Sea Foam Questions.

[Peter B]

Ok,
So I been meaning to do this guy for a while, finally got around to it. At 45k miles I am going to run some SF through my motor and see what comes out.

I should credit Zach (Sport 6) since I sort of borrowed/stole his photo from another thread.

I disconnected the hose below (in the photo) or downstream of the coupler doo-hicky thing circled in red. As soon as I did the car sputtered a bit and almost stalled but then recovered. I figured it would do so but just want to make sure its not bad for the car.

The tube made a hissing sound as it sucked in air. I have 2 cans of SF. Im going to pour half into the intake line here, half into the gas tank, and half into the crank case. Then let it sit for 5 mins before starting it up and reving the engine to burn off the sea foam.

Only questions are am I doing anything wrong here? Don't want to kill my car by mistake, and I have about 1/4 tank of gas left. Do I have to wait till I burn it all off before I change the oil?

-Pete

 

[spdjnke]

sorry bro, but what's the purpose for the sea foam exactly? what is it suppose to clean out?

 

[79535]

Sea Foam is supposed to clean carbon deposits out of your engine.

I would not put Sea Foam in my crank case. There is just something about doing it that would scare the crap out of me.

If I were you, I would just run it through the brake booster line like everyone else does.

 

[Peter B]

HUGE SUCCESS!
I just went for it and decided to stop worrying about blowing up the car so much and take a risk.

I did a bit more then a half can in the vacuum line, a bit more then half in the crank case, and a bit more then half in the gas tank. I know what you are thinking. That adds up to a bit more then 3 halves.... true. I had two cans... whoa intense I know.

Anyhow took er for a drive since all the white smoke was filling my neighbors yard and i didn't want them to have to shut their windows and doors. Got home changed the oil and all is good.

-Pete

 

[Sport6]

How long did you run it with it in your oil? I think you are supposed to drive for about 30 miles or so. I wouldn't go as far as you did on the last oil change because their could be some residual seafoam in there and it degrades oil pretty quickly. I didn't run it in my oil, just brake booster.

 

[Peter B]

. I wouldn't go as far as you did on the last oil change because their could be some residual seafoam in there and it degrades oil pretty quickly.

Do you mean you would't drive as fast? Or you wouldn't go as long between oil changes? I currently change oil every 5000 miles. Perhaps I should do this one at 3?

All in all I drove about 17 miles with the sea foam in the car plus it was in the driveway idling for about 10-20 minutes after I got home. Wouldn't any residual burn off in the new oil?

 

[MikeHTally]

I used the line between the radiator and the motor. The blue clip is easy to remove and it's easy to slip a hose over the connector to let it slurp up the SeaFoam. I did mine at ~16K, so the smoke wasn't much. None in the crankcase, since I'm at least a month from changing the oil. Half a can or so in the gas tank.

 

[79535]

Do you mean you would't drive as fast? Or you wouldn't go as long between oil changes? I currently change oil every 5000 miles. Perhaps I should do this one at 3?

All in all I drove about 17 miles with the sea foam in the car plus it was in the driveway idling for about 10-20 minutes after I got home. Wouldn't any residual burn off in the new oil?

I'm glad all went well.

I wouldn't think any seafoam in your oil system would burn off. I'm not sure what the ignition temperature of seafoam is, but I don't think your oil system should be getting hot enough.

Even if it was burning off, it wouldn't be good to have those contaminants in your oil system.

I am tempted to seafoam my car. It has about 30,000km on the new engine. Should make for a decent smoke show. Unfortunately, it will have to wait until all of my cars other issues are dealt with...:mad:

 

[bradboyd80]

So what is the best way to do it? I've heard a lot of people say brake booster as well as the line PeterB used. The goal is to clean the upper cylinders right? So which method does the best job of that? I need to do mine too, so I want to use the most effective method.

 

[vikonic]

Ok,
So I been meaning to do this guy for a while, finally got around to it....

(upbum) LOL....What's that got to do with seafoaming?

 

[meicalnissyen]

(upbum) LOL....What's that got to do with seafoaming?

upper cylinder... lubricant

 

[Mybeauner]

(upbum) lol....what's that got to do with seafoaming?

hahahahahahahahahahaha

 

[Peter B]

(upbum) LOL....What's that got to do with seafoaming?

Damnit! I really gotta stop watching gay porn while I surf the forums....

I could edit that out but its such a good slip up im gonna let that one be.

 

[oaklandopen]

i had the father-in-law help me out with this at 30k by keeping the engine revs up a little while i poured half a can into the brake booster line. im pretty sure that one is the best to use because it's one of the bigger lines and easiest to find and know exactly what it is

putting it in the gas tank is gonna help with the fuel lines/injectors. but the best way to clean the injectors is to remove them completely and run them through an automated machine that also checks pressures, leakage, spray pattern, actuation, etc. im sure the cheap man's way would be to take them out and soak them in gasoline overnight, then just replace all the rubber O-rings or whatever non metal parts are on the injectors

im not sure what condition these injectors are in after so many miles, but being that they are direct injectors im guessing they can get gunked up fairly easily.

 

[Peter B]

So re-reading this i'm confused. The line I used to put it in the engine cleary works. But which line is the break boost line? Where do I find it? Is one line better then the other?

 

[bradboyd80]

So re-reading this i'm confused. The line I used to put it in the engine cleary works. But which line is the break boost line? Where do I find it? Is one line better then the other?

That's what I was wondering before I do it. I just want to use the most efficient source to get it into the upper cylinders.

 

[MikeHTally]

Look between the motor and the radiator. There's a hose with a blue clip on it. Unlatch the clip, pull the hose off the coupler. Then put a small length of hose on the coupling. Have someone keep the motor running and let it slurp about a third of a can into the intake. It'll try to quit, so keep it running.

Shut it off and let it sit at least five minutes. Start it up and watch the smoke. Repeat annually.

 

[Peter B]

LThere's a hose with a blue clip on it. /QUOTE]

Is that the elusive break boost hose? If not which one is it?

 

[Sport6]

The hose I am pointing to in that picture goes straight to the intake manifold. Once you pull the hose off, put your thumb over it. It will stay running fine as long as you have your thumb there. Take your thumb off and immediately put the hose in the seafoam. As long as the hose pulls a vacuum the motor will stay running. one person job.

 

[MikeHTally]

LThere's a hose with a blue clip on it. /QUOTE]

Is that the elusive break boost hose? If not which one is it?

No, the brake booster hose runs off the brake booster (on/near the firewall). It is, however, a near-direct link to the intake manifold and it is a vacuum line, which is important to accomplish the task. I don't know where the hose goes, not sure I looked. Another forum member pointed it out in a thread.

**EDIT** I just looked at mine again. It looks like that hose runs up to a check-valve (?) and then back to the firewall, maybe to the brake booster. That would make sense, considering the vacuum is at the coupler, not the hose.