M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => General Topics => Topic started by: beemer1 on March 25, 2009, 04:42:16 PM
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I just finished taking out the intake and cleaned it with seafoam. Worked well but I didn't try cleaning the valves as it was nasty and time consuming. So I was wondering if anyone here has added this stuff to their gas tank with good results?
Would it be better to add it to the vacuum line and do a hot soak?
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I did it early last year. I am sure it cleaned alot of crap out of the engine, but I strangely did not notice any gains from doing it like I did on my E30. It was a huge improvement for that engine.
I say go for it. Just make sure you change your oil after you to it in the oil, vacuum lines, and gas.
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I did it... lol even have a video. It was a ton of smoke. Car ran better (might be placebo effect) I thought. Worked out fine. I did vacuum line, valve cover (oil), and gas tank all at the same time.
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How are you guys adding it through the vacuum line? Pull the valve cover hose off and put it into the can of sea foam? Stupid question it is but I want to do it right.
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No... use the vacuum hose that is connected to the brake booster. Easiest way is to get another hose at your auto parts store and pour the sea foam into a small cup. Then just stick the hose into the cup. Let it suck it up slowly, if you go too fast the engine will stall.
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I got my car seafoamed last year as well. It improved throttle response. I poured one bottle in the gas tank, with half a tank of gas and one bottle through the vacuum hose while idling at 3k rpm. I found out that I have an exhaust leak on the headers and that I'm missing a bolt on the headers.....
Reving the engine reduces stalling and gets the process over with quicker.
After it was done, it appeared as if I had a diesel 318 for the rest of the day....
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Thanks guys I'll give it a try!
Steve
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Actually, you are supposed to have it idles or maybe only give it a little throttle when using SeaFoam. You want it to soak in and clean the gunk out. On the other hand you don't want to leave it in for too long either.
What you do is...
MAKE SURE THE ENGINE IS UP TO FULL OPERATING TEMPERATURE AS THIS WILL ENSURE THE SEAFOAM WILL DO THE BEST JOB!
1) Pour 1/3 of the can into the gas tank
2) Pour 1/3 of the can into the oil (valvecover)
3) Turn engine on and use the vacuum line that goes to the FPR and either suck the rest up slowly through the can or through a cup.
4) Do taht until its gone then let it idle for a minute
5) Shut the engine down for at least 5 minutes
6) Turn engine back on and let it idle until pretty much all of the smoke it gone
7) Go for a quick drive around the block
8) Come home, shut engine down, change your oil (and filter)
9) Don't forget to replace the FPR vacuum line and enjoy!
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Definitely change your oil. I learned the hard way, because I didn't know, but by the end of the week, the oil level was at the tip of the dip stick and my engine sounded like a diesel clacker in the mornings........
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Thanks guys I'm going to give it a try this weekend. I cleaned out the intake manually but didn't have time to clean the valves or remove the head (head gasket was ok). I guess I'll also change the fuel filter while I'm at it. Is this something I should do at night b/c my neighbors may not like it too much if it looks like chernobyl coming out from my tail pipe :eek:
Steve
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i seafoam'd my car.
i can't really say i noticed a diffrence.
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Do like Hodge said... you can use the FPR vacuum hose or the one that goes to the booster... either one.
Only thing I did differently was (and I've read this on other forums) to put about 50 miles on the car with the seafoam and the thinned oil in the car. This ensure it has moved through the system multiple times at idle and at load to make sure you clean as much as you can. I took my valve cover off and everything looked brand spanking new. Couldn't believe it.
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Just added seafoam to the FPR line. Did everything like you guys mentioned and it worked well.
Thank God I did this at night because it looked like the back of the car was on fire for the next 2-3 miles. It smoked like a motherf#cker!
How safe would it be to use this product lets say every month or so on the engine?
Steve
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i did mine when i changed the oil saturday. the oil was some nasty shit. replaced with lubro moly and a mann filter :)
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Just added seafoam to the FPR line. Did everything like you guys mentioned and it worked well.
Thank God I did this at night because it looked like the back of the car was on fire for the next 2-3 miles. It smoked like a motherf#cker!
How safe would it be to use this product lets say every month or so on the engine?
Steve
I wouldn't. Since it thins oil and you need to change the oil after you do it, think of what it'll do to your gaskets after awhile.
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Sorry I just mean adding it to the throttle body so the intake stays clean.
I figured that adding it to the oil as much as once a month would damage seals.
So does anyone object to adding seafoam to the throttle body only, every oil change or few months?
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Wouldn't be a bad idea, but honestly, the throttle isn't going to get gunked up "every few months".
Case in point; My throttle body came off for teh first time since the factory installed it when I did my DASC a month and a half ago. The plates were perfectly clean and no sign of dirt or grime.
Yes, I had used SeaFoam, but that was at least a year since I did the SeaFoam prior to removing the throttle body.
;)
If you keep your air filter clean, and have no vacuum leaks, it should stay pretty clean.
