I'm trying to get my new Jeep Cherokee Sport up to optimal running condition to optimize gas mileage (you know these things go forever, but suck at gas mileage). I've done lots of work and have been reading lots of input on seafoam both positive and negative. Can you guys give me some personal input on it's use with the Cherokee Sports. I'm taking the throttle body off tomorrow and cleaning that manually, but they say that the sea foam can be sprayed through the running engine to clean the gunk inside. Input????

Thanks,
Woody

 

I also just bought an XJ and want to get it back to great condition. The only thing I really know about it is the oil was dirty when I bought it, so I can only assume all mantinence was skimped on.

Because of that, I am hesitant to run sea foam or a proper engine flush. Instead, I have been doing shorter oil-change intervals with Rotella T6 (5qts) + 1qt of marvel mystery oil to slowly de-sludge the engine.

BUT, I do think that seafoam through the PCV/Brake booster would be safe to help clean up the valves a little bit, though I dont really have an evidence to support that.

 

Clean the throttle body and IAC manually.

Get a pint of BG44K and add it to a full tank of gas. Run the tank down to 1/2. Refill and run to 1/4 tank.

Courtesy of TJWalker:
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The Idle Air Control (IAC) is mounted on the back of the throttle body. (front for 87-90) The valve controls the idle speed of the engine by controlling the amount of air flowing through the air control passage. It consists of a stepper motor that moves a pintle shaped plunger in and out of the air control passage. When the valve plunger is moved in, the air control passage flows more air which raises the idle speed. When the valve plunger is moved out, the air control passage flows less air which lowers the idle speed. Over time and miles, the IAC can get carboned up which can have an adverse affect on idle quality. Cleaning the IAC may restore proper function and is an easy procedure to perform and good preventive maintenance so it is never a bad idea.

CLEANING THE JEEP 4.0 IDLE AIR CONTROL

Remove the air filter cover, associated hoses and the rubber boot that goes from the air filter cover to the throttle body. Remove the IAC with a torx driver (2 bolts; one can be kind of hard to get to)

"Gently" wiggle out the IAC from the throttle body. Gasket on the IAC can be re-used if it is not damaged

Clean the IAC with a spray can of throttle body cleaner; inexpensive and available at any place that sells auto parts. Throttle body cleaner is recommended rather than carburetor cleaner as it is less harsh, safe for throttle body coatings and is best for this task. Use cleaner, a rag and a toothbrush and or Q-Tips. Be gentle; don’t twist or pull on the pintle that protrudes from the IAC as it is fragile and you could damage it.

Thoroughly spray clean and flush where the IAC seats in the throttle body with the same spray cleaner

It is also a good idea to clean the entire throttle body itself, the butterfly valve inside of the throttle body and all associated linkage as long as you have things disassembled

 

Yeah, I didnt have any idling issues but I still tore the throttle body down, and cleaned the crap out of everything (though there is still alot of gunk in the intake manifold -- will probably need to pull that off and soak it to get everything fully cleaned). Tons of oil that came through the crank-case vent tube (will be installing a catch-can at some point).

 

No catch can needed. Get the CCV system back in good shape and the world will be all rosy once again.

 

I appreciate the feedback on the cleaning of the throttlebody as it's something I've never done, but does anyone have any history with using this product? I'm still reading pros and cons on many sites. The pros seem to outweigh the cons by a great deal. But there's still enough cons to make a person think.....

 

Do the 44K and skip the seafoam. Been using 44K for over 25 years with excellent results.

 

Lots of people here love Seafoam. Compared to other methods available it seems like a waste of time. Kind of like using WD-40 as a penetrating oil: sure, it kinda works, but there are really better products.

The cleaning and BG-44K cruiser mentioned are a good route to take. As for cleaning the engine while it's running, you can always use water


Time-old trick that knocks a ton of carbon loose, more than Seafoam can hope to accomplish, simply by virtue of being a petrochemical and comprised of the same stuff it's supposed to be cleaning off (??)

As for in the oil that's a whole other topic.

 

Rule #1 of water decarbonization: do NOT use the freaking garden hose.

 

Nonsense. Your engine just needs to be bigger!

 

I used SeaFoam on my XJ at 160,000 miles. I poured half of the can into a full tank of gas, and then trickled the other half down through the brake booster vacuum hose. Towards the end of the can, I dumped it quick down the hose (with a funnel of course) until the engine stalled. I let it sit for a minute or two, and then started it up. Smoked quite a bit for maybe 10 seconds. I didn't notice much improvement idling or otherwise. Still getting 15.5mpg. I also did the same on my 1990 Mazda 2.2L 4 cylinder car at 120k miles. Smoked a TON for probably a good 30 seconds, and smoked a little for a few minutes after. Still didn't really notice much difference.

 

I gave a try, its like $4-$5 at Oreillys. What I did was remove the vacuum line that connects to the brake booster and slowly trickled it in while the engine was running. I did have someone keep a foot on the throttle though because it would bog down from time to time. After I put the whole bottle in I turned off the engine and let it sit for 15 minutes and reconnected the vacuum line. After that I started it up again. The Jeep seemed to run and accelerate better.

I had tried Seafoam before, and I always recommend it. I've even used it in the Jeep before, but the B12 made a much more noticable difference.

 

I grew up with Berryman's B12 Chemtool as my dad loved the stuff. I used it for a LONG time until a mechanic that I trusted told me about Seafoam. B12 is a little over $3 at my local Wally-World where as Seafoam is @ $9.
When you trickle the Seafoam through the vacuum hose, the instructions on the can say to let it sit for 10 minutes (I think). The first time I did it on my current XJ, it smoked like crazy for 6-7 minutes and the inside of the motor looked pretty clean.
I really can't tell much of a difference between the two.

 

Great feedback guys, I just did an addative yesterday. Will wait a while and then go with the BG44k treatment or B12 pending on which one I can get my hands on. With the water "steam cleaning" of the inside of the engine, do I have to change the oil afterwards as was suggested of the seafoam? I just did a full oil change.

 

You took your engine apart, inspected, ran Seafoam, then disassembled your engine again?

There is no need to change the oil after putting water in your throttle body, it just cleans the combustion chamber. You only need to change your oil after Seafoam if you actually put Seafoam IN your oil.

Of course if you have a FRAM or STP oil filter it's always a good opportunity to get rid of that junk : yes: