Seafoam?
04-22-10, 03:39 PM
#17
A friend had an older car that started knocking going uphill on the highway. He started using higher octane gas and octane booster. It helped a little but there was still knock. He called me to ask about the price he was quoted for a fuel system cleaning ($400). I told him to try Amsoil PI before spending all that money on car he was considering selling. Not only did the knock stop he picked up about 2% better gas mileage. I recommended the product because someone I work with told me he had failed MV inspection for emissions and used two tanks of gas with this product and then passed. I have not used this product because I’m a firm believer in not using any additives unless it is absolutely necessary. If it isn’t broke don’t fix it!
Koz
Koz
04-22-10, 04:05 PM
#18
thank you for the thorough response. my car is in no way showing any signs that it needs cleaning, but being an enthusiast, i usually like to clean things before any signs show up. i was hoping you had personally used it on our IS to make sure that it was safe with our car. all well, i guess ill keep this product in mind if i ever need to clean my fuel system
04-22-10, 05:04 PM
#19
thank you for the thorough response. my car is in no way showing any signs that it needs cleaning, but being an enthusiast, i usually like to clean things before any signs show up. i was hoping you had personally used it on our IS to make sure that it was safe with our car. all well, i guess ill keep this product in mind if i ever need to clean my fuel system
Koz
04-22-10, 06:59 PM
#20
Tech Info Resource
iTrader: (2)
Fuel additives are antagonistic between manufacturers. If you run a couple of tanks of another brand through your engine, you'll clean up the deposits left by the previous fuel. This is why acetone often produces a small increase in fuel mileage when used as an additive but quickly loses its potency when you continue to use it.
So pretty much anything you put in your fuel is going to have a cleaning effect. If you are not a regular Chevron user, you can run a bottle of Techroline through your engine and your injectors will have better spray patterns. If you use Chevron, you could use Amsoil or Red Line's injector cleaners and get pretty much the same result. If you want to spend more money to feel good about spending money, you can get BG44K for about $20 a can and run that through. It works, but it surely isn't cheap.
Water is by far the best and cheapest decarbonizer. I've poured water into a carburetor as fast as it would pour from a 16 ounce container with the rpm at 2000 and not had any problems at all. Just like Seafoam, you'll get a big cloud of smoke, and if you have something as useful as a borescope, you'll see clean aluminum when you look at the piston tops through the sparkplug holes.
I've tried a few petroleum based supposed engine cleaners and been universally disappointed with the results. The only thing I've seen work well is straight water.
So pretty much anything you put in your fuel is going to have a cleaning effect. If you are not a regular Chevron user, you can run a bottle of Techroline through your engine and your injectors will have better spray patterns. If you use Chevron, you could use Amsoil or Red Line's injector cleaners and get pretty much the same result. If you want to spend more money to feel good about spending money, you can get BG44K for about $20 a can and run that through. It works, but it surely isn't cheap.
Water is by far the best and cheapest decarbonizer. I've poured water into a carburetor as fast as it would pour from a 16 ounce container with the rpm at 2000 and not had any problems at all. Just like Seafoam, you'll get a big cloud of smoke, and if you have something as useful as a borescope, you'll see clean aluminum when you look at the piston tops through the sparkplug holes.
I've tried a few petroleum based supposed engine cleaners and been universally disappointed with the results. The only thing I've seen work well is straight water.
04-22-10, 07:49 PM
#21
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i use the sea-foam in my lexus and u run the sea-foam throw the PCV vacuum thats what get the carbon build up and also the smoke the gas and oil will not make smoke and if u research the sea-foam it says to do it right before a oil change and also the spark plugs cause it can cause build up and fault the plugs
when i used it i saw results right away my lexus has 225k and after the sea-foam its running great
when i used it i saw results right away my lexus has 225k and after the sea-foam its running great
04-23-10, 06:53 AM
#22
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Man, I think some of you guys just reply to posts to add to the number under your name.
Seafoam does not suggest using it just before an oil change. They state very clearly that their product can be left in the crankcase indefinitely as long as the oil is clean. Once it becomes dirty, it needs to be changed. Leaving it in for an extended period of time will not damage anything as long as the oil does not become overly contaminated from the cleaning process.
Going off experience and not hearsay, Seafoam will clean the carbon off your sparkplugs, if anything, but the concern about the O2 sensors is valid.
Brandon
Seafoam does not suggest using it just before an oil change. They state very clearly that their product can be left in the crankcase indefinitely as long as the oil is clean. Once it becomes dirty, it needs to be changed. Leaving it in for an extended period of time will not damage anything as long as the oil does not become overly contaminated from the cleaning process.
