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seafoam works! [merged]

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cranky

Probationary Member
12
2
Nov 15, 2003
OhioUS
I have been using seafoam in heavy equipment engines for years and I have seen it make dramatic differences in performance and idle quality. I recently had a problem with low power from my 91 talon. It felt like the computer was removing timing. Normally what I do is find a secluded spot because you will smoke down your whole neighborhood. Start the engine and let it get up to opperating temp. I remove a vacum hose and put it in the can and rev the engine to about 2500 rpm and suck the can dry. Shut off the engine and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Then start it back up and run it down the road, and run it hard. This will remove a substantial amount of carbon build up from the combustion chambers. :thumb:
 
Make sure not to dunk the vac line in the container, you don't want to run the risk of hydrolock.

So long as your not stupid and let the engine produced vacuum suck the seafoam into the intake you should be fine.

If you aren't using engine-produced vacuum, how are you getting it into the engine?

*********

OP -

I've used Sea Foam countless times for years by sticking a small vac line off the TB directly into about half a can of Sea Foam, while keeping the engine revs up around 2000-2500 rpm. (Don't give the motor more than it can take, and keep it running.) When the can is just about empty, I let off the throttle and let the car die. Start it up 15-30 minutes later and watch the smoke show, look for exhaust leaks, etc.

I have never hydrolocked a motor on Sea Foam, and have never even heard of it actually happening. Could it happen? Probably. But based on what you read here and in other threads, you'd think running Sea Foam, MCCC, and similar products through the engine (which are made for this purpose BTW) is like tossing a stick of dynamite into the IM.

Do you think the makers of Sea Foam would still print this on the can if it hydrolocks motors every other day?

SLOWLY induce 1/3 pint direct into vacuum line

In fact, do you think they would still be in business if it's been hydrolocking motors since 1942?

BUT...

Scott (LiquidX) makes some good points about using it in an old and crusty motor. I think if you use very little at a time you can slowly clean it over time. But you do run the risk of breaking pieces lose if the motor has an excessive amount of carbon build up. FWIW, Sea Foam is a lot milder than similar products like MCCC, and is less likely to break up large quantities of carbon in a short period of time.

Realistically though, carbon can break off at any time if it builds up enough...so it's just as dangerous to leave it alone from that standpoint.
 
randypogue said:
Ok can anybody upload a pic of which vacum line it is or is it the line connected to the intake tube? plus my car is the 2g 95 eagle talon thanks












The vacuum line that attaches the BOV to the intake manifold will do just fine. Also, if you are fortunate enough to have an intake manifold that also has a vacuum line nipple that is on the opposite end of the throttle body, use this to your advantage. You ideally want to spread it as evenly throughout the manifold as you can (it would be nice to have nipples on each runner, but anyways...).
 
I did the 1/3 up the bov line, 1/3 in the gas, 1/3 in the oil this past weekend. Seems to have cleaned it out nicely. My CEL did come on for a couple of days but is now off. I went ahead and put some fresh Amsoil in a couple days ago and cleaned the throttle body ;) I think I may start doing the seafoam annually.
 
Question? My car has over 287,000 miles on it. Should I even chance it and try the Seafoam at this stage? My car runs fine except for a little blue smoke in the tailpipe at times (only when idleing for extended periods of time).
 
Question? My car has over 287,000 miles on it. Should I even chance it and try the Seafoam at this stage? My car runs fine except for a little blue smoke in the tailpipe at times (only when idleing for extended periods of time).

I wouldn't worry about running it through the IM on a really high-mileage N/T if the car is running ok. It's a bit more useful to do it on a turbo car because exhaust leaks are a big deal...not so much on an N/T car though.

Couldn't hurt to run some in your fuel every now and then just to help keep injectors clean, although there are better products for that specific job.
 
I was alone putting this in the vacuum hose and with my another hand raising the throttle when the hose get loose and the seafoam liquid pour into the engine bay catching fire , i ran for my garden hose to stop the fire, i was lucky . no damages to my car
 
I've been wondering about that stuff. A friend of mine used it in an old motorcycle he picked up that was running rough...it worked great for him, but I was a little skeptical about using it in my car. Thanks for the info.
 
I've been using Seafoam for a few years on my Probe and my GST. I run it annually on both...1 can to a full tank of gas, half a can through a vac line, and half a can in with the oil...except for the oil, I do 4 quarts ATF with the half can of sea foam.
I have pictures at home of a before and after on my probe, underneath the VC. It overheated and turned the oil to tar. Before, itlooked like a sludge-pit. After, the cam and rockers looked brand new.
 
