2zz-ge Seafoaming the intake

[ScottsXRS]

Hi Everyone:

I have an '05 Corolla XRS with 152k miles. I'm about to do a 5,000 mile road trip with this car in two weeks from MA to TX to FL and then back to MA. I've changed the oil with synthetic, topped off all fluids, and had the car checked out by a mechanic from bumper to bumper. She's all set to go I'm told.

One thing I saw that is recommended is to clean out the intake with Seafoam by running 1/3 of the bottle through the crankcase, 1/3 through a tank of gas, and then 1/3 through the intake via the PCV port. I've done the first two (put it in my oil 100 miles prior to changing it), but not through the intake yet. My question is, where is the PCV port? I saw a good DIY vid on a Celica GT-S on YouTube but I didn't see the port where the video showed online. Does anybody have any idea where it is? Thanks in advance.

[silver04rollas]

I am not sure about that.

I have an Injen cold air intake and I clean it using the "K&N intake cleaning kit" alongwith cleaning the MAF sensor. I have been doing it for 5 years and it works very well.

[mikered30]

Not sure if the engine will run with the PCV hose disconnected. Try the brake booster hose instead.

[ScottsXRS]

This is located of the brake master cylinder I assume, but where does it feed into?

[MasterTecInSTL]

Originally Posted by mikered30

Not sure if the engine will run with the PCV hose disconnected. Try the brake booster hose instead.

It'll run.. this would create a vacuum leak just like disconnecting the booster hose would but it would still run.

The trick to seafoam is to find a large vacuum hose into the engine. Seafoam's instructions say to use the PCV because it's usually the easiest to get to but that's not always the case.

Just pull the hose off of the brake booster and use it instead.

[mikered30]

Originally Posted by MasterTecInSTL

It'll run.. this would create a vacuum leak just like disconnecting the booster hose would but it would still run.

The trick to seafoam is to find a large vacuum hose into the engine. Seafoam's instructions say to use the PCV because it's usually the easiest to get to but that's not always the case.

Just pull the hose off of the brake booster and use it instead.

Didnt run on my 1zz fe when I pulled the PCV hose, well it choked for about 3 seconds and gave me a CEL and shut off. Didn't sound pretty.

[MasterTecInSTL]

Well anytime you induce a large vacuum leak the engine is going to want to stall - especially when you first pull the hose off. You can slide a smaller hose into the larger one to reduce the size of the vacuum leak or you can have someone feather the gas pedal to keep it running.

You can't just yank a large vacuum hose off like that while it is running and not expect it to want to stall out.

[ScottsXRS]

So in short, which is the best way for me to tackle this? Also, exactly where in my car is the brake booster? Is it more or less directly in front of the firewall on the drivers side, with a medium-sized hose feeding into the intake?

[MasterTecInSTL]

The booster is what the master cylinder bolts on to. You need to use its vacuum hose which feeds directly into the intake.

[CTB727]

If you do in fact run Seafoam, it is recommended that you change the oil within a couple hundred miles or so. That's why it's best to do Seafoam then oil change, instead of the other way around.

[extreme one]

Originally Posted by ScottsXRS

Hi Everyone:

I have an '05 Corolla XRS with 152k miles. I'm about to do a 5,000 mile road trip with this car in two weeks from MA to TX to FL and then back to MA. I've changed the oil with synthetic, topped off all fluids, and had the car checked out by a mechanic from bumper to bumper. She's all set to go I'm told.

One thing I saw that is recommended is to clean out the intake with Seafoam by running 1/3 of the bottle through the crankcase, 1/3 through a tank of gas, and then 1/3 through the intake via the PCV port. I've done the first two (put it in my oil 100 miles prior to changing it), but not through the intake yet. My question is, where is the PCV port? I saw a good DIY vid on a Celica GT-S on YouTube but I didn't see the port where the video showed online. Does anybody have any idea where it is? Thanks in advance.

I am going to go against the grain by telling you if the car is running fine don't mess with it. More problems have been started than cured by these procedures. In over 40 years of car ownership never fooled with the fuel systems.

[MasterTecInSTL]

Originally Posted by extreme one

In over 40 years of car ownership never fooled with the fuel systems.

That's the problem right there. You have no experience messing with the fuel system and therefore you are reluctant to mess with it.

I should add that this isn't really messing with the fuel system... this is messing with the air intake system.

Also 40 years ago carbon build up wasn't a big deal. Parts were bigger and had looser tolerances so a little bit of carbon wasn't going to mess things up. These days parts are built barely "big enough" and out of lighter weight materials, and tolerances are much tighter in an effort to reduce weight and friction while increasing economy and durability.

Simply put carbon build up can cause a lot more problem today than it did in the past. Throttle valves can get stuck in it and as a result the computer will "turn off" the gas pedal. Carbon can coat the valves and make them hang open and as a result the computer will go into "failsafe" or "open loop" mode and cause you to fail emissions tests. Also carbon can contaminate the inside of the intake and reduce the efficiency of the fuel/air mixture by screwing up the turbulence of the airflow.

It's a whole new ballgame with cars, especially since they came out with the electronic throttle (AKA Drive-By-Wire) and it is important to keep these things clean.

