blue betsy

Thanks for all the info. I know i have used sea foam on several of my vehicles all with great results. This was just a good article to read and good info to know.

rangerruck

smartboyalex; totally living up to that name, baby! I never thought to break it down chemically, just genius!!!! I knew that when i had done this, that I was actually getting goo and water from my tailpipe, but others tried to tell me, "naw, it's proly just condensation from your CAT or your pipe", but I knew diff, it was just too much. So your chem breakdown confirms that for me. There are other products similar , such as B-12 , or Marvel, even a few others. But I like the idea of Seafoam, i like it's very few ingredients, I like they are all Petoleum based, and I don't see any of those ingredients leaving any kind of residue, or leaving enough material to become ph unbalanced, and leaving it's mark so to speak. So I am going to stick with the mighty Seafoam.

SEMSD

Hay Rangerruck thanks for all that info. I know you had to put a lot of time and work into your writings. ant way thanks

infiltrator

I've done two Seafoam treatments to my old 4runner, and my girlfriends Honda Civic. I put 1/3 can through the brake booster line, and in both cases it made the car run a little better but...
In both cars, the idle dropped to 500rpm's... No check engine lights, and the O2 sensors are fine...

rangerruck

Semsd; thanks for that, I am still waiting on the Seafoam tech dude, to come back from Christmas holiday, so I can get some further tech info, and some other / 3rd party testing. I had a drop of about 200 rpms after using seafoam as well, but nothing scary, really just runs very smooth, and I personally like the low rpms., when it is not moving.

SEMSD

Just did my first treatment. I did not get a lot of smoke, but then my heads were rebuilt about 3k ago. I "think" she running smoother? any way it did no harm. next my daughters 87 Mazda 323 (yes I like old cars)

X-AWDriver

I guess Seafoam might be good on a neglected or high mileage one you just aquired with a questionable ownership but if you own it your vehicle as new/low mileage or already did a Seafoam job I think simply using a can of BG's 44K once a year and avoid the hassle of Seafoam.

I've got 145k on my 10 year old truck and the fuel system is in great shape the the cylinder heads are nearly deposit free.

I'm not the original owner and didn't take over til 96k miles but the previous owner apparently took very good care of the truck himslef and I was just able to continue the job.

I also had good results on my '93 Eclipse GSX using 44K through 120k miles of street and strip abuse for 9 years.

mmcpeck

I too thank you also rangerruck, thanks for starting this informative thread.

I just have two questions, for everybody out there:

1. Has anybody done this specifically on the 3VZE? I ask just to make sure the brake booster vacuum line works for this and is the best way.

2. The one question/answer I haven't never seen in any of the SeaFoam threads, is what happens to the CAT when all this crap gets broken up and pulled through the exhaust?

I know rangerruck mentions the CAT in his initial post, but he mentions that SeaFoam will "clean" the CAT. But what I really wonder about is what happens when hot pieces of broken off carbon slam into the catalyst inside the CAT, on their way out of you exhaust??

I am not saying it will do anything, just something I always wondered about when I read these posts.

I assume since this thing is like 3 pages long that nobody has had any negative effects on their CAT after doing the treatment?

Also when you guys use the brake booster line to do this, do you just stick the line in a container and let it suck the SeaFoam out, or do you slowly dunmp the SeaFoam down the vacuum line, little by little?

Just wondering, thanks.

Jay351

I did it on my 3vze. I did it through my brake booster (twice so far).
I did the first time with my old exhaust system (day before I got the new one made). I did the second one with my current exhaust. Cat is fine.
If your engine is REALLY dirty you might get into trouble though...

You never stick the hose into the bottle. There is no way to regulate the amount of fluid going into the engine that way.

Hold the vacuum hose pointing up, and using your thumb to controll the amount, pour the seafoam into the vacuum hose. I pour at a good pace, back off a little if the engine stumbles too much.

Last time I did this, I did have a deiseling issue when I shut it off. I think it burned all of the seafoam out before it stopped

p.s Seafoam is like $13 a can up here...

rangerruck

... that dieseling effect is actually preferred, so I wouldn't worry about that. As far as cleaning the CAT goes, that is a good question. Hopefully, the parts are small enough, that they do get past the CAT or smash into it, and help carry more stuff out in the first place. I had good results with mine, cleaning out some goo, and bringing out some water as well.

rangerruck

W#ally world has it cheaper than anyone, down here. About 6.50 a can.
also I use a GLASS measuring cup, fill to 6 oz., and let it suck in, as fast as poss, without killing the engine. As soon as it sips up the last bit, which you can see coming, you immediately turn off the key. I do 2 treatments in a row, like this, so that uses 12 oz, then pour the last 6 into the tank.

