Need some help seafoaming please

scott81425 · Apr 10, 2013

OK I would love if someone would clarify for me. My 03 4.7 QC 4x4 has been running a little sluggish lately. Figured I'd give seafoaming a try. I have identified the brake booster vacuum hose I need to remove, but I'm not exactly sure how to remove it. Does the hose come off of the deal that plugs into the booster unit itself, or does that whole piece pull out of the booster unit. To try and describe better, it appears there is a little adapter that takes the hose and turns it into a right angle to go into the booster. Sorry, not sure on the terminology. Anyway, does that whole thing pop out of there or does the hose just slip off? And is it the same for all vehicles? Thanks in advance

LS5DodgeRam · Apr 10, 2013

when i did mine, i just pulled it straight off that little 90 degree plastic piece.

not sure if you have done this before to any car... but when you do this the engine will do one of a few things. i believe mine stalled, and then when i started it up, it idled really high. take seafoam and only put about an eighth of it in the truck, (if you have a custom exhaust it will be easier to see) you should see some white smoke coming out of the exhaust. mine had a lot... and this is a good thing.

after you are done with the seafoam plug the hose back up and rev your engine and get most of the smoke out, then you need to drive the truck hard for a while to clear it all out. i noticed a huge difference in throttle response so hopefully you will too.

it was fun for me, since i created a smoke screen in front of all the drivers on the road lol

RAMthis2004 · Apr 12, 2013

Correct. You will separate the brake booster vacuum line from the check valve (90 degree plastic piece) before starting the process, it should just come off with little effort. Utilize another person if possible to keep your motor running around 2000 RPM's while you SLOWLY pour about a third of the bottle into the boost hose.
Shut off your truck, letting it sit for about 5 minutes, start it up and run it until the white smoke is no longer visible out of the exhaust.

scott81425 · Apr 15, 2013

Wow thanks for the replies guys. So, just to be 100 percent certain, I leave the little plastic piece, apparently known as the check valve, plugged into the booster and just slide the hose off of that? Planning on seafoaming and giving her an oil change and new spark plugs this weekend. Weather permitting, of course. Really appreciate the replies guys.

NWRQC · Apr 15, 2013

You got it..
Hope it all works out well for you, welcome to the site...

LS5DodgeRam · Apr 15, 2013

hmmm... new spark plugs, ive been debating about seafoaming versus new spark plugs... i feel like with new plugs and a better spark... then seafoaming the car, the more gunk youll clear out.
or just use the old spark plugs (since it should clean them real well) and them change them... i have to try this out to see which results are better.

i know seafoaming my dad's 96 sunfire (has never been treated wih injector cleaner) then changing the plugs, and throttlebody cleaning... this car runs A LOT better! so hopefully you will yield the same results

OlDirtyJohn · Apr 18, 2013

this what the routine i used every other oil change and it worked great for me:

first pour half to 3/4 of a can into the crankcase (where you add oil).
then drive around the neighborhood for a little while. 20-30 miles or so.
then come back, take the hose off the elbow and suck up another half can or so. shut the truck off. i usually like to let the seafoam work for a while, so spend the next 45min to an hour changing your oil (absolute must after putting seafoam into the crankcase), cleaning air filter, checking belts, checking plugs, etc. then start it back up and high idle until all the smoke clears.

02 Ram · Apr 18, 2013

i drove mine around for around 100 miles before i changed the oil

NHDuckHunter8003 · Apr 28, 2013

Do you need to keep the rpm's up to keep it from stalling?

02 Ram · Apr 28, 2013

if you pour it in slowly you shouldnt have to. i didnt

NHDuckHunter8003 · Apr 28, 2013

Yeah thats what I ended up doing. But it didnt smoke at all. I let it sit for 5 minutes after i put the seafoam in. Started it up and no smoke, drove it real quick around the neighborhood and still no smoke. Do you know why that would be?

02 Ram · Apr 28, 2013

i leave it sit for at least 30 minutes to work its self in. if it didnt smoke it might not have been dirty. mine didnt smoke too bad but it did smoke

NHDuckHunter8003 · Apr 28, 2013

Roger that, I only ran it for maybe 45 seconds so the stuff should still be working in there. Well fortunately for me there's a game on I can watch while I'm waiting.

02 Ram · Apr 28, 2013

after a good 30-60 minutes, rev the crap out of it. should smoke. i also ran a tad of tranny fluid on another occasion. tranny fluid has detergents in it so it cleans it out too but it is bad for the CAT

NHDuckHunter8003 · Apr 28, 2013

I have heard that before. However, between installing my exhaust and headers recently, the last thing I wanna do is more exhaust work because I have to replace a bad cat lol.

02 Ram · Apr 28, 2013

LOL i dont blame ya. seafoam will do the trick. the truck was my first time doing it. i would dump a can in the tank with about 8 gallons of gas total. works great for cleaning the fuel system. catch can will help keep the intake and valves clean too

NHDuckHunter8003 · Apr 28, 2013

Yeah I put almost half into the brake booster, so you think I should put the rest in about a 1/4 tank.

NHDuckHunter8003 · Apr 28, 2013

I think the can suggests a full can for a full tank but I like to concentrate things a tid bit more.

02 Ram · Apr 28, 2013

i like to do 1 can in the crank case, 1 in the tank, and about 1/3 or so in the brake booster line but yes, you can add it to the tank. they say 1 pint every gallon, up to 2 pints per gallon. they also say you can drive around 100 miles before your oil change. i waited til 100 to go before i needed to change the oil and added a half can (thats all i had) and took it on the highway the last few miles for a good run. then i came home and changed the oil and beat the crap out of it on the highway to clean out the top end

msorbara10 · Apr 28, 2013

I would also suggest pumping the brake with the truck off until it wont press anymore. This makes getting the hose off a little easier. It helps to have someone rev the engine to keep it from stalling so you can pour it in faster. But if you don't have one you can do it your self just very slowly.

Need some help seafoaming please

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