!)
Honestly IMO some people are too lazy/inexperienced to know to remove the air intake to access the throttle body and instead just pop off the brake booster and pour it down there hoping for the best + a quick fix.
I warn everyone not to do this! Unless you are 100% sure of where the brake booster goes. The throttle body will always lead to all the cylinders. The brake booster may dump everything down one cylinder!!!
I'm not trying to offend anyone or anything like that. But lots of people on you tube and many forums blindly say to pour this stuff down your brake booster and from what I've seen in my engine this kind of advice could lead to a broken engine. So I felt I should warn the world. Starting with my Corolla owning friends
SPRAY IT DOWN THE THROTTLE BODY. UNLESS YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THE BRAKE BOOSTER HOSE ENDS UP
Last edited by JesusJones; 09-03-2011 at 01:43 AM.
But in the automotive world there are more effective products available for injector, throttle body, intake manifold cleaning that I would spend my money on.
Care to elaborate on that?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TURBO Das Automagazin
A BRZ, a curvy mountain road makes one liter of happiness hormones.
I de-carbed my aunties old Capri Turbo with a steady water drip into the manifold. Took out a plug and checked the piston top afterward, was bare metal clean nearly.
Injectors/valves- Red line s1 fuel system cleaner. This is one of the last products that contain PEA a very powerful cleaner. This combined with some high octane top tier gasoline and some WOT driving is your best bet.
Warning: Ideally you would clean your intake manifold with it removed from the engine and please be aware that the crud washing off your manifold will be washing down onto your valves and into cylinders and then out your exhaust. Use caution cleaning your manifold because you may be washing down a lot more than you think. Also you should clean your manifold before you put injector cleaner in. That will help clean up the mess from the manifold on your valves and injectors.
Manifold/throttle body- To clean the build up in here buy a can of Kleenflow Air intake clean that stuff is full of harsh chemicals like xylene that are far more effective than isopropyl alcohol and naptha. Use this one outside the garage with gloves and goggles !!! Spray down throttle body scrub with a toothbrush as far as you can reach wipe out as much as you can with a rag. Spray liberally and wait 10 minutes then spray again and start your car up because LOTS of crud is is dissolving and building up at the bottom. Then repeat the process again and lastly spray some with the engine running. Never spray more than half a can before restarting to allow crud to work itself out slowly and avoid hydro locking.Starting may take longer than normal. Keep RPMs below 2000 unless you are in gear and driving.
Even with the kleenflow intake cleaner cleaning all that build up in my manifold took some doing to fully clean out. It was caked on almost 2mm thick. And that stuff is stubborn. Don't think that just a quick spray or pour of anything will bring it back to 100% clean.
I TAKE NO LIABILITY IF YOUR CAR DEVELOPS A PROBLEM AFTER FOLLOWING ANY OF THE STEPS/ADVICE ABOVE FOR ANY REASON.
That's what I do to my vehicles.
P.S. With my engine I was able to wipe everything out with a rag as I cleaned because my intake opens up. Very little actually got washed down into the engine. But I have done this in the way I outline above to my fathers truck with no ill effects and a much cleaner looking intake in the end.
The Following User Says Thank You to JesusJones For This Useful Post:
I de-carbed my aunties old Capri Turbo with a steady water drip into the manifold. Took out a plug and checked the piston top afterward, was bare metal clean nearly.
I've actually heard that one before and kind of tried it out with about 500ml of water. Steams lots and runs rough. And it probably did help. Stupid me though I was using the brake booster again. So once again I was only treating cylinder #1
I could see why water would clean the combustion chamber very well. But not so much the actual manifold/intake. The oily crud from your pcv system will not just wash off with water IMO. Although had you had water being fed into your manifold from a tank under the hood since your car was brand new it may prevent the build up in the first place.
Yeah, the water isn't going to take off oily vapor recovery and/or EGR crud left in the intake. That residue isn't really going to affect running unless it gets so incredibly thick that it manages to disrupt airflow or sensor function.
