sea foam?

[mreaglewo1]

I have read on here alittle about SeaFoam.

I am planning to fill my tank up with gas today. Normally i use fuel injector cleaner, gas treatments, sometime octane booster.

Is it reccomended to use seafoam instead? (will it be bad for the car)
Also where can i get this at?

95 ford explorer sport

 

[Mirge]

You can get Seafoam at any parts store, or even Walmart...

 

[mreaglewo1]

okay, ill check at walmart is it better to use that than the other?

 

[Mirge]

Well, are you trying to remedy a problem? Or just using it because you feel like it? lol

 

[huntersteve61]

I personally when I do it put 1 can to half a tank of premium and 1 can threw the intake at the same time about once a year. I might be overkilling the necessity but I get a smooth idle and excellent response from it. Lowers my emissions too..

 

[mreaglewo1]

well. i can feel the difference when i put in gas from different places. I normally use the other stuff as mention when i fill it up but i read on here about the seafoam. it says it would clean it out. so i figured i could give it a try and maybe make it even better? so basically since i feel like it as you said ....

 

[Mirge]

Gotcha. I don't usually run any injector cleaner or seafoam through the gas tank... ran Seafoam through the gas tank a few times.. didn't really notice much, but the truck was running pretty good on its own anyway.

From what I've seen, people usually run Seafoam through a vacuum line to the intake rather than via gas tank... but if you do that, be ready to smoke up your entire neighborhood LOL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-4EfjUU5o4

BTW, was only asking because I didn't want you to run Seafoam through your motor thinking it's a miracle cure for everything... just wanted to make sure there wasn't some problem that needed fixing and you were trying Seafoam in an attempt to cure it. I've heard pretty much nothin but good things about Seafoam... but I haven't personally noticed any difference using it in my EB.

On my buddy's SHO... made a world of difference in idle & throttle "smoothness" I guess. Poured it into a vac. line directly to intake... sucked the can dry within a few seconds, it was pretty hilarious. Then the smoke show was even better.

 

[Electrohacker]

I ran some through my brake booster vacuum, on my 5.0 and it helped the hesitation I was getting from idle

BUT I also ran some through the gas tank, no real change

 

[TooManyTrucks]

You can get Seafoam at any parts store, or even Walmart...

A U R G ! Support your local auto parts store!

 

[Carguy3J]

A U R G ! Support your local auto parts store!

I try too, when I can. However, they make it very hard when they insist on hiring idiots to staff the counter, who A.) don't know the difference between strut rod, a hood strut, and a connecting rod. B.) Think that YOUR crazy if you expect them to be able to find anything without a year/make/model. Sometimes, you just need, for example, a bearing of a certain size/style or even a part#, for something you don't have an automotive application for.
C.) Couldn't care less, as they "aren't really into cars, it's too dirty/greasy".

Yeah, not all of them are like that, but every store has their share. I don't know why they hire these people, when I'm sure there are plenty of out-of-work mechanics, semi-retired mechanics, or even just car "people" that would take the job, and be much more useful to the customers.

 

[martybaker]

I personally when I do it put 1 can to half a tank of premium and 1 can threw the intake at the same time about once a year. I might be overkilling the necessity but I get a smooth idle and excellent response from it. Lowers my emissions too..

I'm just curious, how do you know it lowers your emissions?

 

[JCat]

I have a 2006 Yamaha High Outut Waverunner 1000cc 4 stroke. It was running rough....so I tried this SeaFoam stuff....and it worked like a charm.

Nobody could convince me that additives would make a difference....until this happened.

(I added it to my gas tank)
.
.

 

[Carguy3J]

I have a 2006 Yamaha High Outut Waverunner 1000cc 4 stroke. It was running rough....so I tried this SeaFoam stuff....and it worked like a charm.

Nobody could convince me that additives would make a difference....until this happened.

(I added it to my gas tank)
.
.

Yeah, my first experience using SeaFoam was within the last year. I'm now convinced it is well worth the cost.

I had a '96 Neon I was fixing, so I could sell it. It was intermittently running really rough, and misfiring on 1 cyclinder. I, along with a couple mechanics, was going nuts trying to find the cause. Fresh plugs/wires, no codes. Coil pack tested ok. I pulled and cleaned the injectors, and switched a couple around. Same cylinder misfiring. Compression test was ok,etc......

