The Seafoam Debate, State your Experience

[pirite]

vac line in a B6
smoked like crazy, idle smoothed some, throttle response was a little better, all in all good results

[1st Gen]

I have hydraulic lifter noise in both my 99 DOHC Neon and my 91 Pro with the GTX engine. I'm going to pick up another can tomorrow so I can do both cars are the same time. I'll post back on the results.

[tehstocker99]

did it to all of my cars, did all 3, followed directions, positive results all around probably about to do it to the current car too

[Ace]

everyone who is doing it on BP's how are you doing it? I've heard of some locking their engines up and stuff

[1st Gen]

I plan on putting some in the crankcase and dumping the rest in the gas tank. I figure following manufacturer directions is a pretty good way to go. I know some have sprayed it directly into the TB which I could see as long as it was running at pretty high RPM's. Spraying it in there when the engine isn't running could be a problem I think.

[Talkurt]

if your scared about locking it up use the aerosol can. i know thats what ill be doing when i do.

[Yoda]

I did it on my 96 EGT when I had it still. 1/3 in the tank, 1/3 in the crankcase and 1/3 in to a vac. source.
No issues.
Not sure if it ran any better afterwards or not, but smoked like a hooch.

[psiturbo]

I used it on a Mazda 323, but with the 1.6 sohc engine, the car would not pass smog. As long as you follow the instructions, it will not lock up the engine, went back and barely passed the test, but it did help under nasty California emissions.

One a year I pour a bottle on the fuel tank, seems to get rid off the small idle vibration gremlins. Its not a magic product, but in my experience it always seems to help, more so on older engines.

What I have heard is when spraying into the manifold through one of the vacuum lines, dont let it stay too much as it may damage the sensors. I tend to leave the liquid to do its job for around 15 minutes or so.

[1st Gen]

I plan on putting some in the crankcase and dumping the rest in the gas tank. I figure following manufacturer directions is a pretty good way to go. I know some have sprayed it directly into the TB which I could see as long as it was running at pretty high RPM's. Spraying it in there when the engine isn't running could be a problem I think.

After using it in my BPT, it did stop the HLA noise at start up. I think I noticed a little HP gain too, although my butt dino hasn't been calibrated for years.

Also used it in the 99 Neon with the 2L DOHC. The hydraulic actuators still clack like 4ell at start up. If it helped, it was incremental and hard to measure.

Over all, it was expensive as a Hail Marry. For a targeted known benefit, the HLA's, it was worth while.

[SgtRauksauff]

I had some Crazy-loud HLA noise in my 323's BP when I got back from Iowa picking up the 4WD.

Poured half a can into the crankcase, drove to wal-mart, got some oil and a filter, drove back, drained it, added fresh oil, it made a big difference. coulda been the oil change too, but it wasn't down any. Just time to change. I've used it on a couple other cars, in my '87 Diplomat to help clean the carb out. Seems to have helped a bit.

--sarge

[protegemartin]

Never tried it in the crankcase, but use it like once a year in the gas tank. When I got the car, it ran like ****, two tanks with this stuff & it runs great now.

[AtmaEdge]

I seafoamed my PCV valve, fuel tank, and crank (oil) this past Sunday. First I poured 1/3 can into my oil and it seemed to make a difference immediately, the idle during neutral smoothed out a lot, even before I changed the oil and filter out. After pouring about a little less than 1/3 can into my PCV valve and drove it around until it stopped smoking it seemed to quiet down engine noise on acceleration and made acceleration smoother. It used to sound quite raspy and loud, but now it make a pleasant low hum. The rest went into the fuel tank, not sure if it helped or not.

I'd do it again on my WIP car as soon as I get the radiator hooked up to that bad boy and get it running again.

[92_2_fast]

Just a simple suggestion... If you are using it in the crank case, don't. The best thing to do, is remove a quart or so oil and add atf. ATF has more detergents than oil, but won't brake the oil down. Than drive the car for a week or so and change the oil. I had a couple customers that added a quart ATF at every oil change. That is, 1 quart ATF, 4 quarts oil. Both cars have over 500K and run perfect. I changed the valve cover on one of them and was completely amazed at how clean everything was.
ATTN: When using any cleaner as a valve and combustion chamber cleaner there are a few things to keep in mind in order to get the best results and be a safe as possible. 1st let the engine warm up first! When the carbon build-up is cold, it is rock hard, but warm is totally gooey and will respond to cleaners better. 2nd find a vacuum line. I like to use something as close to the TB as possible. Or take a piece of hard teflon hose like that used for oil pressure gauges and run it inthe intake tube direct infront of the TB. When sucking the fluid in, run the engine at a constant 2k RPMs. Best to have a second person to sit in the car or stick something between the idle adjust screw and the piece that the throttle cable hooks to. 3rd you do NOT want to run it through any faster than a slow drip. Faster than that and it won't be near as effective. You know when it is too much when the motor startes to bog down more than a couple hundred RPMs. Yes it will smoke. The smoke should be a nice white'ish blue'ish color. If it's just white than you're not burning the carbon. When used in this manner, it should have no side effects on the cat. But I always suggest to take the car out on the highway direct after. This will help to keep the cat hot and burn out the rest of the crap that is now at home in there. You will also want to change the oil right after doing this. So make sure you have added your ATF a week or so prior to doing this.
Hope this info has been in some way helpful. But if this sounds too complicated, than it is probably better to take it to a certified mechanic. The products they will more than likely be using will be way stronger and more efficient. 3M makes an awesome 3 part cleaner but you need to have a special bottle in order to run the chemical through the vacuum system.

[cee1481]

It works great!!....ON LAWNMOWERS...LOL