Seafoam, Good Or Bad?

[jimoshel]

One possibility for the smoke. When you pour it into the engine it loosens up gunk and sludge which gets burnt, making smoke. A clean engine won't have any sludge so no smoke.

[Jeep Driver]

Some people chose no, why did you choose no? A bad experience with it or something?

I voted yes.........however............

 

 

I have never noticed a difference after using it........can't hurt though.

 

 

It's your $9......go spend it. :P

[JeepcoMJ]

I will just say that I have done the sea foam to tank twice, and once had to replace injectors.

 

I've done the add to oil, run for 5 to 10 minutes, and do oil change method twice. One of two ended up needing a new motor less than 1000 miles later with 160k on the ticker and zero previous issues, the other started knocking so I got rid of it cheap. Both on 4.0.

 

 

 

 

That puts me at 50% success at best. No, thanks.

 

Long and short of the concept is this: breaking loose debris anywhere around moving parts without thoroughly removing it (remove oil pan, remove injectors and blow them out, etc) is a terrible idea.

 

It is why local shops do not recommend replacing seals on a junkyard motor swap

[terrawombat]

I have reserved the use of Seafoam in gasoline in carbureated small engines only.  Even then the success ratio is about 50/50.

[BootsNTrucks]

I used it for the first time at 190,xxx miles and 4,xxx miles later when i took the oil pan off I noticed a few clumps of dried gunk on the the oil pickup filter. I have a feeling the the sea foam knocked some of the gunk loose and clogged it up....

[ftpiercecracker1]

Vehicles used in:

 

2000 toyota tundra 280k on the clock

1986/1985 4wd toyota tercel wagon(s) 230k on clocks, roughly

1990 MJ 4.0 192k on the clock

 

I have only applied seafoam in two ways, either poured into the gas tank or directly through the brake booster vacuum line w/ the engine running. ALL of our vehicles are used hard and maintainance is sometimes, shall we say, negelected, to put it politely.

 

I have had excellent results every time i have used seafoam, but i relate this to the fact that our vehicles are quite old and often times neglected. Throttle response, start time, idle, and mpg are a couple of improvements i have seen after using seafoam. I do only recommend using it in older and/or very high mileage engines though.

 

My 2c.

 

FPC,

out

[Oddmodman]

In gasoline, TB, or vacuum yes, but I wouldn't put it in the oil. If I really needed to de-sludge a crankcase, I'd use ATF a couple hundred miles before an oil change. Atleast it's supposed to clean and expand rubber seals so you don't spring new leaks. 

[RavenMocker]

I guess it depends on what you think it will do for you. People can and will believe what they want. What are you trying to accomplish? 

Fuel additives are pretty much rip offs. They arent going to do anything for your engine. After adding them to the tank they become so diluted its like adding a pinch of sugar to a gallon of coolaid your making. The coolaid is going to taste like crap and the only thing the fuel additive is going to accomplish is cleaning the money out of your wallet. Do the math.

People might not like my answers but I can say Ive tested seafoam and a few other brands on other engines that we have broken down and done a before and after comparison to see what the intakes, piston tops, heads, and valves look liked after. Some where two strokers that collect a lot of carbon. Using Seafoam as a decarbonizer does absolutely nothing to get rid of carbon buildup. Sorry to say. All that stuff coming from the tailpipe is burt and unburnt petroleum products. You would get the same results pouring diesel down the intake. 

http://www.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/fuel-saving-devices/fuel-additive-effectiveness.htm

[Hillcountrymac]

As to fuel additives.I had a 2003 Corvette and the fuel gauge quit working.I got on a forum and they said run a bottle of Techron thru it and start using gas with Techron added.I thought they were full of it also.I added it with about a 1/2 tank and in a couple of days the gauge was working fine.I continued to run gas with Techron when I could and never had another problem.That is my personal experience and I know it is true,so some additives will do something.Would Seafoam had done the same thing? I don't know, I just know that Techron cleaned the sending unit  or did something enough to make the gauge start working again.