Seafoam -- How to use it properly

[MavrickMA]

Ok, so I want to use some seafoam on my '03 expy (4.6L). I've been reading some of the posts on here about how to use it, but I was hoping to get a discussion going about exactly how much I should use and where to put it, etc. I'm not a know-it-all, but I do know my way around an engine for the most part. I just want to make sure I'm doing it right the first time and not going to do something that I'm going to have to fix later. So again, here are my questions:

1.) How much should I use? 1 Bottle or more?
2.) Where should I put it?
3.) What process should I use to put it in?
4.) Is there anything I need to do afterwards?

Thanks.

 

[ELVATO]

There are discussions that have already been had about this with good info, lemme find one

I'm pretty sure you can stick some of the SEAFOAM in here (my '03 4.6L). It's the brake booster line.



http://www.expeditionforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2446

 

[Randy]

Here's a link to a website describing the use of SeaFoam Cleaner for your vehicles: Check out the Sea Foam Website:
http://www.seafoamsales.com/motorTuneUpTechGas.htm

Also try - http://members.nuvox.net/~on.roz/cars/z28/seafoam.html

 

[lakmflx]

Originally posted by ELVATO
There are discussions that have already been had about this with good info, lemme find one

I'm pretty sure you can stick some of the SEAFOAM in here (my '03 4.6L). It's the brake booster line.



http://www.expeditionforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2446

Someone hasn't washed their engine bay LOL

 

[ELVATO]

^ LOL yea, that is a somewhat older picture. Now there is a CAI in place of the stock one, but it's still just as dirty

I usually never get around to it, partially because I'm always afraid water is going to get somewhere that it's not supposed to.

 

[wickman]

I did the Seafoam thing yesterday. I put it in the same place, brake booster line. After blowing all the smoke out, just about closed down the freeway, it seemed to run much smoother. I put half a can in the fuel tank, the other half through the engine.

 

[MavrickMA]

Originally posted by Randy
Here's a link to a website describing the use of SeaFoam Cleaner for your vehicles: Check out the Sea Foam Website:
http://www.seafoamsales.com/motorTuneUpTechGas.htm

Also try - http://members.nuvox.net/~on.roz/cars/z28/seafoam.html

Ok, so I read the second link that you had in your post.

1.) It says to slowly pour 1/3-1/2 of the bottle through the brake booster line, taking care not to stall the truck, then to stick the hose in and let it take as much as it can and let it stall. Wait 15 minutes, then start the truck and bring it throug its paces, letting it rev high and put it under load. Is this the way to do it?

2.) Does the truck HAVE to be put under load, or is just sitting on the accellerator in my driveway ok? I'd like to be as little of a bother to my neighborhood as possible.

3.) It says to put the other 1/3-1/2 in the oil fill. My question is: Do I have to do an oil change right after I run it through, or is there a certain time length that I should wait before doing an oil change? He said to wait 500 miles.

4.) It then says to put another full can into the gas tank. Agree/Disagree?

5.) Is it possible to use too much of this stuff?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Randy]

Mavrick,
I just let the truck idle, and i placed the brake booster line into the can of seafoam. It sucked the can dry in very short order and I could not stall the truck! I just shut the truck off after it emptied the 1st can. I let the truck sit for about 45 minutes while I took apart the air cleaner and cleaned the throttle body and MAF. After I put it all back together, I poured 1/2 a can of seafoam into my oil, and the other 1/2 into the fuel tank. Starting the truck up after letting the seafoam sit in the top end of the engine - it runs really rough! That's why you need to 'fire it up' and head down the street - to blow all the stuff out of the engine. This stuff will really smoke up the 'hood! Mine looked like I was fogging for mosquitos! REALLY heavy white smoke. After running the truck (read: heavy foot, 1st & 2nd gear) the exhaust smoke cleaned up after 4-5 minutes and the truck runs smoothly. I changed the oil in my truck two weeks after adding the seafoam. I haven't seen any adverse effects with adding it to my oil or running it through the top end. Seems to run better from the stop sign....
I've used other fuel additives in the past, so I don't think that using seafoam in the fuel tank would be a problem.
As always, too much of anything for an extended period of time will cause damage.
Overall - i'm pleased with the results.

 

[MavrickMA]

Ok, so I used the seafoam tonight. I started by putting about half the bottle through the brake booster vacuum line. Once this was done, I started dumping a lot down to try to stall the truck like that link says. It wouldn't stall. So I turned off the truck, re-attached the vacuum line, dumped the rest of that bottle into the crank case. Took another bottle and dumped the whole thing into the gas tank (it's at about half tank). Then I took another bottle and poured about another half-2/3 down the crank case. Then let it sit for about 15 minutes. Started it up after that, and it kinda bogged down at first. I gave it a little gas, then drove around the neighborhood in 1st gear, letting it rev all the way up. Then I jumped on the turnpike and went an exit, doing between 70 and 90. Turned around, then went back to the original exit doing 90 with o/d off. Then I came back home. It seems to be running better.

