Seafoam

Anyone have any exeperience in here with Seafoam? I understand that this product, IF USED PROPERLY, will help clean out carbon build-up and engine deposits.....maybe help clean the AOS? Comments? Thankx, in advance.

:Corn:

Not sure what Shark Attack means by Corn, but I have used this in several vehicles that I have owned and have been very pleased with the results that I get. It seems to clean out injectors well and makes the engine run smoother. I even use it in my lawn mower. The crap fuel that we get these days needs a boost and I think that this full petro based product works great.

Quotes source post: 9115453

I have no experience with this stuff. If you suspect the engine has deposits my advice is to use Techron according to directions on the bottle. Use one or two bottles. Change the oil/filter afterwards. Using the right oil and changing it at reasonable intervals, buying a name brand gas and from a busy station (to get freshest gas) and some usage will keep deposits down. Some months ago, I saw the head off a Boxster and at first I thought the mechanic had cleaned the chambers, they were that clean. I asked and he said no, that's the way they looked as the head came off the block. The tech told me the owner (a woman) drove the car every day (work commute and pleasure driving) and otherwise took good car of the engine. (The car was in because a valve spring had broken and thankfully she had an aftermarket warranty that paid for the work to replace the spring. Oh, the car had at that time around 60K miles.) Many owners do not get a chance to experience their cars/engines after a longish 'high speed' drive. More than once I have taken one of my cars (Porsches and other makes) out on an extended drive at freeway speeds and after an hour or so noticed the engine perkier, freer reving. The usage acts to remove deposits. And my cars get used regularly and for longish (60 mile mostly freeway miles) commutes. Added: AFIAK the AOS doesn't get dirty, a dirty AOS is not a problem I'm aware of. I have gone through 3 now on my 02 Boxster and it is not dirt that causes them to get replaced. They suffer some internal failure (a diagphram fails) and results in a big air intake leak. There's nothing that I know of you can do to prevent AOS failure other than you replace a known good one before it goes bad. The other alternative is to be very aware of what symptoms a failing AOS causes and at the first signs of suspected AOS failure get a concrete diagnosis and go from there. Sincerely, Macster.

I think Shark meant - Uh oh, I wasn't trying to start an oil thread..........

I use it to store my boat motor in the winter or fog it if it gets gummed up. It's a two stroke. I wouldn't try it in the p-car personally, although I have used it to clean tough carbon deposits (which will of course come back in short time). +1 to Macster's comments above on running a fuel cleaner regularly (or fuel with cleaner already in it). I did this on my car regularly, and after 75k miles, the intake was pretty clean, injectors were in the "average" category before they were professionally cleaned (after removal), the exhaust was a different story... but nothing that seafoam could have fixed.

Don't use it. If there's enough carbon in your motor to need it removed, you have bigger problems. Most any additive you put in your fuel, oil or motor will cause another issue and is generally not recommended for that reason. Fuel additives when burned will actually add deposits to the piston crown, combustion chamber, valves and spark plugs. These will make the inside of your motor dirtier. Oil additives will interfere with and reduce the lubricating properties of the oil. Read the manual!

Worked great on my 2001 Mercury 150hp 2stroke outboard.

I use it in my boats, but would hesitate to run it through my Porsche.

I ran a can through at the recommendation of the person doing my IMSR work. Tried it in my work/commute car too. Hard to tell if it made a difference.

I like Redline S1 fuel additive

Depends on how you're using it. In the gas tank? Yes i've done it. In the motor oil? Not on the 996 and don't plan on it. As sensitive and controversial it is with the weight and brand of oil on these cars, I'd rather not use it as it'll thin the oil weight. Through the intake? Not yet but may consider.

I too have used it extensively in everything with great results but not my P-car. I am contemplating using it as a fuel stabilizer for this winter since she will be sitting idle for a few months. Anyone see any harm in this? I agree adding it to the oil would concern me but fuel is a different animal. Thoughts?

Stabil is good fuel stabilizer.

I used it on my Jeep and BMW E46. Worked fine for me and engine seemed to run a bit smoother.