Does it need to be done all the time? Probably not. I think doing it as 30k maintenance is good enough for most cases.. maybe even still overkill for some but if it's done right it won't hurt anything.

Now for Seafoam.. I won't say that for sure I agree with the complete treatment being necessary. Adding it to the fuel tank is similar to adding fuel injector cleaner and works great as maintenance (although similar additives are already added to fuel plus the ethanol which helps too). Doing the vacuum hose treatment can help clean out the intake and valves. Also manual cleaning of the throttle body can help a lot as well.

I've fixed hundreds of cars with various driveability problems by performing similar cleaning methods - and I'm sure I've prevented many hundreds more by doing this type of service as maintenance.

I disagree with the need to add it to the engine oil. It might work great as an 'engine flush' but as long as good quality oil is used and changed regularly I don't see the need to do this... but definitely if you do choose to do this change the oil shortly after.

[extreme one]

Originally Posted by MasterTecInSTL

That's the problem right there. You have no experience messing with the fuel system and therefore you are reluctant to mess with it.

I should add that this isn't really messing with the fuel system... this is messing with the air intake system.

Also 40 years ago carbon build up wasn't a big deal. Parts were bigger and had looser tolerances so a little bit of carbon wasn't going to mess things up. These days parts are built barely "big enough" and out of lighter weight materials, and tolerances are much tighter in an effort to reduce weight and friction while increasing economy and durability.

Simply put carbon build up can cause a lot more problem today than it did in the past. Throttle valves can get stuck in it and as a result the computer will "turn off" the gas pedal. Carbon can coat the valves and make them hang open and as a result the computer will go into "failsafe" or "open loop" mode and cause you to fail emissions tests. Also carbon can contaminate the inside of the intake and reduce the efficiency of the fuel/air mixture by screwing up the turbulence of the airflow.

It's a whole new ballgame with cars, especially since they came out with the electronic throttle (AKA Drive-By-Wire) and it is important to keep these things clean.

Does it need to be done all the time? Probably not. I think doing it as 30k maintenance is good enough for most cases.. maybe even still overkill for some but if it's done right it won't hurt anything.

Now for Seafoam.. I won't say that for sure I agree with the complete treatment being necessary. Adding it to the fuel tank is similar to adding fuel injector cleaner and works great as maintenance (although similar additives are already added to fuel plus the ethanol which helps too). Doing the vacuum hose treatment can help clean out the intake and valves. Also manual cleaning of the throttle body can help a lot as well.

I've fixed hundreds of cars with various driveability problems by performing similar cleaning methods - and I'm sure I've prevented many hundreds more by doing this type of service as maintenance.

I disagree with the need to add it to the engine oil. It might work great as an 'engine flush' but as long as good quality oil is used and changed regularly I don't see the need to do this... but definitely if you do choose to do this change the oil shortly after.

Yeah, I know. I am not against using these products once you have fuel problems, but I am against monkeying with it for no good reason other than it makes you feel good. I guess I am old school. I still use 100% petroleum motor oil in my cars and motorcycles. Never had a internal engine problem. My old fishing and hunting car is a dodge caravan V6 with 241K miles.

[MasterTecInSTL]

I'm not exactly a big fan of the synthetic bandwagon either. I use AMSOil synthetic in my cars but I'm also very lazy and change them once a year - after about 15k miles. The oil in them looks better after that time than most people I see after 5 or 6k. I have a friend from an online game that sells me the stuff at his cost and doesn't give me the whole "you should become a vendor and become rich" shpeel. I HATE that ever since my ex-best friend worked on me for a month trying to get me into AMWAY.

In return I help him with his computer problems.. actually he usually sends computer parts to me and I build the system and ship it to him. I love doing that stuff! And he drives new cars so he doesn't hound me for car repair advice!

BUT if you're good with regular maintenance and don't regularly push it past 5 or 6k then there really is no need to use synthetic. Even conventional "dino" oil has come a long way in recent years.. even the cheapest brands is still very good stuff compared to just a couple decades ago..

[extreme one]

Originally Posted by MasterTecInSTL

I'm not exactly a big fan of the synthetic bandwagon either. I use AMSOil synthetic in my cars but I'm also very lazy and change them once a year - after about 15k miles. The oil in them looks better after that time than most people I see after 5 or 6k. I have a friend from an online game that sells me the stuff at his cost and doesn't give me the whole "you should become a vendor and become rich" shpeel. I HATE that ever since my ex-best friend worked on me for a month trying to get me into AMWAY.

In return I help him with his computer problems.. actually he usually sends computer parts to me and I build the system and ship it to him. I love doing that stuff! And he drives new cars so he doesn't hound me for car repair advice!

BUT if you're good with regular maintenance and don't regularly push it past 5 or 6k then there really is no need to use synthetic. Even conventional "dino" oil has come a long way in recent years.. even the cheapest brands is still very good stuff compared to just a couple decades ago..

Mastertech, I like pennzoil yellow bottle petroleum oil. The corolla has been using it since it had 5K miles. The van I bought used so Its had pennzoil yellow bottle for about 100K miles. I use Honda GN4 for my honda bike. Its made by IDEMITSU and I can tell you that oil is great. It is regular petroleum and I change it at about 5K mile intervals and I' swear that oil still looks new. My only knock on the idemitsu is it cost me 28 dollars a gallon.