it will get the valves also....but remeber its getting sucked in durring intake so its still going to reach the injectors...thats why you let ti sit for a few minutes

 

It would clean the tips of the injectors, and really thats the part of them that acually need cleaning the most.

Seafoam is definatly good stuff.

 

To really clean the injectors, which inject only gas and not air, then you would need to put a can or two into your gas tank. this will really clean your entire fuel system, which could free up a couple horse power and make it run even better.

 

I put this stuff through my '97 3.4L with 112,000 miles. The truck was running OK before with just a slight shake at idle. I can't feel any difference. It probably will help if the intake is really crudded up, but if your car has been maintained correctly, it's probably not going to be much different, if at all.

Putting it through the vacuum lines does NOT clean the injectors and the tips are NOT the important part that needs cleaning. Dumping it in the tank will run it through the injectors, but Techron is better for this in my opinion. AutoZone has a Techron for free right now (100% mail in rebate).

 

GM sells a Top End Cleaner (TEC) which is basically the same thing. Suck it into the engine until it stalls out, let it sit for 20 minutes to absorb into the carbon buildup, then restart and hold your breath. It works, but it will work differently on engines depending on how neglected they were, dir owners ever use injector cleaner or premium gas with detergents, how good is your ignition system. A nice, hot ignition system will usually burn away most of the crap and leave you with a smoother running engine as well.

 

When I was a mechanic working on imports (mostly Hondas and Toyotas), we used to use the GM stuff and it worked wonders (we used to use the exact same procedure you mention....usually let it sit for about 1 hr, then restart). Often we used it in combo with BG-44 which we ran through the fuel lines (used a special adapter to tap into the fuel rail. I had never heard of the seafoam until I got on YT.

 

my buddy that is a GM tech uses that TEC. He says it works really good. But you notice the biggest difference on old peoples cars.

He said since they dont "floor" it as often the carbon really builds up. This stuff gets it running like new again....

I think running a good brand name gas would help keep the injectors clean. Seems like brand name companies put there on detergents in.

 

Just to make sure I have the procedure down (since I've run it through the tank twice with no real results). Take the brake booster vacuum line off. Slowly pour into the engine (might need to rev at a higher RPM so it doesn't stall out?) After half a can of pouring it in, stop pouring and shut off the engine? How would it then soak in if most of it is burned off anyway?

I'm scared of busting up the rods like oly by doing it wrong.

 

Don't pour half a can in. I picked it up today just for the heck of it, and it smells wicked flammable, and bet you it has a very low flash point.

Pour in too much, and you will have all 6 cylinders firing at the same time. Not a bright thing to do. I would not do more than 1.5oz pours at a time.

 

Heheh, well I've only got 4cylinders. And they are of the subaru variety.

None of the subaru guys really use this stuff, the yotatecher's are the only people I've read alot about this stuff. I still pop on here from time to time, and I saw this.

 

i like seafoam as well...i suck a half a can through one the *little* vacuum lines that enters the plenum as far upstream (at the throttle body) as possible.

using one of the smaller vacuum lines makes it less likely that you will suck it in too fast and hydrolock your engine (like someone above mentioned).

i stick the line in the can...when the engine starts to stumble, i take it out and wait for the engine to run smooth again...then put the line back in.

i usually buy two cans...put one in my gas tank with a full tank of gas, suck half of one through the vacuum line and pour the other half in my crankcase.

i did this twice in a month when i first bought my truck (used with about 80,000 on it)...smoked like crazy and ran much better afterward.

now i do it once every 15,000 miles or so just to help keep it clean...doesn't smoke nearly as much and doesn't make as much of a difference...but the idea is to keep it that way.

 

This is all the race on the IH8MUID Cruiser BBS as well.

I did it in my FJ620 when I had it. First time I tried it, nothing.

Second time I got HUGE clouds of white smoke that basically filled my neighborhood. I was rewarded with a MUCH smoother idle.