Seafoam works great , I use that and I use a good 3 step system at work for customers cars. A bottle in the gas tank, a spray can and scrub down the TB blade area and as far in the intake you can get, and a bottle thru a vac. line.

Ive done the ATF also. etc. tons of diff. ways to accomplish the same results.
Ive done 1000's of vehicles over 20yrs now and NEVER hydrolocked anything.

A quick google search or youtube search will show you how to. etc. Just a few for ya to view i found real quick
Wynn's is what I use because he is local and I get good prices per case.
@ 2:55 is the tool I use to regulate flow.
‪How to perform a Wynn's Fuel System Cleaning Service‬‏ - YouTube

seafoam videos
‪3M? Do-It-Yourself Fuel System Tune-Up Kit‬‏ - YouTube
‪seafoam‬‏ - YouTube
 
If I were to run a can of MCCC through my engine, do you think it would cause enough crud to plug my turbo inline oil filter? And the spark plugs almost definatley have to be changed, no?
 
If I were to run a can of MCCC through my engine, do you think it would cause enough crud to plug my turbo inline oil filter? And the spark plugs almost definatley have to be changed, no?

I was wondering the same thing.

As far as I know, this will probably foul out the spark plugs/
 
I don't do plug changes on alot of the customers cars. (some dont want them done)
Ive only had one car that started to misfire afterwards. and it had 275k miles on it. after a few miles of driving it cleared righ back up.


Th3DooM

Carb clean , brake clean , atf mixed with gas or a little water, etc. will all get the job done the same as seafoam.

It's very cheap and easy to make at home for the DIY GUYS

25% Cleaner>Naphtha
60% Stabilizer>Kerosene
15% Oxygenate> Isopropyl Alcohol (common Rubbing Alcohol)


Other Commercial Brands such as Chevron Techron Concentrate are 100% Cleaner.
Majority is Naphtha,,,along with Stoddard Solvent,Benzene,Xylene,etc.

You can Substitute Seafoam's 15% IPA for Toluene and get better results,,,most paint stores have it.



ALL the Products are merely a variety of Blends of generic,,bulk commodity petrochemicals.

They are simply bought by the barrel,,,,mixed together in various ratios,,,,Bottled>Labeled>Sold

SeaFoam for example,,
It's sells for about $8 USD for 16oz.

$64 USD per gallon


"Naphtha",,,2 Bottles @ $1 ea = 1/2 gallon
"Kerosene" 3 Bottles@ $1 ea =3/4 gal
"IPA" 2 bottles for 1$ = 1/4 gal

$6 for 1.5 gals
For "GENERIC ,Homemade Seafoam"

versus the
$64 USD per gallon
for actual,,name brand Sea Foam

It's not so much the point that it's only 1/10 the Cost,,,
it's that homemade blend allows for ,,,not just Enhancement but even Exaggeration of the Beneficial Properties of the Additive Mix.

For example :
Skip the Rubbing Alcohol,replace it with Acetone,,,Same Price.
Makes engine Start much better in Cold Weather,,,SOMETIMES improves fuel mileage,,,is Less Corrosive,,,and acts like a Cleaner Itself.
And,,it gets added in at much,much lower doses.

Or,,,add a $5 pint of Toluene in lieu of a quart of Kerosene

Or ,,1$ Quart of Auto Trans Fluid,to make Mega Stabilizer.

Or,to add to Crankcase---it sometimes Smokes a bit.
But I just FEEL better Cleaning internals with a premium LUBRICANT as the engine runs,,,rather than all Solvents.


Or if You would rather buy a Commercial Product and can Not find Seafoam
Chevron Techron is much,much More Powerful Cleaner by volume.
It will work at minimum,,,,better and faster and on a wider range of Fuel Deposits .
But ya should really only use it in fuel,,not in Crankcase.
It's too aggressive a cleaner and not made for such use.


Beyond Those particular products,,
Anything labeled "FUEL INJECTION" cleaner is typically going to be Higher Concentration of appropriate CLEANERS,,, than products labeled as "Carb Cleaner" or "Gas/Fuel Treatment"

The Later 2 products Have been enriched during last Decade or so,,
So the Differences in all the Variety are Not as Great as they were 15~20 years ago

If Sea Foam is Not available,,
Chose Anything labeled as FUEL INJECTION cleaner and it will do about as good a job as Sea Foam in your Tank, injectors, varnish, carbon etc in Intake tract, Valves and combustion chamber.

