After Sea Foam impressions ...

[DonM]

NO, I DIDN'T spray it down the throttle body, but I did put 2 full cans in the tank when it was down to about 1/3 (between the 1/2 and 1/4 mark on the gauge, slightly closer to 1/4).

I drove it like this for a few days (on my off days, so it was only about 10 miles), then I topped off the tank and have driven to work twice (180 miles).

The idle seems smoother and quieter, and the butt dyno says that on the throttle response seems quicker and it seems to pull better from about 2,250 rpms - which is where the you can normally feel the engine starting to pull especially in the lower gears.

Did it really make a difference? Were my injectors dirty & did they get cleaned out? Is it just my imagination that it's running better? Who know, but does it help my peace of mind? Sure.

[Russell James]

If your oil looks pitch black, it worked good.

I'd change the oil. Go romp on it WFO a few times. Then change oil again.

Thought being not romping the bejesus out of it while all that crap is in the oil. The WFO romp will blast a lot out the pipes. Watch your rear view the first time you stand on it. Probably a nice puff of darkness.

[sbubbaklein]

used sea foam in my mercury out board after it set a little too long . Had stabil in the gas but the oil in the fuel clogged up the carbs. This was oil injected 2 stroke. Next time I'm buying a boat, it will be fuel injected 4 stroke. Sea Foam worked good.

[Moto-Mojo]

No idea what this snake oil is but being of aged wisdom and one tranny and T case later, I learned years ago to avoid additives at all costs. Oil and gas...

Remember “Prolong?” “No Equal in the World!” No equal in turning your ATF into a gurgling caldron of incompatible fluids that rusted the whole unit shut. $1800. Pretty much the same thing with a T case. Turned the bearings into cannabalistic grinding wheels. $1400. Thank you very little. Be careful out there in the miracle additive world.

[JD555]

My 2 stoke outboards requires a decarb every 50 hours by the manufacture(yamaha). At about 45 hrs they start to idle rough. I seafoam them and take it out for a WOT run and when I come back they are running like electric motors. I had a throttle body chevy truck 5L that used to shake the shifter (man trans)like crazy at idle. I threw a can of sea foam in it and it smoothed it out and never came back. I know people say its snake oil but it does work as long as its something it can fix. I have also put it in oil as recommended and fixed a noisy lifter. I did not leave it in long. Lightly drove it a few miles and dumped it.

[DonM]

Originally Posted by Russell James

If your oil looks pitch black, it worked good.

I'd change the oil. Go romp on it WFO a few times. Then change oil again.

Thought being not romping the bejesus out of it while all that crap is in the oil. The WFO romp will blast a lot out the pipes. Watch your rear view the first time you stand on it. Probably a nice puff of darkness.

Why would it be in the oil? I added it to the gas tank...

Originally Posted by Moto-Mojo

No idea what this snake oil is but being of aged wisdom and one tranny and T case later, I learned years ago to avoid additives at all costs. Oil and gas...

Remember “Prolong?” “No Equal in the World!” No equal in turning your ATF into a gurgling caldron of incompatible fluids that rusted the whole unit shut. $1800. Pretty much the same thing with a T case. Turned the bearings into cannabalistic grinding wheels. $1400. Thank you very little. Be careful out there in the miracle additive world.

I know all about Prolong... I saw the video where it turned a quality synthetic into sludge. I'm just looking for a good fuel system cleaner, not a miracle lube that can let me run my engine without oil.

Originally Posted by JD555

My 2 stoke outboards requires a decarb every 50 hours by the manufacture(yamaha). At about 45 hrs they start to idle rough. I seafoam them and take it out for a WOT run and when I come back they are running like electric motors. I had a throttle body chevy truck 5L that used to shake the shifter (man trans)like crazy at idle. I threw a can of sea foam in it and it smoothed it out and never came back. I know people say its snake oil but it does work as long as its something it can fix. I have also put it in oil as recommended and fixed a noisy lifter. I did not leave it in long. Lightly drove it a few miles and dumped it.

I don't know if after 71,000 miles I had carbon or grunge build up in the fuel system, but I figured it couldn't hurt. I didn't want to just dump a can of GUMOUT in the tank and leave it at that. I went all over the 'net and You Tube researching the best candidate to use as a cleaner. Sea Foam was the most popular and the common denominator in all the 'comparison' tests. After reading everything I could, it said that you couldn't use too much, you could run the engine on 50/50 Sea Foam/gas. So I figures 32 oz of Sea Foam in ~6 gallons of gas would work well IF my engine was as bad as you'd think after that many miles.

[pnwdan]

My wife's Mini Cooper is direct injection and those type of systems come with the requirement to remove the cylinder head every so many miles and have the valves etc cleaned via walnut blasting because they coke up with carbon. I use the Seafoam fogger system on it and it purrs like a kitten afterward. I swear by the stuff. I hope I never have to take that damn thing apart.