Two Questions:

1.) One thing I noticed is that there was not as much smoke I thought there would be. I imagined more after reading the posts on here and such. There was really only 2 small to medium clouds. After that, it was gone. Is this normal?

2.) Should I get the oil changed this weekend, or should I wait a little bit, like until next weekend?

Thanks.

 

[wickman]

I wouldn't run around too long with that in your crankcase. Remember, this stuff is causing all the built up junk inside your engine to break loose and it will be in your oil. Not good to run for a long time. I would change the oil as soon as possible.

 

[Randy]

How many miles do you typically put on your ride during a week? I let the Seafoam work for 7 - 10 days before changing the oil & filter. I wanted to let it have the chance to work in breaking loose all of the stuff that may have accumulated. When I changed the oil, I did not see any solids or clumps of goo - the oil was black. I'll probably change the oil & filter again in a month to make sure that all the stuff that the Seafoam loosened leaves the engine with the next oil change. Keep in mind that running the cleaner in your fuel tank will also be loosening deposits in the cylinders/pistons/valves too.

 

[mustangrfast88]

i just seafoamed the truck, i used 2 cans on the vacuum booster line the 1st can i just ran right threw the engine and didnt let it work for the 5-45 min like it says too, then i put another can threw it and waited 15 min and got alot of smoke. i poured half a can in the oil and 2 in the gas since it was empty and i just filler it up since it is a can to 16 gallons well we will see what happens to the fuel milage in a few weekes and i am going to change the oil this weekend and i run moble 1 synthatic in it 10w30

 

[JUST4FUN]

I'm going to sticky this post lots of good info here....Larry

 

[mustangrfast88]

well guys i really havent changed anything at all since seafoaming the truck and i am getting almost 2 miles per gallon better on my fuel milage was getting 12.2 and got 14.5 last nigth when i filled it up

 

[4x4Dude]

I'm going to attempt this this weekend. So should i just put half the can in through my brake booster line and half into the gas tank? or should i use the other half through the engine? Has anyone had any problems with using this stuff? and has anyone else used the tranny sea foam?

 

[mjstef]

Is it worthwhile on an 05 with 52K on the ticker????

 

[Toddski]

Originally posted by mjstef
Is it worthwhile on an 05 with 52K on the ticker????

Yep!
I too just purchased an '05. I'm gonna seafoam it here soon.
My daily driver is a '91 Toyota 4runner. I have 266,000 miles on the original motor. I seafoam it each oil change. Still getting 19 mpg in the city with oversized tires.
My '05 is averaging 16.3 mpg right now. Wife's daily driver. Hope it bumps up a bit after the seafoam.

 

[davesexplorer]

I guess I'm just not sold on this product.

 

[gateman]

I use it on a regular basis on my 01 as I did with my 95 F250. This stuff works great. I think though now that I have foamed the expy about 4 times I need to do a plug change.

 

[98EXPY 5-0]

Has anyone had an issue with fouling plugs when using this? On the Dodge Forums (I drive a Ram as well as the EXPED) they suggest changing your plugs after the first time you run it through the brake booster. When I did my RAM, it didn't even smoke at first when I started it back up. I let it idle for almost 10 minutes with no smoke, so I hopped in to go for a drive. I put it in reverse to get out of the driveway and when I looked behind me, I couldn't see anything past the tailgate. My wife didn't know what I was doing and came running out when she saw the large cloud of smoke billowing across the yard.

I also used it on the first oil change and chunks were coming out of the drain hole.



There is a down side tho. I used it on my wife's 97 GMC Jimmy in the oil. Shortly after I changed the oil, we had an electrical problem and the truck kept stalling (not due to the seafoam). We had another vehicle so we let the Jimmy sit while I tried to troubleshoot the stalling problem. It sat for 6 or 8 months due to busy schedule, cold weather, and lack of a garage.

When I finally got it fixed (bad ignition box) it ran for 2 days them it started puking oil everywhere. It turns out the pressure relief valve in the oil pump got clogged with the oil sludge and was building too much pressure and blowing the O ring out of the filter. Once we had a couple warm days, we started it up to move it, and it didn't pop the filter off. So I guess the warm weather loosened the gunk enough to let the valve work again. Dodged a big bullet there. The motor has to be pulled to access the oil pump.

I don't doubt that letting it sit for so long with the stuff in there is what caused the problem. When we pulled the filter that it sat with, it was half full of dried sludge.