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hey i have a question i used seafoam and used 2 cans one can for the fuel and one can for the oil and vacuum line and followed the instructions after i drove it and parked for a while i went to turn the car on one of my spark plugs shot out and stripped the threads and this happened right after i used seafoam....now does anyone have any idea what happened or did i use too much seafoam by the way the car had about 250 k miles but been taking care of with regular maintaince synthethic oil and premium fuel...any info would help.......
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Why did you use 2 cans?
One is more than enough.
How long did you let it sit? You are only supposed to let it sit for no more than 15 minutes.
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to tell you the truth i have no idea why i used 2 cans but i let the car sit for exactly 6 min then turned it on reved the motor until all the black smoke shot out the exhaust then drove it around the block then went to autozone and when i got back in to start it that spark plug thing happen.....im just curious on what couldve happen whether i put too much or something else happen....either way im getting a new 91 m42 wit 75 k miles on it gonna have it ported and polished with forged pistons soon
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It sounds like someone overtightened the plug and once the engine reached operating temps the plug blew out with the threads??? Just taking a stab at it...
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+1 - those plugs are especially easy to overtorque when the engine is warm. I don't use a torque wrench anymore - I use some copper anti-sieze, snug them up by hand and then give them 1/8 turn regardless of the torque. Haven't had one come loose yet.
Some plugs I've seen had burrs when they were brand new. One burr in that soft aluminum and it's Helicoil time. Think of how many times the plugs have been replaced in 250K miles.
I've used Seafoam on all sorts of things, been happy with its performance. Sometimes it works, other times it won't make much difference. No way to predict what it'll do. Outstanding for carbs too - no problems with rubber components, cleans everything very nicely. I've heard good things about Marvel Mystery Oil too, have yet to try it. I've also heard good things about the Pepsi hot soak, but I'm pretty skeptical about that one.
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Pepsi hot soak?
WTF is that about? First I heard of it, please explain :confused:
By the way do you give a fresh oil change using cheap oil BEFORE adding sea foam for ~50 miles and then follow up with an oil change using quality oil? I'm not sure if using spent cheap oil (close to 3,000 mi.) and adding seafoam to already spent oil is a good idea. I regularly run the car to 3,500-4,000rpm consistently for 1 hour/day
Steve
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There's an urban myth about using Coke or Pepsi to clean your engine. Someone on the web sucked it into a running engine to de-coke the exhaust valves like a steam cleaning. If you've ever seen the Mentos/Diet Coke experiments or melted a nail with Pepsi you know about the powerful chemicals in those bottles.
While it might work, there are much more effective chemicals (like Seafoam for cleaning, and beer for bloody knuckles or good ideas).
So...again...please don't put soft drinks into your engine. Put the drinks into you when you're wrenching.
I usually just put the Seafoam straight into the old oil before warming the car up for an oil change. The oil is good for more than 3K miles IMHO, I wouldn't let it bother me. I usually run full synthetics (with regular filter changes) for 6-10K miles. I'd still take it easy on the car when you have the Seafoam in there.
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If you keep your air filter clean, and have no vacuum leaks, it should stay pretty clean.
I fixed all air leaks including the mess under the intake. The problem i forsee is that I'm using a K&N cone air filter WITHOUT a cold air box.
Twice a year I recharge the filter and notice some very slight oily/grime residue in the throttle body. This is after ~8 years of using the cone filter (w/ regular maintanance 2x/year) and never taking apart both intakes there was considerable build-up, especially the lower intake w/ fuel injectors including valves.
Should I either buy/fabricate a cold air box or just go back to the oem set-up? I forgot to mention I have a Jim C. chip and new oem exhaust, what would you guys do?
Steve
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There's an urban myth about using Coke or Pepsi to clean your engine. Someone on the web sucked it into a running engine to de-coke the exhaust valves like a steam cleaning. If you've ever seen the Mentos/Diet Coke experiments or melted a nail with Pepsi you know about the powerful chemicals in those bottles.
While it might work, there are much more effective chemicals (like Seafoam for cleaning, and beer for bloody knuckles or good ideas).
So...again...please don't put soft drinks into your engine. Put the drinks into you when you're wrenching.
I usually just put the Seafoam straight into the old oil before warming the car up for an oil change. The oil is good for more than 3K miles IMHO, I wouldn't let it bother me. I usually run full synthetics (with regular filter changes) for 6-10K miles. I'd still take it easy on the car when you have the Seafoam in there.
Thats why I don't drink Pepsi/Coke anymore and instead make my own beer:D Any soft drink that can act like seafoam scares the hell out of me:eek:
If I were to use seafoam in the crankcase I would use the wally world special oil for a short bit and change it out for mobil 1 after ~500 miles of use.. It makes me sleep better at night;)
Steve
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I fixed all air leaks including the mess under the intake. The problem i forsee is that I'm using a K&N cone air filter WITHOUT a cold air box.