[DonM]

Originally Posted by pnwdan

My wife's Mini Cooper is direct injection and those type of systems come with the requirement to remove the cylinder head every so many miles and have the valves etc cleaned via walnut blasting because they coke up with carbon. I use the Seafoam fogger system on it and it purrs like a kitten afterward. I swear by the stuff. I hope I never have to take that damn thing apart.

I can't tell you how tempting it is for me to try the Sea Foam spray on my intake. I don't want to take mine apart either (even though I have the detailed instructions that are listed elsewhere on this forum).

After all the reading and watching I've done on Sea Foam AND after questioning the Sea Foam tech several times, I'm ALMOST positive about using it through the throttle body.

[Moto-Mojo]

Someone please explain how washing hardened carbon deposits into the combustion chamber (and rings/cylinder walls) is a good thing. Seriously, I'm trying to understand the Sea Foam thing.

[pnwdan]

Originally Posted by Moto-Mojo

Someone please explain how washing hardened carbon deposits into the combustion chamber (and rings/cylinder walls) is a good thing. Seriously, I'm trying to understand the Sea Foam thing.

I think the idea is to do it regularly and limit the amount of carbon you are removing at a single time however many people have done this for years and there is very little evidence to show any harmful scaring or gouging from it. When i was a teen ripping around with small block engines we use to use ATF and feed it in the vacuum lines to do the same thing

[Olddudesrule]

Originally Posted by Moto-Mojo

Someone please explain how washing hardened carbon deposits into the combustion chamber (and rings/cylinder walls) is a good thing. Seriously, I'm trying to understand the Sea Foam thing.

I've used it on a prior Duramax. Seafoam claims that the deposits are softened prior to being removed, so no harm comes to the cylinder walls as it's burned.

[DonM]

Originally Posted by Olddudesrule

I've used it on a prior Duramax. Seafoam claims that the deposits are softened prior to being removed, so no harm comes to the cylinder walls as it's burned.

*From another thread*

My question to Sea Foam:

I have a 2013 Chevrolet Camaro with the LFX V-6 (3.6) engine. The car currently has 70,500 miles. I have heard of (and seen) the amounts of carbon deposits left on the intake valves and runners, due to the Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) engine. No fuel washes over the backs of the intake valves to clean them in this injection system, so adding Sea Foam to the fuel tank is pointless for valve cleaning. The only way is to remove the intake manifold and manually clean the valves/runners or to spray a cleaner down through the throttle body. Here lies the dilemma - Every source I have read or watched states that spraying cleaner through the throttle body on a GDI engine is bad, as the carbon deposits are not soft from fuel wash, rather they are hard and crystalline and when sprayed with cleaner, they can break free and lodge between the piston and the cylinder wall causing damage or get stuck between the valve and the head causing issues there. I would like to get your input on the subject of GDI engine deposits and removal by spraying the cleaner down the throttle body. Thanks

Sea Foam's Response:

Your right adding Sea Foam or any other cleaner to fuel will only clean injectors and combustion chambers and do nothing for cleaning intake valves. As far as cleaners sprayed through the throttle body the carbon breaking free and lodging in the piston rings depends on what kind of cleaner you use. The chemical detergent type cleaners(PEA) will do that but if you use a product like Sea Foam Spray, Marvel Mystery Oil and others are petroleum based solvents combined with lubrication oils that dissolves fuel and oil residues and burning it in the combustion process. These residues are what the carbon sticks to. These deposits are present in the intake system due to engine camshaft profiling causing back wash and emission designs like crankcase ventilation and EGR systems. If you dissolve the residue in the intake runners and intake valves the carbon is released in a powder form and exits through the exhaust. In other words Sea Foam doesn’t break chunks of carbon loose. Sea Foam soaks into the carbon deposits during the hot soak period and the aggressive road test after the application process is what burns up the residues and expels it and the carbon partials out the exhaust. The only other option you have is to disassemble the engine and physically clean the intake and valves, which can get very expensive. The choice is yours but I will tell you that many dealerships, independent repair shops and retail customers have used Sea Foam Spray on many different GDI engines with great success and we have never gotten a damage complaint after using Sea Foam spray.



Jim Davis-ASE Certified Technician

Sea Foam Sales Co.

12987 Pioneer Trail

Eden Prairie, MN. 55347

Work-952-938-4811

Fax-952-938-5841

[Moto-Mojo]

Originally Posted by Olddudesrule

I've used it on a prior Duramax. Seafoam claims that the deposits are softened prior to being removed, so no harm comes to the cylinder walls as it's burned.

This is way beyond my expertise but I think even diluting carbon still doesn't remove the abrasion factor, but probably does help. I suppose done often enough, SF could work.

I liken it to cholesterol in your arteries, until blockage is complete, you "run" pretty well. Knock some loose and have it create a clog somewhere else (like in yer brain) and you're having a stroke!

[Sheriff Justice]

I have used Sea Foam and Chevron Techron 20oz complete fuel system cleaner with good results. I put it in my vehicles every 6 months (2 times year). I use top tier gas but feel there is no harm in doing it. I get the Techron 20oz on B1G1 and grab 4. Can treat up to 20 gallons but I only put in 12-15.