seafoam for old motors good/bad?

[Xise]

I was thinking about seafoaming my stock ka24e after i reconnect all my egr/aiv stuff, just wondering if it actually does anything or if it is just going to crud up my new exhaust with 20years worth of engine nastiness.

Just wondering what everyones take on this stuff is...my car idles fine as it is, but I am sure it is not 100% so I was considering this stuff. From what I have seen it just makes your car smoke like you have blown a head gasket bad....anyone notice any improvements afterwards? i couldn't find any before and after pics to see if the car sounds any better so I really don't know what to think.

BTW my car does not smoke or burn any oil, and I only have about 120k on my KA. Just looking for people's impressions for and against

[jrbump]

old single cam?

It could be the very deposits you seek to destroy preserving your motor.

[Xise]

exactly what I am afraid of hehe, I need this motor to last until iu can afford to swap, so maybe I should just leave it be....knowing my luck I would loosen some gunk that is holding the headgasket together and would notice I blew it due to the smoke and then I would be kicking myself in the ass for some stupid can of seafoam lol, just wondering if this stuff ahs caused problems for anyone, I have heard some good things about it but I just have a bad feeling about it.

[waynehead05]

I would do it. I've never had any issues with the product on 3 different cars and 6 different motors lol.

[jamg]

seafoam is the shit.

i highly doubt it will mess your engine up.

try it out, test your luck. if it blows, get an SR. win win situation.

[Xise]

3 different cars and and 6 different motors? lol somehow this does not reassure me of the products effectiveness

I would do it. I've never had any issues with the product on 3 different cars and 6 different motors lol.

[kalypso123]

the other 3 motors, might not be his

[Ben G]

swap on each car perhaps just because he could? idk i have heard it works well and cleans very well

[HAWAII]

It does work and clean very well but as the other guy states, it might get rid of the stuff that is holding your motor together. Do you want to spray it in the vacuum or mix it with gasoline?

[jrbump]

^ vacuum is the most effective way.

I have dumped it into all sorts of motors never had a problem. If you are happy with the car then why?

[gottdeskrieges]

How well does it clean the fuel system. I bought enough to do in the oil, vaccum and fuel areas haha. If its as good as they say it is i'll be glad. Garage of smoke here i come...hmmm maybe i need to direct the exhasut outside lol.

[jrbump]

^ yes you really need to point the exhaust outside.

[Xise]

the motor itself is fairly low mileage for a sohc only 120k, I was going to do vacuum first through the brake booster, then the intake and finally the gas tank maybe spread over a 3 day period

[zenki.life]

it will be fine. you will notice some(i use that word weakly) change. you just have to keep seafoaming your engine about every 3 months afterward. and you NEED an oilchange after every application as it fucks with your oil viscosity.

[HAWAII]

there is a spray kind and the liquid form kind. use the spray for the vacuum and the liquid to add to your gas/oil/coffee whatever.

do it outside on a very well ventilated area. DO NOT FLOOR your car when driving on main streets after doing this. It will produce tons of black smoke and you might easily get a ticket. be careful meng.

Oh yeah tell your neighbors that it's not a fire!

[Bigsyke]

I really hope you dont put that shit in your engine, ive used it a few times about 7 years ago, something went wrong with 1st my LCA's on a Dseries honda engine, then I dried out the valves. I also believe I slightly bent a rod.

1st off, do a shit ton of research. Bobistheoilguy.com Register and search for a few days. Seafoam is only good for cleaning engine grease, and a rust pentrant. If you want to clean your engine safely toss the bottle of seafoam away and get;

1x bottle of chevron techron
1x bottle of the big marvel mystery oil
2x bottles of autorx (only if your not running synthetic)

Do an autorx clean/rinse if youve run dino oil, skip if your running a groupIV+ oil such as amsoil.

Run 1 bottle of Chevron techron through a 12gallon tank, Next once empty, put exactly 4.5 ounces of marvel mystery oil into a 10 gallon tank of gas. The chevron techron will clean all the deposits in your head, and the marvel mystery oil in a very small dosage will lubricate the head and keep the engine free from deposits, also it will free up any garbage in the cylinders.

Seafoam will kill your o2 sensors - and spark plugs. also its been known to kill valve seals. - more so its infamous for bending rods when used through the IM, just a tablespoon in 1 cylinder is all you need to blow your engine.

[WildAsDaTaliban]

i have heard of pretty much nothing but good things about seafoam but who knows. i have never used it myself.

i might try what Bigsyke said though.

