Hey all, just wondering what your ideas are on seafoam? I have heard a few things about it both here and on other boards..just wondering if anyone here has had luck with it or horror stories?

I understand when introduced into the intake it will clean the valves, when mixed in the oil, cleans the crankcase, fuel...the injectors, etc.

Regarding the usage, it seems like it would help. With higher mileage vehicles is it recommended to not add to the oil for fear of loosening up dried seals and then have bigger problems, or does it just clean the gunk out?

as with any of these additives I know there are pros and cons to each but it seems that many swear by seafoam rather thank your typical "fix it in a can stuff..."

Regards,
Steve

I used Seafoam in a 1981 BMW by injecting via a vacuum line, and I think it did help the engine run a bit smoother. The effect was subtle but worthwhile for the modest cost. This was on a 1.8 liter M10 engine (with Bosch K-jetronic) that has never been rebuilt and probably has carbon build-up.

I agree with the earlier comments to the above question:
I have used this product on an older John Deere Tractor
(in all but the oil applications). NO improvement noted in
any-way! Art

Seafoam is a mixture of ordinary naphtha, light oils and some kind of alcohol. Before putting this or any kind of foreign substance into an engine, I would ask if the manufacturer recommends it. I haven't investigated, but I would bet you will not find a single car manufacturer who approves use of this type of additive.

Expanding on the comments of Klaus, if significant gunk is forming inside an engine with modern computer controlled fuel injection, then something is wrong.

Hi,


Buy a Christmas present instead of this.


Goatman

I would only use it for cleaning out the cylinder heads IF I suspected that there was a large amount of carbon buildup. This was easily determined with older cars because of pre detonation when the timing and octane were ruled out as the cause. Newer engines, such as yours, have knock sensors which will automatically retard the timing when detonation occures.

When using the vacuum line to introduce Seafoam, be careful to 'sip' from the bottle. There is enough vacuum to suck up the entire bottle and fill one or more combustion chambers, which will destroy an engine. Caution.

Add it to your tank to clean the injectors? It might help, but when the injectors are really dirty, I suggest taking them out and having them professionally cleaned. Normal price is $15/injector and they will be like new.

Pour it into the oil? I prefer AutoRx for gunk removal, it works.

Then again, if you already use synthetic engine oil and 91 octane gasoline, I doubt you will ever need Seafoam or AutoRx.

Klaus
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Always willing to listen, just not able to take direction.

Great advice KlausC.

Seafoam is a decent way to clean the heads via vacuum introduction. Probably as decent as anything else at cleaning the injectors as well, but as KlausC I don't have much faith in this cleaning method - they need to be removed to be cleaned properly.

In general, not much good can come from oil additives. If you are truly convinced it will cure some problem I would be extremely careful to not leave it in very long. Like, no driving on the road at all. And then completely flush the oil, and then do a short change interval the next time as well (maybe 2000 miles) to make sure it's all gone and not interfering with how the oil works.

The proper way to clean an engine is to use an oil with good detergent qualities and let it happen over a long period of time - or better yet, always use a good oil and problems should never build up.

A lightweight diesel oil is probably the best option - they have great properties designed to keep heavy duty diesel engines clean, plus they have special additives for turbos. Shell makes some in 0W-30, 0W-40, and 10W-30 that would be a good fit for these engines depending on your ambient temp and operating conditions.
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1998 V70 AWD->FWD Turbo 200k+