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Seafoam, for the win!!

75K views 76 replies 52 participants last post by  kms1990 
#1 ·
Just another thread stating the obvious for any new members who may not already be enlightened.

Seafoam is awesome. Use it.

That is all.
 
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#2 ·
I am gonna try it out I think. Do it before an oil change right?
 
#3 ·
If you use it through the Brake Booster Line you will be fine without an oil change. If you dump it into the crankcase(1/3 only) ride around for about 100-200 miles then change your oil.

I don't use it in the fuel because I already use Marvel Mystery Oil.
 
#4 ·
I did a can in the tank, and about 1/3 of a can through the vacuum line.

Gonna wait to put the rest in the crank-case until I'm closer to oil change time.

I let the engine bog right down on it, then shut it off for about 4 hours. Not that much smoke...Definately noticeable tho, and smelly.

Smoother idle, better throttle response, and a little more torquey on launch.

It's just a bottle of liquid awesomeness for your engine, and probably the first product I've tried that actually seems to do something. (I still can't find MMO around here tho, so I've never tried it)
 
#8 ·
^^Definately^^

I didn't get the massive clouds that a few people on here have mentioned, but I still had a very noticeable amount of white smoke coming out the tail-pipe.
 
#11 · (Edited)
run 1/3 through evap and 1/3 in tank and 1/3 where else?
The crank-case...That's right, pour it in your oil. :thumbup:

And it definately is worth it, especially for how cheap and fast it is.

I finally found some, tried it, and it kicks a$$.
 
#13 ·
does the evap port suck it in or do you have to pour it in then re-connect it?

also, you dont really just dump it down the dipstick slot to make it in the crankcase do you?
 
#14 ·
To add it to the crankcase you remove the oil fill cap and dump it in. Definitely do it just prior to an oil change. I'll be doing it to my X next month the day before I change the oil. I'll add a full can to the gas and 1/2 can to the vacuum line going to the IM and 1/3 can to the crank case.
I've done this to my 2003 Mazda 6 and it did just fine. I did it to my 5 y/o Ryobi weedeater...added to the fule/oil mixture (just a shot glass ammt to a full tank) and through the choke and it ran MUCH better afterwards.
I also added it to my Craftsman self-propelled mower...to the gas and through the air intake....couldn't tell any difference as it's always run smoothly and started on the first pull....which I attribute to Craftsman craftsmanship and regular oil changes w/ synthetic oil.

I will say some folks over on www.6crew.com have been badmouthing Seafoam after a member spun a bearing during a dyno session. He's convinced the Seafoam corroded the bearing, but he has absolutely no proof this is the case, and to be honest I don't see how Seafoam...which is a mixture of 3 hydrocarbons...can corrode a metal bearing.

Anyway I'm a fan of Seafoam and will continue to use it on my X and 6.
 
#18 ·
I thought I read it 'dilutes' or breaks down the oil, aka like water (crankcase method) - so do not drive much on it. I haven't used it - just things I've read. But a watchout on the crankcase addition. As others said, do right before an oil change. I read where some do a second oil change a few hundred mile later just to make sure it gets ALL out...
 
#19 ·
If I've got the money to spoil my rig, I like to get a little extra oil to do a bit of a flush on it.

I sort of do a ghetto oil-change, then a real one right after.

It seems like this helps get the worst of the remaining oil from the upper passages down to the filter, and my new oil stayed a little cleaner, longer. As well, this only uses one extra bottle of oil per change.

I figure this should also work well with the seafoam, helping to get the remainder out of the engine before refilling the oil.

But the whole reason for this seafoam venture is that my oil has been getting blackened a little faster than I like, and I wanna see if seafoam in the oil will help.
 
#20 ·
+1 on doing it outside. I will add to this and say do it away from your garage too.


The first time I did it I had my garage door open and my Xterra was on the far side of the driveway. The wind blew the white smoke into the garage(and into the house). Awful smell lol. I moved the truck down the driveway road to the street and finished up the treatment there.

The second time I did it, I went to my old jobs parking lot(abandoned due to a buyout). I ran seafoam until it no longer smoked. Parking lot was filled with a plume of smoke.

It's a very good maintenance fluid about once every year.
 
#22 ·
I've never tried to add a cleaner through a vacuum tube. Anyone stall out a motor and be unable to get it going again while doing this?

For those of you who love Seafoam and use it regularly, why not cook up a batch yourself? That's part of the reason I posted the ingredients.

If Seafoam is 50% pale oil, you could use ATF, old motor oil, 2-stroke oil or plain mineral oil (baby oil) as a substitute for this ingredient.

About 30% of Seafoam is naptha. The Coleman lantern fuel is supposedly all or mostly naptha.

Up to 20% of Seafoam is Isopropyl alcohol. You can get 100% isopropyl alcohol in the form of gas driers (Christy's and other brands) for a little over $1 for 12oz. or the 91% solution at just about any pharmacy.

You could whip up a mix of this stuff for probably a LOT less money ... or cut down on the pale oil for a formula even higher in active solvents for better cleaning (in the gas, vacuum tube or fuel tank only).

As for adding Seafoam into the crankcase, I agree not to run this stuff for very long ... 15-20 minutes MAX ... before you drain it out with the oil. Powerful solvents should not be left in the sump while the engine is operating and under load as they severely compromise the oil's ability to protect metal surfaces.

However, I would not be too concerned about mere traces leftover in the fresh oil following the change. Sure, there will be TRACE amounts ... but the naptha and alcohol are highly volatile compounds and will 'flash off' quite quickly ... probably after a half hour or so of running at operating temp (provided your PCV valve is working properly). Given that they are mere traces to begin with and won't last long, it's safe enough to just change the oil (and filter) the one time.
 
#25 ·
Mix up a batch and let us know how it goes!

I'm not a Seafoam fan ... just tossing out ideas to regular Seafoam users. I use plenty of pour-in cleaners throughout the year to keep my engines exceptionally clean.

If you read enough car magazines, you will see others introduce various products into the combustion chambers via a vacuum tube. It seems the shock-effect of nearly ANY liquid (even ATF ... or water!) will produce some cleaning when use this way.

I can't imagine how you could test various products against each other without a big bunch of equally carboned engines, treat each in a different way then tear them all down for analysis.
 
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