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Anybody use seafoam?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by mattbatson, Mar 1, 2020.

  1. mattbatson

    mattbatson Member

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    I’ve used it in my second gen once or twice. I get the seafoam with the spray nozzle and slide that nozzle into the intake boot after the air filter as per instructions

    It seems to really clean the funk out of the intake

    My girlfriend has a 2010 with 240k miles

    Has owned it for two years... putting a lot of miles on it driving uber

    So far as I know the egr cooler has never been cleaned !

    Damn thing runs like it’s new

    Anyways... I plan to clean the egr next week for her. And eventually put a catch can on

    I’m surprised nobody seems to discuss seafoam -ing the third gens since they have the issue with intakes getting clogged with oil and such

    It’s a ten min job and only needs to be done a few times a year

    Anyone have experience using this stuff? Anybody ever pulled the intake manifold or egr on a gen 3 that has been seafoamed in the past?

    Thanks
     
    #1 mattbatson, Mar 1, 2020
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  2. gliderman

    gliderman Active Member

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    Lots of people. Search is your friend/.
     
    #2 gliderman, Mar 1, 2020
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  3. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    You need to rethink your EGR strategery......IMHO.
     
    #3 ETC(SS), Mar 1, 2020
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  4. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Seafoam is a "jack of all trades and master of none".
    There are much better, and less expensive, products for any given purpose.
    In the case of a spray "carb" cleaner, Gumout is way better.
     
    #4 sam spade 2, Mar 1, 2020
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  5. pjksr02

    pjksr02 Active Member

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    You'll be surprised at the amount of carbon in the EGR system. If you spray a cleaner into the EGR gallery of the manifold, with the manifold still on, at 240,000 miles, you'll likely dislodge enough carbon deposits to cause damage.
     
    #5 pjksr02, Mar 1, 2020
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  6. mattbatson

    mattbatson Member

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    My EGR strategy is to pull it and clean it

    Next week

    Might be my OP was a little unclear on that

    Catch can’s are supposed to help keep the intake clear... and maybe the EGR as well... who knows

    My point is... with the issues gen 3’s have with the intake getting oil accumulation and just an overall mess... that seafoam seems an easy solution

    Spraying gum out into the intake seems like a recipe for disaster
    Unless I’m pulling the intake manifold off the engine... which I definitely want to avoid

    Advantage of seafoam is you slowly spray it in while engine is running and it cleans out the deposits and gunk in the intake

    i would think doing this a couple times a year would prevent a lot of the issues people have with their gen 3’s

    I’ll do a search and see what comes up
     
    #6 mattbatson, Mar 1, 2020
  7. mattbatson

    mattbatson Member

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    Yeah most of the posts about seafoam are about putting it in the tank or oil

    Neither of which I think would be very effective

    However spraying it into the intake is a whole other question

    I think I’ll just do it as I’ve had good luck on other vehicles in the past
     
    #7 mattbatson, Mar 1, 2020
  8. pjksr02

    pjksr02 Active Member

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    Removing the intake manifold is easier than removing the EGR cooler, in my recent experience. And unfortunately, the EGR system feeds through and all the way across the intake manifold in the 2010.

    When the intake is off, the PCV valve is exposed and easy to change.
     
    #8 pjksr02, Mar 1, 2020
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  9. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    Most people won’t even do searches on PC, what are the chances they will seaform their car three times a year let alone once a year :ROFLMAO:
     
    #9 Grit, Mar 1, 2020
  10. mattbatson

    mattbatson Member

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    If you search seafoam ...as I stated above... pretty much all of the posts are about putting it in your gas tank or in the oil

    which is not pertinent to what I’m talking about

    And in fact none of the responses to this thread have answered the question... leads me to believe that it was in fact a great question

    that has of yet ....been unanswered

    My theory is ...that if someone had a third GEN and simply seafoamed it ...in the way I described...three times a year ...that it would keep both the intake and the EGR clean and would not require the removal of either

    I was wondering if anyone had seafoamed their third GEN on a regular basis and then pulled the intake or the EGR to see how dirty they were... after a year or two of driving

    I’m
    Betting it solves the issues that everyone has with their 3 rd gen’s

    My second gen is going on 220k miles. And although they do not have the same exact issue ...they do still have accumulation of oil in the intake that can cause a rough start

    it’s something that even the second Gens have

    when I first got my second GEN at 75,000 miles I noticed it would do it on cold mornings occasionally

    but ever since I started seafoaming a couple times a year I have not experienced it again since
     
    #10 mattbatson, Mar 1, 2020
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  11. mattbatson

    mattbatson Member

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    I actually just replaced the PCV valve today on her car and it was still functioning

    I seriously doubt it had ever been replaced

    Glad I put an OEM one in there

    Should be good till the car dies...
     
