Seafoam

[ry94stang50]

I picked this up and was wondering if this was a good idea. It says I can add to gas or oil. What should I do?

 

[hoopty5.0]

Some people swear by it. I thought you ran it through the intake. It's been years since I tried the stuff

 

[90lxwhite]

If its the aerosol you spray it in the thrrottlebody while running. Motor will try to die. Then they say to shut motor off for five to ten min then drive round. White smoke will come out tail. Whether it really does anything besides smoke I'm not sure. I used it once in the 90 but didn't do much

 

[mikestang63]

IMO it's fun to see the huge plume of white smoke, but that's about it. Why do you feel the need to dump anything in your oil/gas? The only additive I would put in my gas is Techron. For oil, MMO has been used for decades with no problem, but in reality there is no reason to add anything as modern day oils have additives in them. The best thing is rgular oil changes.

 

[ry94stang50]

I'm just looking dor something to cut down any deposite or carbon build up. I read another thrwad and they said to use it as it will cut diwn the carbin build up and the car will run better. I'm going to do a tune up maybe upgrade the ignition set up or something. I feel like the cars being held back alittle bit. It might be fine idk. New to mustangs and the 302

 

[ry94stang50]

It says on the bottle to add to oil or gas depending wich system u want t o clean.

 

[David Pepiton]

I use the stuff all the time in all my cars, weed wacker, lawnmower, dogs, doesnt matter. honestly though Ive never seen any type of verification of this stuff working that wasnt provided by the manufacturer. however i do truely use this stuff in small amounts like 4 oz in a whole oil change. and i put the rest in the tank. my stang has not had regular oil changes prior to me owning it so Ive been trying to clean it out using 4 qts of 30hd and 1 qt of MMO. seems to be doing the trick considering ive got 1200 miles on the oil and its pitch black.

 

[elarm1]

I've been using it for years from my lawnmowers to my cars. Frees up dirty carbs on the lawnmowers and breaks up all that gunk on the valves. Works fine for me!

 

[Chythar]

You can put Seafoam in your oil to try and loosen up any gunk in the oil passages. I wouldn't leave it in there for too many miles personally, maybe a day or two before an oil change. I have no evidence it would cause a problem if left in for longer. For fuel, add it to your gas tank and it will help dissolve any build-up in the fuel system.

If you do not have any gunk in the oil system or any build-up in the fuel system, you won't notice any difference.

Seafoam will not cause any problems, but it may reveal some. For example, if you have carbon build-up on the cylinder walls (resulting in worn piston rings), using Seafoam will dissolve the carbon build-up and reveal the worn piston rings.

 

[ry94stang50]

Oic the cars got 158k on it so I prob shouldn't use it. I don't want it to reveal and new problems lol

 

[elarm1]

I've tried just about everything, and while there is NO fix in a bottle, it does do its job of cleaning minor gunk up. If you've got major rock gunk sitting in your head, you've got problems! But for minor stuff, its never been a problem for me

 

[ry94stang50]

You know what ill give it a try. It can't hurt. Ill take the chance and hopefully ir doesn't reveal much. Thanks guys!

 

[mikestang63]

snake oils are just that. They often do more harm than good- sensors, seals, computers, etc.

 

[David Pepiton]

Oic the cars got 158k on it so I prob shouldn't use it. I don't want it to reveal and new problems lol

ive got 169k on the ticker and no issues.

 

[mikestang63]

Found this years ago. Read it and see if you want to dump this in your car.

Pale Oil
Naptha
Isopropyl Alcohol
Water

Not for me thanks.
http://www.automotiveforums.com/t940930-the_truth_about_seafoam.html

As for the topic more specifically, I discovered the formula of the original SeaFoam product many years ago. The product has been available since the 1930s. In some applications and some instances, it can provide some benefits. In a modern fuel system, it can just as easily cause more damage than it can ever solve. Fortunately for the owners of vehicles (and unintentionally, for the makers of such additive products) modern equipment is engineered to withstand some level of contaminants, solvents, and water. No fuel is completely clean, nor is it completely dry. These devices and components are necessarily tolerant of rogue materials.

Additionally, nowhere in my previous replies did I state that SeaFoam should not be used in any of its advertised or the manufacturer's suggested applications. Instead, I specifically suggested that:Anyone considering using any such product in a fuel system using injectors contact the injector manufacturer for their approval; Anyone considering using it in their crankcase contact a reputable engine bearing manufacturer for their input and approval. Bearings are the items most susceptible to damage and failure from contamination.

I would further advise that anyone considering using it in an automatic transmission contact Raybestos, Borg/Warner, Barnes, SPX, or any other reputable manufacturer of transmission components for their approval. That is hardly an attack, and is generally sound practice for any product potentially added to any other product.

As a pharmacy major, I suspect you would have considerable experience in investigating potentially harmful interactions of products and suitability for a desired result. I merely advocated exercising the same caution in pouring a $6 can of oily water into your crankcase or fuel tank. Granted, your vocation likely has made you aware of the considerably more significant risks of harmful interactions, and instead of your customer, if your vehicle dies, you can still get out and walk. I was only advising general caution in the interest of avoiding frustration.

You should be applauded for at least being astute enough to contact the manufacturer of the product prior to using it. I'd consider you among the few who care enough to want to understand what the product is supposed to do in its intended application. Nonetheless, I would fully expect the person(s) you contacted would inform you that the product is oil. Yes, it is mostly oil (pale oil). It is also partially naptha (a distillate of crude oil), as well as partially alcohol and water. As of about 1996, the approximate analysis of the formulation was as follows:

50% light hydrocarbon oil (pale oil);
30% petroleum naphtha;
10% isopropyl alcohol;
10% water.

While I seriously doubt they would comply, anyone curious or interested enough could contact the manufacturer to either confirm the analysis or supply a current formulation to disprove the analysis of their product in 1996. Simply denying that the previous analysis is correct would be insufficient evidence, since it could easily be denied if the actual formulation were only 9.45% isopropyl and 10.23% water. (Heat and vacuum fractionalization can only be accurate to a few percentage points.) I've performed my due diligence over a decade ago, and feel confident in the results. Someone else can carry it further

If you have several hours to spend, do a search for Seafoam on the BITOG site.