All more/less same stuff.
CLEANERS,,,have More Cleaner and Less Stabilizer than SeaFoam.
You are currently going through Fresh Petrol,,,so Ya do not Need the hi-dosage Stabilizers at this point.
Especially when trying to CLEAN the fuel system.
You need the higher dose Cleaner.
 
Basic how to on using seafoam and not hydro locking your engine.

This week: Get your car pretty close to E.
Day of : Drive to your auto parts store, buy 2 cans, and oil filter, and enough oil for an oil change.
Drive to the filler station, dump the 1st can in your gas tank.
Fill with gas.
On the drive home hit some nice corners, Swish that stuff around nice.

At home : Divide the remaining can of seafoam into 2 relativly equal parts. Pour the first half in your oil. Its a petroleum based product so its perfectly safe.
Now locate your brake booster line, and remove it from the brake booster. Others have suggest using the throttle body vacuum lines as this will clean out the throttle body as well.

Now what you wan't to do is using a clear plastic container, or a funnel divide the seafoam into 3 equal parts in your head, suck a bit of it into the engine being careful not to stall the engine. Do it slow. Suck 1/3 of the mixture into the car, Wait for about 5 minutes, or until the smoke clears. Then suck next 1/3 in. Let the care idle for a bit, until smoke clears.

Now, you want to stop your engine. Take a table spoon measuring spoon, and dump a table spoon in each cylinder through the spark plug holes. You want to let this stuff soak on this pistons for at least an hour. Crank the car and let it finish its smoking session.

Change your oil after no more than 100 miles. The oil will probably be dirty as shit.

I swear by the product, and I have done it too every vehicle I've owned that was over 100k miles Withing 2-3 weeks of purchase. You just gotta make sure to not stall the engine, can lead to hydrolock. And change that oil withing 100 miles. It will be very dirty.
 
first time i used this stuff i turned on my car and overheated like a mother f*****, found out it was my thermostat. turns out it was just bad luck. this stuff if great, cleans out all the carbon build up.
 
What a bunch of wussies...there's 24 pages of people including me, who've done the seafoam through a vacum line with great results. Need any more proof?

I believe it works, but no one has answered my question yet.

If I were to run a can of MCCC through my engine, do you think it would cause enough crud to plug my turbo inline oil filter?
 
no, that stuff breaks down all the carbon and crap build up, you put it in the gas tank, oil, and vacuum line, let it sit for like 15 minutes, start the car and mad white smoke comes out, then take the car for a quick drive and your good. it doesn't touch your spark plugs at all.
 
Use the MCCC for cleaning teh intake and use seafoam for cleaning the crankcase(putting it in your oil right before an oil change) and also in your fuel.

I just put a can of it in my fuel tank to clean the used injectors I just bought.
 
yesterday I noticed a light ping noise coming from the intake side on my head. I bought a can of Seafoam engine treatment today, went through all the motions of using it according to the products directions of use and guess what...no more lifter tick. I gues I caught it before any major problem/s occured.

If you havn't Seafoamed your engine in the past couple of years. DO IT and DO IT NOW!

Here's how I did it on my 6 bolt swapped 2g.

1. 1/3rd of the *100% petroleum* into my intake manifold via the largest vaccum line that connects from the back of the manifold to the brake booster. (this takes two people as one needs to connect a funnel and SLOWLY pour the seafoam into the line while the other person keeps the rpm's above 2500 using the gas pedal *duh* DON'T TOUCH YOUR BRAKE PEDAL).

2. 1/3rd into the crankcase.

3. 1/3rd into the gas tank.

4. Let the car sit for roughly 20 minutes.

5. Then started it up and kept a steady idle of 3000 rpm. The white smoke wasn't nearly as bad as most videos that you would see on youtube, but it solved my lifter tick 100%. I did this for roughly 5 minutes and the smoke cleared. Then went for a long drive for approximately an hour.

Note: I started with less than 2 gallons of fuel in my tank and drove it until the light came on. And remember to always ALWAYS use a funnel when working with any fluids for your precious gem. And remember to change your oil shortly after using Seafoam as it may contaminate it.


Seafoam is my hero!
 
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