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Seafoam Rocks!!

Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2003 3:27 am
by Legacy777
Just ran some of this stuff through my PCV valve today. She smoked pretty good, but it has seemed to help. I drove around a bit today, and car does feel more peppy......could be my butt dyno needs calibration too....who knows.....:)

Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2003 4:36 am
by vrg3
Cool... Is this basically an engine decarbonizer? Can you pick it up at any ol' auto parts store?

What method did you use to connect to the PCV valve fitting?

Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2003 6:33 am
by Legacy777
it's petrolium distillate cleaner of some sorts. It can be put in the fuel, oil, or directly in the engine.

I got it at o' reily auto parts. I believe it's also available at napa.

I took the rubber hose off the pcv valve and the base of the tube coming up from the engine block, turned it so it's facing up. Stuck a screwdriver between the throttle stop screw and slowly poured the specified amount into the hose.

Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2003 2:41 pm
by vrg3
Oh, cool, so you were able to leave the valve in place. Awesome.

Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2003 5:06 pm
by Legacy777
yup.......ended up not having to take it off after all.

Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2003 11:53 pm
by czo79
I really wanted to try seafoam, in the hopes of curing my sticky valve lifters....but wasn't able to find it around here. Could have tried harder though. Josh, what do you mean by sticking a screwdriver in the throttle stop screw....I don't know what that is, could you explain? I used some other cleaner in my engine, I just took a vacum hose that was going from the intake manifold...to, I can't remember, does one go the the charcoal canister? Anyways, I just let it spray into the tube and get sucked up. Lots of smoke, smell, etc, had to keep gassing it so it wouldn't stall. Didn't really notice much benefit....
I think it was an amsoil product.
Thanks
Micum

Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2003 12:20 am
by entirelyturbo
By sticking a screwdriver between the stopscrew and the throttle body, Josh basically "kept his foot on the throttle." That makes the throttle plate stop much farther open. In fact that's an excellent idea which I might try next time :)

The best vacuum hose to use is the small one that goes from the CPV valve to the throttle body. It's centrally located and is small enough so you can stick it in a bottle of cleaner and not fawk up your motor...

Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2003 2:22 am
by vrg3
Recall that Josh didn't want to use that hose because it risks dissolving some of the sealant around the throttle plate.

Whenever I have to jump-start a car I usually take a dollar out of my pocket, fold it up, and use it to wedge my throttle open a little to hold a high idle. It does well to keep charging voltage up. Just don't forget to pull it out when you're ready to drive off... :oops:

Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2003 2:29 am
by morgie
where is the PCV valve located ? is it the "thing" that screw into the intake manifold, postion top-left corner from the coil pack when facing the engine ?
( as seen on the picture, juste above the IAC (?) Hole ? http://images4.fotki.com/v38/photos/1/1 ... rge-vi.jpg )

does this part has any influence on engine performance ? (at idle and at WOT)

what about the purge canister solenoid valve ?

thanx

Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2003 2:33 am
by vrg3
Yes, Morgie, that's it. I think if it's malfunctioning it can affect idle quality, but it doesn't make much of a difference at WOT.

I don't know so much about what the CPC valve can do, but I think it can affect idle as well.

Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2003 2:39 am
by morgie
neither of them can affect performances at WOT ?

Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2003 2:47 am
by vrg3
I don't think so, but I don't know for sure... Basically, the issue is that the PCV valve allows blowby (which is full of air) into the intake manifold, and the CPC valve allows fuel vapors (full of fuel) in. So they can upset the air/fuel mixture if they malfunction. But at WOT, there's so much air and fuel coming in anyway, I don't think it matters much.

Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2003 3:59 am
by Legacy777
PCV valve helps remove blow by gasses from the crankcase. The more vacuum you have in the crankcase the better the pistons seal.

Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2003 4:07 am
by vrg3
But at WOT there is no vacuum pulling the crankcase vapors out.

Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2003 3:19 pm
by Legacy777
you'll probably get some vacuum from the intake manifold due to a venturi affect of the intake air running over the breather tubes.

Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2003 4:51 pm
by vrg3
I think that you get the venturi effect at the intake tube. That's why the PCV system leads crankcase vapors both to the valve on the manifold and to the little nipple on the intake tubing. When the manifold has good vacuum, it pulls the vapors in. And when it doesn't, the venturi effect pulls the vapors in before the throttle. On a turbocharged car I think you actually get a partial vacuum before the compressor anyway.

Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2003 12:38 am
by Legacy777
just to update things.......had a dentist apt today....so I did some more driving......it definitely feels better. I'm pretty sure it's not a mis-calibrated butt dyno :)

I'll try putting in my 4-wire O2 sensor this week too.

Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2003 5:26 am
by entirelyturbo
Well, I took a 200-mile trip this past weekend, and I simply set the cruise at 80 the whole way, and maybe just nudged it up to 100 once ;) :twisted:... I took the car out on the road coz I knew that's what she wanted, and my butt dyno can truly feel a slight HP hike, not sure if the ECU adjusted A/F maps for the higher speed or I blew some carbon out... Feels nice though :o

Josh, let me know how the 4-wire O2 sensor goes, that's on my to-do list...