Someone posted a link the article (or maybe reposted it here). Went with Techron Concentrate after reading it (although I have used Seafoam in my other rides without any ill effects) Originally Posted by JetJock Seafoam, as with many additives, consists of a solvent in a light oil carrier. IIRC in the case of Seafoam the solvent is naphtha. It works OK for dissolving fuel varnish because that's what it's designed to do. The problem with injecting it into your manifold is that 1) It's not very effective and 2) You end up burning the oil carrier. That's why it smokes so badly. Burning oil from any source isn't good for your engine and it especially isn't good for your catalytic converter if you have one. I prefer using water for de-carbonization and using a top tier gasoline along with a PAE (polyetheramine) based fuel additive a couple of times a year. That'll keep everything including the injectors clean. Gumout Regane (the yellow stuff in the clear bottle), Redline SI-1, and Techron Concentrate are all PAE based. I said what the consequences are in a recent thread. It was rebuked so I left it up to the members to decide. You have to remember I deal with this sort of stuff all the time so when I run into those who "know better" I back off. I'll say it again: The product has it's uses but this isn't one of them. Using it this way only lightens your wallet and shortens the life of your cat without benefit. The product is mostly light oil. Where do you think all the smoke comes from? Since when is combusting oil in either the cylinders or converter good? Rich mixtures kill cats so oil won't? If it removes any carbon it'll only be a tiny amount. If all you have is a tiny amount you're doing more harm then good because a small amount works to protect the piston crown. Good thing it comes right back, which makes the "treatment" even more of a waste. If you want to clean excessive carbon use water injection, an overnight piston soak, walnut blasting, or any of the other *proven* methods. Once it's gone keep it at bay by regular use of a PEA based fuel additive. Aside from all the other tests you could've done a simple way for verifying it's lack of effectiveness is to examine the motor, including the valves, before and after using a borescope. I have a surplus medical instrument I use for those jobs. It was originally designed for, well, lets just say it's been shoved inside far worse places than a motor. I would've suggested doing this except it's already been done by myself and many, many other people who aren't as gullible as most of the public. The results are always the same: it does squat. People who swear by it don't do science. They accept anecdotal evidence from others. Being ignorant is not the same as being a dumbass but imo anyone who uses something without understanding the science behind it, based on what others say who also don't, is. At least you did some "research" even if it wasn't the best kind. And like most people you did it after the fact. Frankly, if I was going to rely on what others say about a product's effectiveness (and I never do) I'd sure as hell require a lot better than 50% odds before any cash came flying outta my wallet. And even if the product did work I'll point out injecting anything into the brake booster line results in a very poor distribution of it across cylinders. If you feel a need to dump stuff into your engine do it upstream of the plenum, through the throttle body for example. As I said, the product has it's uses. It's popular with bikers for a reason. I ride also and used Seafoam in the fuel for years. The naphtha in Seafoam works well to clean fuel varnish in my Vulcan's carbs but after a bit of study and testing I found something that does a better job. Since you brought up Techron and I brought up PEA here ya go. It's the same stuff: PEA is Polyether Amine. It's the active chemical in Techron and a few other aftermarket fuel cleaners. Chevron's Oronite Division is the inventor and world's largest supplier these days: http://************/y8v5ad PEA is used in varying amounts in almost every quality gasoline made. The problem is unless you use one from the day an engine is new or rebuilt it takes time to clean things up. That and the amount varies from one fuel brand to another. The way to overcome this is to use a PEA based cleaner a few times a year or with every oil change and a good quality fuel ( www.toptiergas.com ) in between. Typical fuel cleaners are solvent based and therefore cheap. They don't do much other than make your idle nice and that isn't from any cleaning action. PEA cleaners cost more because PEA is expensive to produce compared to solvents but also far more effective. The leading PEA based cleaners are GumOut Regane (yellow stuff in clear bottle), Redline SI-1, and Techron Concentrate. Each of these products has any where from appx 30-50% PEA with RedLine SI-1 having a slight edge. The cheaper Techron ProGuard also contains PEA but at a lower concentration. Not a good value. Gumout Large Vehicle Fuel System Cleaner in the gold bottle is also PEA based. It contains the same percentage of PEA as does Regane but in a different carrier. It's 20 oz size makes for a better value if you can find it. Be sure it says "fuel system cleaner" and not "fuel injector cleaner". The bottles look nearly identical but the fuel injector cleaner contains no PEA.