 

I'm going to have to disagree with you here. Regular maintenance isn't going to clean up all the crap that's in there. Since you have 112K you might want to try letting the Seafoam sit 3-4 hours before starting up your truck. I think you'll be surprised at exactly how much smoke will come out. I was unimpressed with the Seafoam until I realized that I have nearly 20 years of crud sitting in the 1st gen. At Midiwall's advice I let it sit for 4 hours and was amazed at the sheer amount of crap that came billowing out.

... unless, of course, your definition of correct maintenance does involve regular engine cleaning treatments.

 

Yep, that was my mistake. My friend and I were doing this to our truck. He went first, and sucked most of the bottle down, then I went. It stalled out just fine, but it was when I started it up.

Anyways, 4RUNR is right, do about 1.5 oz at a time.

 

would this be a good thing to do on a 99 with 86k miles or is it just asking for trouble?

 

Oh you are not asking for trouble at all. People do this with engines that have over 200k on them.

The only problem about using seafoam is that you could hydrolock your engine if you pour it in too fast. I am not saying that to scare you away, if you are careful it will not happen, it's just worth mentioning.

If you are still worried about hydrolocking then make sure you use a smaller diameter vacuum line (PCV for example) and pour it in slowly.

Other things you should know if you don't have much knowledge about it is that all the grudge coming out of the engine might foul up the spark plugs and/or oxygen sensor (which could trigger the CEL light), both of which can be cleaned with TB cleaner.

Some people say that some of the grudge might get stuck in the cat. converter (especially if it's your first treatment) but I haven't seen much of that so there shouldn't be any worries and if it does happen a CEL light will be there to kindly remind you .

And finally, if you put any in the crankcase then make sure your replace your oil 1000-2000 miles after because all the dirt coming out from the engine with really blacken and foul up your oil which makes it loose all it's effectiveness.

Putting anything in the fuel system will not foul anything up though and cause none of the above trouble at all. So if you decide to go safe, just pour a can into a full gas tank.

Sorry if I said a bit more than you wanted to know, but that basically covers everything you need to know if you wanna do the seafoam treatment. I say do it, the benefits far outweigh any trouble you might have.

Marko

 

Seafoam is good stuff but if you have a newer engine that's had synthetic in it's most of it's life and you cleaned the fuel system good once a year you should have minimal buildup but if those things weren't done it could be a different story.

I tore down my Eclipse motor from the block up and there was minimal buildup after 100k+ of very hard driving and I had the car since it had 22k on it and I had nearly zero deposits on the valves but the piston heads had a bit of buildup but nothing that was affecting performance.
I plan on Seafoaming my truck once (since I bought it with 90k on it) and then follow my regular maintenance schedule.

 

All I get is the evil red X on the pictures showing where to apply seafoam on a 3.0, could someone PM or email me a pic please?

 

I took someone else's pic off here and circled where I thought everyone was talking about. I also couldn't get the 3.0 pics to come up. Must have been removed from their web servers. Anyway, sent this pic with what I thought was the place from their descriptions (right below the 3 hose thingy) and 2 people both said I had it marked right. If I'm wrong someone please let me know because I'm planning on Seafoaming this weekend on mine and a buddies car.

here's the pic of where the PCV hose is:

http://www.gbronline.com/glassfishy/pcv2.jpg

They said they put a hose on this one to make it easier.

steve

 

If you guys are going to put it through the PCV please be careful so as not to hydrolock your engine. What I've been doing is pouring this stuff into a clear, see-thru cup and using the hose to skim off the surface. This way I can regulate how quickly I feed the stuff in while I listen to how much the engine struggles.

If you pour this stuff straight in you're asking for trouble.

A lot of this information has been covered in the longer Seafoam thread and I suggest you guys read it before you decide for yourself to put this stuff through your system. It would suck for you guys to cause $$ damage to your engine just because you didn't do an adequate amount of research.