[Xise]

yeah from what I have heard from this threadd I am going to skip the seafoam...I just spent a bunch of $$ getting this car up and running last thing i need is to brickmy motor b/c I have no money to swap anything right now.

I might try what Bigsyke said though. On a semi related note has anyone used that oild treatment zmax? I was also thinking of giving that a try to rejuvinate an ol motor without rebuilding it

[miklos]

YouTube - Seafoam Phonecall with Jim; Q&A with engine motor treatment (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZyz-np6tDI&feature=related)

Jim says leave it in the oil

[redpotatoes]

If you are afraid of doing it the full 3 way's, simply do it through the vacuum. It's safe and it while clean up some sh**.

[Pacman]

When you do it through the vacuum source, add a very little at a time. If you don't, liquid Seafoam will get into the engine and basically hydrolock and bend valves/rods. We use something similar at work that the company MOC supplies us. I have personlly seen a co-worker bend a rod on a 3.4L Tacoma due to the valve control that we have failed and let A LOT of the cleaner into the engine. Just be careful and you;ll be good.
Also, get some throttle body cleaner and clean you're throttle body of carbon. Get it all clean with a rag. When you go to start, hold the throttle wide and blip the throttle not letting the engine start. That way you don't flood the engine with liquid.
Thats what the dealership/shop does when they sell you a fuel injection service. TA-DAH!

[Ivebeenconverted]

seafoam is the shit!

[driftcardotnet]

I would think that 20 years of deposits are holding your motor together, you put the sea foam in there and then bam all those deposits are gone, the next thing you know is your rings are leaking, valve seals aren't sealing anymore.

What most people overlook is these deposits have built up over time, and they are probably helping your rings not leak, amongst other things.
I have seen my friend put sea foam in his oil, well I saw what happened when after wards.
I have fed sea foam in my intake and vacuum lines before and no problem, i'm running sr though, with no cat,
I recommend you not having a cat if you decide to run it in your system anyways

[BrokenWhite240]

If your motor doesn't make noise or burn oil don't do it..

At the dealership I work at once a car has a certain amout of miles on it were not aloud to recomend the emission service that includes the "sea foam" or other company names. The reason is they will most likely start to valve tap or blow oil. Most of the time I see them cause blowing oil.

Some things we do at my dealership that help is..An additive that you add to your oil let your car idle for about 10 min then drain your oil. Also the fuel injector cleaners that you dump in the gas tank. Theres some more just take a stroll down an isle in advance auto or something an just browse and read.

[Bigsyke]

I would think that 20 years of deposits are holding your motor together, you put the sea foam in there and then bam all those deposits are gone, the next thing you know is your rings are leaking, valve seals aren't sealing anymore.

What most people overlook is these deposits have built up over time, and they are probably helping your rings not leak, amongst other things.
I have seen my friend put sea foam in his oil, well I saw what happened when after wards.
I have fed sea foam in my intake and vacuum lines before and no problem, i'm running sr though, with no cat,
I recommend you not having a cat if you decide to run it in your system anyways


Thats not even the case anymore. Most OTS oils such as mobil1 have a synthetic addative package which is more effective at releasing/breaking down sludge than seafoam. On improper engines such as VW's or other POS cars, the sludge build up is still an issue. I dont think its the crud being released that causes leaks, its the hardened seals that tend to crack when exposed to raw petroleum.

Just dont put it in your car, anywhere. You dont need to use it in the intake manifold, unless youve been running with a clogged PCV valve - without an airfilter.

Chevron techron in the gastank will do the EXACT same thing safely, but it also will lubricate the head, seafoam drys it out.

[Xise]

Thats not even the case anymore. Most OTS oils such as mobil1 have a synthetic addative package which is more effective at releasing/breaking down sludge than seafoam. On improper engines such as VW's or other POS cars, the sludge build up is still an issue. I dont think its the crud being released that causes leaks, its the hardened seals that tend to crack when exposed to raw petroleum.

Just dont put it in your car, anywhere. You dont need to use it in the intake manifold, unless youve been running with a clogged PCV valve - without an airfilter.

Chevron techron in the gastank will do the EXACT same thing safely, but it also will lubricate the head, seafoam drys it out.

yeah from what I have seen it looks like the seafoam takes a toll on motor, especailly an old one, once I get some free $$ together I am goig to get some engine and fuel system cleaners and see if it makes any difference. But before that I need to reconnect the egr system