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1994 Pickup base model and a couple Mustangs.
Out of interest, why only the 96-97? Used it on my 93 non-cali car with no ill effects and it did run/idle smoother after wards with the feeling of slightly more power, but then again it had 170k on it and it was probably abused prior to my owning it. I only used it as a band aid to keep the engine going a little better a little longer; I don't really feel it's something that is going to benefit most cars. I can feel fairly safe it fed all 4 because of a little carbon/white dust on the plugs after wards, but then again I used only a quarter of a can in the brake booster line too to be safe.
The Following User Says Thank You to cipher93 For This Useful Post:
Out of interest, why only the 96-97? Used it on my 93 non-cali car with no ill effects and it did run/idle smoother after wards with the feeling of slightly more power, but then again it had 170k on it and it was probably abused prior to my owning it. I only used it as a band aid to keep the engine going a little better a little longer; I don't really feel it's something that is going to benefit most cars. I can feel fairly safe it fed all 4 because of a little carbon/white dust on the plugs after wards, but then again I used only a quarter of a can in the brake booster line too to be safe.
My engine is a 96 and I assume 97 is the same. I saw with my eyes where the brake booster leads
Other engines may be different I am not 100percent sure. And if you are not 100 Percent sure I strongly suggest not to use the brake booster. Using the brake booster is the easy/lazy wAy. Use a spray bottle and spray down the throttle body to be 100 percent sure you Are treating all cylinders.
I also swore my car felt better after treatment, the human brain is very powerful(placebo effect) you can't always trust whAt you feel.
My engine is a 96 and I assume 97 is the same. I saw with my eyes where the brake booster leads
Other engines may be different I am not 100percent sure. And if you are not 100 Percent sure I strongly suggest not to use the brake booster. Using the brake booster is the easy/lazy wAy. Use a spray bottle and spray down the throttle body to be 100 percent sure you Are treating all cylinders.
I also swore my car felt better after treatment, the human brain is very powerful(placebo effect) you can't always trust whAt you feel.
I know those OBDII years were down on power and I think used a slightly different intake manifold (the one depicted in the Haynes manual) due to different emissions standards. And trust me, it did feel better in that it actually idled smooth and had slightly smoother pickup, but something to keep in mind is that engine before we owned it was the victim of very infrequent oil changes and general no maintenance unless something broke (no use of fuel system cleaners, repairs being half assed, etc). I don't see it making as big of a difference on a well maintained car or a car with solid internals.
I know those OBDII years were down on power and I think used a slightly different intake manifold (the one depicted in the Haynes manual) due to different emissions standards. And trust me, it did feel better in that it actually idled smooth and had slightly smoother pickup, but something to keep in mind is that engine before we owned it was the victim of very infrequent oil changes and general no maintenance unless something broke (no use of fuel system cleaners, repairs being half assed, etc). I don't see it making as big of a difference on a well maintained car or a car with solid internals.
It doesn't matter how well maintained a car is, every car has some blow by and burns oil to some extent. This blow by goes through the pcv system and builds up. A car that has not been treated will still work and drive well. But the cfm of the intake will be affected thus affecting gas mileage. Actual hp will change very very little. My message is clear in my first post.
Feel free to use what ever treatment you want on your engine. Just be aware tHat your brake booster COULD leAd only down one cylinder. Not all 4. I won't say it again.
First, thanks for all the information. I know you are talking about older cars, but as a general rule on newer cars, it is not a good idea to "Spray down throttle body scrub with a toothbrush as far as you can reach wipe out as much as you can with a rag". I was working on a 2003 Lexus, and sprayed throttle body cleaner on the plate and wiped it off with a rag. The car went into "limp" mode and apparently, the angle of the throttle body is very sensitive to the computer, and should not be touched.
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, rather than hydrolock a cylinder and snap a connecting rod
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