SeaFoam

Has anyone tried SeaFoam as thier fuel system cleaner. I tried it and my car seemed to like it. Maybe it will replace the BG 44k cleaner? It also doubles as an oil system cleaner and i believe intake cleaner as well.

ive used it in my 350z and i works great. there was many praises on other forums about how great it is. try it out. i think its only like 8 bucks for a bottle

It's not a great fuel system cleaner. It's a great product with a very specific niche: cleaning out the intake and combustion tracts through direct absorption through the intake system vacuum.

 

It's also freaking scary to do for your first time, as you are literally sucking extra fluid into the cylinder (too much can hydrolock your engine, but you've gotta be a dumbass to suck that much up).

 

Anyway....you can add it to your oil and your fuel, but it's not that good in either of those. Redline SL-1 fuel system concentrate is better in the fuel, and any good cleaning oil (almost any modern SM-rated oil) keeps your engine clean just fine.

 

Seafoam is most suited for dirty-running engines and/or very high mileage engines.

 

Just my .02

 

Joe

I've heard to stay away from SeaFoam. From another forum:

 

I said what the consequences are in a recent thread. It was rebuked so I left it up to the members to decide. You have to remember I deal with this sort of stuff all the time so when I run into those who "know better" I back off.

 

I'll say it again: The product has it's uses but this isn't one of them. Using it this way only lightens your wallet and shortens the life of your cat without benefit. The product is mostly light oil. Where do you think all the smoke comes from? Since when is combusting oil in either the cylinders or converter good? Rich mixtures kill cats so oil won't? If it removes any carbon it'll only be a tiny amount. If all you have is a tiny amount you're doing more harm then good because a small amount works to protect the piston crown. Good thing it comes right back, which makes the "treatment" even more of a waste. If you want to clean excessive carbon use water injection, an overnight piston soak, walnut blasting, or any of the other *proven* methods. Once it's gone keep it at bay by regular use of a PEA based fuel additive.

 

Aside from all the other tests you could've done a simple way for verifying it's lack of effectiveness is to examine the motor, including the valves, before and after using a borescope. I have a surplus medical instrument I use for those jobs. It was originally designed for, well, lets just say it's been shoved inside far worse places than a motor. I would've suggested doing this except it's already been done by myself and many, many other people who aren't as gullible as most of the public. The results are always the same: it does squat. People who swear by it don't do science. They accept anecdotal evidence from others. Being ignorant is not the same as being a dumbass but imo anyone who uses something without understanding the science behind it, based on what others say who also don't, is.

 

At least you did some "research" even if it wasn't the best kind. And like most people you did it after the fact. Frankly, if I was going to rely on what others say about a product's effectiveness (and I never do) I'd sure as hell require a lot better than 50% odds before any cash came flying outta my wallet. And even if the product did work I'll point out injecting anything into the brake booster line results in a very poor distribution of it across cylinders. If you feel a need to dump stuff into your engine do it upstream of the plenum, through the throttle body for example.

In my N/A cars (and supercharged Frontier) I always used old school Chemtool B-12 to clean the fuel system (1 can in a full tank of gas) and to clean the block (1 can in the engine, run till hot and drain). Anyone see any issues doing this in a turbo Subaru?

I've used Chemtool in my old 04 WRX and my 05 Legacy GT for fuel only. But I'm nervous about putting motor flushes into a car that uses the engine oil to lubricate the turbo and using it for the AVCS actuators. Part of me would want to clean those parts out some how, but then again it could negatively affect those parts.

^ My concern too. I would feel better disassembling and cleaning by hand, but that seems a little excessive.