Turned out to be a leaky exhaust manifold. Someone had previously done a head gasket. They put the exhaust manifold back on without a gasket, and the bolts were so loose, I took them off with a 1/4" drive ratchet with no problem. Now, after correcting this, it ran much better, but still not "right".
One of the "good" guys at the autoparts store suggested SeaFoam. So I tried a can through the intake. I made the mistake of doing it in my driveway, next to a fairly busy road. Cars were stopping because they couldn't see through the smoke. I did the rest of it at the local library, at about 10pm. No one around.
Bottom line: After the 3rd can of Seafoam, with a couple of days of driving in between, the smoke stopped....and the car ran like new after that.

 

[Peacock]

I think I have a seafoam curse. It worked miracles on some of my older cars, but it has correlated (not necessarily caused) problems in three others. I worked great in an old accord, pulsar, and prelude (all 80s, all carb'd.). I put it in my turbocharged Nissan from the 1980s and two weeks later, something in the engine popped (probably the turbo). Car was written off at that point b/c I moved. I used seafoam in Reba, the Red Ford Exploder, and I started getting the infamous timing chain death rattle right after... engine was dead within a few months. I put it in my brother's Blue Explorer (Beulah) and it ran like complete crap for a few weeks afterwords. I skipped town, but his car still works. I know seafoam won't cause a timing problem or a blown turbo, but damn... there's some sort of curse going on w/ me and that stuff.

 

[my98nnj]

Snake Oil with a nice smoke show to let you know how well it works.


Seriousely.........

 

[Carguy3J]

Snake Oil with a nice smoke show to let you know how well it works.


Seriousely.........

A.) It only smokes when you put straight into the engine, through a vacum line into the intake. This is because this method is the most effective/rapid at removing internal deposits.
B.) The smoke is the engine burning off carbon deposits loosened by the SeaFoam when used through the intake. It will also only smoke on a dirty engine. The Neon I mentioned above stopped smoking after the 3rd can, and it ran like new, as opposed to running rough, and having an intermittent misfire previously. Yes, it had a mechanical problem (exhaust leak) that had to be fixed first, but the SeaFoam took care of the "leftover" issues from the carbon deposits on the valves/in the combustion chambers.
On the other hand, I ran a can through another car, that had had a recent head gasket replacement. The seafoam did NOT produce any smoke, because (I'm assuming) the head gasket failure did a pretty good job of steam cleaning the inside of the engine.
C.) There are MANY, MANY people on this board (including some of the most knowledgable and respected members), as well as in the "real world" who have used SeaFoam and been very satisified with the results. It is not snake oil. Are most of the $2.99 STP/Gumout/etc.... Fuel Injector cleaners a waste? Yes. There basically kereosene, with a few other things, and they don't really do much. The SeaFoam, when used through the intake, gives a clear indication that it is working.
Try it for yourself. Based on the tone of your comment, I'm guessing that you either 1.) never used Seafoam, 2.) Didn't use it properly, or 3.) used it on a car that either didn't need it or had other issues. Try it on an older high mileage that has no real engine problems, but maybe just feels a bit "off", maybe is down on fuel economy. Maybe it pings going up hills, and never used to. You might be surprised.
......just don't do it when the neighbors are home....

 

[lvis82]

i just sea foamed this morning and didn't smoke as much as i thought it would (guess it wasn't as dirty as i thought) but still got some good smoke. i do notice a difference so i am happy. but i got to thinking while i was waiting the ten min's to re-start the engine that if it works, it will probably loosen up some gunk and possibly clog the oil filter or oil pickup or something so just as a preventative measure i got the oil changed right after.

i would wonder if that would be the reason peacock had some issues with some cars?

 

[huntersteve61]

I'm just curious, how do you know it lowers your emissions?

We use it when someones car goes threw the 2minute purge and still fails emiss. test due to numbers a lil high. Run the can of seafoam and it brings em down enough to pass it. does it stay low.. Who knows. but it does the trick sometimes if the cars borderline on the numbers.

 

[poolguy435]

After reading this thread I am going to try it out on my 98 5.0 133K. My only question is. Obviously the truck needs to be runnign to put it in the vac line, but how long do I let it run/ smoke for before I shut it down? Are there procedures that you all have followed? The throtle response is a little slow and she seams to bog down when I need it the most up in the mountains of Maine! Thanks in advance!

 

[Kriegen]

Here's the big thread on doing seafoam for a 5.0