    #11 mattbatson, Mar 1, 2020
  12. pjksr02

    pjksr02 Active Member

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    I constantly have used Redline SI-1 in my 2010 Prius (I'm OCD about fuel system cleanliness), and this with either Shell, Mobil, or Phillips-66 (all TopTier) fuels. I put in at least 1 oz per fill-up (usually 1 oz per 6 or 7 gallons), and still experienced EGR build-up. Redline and Seafoam both have PEA. Maybe my deposition rate in the EGR system was less than some experienced, as I haven't experienced the cold-start rattle, and never set an EGR or other code in 177,000 miles. But my EGR system was a mess (including the intake manifold gallery). Seafoam isn't going to be a silver bullet, even if you spray it into the manifold monthly. Take your system apart and you'll see.

    What is unsettled is what causes the EGR build-up. Is it the low-placed PCV system, which allows an oily vapor to flow to the intake? Or is it that the EGR comes off the exhaust too close to the engine?

    I'm leaning toward the PCV feedback loop mostly causing the clogging. That's because after soaking my EGR cooler now about 10 times in OxyClean, I'm still getting an oily residue coming out. It's oily, not dry-carbony.
     
    #12 pjksr02, Mar 1, 2020
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2020
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  13. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    What exactly makes you think that SeaFoam would somehow be any safer than another solvent based cleaner.......like Gumout ?
    Answer: It isn't, if you use a little restraint with the rate at which it is applied.
     
    #13 sam spade 2, Mar 2, 2020
  14. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    It should work fine but as a petrochemical (aka carbon) cleaner, there are many more cheaper choices that will do the trick.

    Bottom line is to do the procedure now and hope for the best.
     
    #14 fotomoto, Mar 2, 2020
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  15. mattbatson

    mattbatson Member

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    Well I suppose you are correct. Whichever chemical or manufacturer is used... the key in my opinion is the method in which it is used

    Not added to gas or oil

    But directly into an intake of a warmed up engine. Then 10 minutes later drive the car hard
     
    #15 mattbatson, Mar 3, 2020
  16. Peter123

    Peter123 Active Member

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    An old-timers trick is to put a gallon of Acetone into the fuel tank, then fill it up, and then drive the car at high speed.
     
    #16 Peter123, Mar 3, 2020
  17. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Amazingly enough, that is one of the ingredients in Berrymans B12 Chemtool......and maybe Gumout too.
    But a gallon is WAY too much.
    Acetone is a POWERFUL solvent and might strip off things you don't want to remove or corrode stuff in high concentrations.
     
    #17 sam spade 2, Mar 4, 2020
  18. Lisa Boughamer

    Lisa Boughamer Junior Member

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    Well, this post is old but thought I’d just reply for anyone wondering, not recommending but I have a 2010 with 460k miles on it, it was running super sluggish & I decided what the hell so I put 3/4 can of sea foam spray through the intake & it blew out all kinds of white smoke, throttle body looked pretty dirty anyhow, anyway it runs 100% better
     
    #18 Lisa Boughamer, Nov 4, 2024
  19. tallprius

    tallprius Member

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    It seems if you want to clean the EGR circuit the stuff would have to come up from EXHAUST system and get circulated thru the EGR system, the EGR cooler the EGR valve the ERG tube AND then intake manifold.
    The junk in the ERG cooler is resistant to most chemicals and usually has to be pounded out with welding wire. the deposits in the manifold need to bee rammed out with stiff round wire brushes. I do not see how seafoam goes thru combustion chamber in engine down the exhaust then a little of the fumes cleans the ERG circuit But good luck. I would not casually dump anything strong or weird into a car engiine
     
    #19 tallprius, Nov 4, 2024
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