Shawn6string

This may be a dumb question, but how do you put it into the intake and the crankcase? I am assuming getting it into the crank you mean putting it into the oil but not sure about the intake. I have never used seafoam before.

rangerruck

I found going through the brake vacuum line is easiest, cuz it is easier to get to and longer, allowing it to be more flexible, and able to stick it downward into a measuring cup. just pull this line of your master brake cylinder.
as far as crankcase goes, yep, just add to your oil, but make sure you are going to do an oilchange within, say, 100 miles after that. cuz it will float all the crap back into your oil, that it pulls off the walls, and will dirty up your oil, and get trapped, then start to fill up, your filter.
dont forget after you wait 10 minutes or so, before you crank up, and start cleaning all the crap out, to REATTACH the brake hose!!!!, after cleaning and revving for about 10 minutes, it will start to get pretty clean again.
Do another treatment, with another 6 oz., after the first one.

phildelfino

Yep, I've used it on my 3.slo. Take the biggest hose off of the brake booster by the master cylinder (where brake fluid gets added). I don't measure it, but let the hose suck in Seafoam till it smokes. Then I turn it off quickly. Never thought to do it twice in a row. Will have to revise my techniques and report back. Never added it to my crankcase.

Like alot of posters here I am leary of adding stuff to my oil with 230,xxx miles on the clock, but I'm thinking of a prolonged Seafoam treatment process due to rangerruck's reporting. I shall buy new plugs & oil change supplies to compare everything to.

Any other sensors, filters, etc. to buy and replace while I'm doing this?

On another note, Seafoam does make a separate product for auto transmissions. I've seen it in Kragens. Don't know anything about it. Don't know anyone who has used it.

Never seen Seafoam at wallyworld, only Kragens and it's about $8-$9 a can.

Thanks Everybody,
Phil

mmcpeck

Well that's exctly what I worry about, pieces that "smash" into the catalyst. I'm not concerned with cleaning the CAT itself, I'm not really sure that can even be done to a CAT, especially with something that has already been burned in a combustion chamber and is now itself exhaust, I don't think it would hold up well enough after ignition, to be able to clean the exhaust as well, but that's a different story.

What I am most concerned with it having this stuff clean off the top of my 200K pistons, and crack some decent size pieces of that carbon off, which in turn exit through the exhaust and crash into the catalyst inside of the CAT.

I am not saying this WILL happen, it is just something that seems like a logical concern to me. I don't want to put a $7 treatment through my engine, just to end up having to buy a new $600 CAT.

I can only assume since so many people have already done this, that the CAT is safe, just figured I'd put the question out there.

I know when I used to wrench for Nissan a while back, they issued us a Service Bulletin, saying we should stop spraying any TB cleaner directly down the throttle body when servicing one, instead the process was changed to spraying it on a rag and then cleaning the entire TB by hand.

The reasoning for this was that excess throttle body cleaner, when sprayed directly in, would pool inside areas of the plenum or TB and when the vehicle was started next, either the burning of the cleaner or the some slight pieces of what it removed would damage the CAT.

And it was a normal part of the process, when originally spraying directly into the TB, to see a good amount of white smoke and have some engine stumbling when you first started the vehicle afterwards.

So that is where my concern comes from. Not really that much, or at all, with the product itself damaging the CAT, but with pieces of HOT carbon slamming into the catalyst.

Does anybody else have this concern, or has anybody else had CAT damage? Or has this not been an issue?

I am totally willing to try this process, just wanted to get some thoughts on this issue.

Also SeaFoam does make an aerosol version of SeaFoam, calle Deep Creep. It's used on boats a lot, to be sprayed directly down the carb throats, for decarbing and also.....fogging....which never made sense to me, but anyway, that may be an idea also. Take the brake booster line off and use the Deep Creep version to spray down the vacuum hose.....just an idea.

Thanks for all the info and insight, by the way. Good thread.

mmcpeck

^^^^^^

rangerruck

I actually don't have the cat concern, and it has to do with what a fellow dude from above, gave as the chemical makeup/breakdown of Seafoam. they way it works, seems to disolve in two layers product; first the gums and sludge that the carbon sticks to, and then the carbon itself. I cannot see the pieces left being big of any size, especially if doing 2 treatments in a row. the only pieces i see being left, is if you don't get your engine hot enough, and the gum and lacquer left, is off the walls and other parts, but is not disolved and still gooey, and the carbon, begins to hang on, and build up, onto these particles. and then this particle, like a fat dirty, drop of water, sticks onto something, on the way out. I could see this happening, if not used right, if not enough product used, if not heating the engine all the way up, if not doing 2 treatments in a row.
Otherwise, if you do it right, i cannot see this happening.
I even started to get a check engine light after my last treatment, which I thought was not right; so i did another treatment. Light is gone.

gary96360

can seafoam hydrolock the engine if you pour too much of it down the intake

rangerruck

Yes, I suppose it could, just as you pour it in, really take the time to let the engine suck it in, so put the hose in the mouth of the can, and as it takes it in, just begin to tilt the can. You do want it to run rough, and cough and all that, that is fine. As soon as it is empty, or you have used up about 6 oz., immediately reach over, and turn the truck off. It'll probably sputter and cough, which is what you want, and then it will shut off.
If it does hydrolock, to me that just means you are done, and it turned off, and you poured in one pouring event, and now let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes, while it cleans, then turn it on.

mmcpeck

Wait so are you supposed to just stick the brake booster hose into 6oz of this stuff and let it suck it up, or are you supposed to slowly pour 6oz of this stuff down the booster hose.

Which is the best way?