Going off experience and not hearsay, Seafoam will clean the carbon off your sparkplugs, if anything, but the concern about the O2 sensors is valid.
Brandon
04-23-10, 07:01 AM
#23
Man, I think some of you guys just reply to posts to add to the number under your name.
Seafoam does not suggest using it just before an oil change. They state very clearly that their product can be left in the crankcase indefinitely as long as the oil is clean. Once it becomes dirty, it needs to be changed. Leaving it in for an extended period of time will not damage anything as long as the oil does not become overly contaminated from the cleaning process.
Going off experience and not hearsay, Seafoam will clean the carbon off your sparkplugs, if anything, but the concern about the O2 sensors is valid.
Brandon
Seafoam does not suggest using it just before an oil change. They state very clearly that their product can be left in the crankcase indefinitely as long as the oil is clean. Once it becomes dirty, it needs to be changed. Leaving it in for an extended period of time will not damage anything as long as the oil does not become overly contaminated from the cleaning process.
Going off experience and not hearsay, Seafoam will clean the carbon off your sparkplugs, if anything, but the concern about the O2 sensors is valid.
Brandon
05-01-10, 10:49 AM
#25
Man, there's a lot of people here without practical experience of seafoam. To the OP, it's not going to let out white smoke because you didn't put it through the intake. Send the seafoam through the brake booster line.
Change the oil after a few hundred miles of having seafoam in the oil.
To everyone else, yes, seafoam cleans. There's potential that some carbon might get stuck on an injector or a spark plug after knocking all the carbon loose. How do I know this? It happened to me, and it's happened to a lot of people on the internet. It has the potential to mess up your o2 sensor, spark plugs, injectors, etc. But, it does clean very well. There's thousands of people that swear by it. I've used it in lots of old motorcycles and seafoam is magical.
I will run it through every vehicle I own.
Change the oil after a few hundred miles of having seafoam in the oil.
To everyone else, yes, seafoam cleans. There's potential that some carbon might get stuck on an injector or a spark plug after knocking all the carbon loose. How do I know this? It happened to me, and it's happened to a lot of people on the internet. It has the potential to mess up your o2 sensor, spark plugs, injectors, etc. But, it does clean very well. There's thousands of people that swear by it. I've used it in lots of old motorcycles and seafoam is magical.
I will run it through every vehicle I own.
05-01-10, 01:42 PM
#26
Man, I think some of you guys just reply to posts to add to the number under your name.
Seafoam does not suggest using it just before an oil change. They state very clearly that their product can be left in the crankcase indefinitely as long as the oil is clean. Once it becomes dirty, it needs to be changed. Leaving it in for an extended period of time will not damage anything as long as the oil does not become overly contaminated from the cleaning process.
Going off experience and not hearsay, Seafoam will clean the carbon off your sparkplugs, if anything, but the concern about the O2 sensors is valid.
Brandon
Seafoam does not suggest using it just before an oil change. They state very clearly that their product can be left in the crankcase indefinitely as long as the oil is clean. Once it becomes dirty, it needs to be changed. Leaving it in for an extended period of time will not damage anything as long as the oil does not become overly contaminated from the cleaning process.
Going off experience and not hearsay, Seafoam will clean the carbon off your sparkplugs, if anything, but the concern about the O2 sensors is valid.
Brandon
hell, plain old pennzoil will clean out your crankcase well enough alone.
05-01-10, 07:26 PM
#27
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if you're using a good synthetic oil, why would you need to put an additive in it? modern oils all have tons of detergents to clean out the engine!
i put sta-bil in the fuel of the car that i rarely drive, and mobil 1 15w-50 in it because it's got a lot of ZDDP.
use good oil and good fuel and you shouldn't need miracle cleaning stuff that'll likely mess up your engine.
i put sta-bil in the fuel of the car that i rarely drive, and mobil 1 15w-50 in it because it's got a lot of ZDDP.
use good oil and good fuel and you shouldn't need miracle cleaning stuff that'll likely mess up your engine.
05-03-10, 08:27 AM
#28
All additives (Including oil additives) are chemicals and chemicals are the first thing to breakdown and cause contamination. Even if used in the fuel system these chemicals will get into your oil and will circulate through your engine. UOA's have proven this. Don't use any additive unless there is an absolute need to and make sure you are using a PROVEN product. If you do use an additive follow the directions carefully. There are some really good additives on the market, Seafoam is definitely one of them.
Koz
Koz
