The Seafoam treartment: WOW!

S

segxr7

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Well I decided to try Seafoam with my 75k mile '95 Mark VIII.

I poured approx. 8 oz of the bottle into a bowl, then started the engine and sucked it up using one of the thin vacuum lines. A lot of people use the PCV valve, but I was a little worried about hydrolocking the engine if I accidentally let too much in through that big tube.

It took about 2 minutes for it to empty the bowl. The engine didn't really do anything and there was no visible exhaust smoke. I shut it off and waited 5 minutes per the instructions.

I started it back up, and the engine chugged and felt like it was about to stall for 5-10 seconds. When it smoothed out I gunned it and....HOLY CRAP. Let's just say that I hope the next door neighbors didn't have any windows open. I'd describe the cloud in more detail, but those of you who haven't used this stuff would think I'm exaggerating. It's something that you just have to see for yourself. :) Every time I gunned it, more smoke would spew out. When it finally died down to the point that I could drive it without blinding people behind me, I took it out and it spat out even more smoke. It didn't completely stop for at least 2 miles.

The idle was smooth before, but I could always feel it vibrating a little. After the Seafoam, I have to look at tach to tell that it's running! And I kept lurching forward at stoplights because the throttle is so much more responsive. I wouldn't say that it's noticeably more powerful, but the improvement in drivability is *very* impressive. I don't normally use the "miracle tune-up in a bottle" kinds of things, but I highly recommend this stuff. It's definitely worth the 10 minutes and 6 bucks.
 
Cool beans!

Scary the first time you use th estuff. I used it first on my wife's stang, which has dual side pipes - talk about smoke! It looked really cool going down the road!
 
torquemonkey said:
It makes a nice vinegrette too...:rolleyes:
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I see you've never used it before!

GM has a TSB regarding problems caused by carbon buildup in Northstar engines. The sole difference in their procedure is that it calls for GM's own brand of cleaner. It's a pretty well-known & accepted way of cleaning the intake, and in my case it made a profound difference.
 
segxr7 said:
I see you've never used it before!

GM has a TSB regarding problems caused by carbon buildup in Northstar engines. The sole difference in their procedure is that it calls for GM's own brand of cleaner. It's a pretty well-known & accepted way of cleaning the intake, and in my case it made a profound difference.
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You are mistaken!

Thats how I know it makes a nice vinegrette! Part of the GM procedure says to cut the GM cleaner to 1/2 potency, correct? Or it will "melt" any plastic that it comes into contact with. At least that is what the Chevy truck guys comment about on another board.
 
torquemonkey said:
You are mistaken!

Thats how I know it makes a nice vinegrette! Part of the GM procedure says to cut the GM cleaner to 1/2 potency, correct? Or it will "melt" any plastic that it comes into contact with. At least that is what the Chevy truck guys comment about on another board.
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As far as I can tell, they're wrong. I got my info from http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/cadillac-tech-tips/51792-cleaning-your-engine-evil-carbon.html - since it's retyped from the TSB, parts could have been left out. But I was not able to find any references to either Seafoam or top end cleaner needing to be diluted. And when it comes to anything involving modern EFI engines, I'd trust the Cadillac guys more.

I'm sure that it could melt *some* forms of plastic. But if the plastic in the intake tract can stand 10+ years of engine heat and gas/oil vapors from the evap emissions/PCV system, 10 minutes of exposure to what is primarily rubbing alcohol and lighter fluid won't hurt anything. Nor have I ever seen any anyone claim to have that kind of damage after using it.
 
From;http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/cadillac-forum/t-51792.html
Seafoam doesn't contain 1/2 the ingredients TEC has.

Seafoam ingredients:

Isopropyl Alcohol (rubbing alcohol), pale oil, and naptha.

GM TEC ingredients:
2-BUTOXYETHANOL, naptha, 4-METHYL-2-PENTANOL, 9-OCTADECENDIC ACID.

This taken from their respective MSDS sheets. Anyone who tells you TEC is the
same as seafoam hasn't smelled TEC... pew! "So bad, it has to work!"


Hmmm, GM TEC sounds like some nasty stuff. Gotta be good for cleaning carbon.
 
There are much better treatments out there for this purpose. Seafoam (which I have seen used and used myself) is like a toned down chemically defciant version of the really good products. BG makes a great system, Mighty has a new one that works kinda like liquid nitrogen that works wonders. Look long and hard enough, you can frind the good stuff sold installed for less than $50
 
I've heard using distilled water works the same as Seafoam and it's less than $2.00 for a gallon.
 
Seafoam where can i find this stuff and how do i put it in?
 
94BLU8 said:
Seafoam where can i find this stuff and how do i put it in?
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Pretty much any chain auto parts store. There are several ways to put it in.
 
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