Seafoam question

[Deaf_Ford_Driver]

Hi newbie for south jersey, I am about to change oil for my '02 explorer and would like to add seafoam, my question is should I add it now or wait to like around 1000 or less miles before the next oil change? I just don't have the money to buy new oil and change it once the oil gets dirty from the seafoam cleaning. I just think that the oil will already be too dirty for the seafoam to work before the next oil change. Thoughts? Thanks.

 

[Varsity]

It really depends on how dirty your engine is/how much stuff the Seafoam gets rid of. I know its been mentioned on here that you should put in the Seafoam first, drive it for some time (I think I saw ~100 miles) THEN do the oil change because of the junk it stirs up. That way you can put in new oil and not worry about the crap stirred up going into the new oil. Some people also recommend doing a tune up afterwards too for the same reason, junk.

But it's all up to you, what you're comfortable with and what you feel like spending at the time. Just about everyone has a different way and opinion of doing the Seafoam treatment. Read through a few and you should be able to pick what you want to do. Good Luck!

 

[Deaf_Ford_Driver]

It really depends on how dirty your engine is/how much stuff the Seafoam gets rid of. I know its been mentioned on here that you should put in the Seafoam first, drive it for some time (I think I saw ~100 miles) THEN do the oil change because of the junk it stirs up. That way you can put in new oil and not worry about the crap stirred up going into the new oil. Some people also recommend doing a tune up afterwards too for the same reason, junk.

But it's all up to you, what you're comfortable with and what you feel like spending at the time. Just about everyone has a different way and opinion of doing the Seafoam treatment. Read through a few and you should be able to pick what you want to do. Good Luck!

Cool, thanks for your input. I thought more about this treatment and got an idea, Next oil change, I will buy the cheapest oil possible (safe for my engine, too) and the cheapest oil filter then add seafoam to it. Let it work for 100 miles like you said then put in the good stuff. My truck had a tune up last year, will it still need a tune up after the seafoam treatment?

 

[Varsity]

I like your idea with the cheap oil. When I did mine, I just waited for its oil change time, put in the Seafoam and ran for a few tankfuls, then did the oil change. Either way is fine.

As far as the tune-up goes, all I can say is that it's "cheap insurance." When people talk about oil changes and tuneups after seafoam, they just keep in mind the fact that Seafoam has the potential to knock a lot of crud loose and you don't want to run your truck with that crud circulating in your oil or on your injectors. It all really depends. You're gonna have people on both ends of the spectrum, people who put in Seafoam and do nothing, and people who feel the need to replace everything afterwards. Personally, my truck could use a tune-up, but I just did an oil change so I'm gonna wait till next oil change time, put in a can of Seafoam and run it for awhile, then do a tune-up and oil change then.

I don't think you'll need to change your plugs unless it makes you feel better about it, especially since that could get expensive. And you definitely shouldn't have to every time you Seafoam, just possibly your first one in case there's alot of junk build-up. But, like I said its cheap insurance and peace of mind and since everyone has their own idea of what is right and what is wrong, read about it as much as you can and do what makes you comfortable.