Twice a year I recharge the filter and notice some very slight oily/grime residue in the throttle body. This is after ~8 years of using the cone filter (w/ regular maintanance 2x/year) and never taking apart both intakes there was considerable build-up, especially the lower intake w/ fuel injectors including valves.
Should I either buy/fabricate a cold air box or just go back to the oem set-up? I forgot to mention I have a Jim C. chip and new oem exhaust, what would you guys do?
Steve
A cone without some kind of heatshield will be worse than the stock airbox. If I could still use my airbox I would, but it doesn't fit anymore, and I do probably need more intake than the stock box can give. But on a stock motor, the stock airbox is the best setup IMO.
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I have only used seafoam once and it was in a 1970 Honda Trail 70 motorcycle. Let me just say that it completely transformed the way the motor ran, despite eating through an old epoxy repair of the carb which required a bit of lead, it worked fantastically. Bike starts up first kick every time, and runs like a top. It has over 15K miles and only does 35 flat out, its seen some use.
As far as these cold air intake setups go, where I live it is over 90 degrees outside right now, there is no cold air. The idea is to keep the source of the air and the path of the air into the engine away from the heat created by the motor and radiator. A complete stock setup with the snorkel between the headlight cover is a pretty damn good idea. Not saying a nice heatshield and cone filter couldn't be just as effective, but if it isn't sealed at the hood completely then it is useless; it will just act as a vacuum and suck all of the hot air from between the engine and rad. Also, check how hot your intake manifold gets after the car has been running for a while, all of your efforts to keep the air temps ambient are pretty much snuffed out. The inside that thing is like a friggn' oven.
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ive heard that seafoam can be bad for high mileage cars..my mechanic told me that seafoam cleans the motor so well that it may be bad since those old deposits that has settled over the years have maintained the motor and that once removed by seafoam can make the motor run unnaturally and can mess it up... is this true just a curious thought but he seemed so sure when he told me
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IMHO use Techron instead. I love SeaFoam but I only use it with my carb'ed bikes - works great.
I'm not sure SeaFoam is all that good for FI cars...I've used it once and it didn't help much. I've heard it's bad for catalytic converters and high-mileage cars...especially if you have compression troubles or significant carbon buildup.
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desttop dave i have a carb yamaha r1 how much do you use for your bike im kinda curious and yea i use techron 2 times a month
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I follow the directions on the bottle, sort of. If I'm just maintaining a bike, I wait for just before I'll change the oil at the end of the season. I wait until I have less than a half tank of gas (maybe 2gal?). My bike usually burns off a quart of oil over the riding season so I have plenty of room for the SeaFam there too.
I take the bike out for a late night spin, get it all warmed up. Then I put maybe 1/4 can in the crankcase (4.5qt capacity), 1/4 can for the fuel tank. Then I take her out for a good hour-long highway ride. I have a nice, deserted toll road here that I can do repeated high gear 40-70mph runs. Finally, I change the oil & filter while it's still warm, add another 1/4 can of SeaFoam to the gas tank, then top it off with gas. The SeaFoam seems to be a great fuel stabilizer, no more Sta-bil for me.
The carbs are a PITA to get at, I only do that part when I have my manometer hooked up for a carb sync. I have yet to figure out an easy way to do that.
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do they have a seafoam can for motorcycle keep in mind i have a carb 4 cyl 1000cc.
98' yamaha r1.. i would like to get the internals clean but i dont wanna add too much and ruin the motor it only has about 30,000 and it still runs pretty strong
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do they make a can for motorcycles or do we use the smallest they have???? i would like to clean my internals but maybe i would have to change the quanity a little on my bike since mines a 98 yamaha r1 it has around 30,000 and still runs strong but at the same time im afraid to do it in fear of ruin the motor if i add too much or too little...had a bad experience with seafoam before on my car which has made me get the new motor i have today... i guess i thank seafoam????
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There's an urban myth about using Coke or Pepsi to clean your engine. Someone on the web sucked it into a running engine to de-coke the exhaust valves like a steam cleaning. If you've ever seen the Mentos/Diet Coke experiments or melted a nail with Pepsi you know about the powerful chemicals in those bottles.
Funny story about that. Parked one of our MD-11's on the ramp in Taipei. There was a discoloration to the the windshield where some drops of the rain repellent had stained it. One of the maintenance techs took one look at it, said he would "take care of it". Then he asked if he could grab a coke out of the chiller. Figured he was thirsty. Next thing we know he is up on a high lift, pouring his solvent (Coke) over our stain on the windshield. Bit of buffing and it was clean as a whistle. :eek: Learned something that day. Let's just say for safety's sake, I make sure my cokes are highly diluted with rum. Guy can't be too careful. (NOT when I'm flying btw. Just wanted to clarify that.) :D
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LOL...didn't see the "I take my cleaning solvent neat" joke coming up there...
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ha ha its funny how the mechanics at airports would do go cheap ways to fix something... when i used to work at the airport out mechanics would use cheap ways to get our tractors going i always thought it was dangerous especially where we worked was around planes but at the same time all of our tractors had damn ford motors on it that would always break