seafoam = worse startup

[aeaglenfitch]

for me anyways, i fed half a can of seafoam to each side of my 98 sohc v6 and let it run till there was no more smoke. (there wasnt the big clouds of smoke i've seen on here before, it was really light and faded off quickly...) ever since i ran the sea foam it's taken the starter a couple extra turns to get the engine going. so whats the deal? i didnt get a lot of smoke right after seafoaming and now it starts harder.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

Did you change your spark plugs after the treatment?

 

[aeaglenfitch]

no, im guessing that means i should. how come my engine didnt smoke much?

 

[MountaineerGreen]

I can't say as for why it didn't smoke as much. But, Seafoam can foul spark plugs, its a good practice to change and or clean them after using seafoam.

 

[aldive]

for me anyways, i fed half a can of seafoam to each side of my 98 sohc v6 and let it run till there was no more smoke. (there wasnt the big clouds of smoke i've seen on here before, it was really light and faded off quickly...) ever since i ran the sea foam it's taken the starter a couple extra turns to get the engine going. so whats the deal? i didnt get a lot of smoke right after seafoaming and now it starts harder.

A can to each side? Please explain this.

Did you not stop the motor and let sit about 15 minutes, then restart and go for a ride?

 

[aeaglenfitch]

you know under the 4.0 decorative piece on top of the engine there's the plastic intake tube things connected to the throttle body, and there's a vacuum hose connected tward the back on either side of the intake tube thing. after searching all the threads this is where i thought the pcv thing was or whatever it was called. there's 1 thread where a guy rigged those 2 hoses together so he could feed both sides equally when he seafoamed. well i just fed half a can into each one.

 

[aldive]

Did you turn off the motor after adding Sea Foam?

 

[aeaglenfitch]

yep, for like 15 min.

 

[Murgatroy]

I would suggest checking your plugs for fouling.

As for feeding it into both sides, I would think finding one vacuum line would be enough. It is also possible to feed it straight through the throttlebody.

I am assuming you didn't use any in the crankcase? Just the intake?

 

[aeaglenfitch]

i fed both sides cuz i read somewhere that it might not hit all the cyl's if i did it through 1 hose.

whats the best spark plug i can possibly get from a store like schucks or something?

 

[Murgatroy]

There is a lot of debate over what is the best spark plug.

Some folks swear by the high dollar plugs. Some swear by the cheap ones.

IMO the best plug is a cheap copper plug in the right heat range. In other words, the cheapest plug they will offer you at the counter.

I don't care what anyone says, you will make more power with a copper plug that you will with the super fancy ones. However, a copper plug doesn't last nearly as long. Are you willing to pull your plugs every oil change and make sure they are still in good shape? If so, go copper. If you want to put them in there and forget about them for a year or two, get some fancy iridium or so forth plugs.

I have always used copper plugs. Even in my racecar. Just be prepared to change them twice or more a year to keep them going good.

Most parts places will have them for $.99 a piece.

 

[snoborder42]

Go with Autolite Platinums, they were in my parents expo for over 75000 miles and they still looked brand new when I changed them. And if you go to the Schucks in covington, a certain person behind the counter may try to tell you that platinum plugs are not meant for Ford engines, don't believe him he's full of s***.

 

[mawrazen]

IMO There was little smoke because the motor was clean from previous seafoam treatments. The can states to use 1/3 for the gas 1/3 in the crankcase and 1/3 into the intake. Not the whole can.

 

[aeaglenfitch]

i have sea foamed the gas before and the oil once before and i run fuel injector cleaner in just about every other tank. but i cant imagine that after 154,000 miles it's THAT clean.
maybe so..

any other opinions on spark plugs?