Seafoam

what is seafoam?

 

I've used it in a old Honda and RX7. I'm not sure if it helped, but my neighbor called the fire department on me because of all the "smoke" from it.

 

I personally wouldn't. I have seen many things over time referencing premature injector failure, and issues with seals afterwards. I understand trying it if you're trying to get a few more months before maintenance on your old GMC pickup truck, but not on any Fcar.

 

I've used it on a CIS Porsche 928 with meh results and in the intake in my old mini.. also meh results. If you're thinking injectors it's too easy to remove them and then ultrasonically clean them.

 

I used it on my 78 VW Rabbit (autocrosser) with a swapped 1.8 GTI engine and trans. It cleaned off the valves and increased the compression by removing the built up gunk. I periodically use it on my carbureted engines (Ford 200, 289, 360FE, 390FE).

I wouldn't use it on any modern, computer controlled vehicle unless oil and air filter changes have been verifiably neglected.

 

I use it in my boat, snow sled fleet, and any car I'm not going to drive for a few months - including my 360. I usually combine it with a startron tx (for ethanol). For longer storage I'll use stabul. I use it as preventative maintenance, not for suspected dirty injectors.

I use the aerosol sprayed into the individual throttle bodies For my boat's engines, and snow sleds before storage.

I've used in the my gas tanks for all my cars on occasion, including the 360 as a fuel system maintenance/cleaner.

Some people swear by it, I don't think it will hurt the car, and it's probably less deleterious than the 10% ethanol which our cars tolerate.



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Hi All,
Sorry that this is a very late post. I have used SEAFOAM in my 88 328GTB. Car has just over 75K miles on it. I do use Techron regularly. My injectors are new.

I bought a gallon of SEAFOAM and used half of it on my wife's 2010 Honda Accord and the other half on the Ferrari (I did it twice using about a quart each time). The Honda is definitely running smoother. It is a V-6 and there was a notice that some of the engines were consuming high amounts of oil (about a quart a month) and this was the case in this car as well. Oil consumption is definitely lower but I need a longer timeline to confirm.

My experience is positive. It produced lots of smoke after the first time. Both during the "ingestion" process AND after waiting 10 minutes after shutting off the engine then restarting and going for a drive on the highway....

I took the car to have it smog certified here in California after doing this process and it passed easily (it always has but this time the emissions values on the STAR smog test were phenomenally low). The smog test that the state of california required me to obtain was the more stringent STAR test as compared to the normal check.

I used it again about 2 weeks later and this time there was not as much smoke produced compared to the first time. I will probably wait another 2-3 weeks then repeat the process....I ran it into the car through a vacuum line going into the intake plenum.

It could be the "placebo" effect, but the car is definitely running smoother. The idle does not "hunt" very much at all and is pretty stable. I regularly change all the fluids (oil, transmission, coolant, brakes etc) in the car and keep the maintenance up on it for the highly technical issues such as the cam belts etc.

I did NOT add it to the motor oil or transmission oil or to the gasoline. I only used it through the intake manifold....

My experience was good so far.

 

If you do use any of these heavy duty cleaning products, change the oil right after.

 

For sure! Do that!

I would pull an oil sample now and have it tested to see the percentage of the fuel (solvent) dilution it caused, and the level of metal particulates from the increased wear. Do this so you know the severity of what you’ve done. It would be ideal if you have a recent baseline test to compare against. Its not good to add it through the intake like so many youboob videos show. Best as a preventive measure in smaller increments, regularly, added to the fuel tank and metered through the fuel system. I use it (and other items...octane booster and a burn enhancer)in fuel tanks, but would never let it be “ingested” by manifold vacuum at the intake.

The Honda oil consumption https://www.amsoil.com/techservicesbulletin/MotorOil/TSB MO-2004-04-03 Oil Consumption.pdf could have in all likelyhood been rectified by other safer means. It may only have had to do with a fouled/restricted/faulty pcv system. Which, once corrected, would allow the motor to clean itself up at a safer rate. By dumping through the intake you wash the cylinder walls of oil while its running, then blow-by enters the oil, making it more solvent, resulting in increased bearing, ring, cylinder, valve guide, chain and cam wear, and possibly future seal and gasket leaks. The smoke is not a sign of it working, but that it is being introduced at too high a rate and disturbing a good clean combustion process.

I can’t believe people think it a good idea to do that. No offense meant, but you probably ought to change your oil now in each vehicle, and before driving them again.

 

Yes, I did change my oil soon afterwards. I drive the car way up in Northern California where the overnight temperatures drop to near freezing levels near the coast. I normally have over the years used Castrol Syntec 10W-40 but decided to change to Mobil 1 0W-40 just after doing the Seafoam.

What a massive difference the Mobil 1 0W-40 makes. Engine runs wayyy cooler and it fires up immediately even after the cold soak in temperatures overnight. It is well known that revs drive up the oil temp and driving the car pretty briskly (but I really never push it to redline much) to maybe 6-7K rpm never got the oil temp past the mid-mark at the 6pm position. The Castrol Syntec 10W 40 would get much hotter and would stay that way. I don't think it was an issue but it is quite a shock to see over the 22 years I have owned my 88 328gtb that my oil temps stay much lower now. It gets driven a lot and I have never seen or felt it perform like it does with the Mobil 1 0W 40... I went to this oil after reading multiple times the pdf from the oil expert on flow and temperature etc thats been posted on Ferrari Chat. So far the experience is very positive. Oil pressure concerns from some owners has not been an issue at all. the pressure is the same as far as I can tell. Oil temp with the Castrol 10W 40 just after the seafoam used showed no change. It was only after switching to the Mobil 1 0W 40 did I see a temp change. Gas mileage seems a little bit better but maybe only by 1 mile per gallon. Tough to say conclusively but I am positive that the car fires up immediately a lot faster and the engine just feels smoother at idle.

Good points expressed about sending out the old oil etc for baseline evaluations but didn't do it before disposing of it. I will say that the Mobil 1 after running it some 400 miles looks exactly the same as when I changed it along with the Baldwin oil filter. Those Baldwin's save you big money with every change.

In terms of the Honda....the oil consumption which was ridiculous at 1 quart a month has now gone to zero after the Seafoam. It is really amazing-and I am a fairly skeptical person ... But- it did improve the 2010 Honda V-6's oil consumption issue. That car has always used the Mobil 1 5W-40 and it is just stunning to see the difference (and my wife even commented that the car seems to run smoother).

You could be right about the PVC valve etc... but I had replaced that not too long ago with no change in oil consumption afterwards...

 

BG44k is the real stuff. The strongest of them all. If you think that you have a buildup problem use it once a year. Otherwise 20oz Techron every (?most) fill ups and you are doing great.

 

an "injector cleaner" popular with the teenage tuner crowd.

 

hahah thanks

 

bg 44k and techron