SEAFOAM VS. other Fuel additive

[bassfighter]

I ponder into these 2 interesting discussion board on Seafoam usage, the pros and cons or opinion from other motorist and boaters.

 

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1870422&page=1

 

E10 gas and potential water in gas tank. http://forums.floridasportsman.com/forum/boating/seafoam-vs-other-additives

[Old Man]

I use Seafoam as a shock treatment in my snowmobile once a year at the beginning of the season to help insure the pilot jets in the carbs are clean and clear. The rest of the time, I use Marine grade Stabil in all the fuel for my boat and snowmobile.

[aniceguy]

I read all 6 pages of that thread, interesting for sure. I use it in everything I can hands down other then in teh crankcase interesting thought though

[danc]

I read all 6 pages of that thread, interesting for sure. I use it in everything I can hands down other then in teh crankcase interesting thought though

 

I read it all too. The thread was mostly about using Seafoam as an additive to your crankcase to remove sludge. I've never, and most likely never will use it for that. My first experience with Seafoam was about a year ago. I inherited a snowblower that was about 15 years old. I thought it would be a good idea to get it up and running before I needed to use it, so I went outside to fire it up. It was a Craftsman electric start, 8 hp. After a bunch of cranking, it would try to run as I switched the choke off and on. It would run very rough with the choke on, but would stall with the choke off. After half an hour of this, I remembered that I had bought some SF a few months earlier for no specific reason. The snow blower only had about a litre of fuel in it, so I poured about half a can of SF in it to make a fairly heavy concentration. About 70% fuel to 30% SF would be my best guess. I played with it for another 15 minutes or so until I got it to run by itself with the choke off. Then I let it sit for a couple of days. A few days later, I went out and topped off the fuel to dilute the mixture and tried it out. Wow. I didn't even need to use to electric start. One pull by hand was all it took, and it ran like a finely tuned sewing machine. I'm convinced that it is a great fuel system and carb cleaner that can make a world of difference for a few bucks. I used it as a fuel stabilazer in my boat this past winter too. Time will tell how that works out. Up here our boats sit for 6 months of the year. So far, I'm convinced that it is a great product.

[bigbuck]

There should not be any sludge formation in your engines as long as you change the oil regularly. As for putting the Seafoam in the crankcase, it will work but I would not run an engine for a very long time with it in there, it thins out the oil and affects it's viscosity. As for cleaning out gunk in carbs, the stuff is great. I wouldn't use it as a stabilizer, stick to Stabil Marine formula for your boat, that is what it's made for, it's not a 'jack of all trades' item. I've read posts on marine websites about problems with Seafoam when used as a stabilizer, it's not the greatest product for that.

[aplumma]

I like to tinker with older engines that use carburetors and while talking to the guru's of vintage motorcycles they found a great way to use Seafoam. They take the carburetors off and break it down then place it into a ultrasonic cleaner filled with Seafoam. After some jiggling the parts are blown out and passages cleared with picks then reassemble,adjust and you are good to go. I follow up all of my rebuilds with a tank of Seafoam/fuel mix to clean the carbon from the throats and air passages and it is good to go.

 

 

 

Art

[bigbuck]

I picked up a can yesterday and ran 3/4 of it through the power brake vacuum line, I blew an obscene amount of smoke for about 5 minutes, went and put a new catalytic convertor (throwing a code for it) on and passed my emissions test with flying colours on the second try at my local Canadian Tire (the first try they put it on after the car sat for 2 hours and not warmed up so it failed, the whole rigamorole of $140 for a 'diagnostic', the actual mechanic that did that could not find anything wrong and once I told him it was tested cold he redid the test himself and lo and behold it passed and was barely registering any pollutants, no $140 for the diagnostic and no $17.50 for the retest).

[bare foot wader]

There should not be any sludge formation in your engines as long as you change the oil regularly. As for putting the Seafoam in the crankcase, it will work but I would not run an engine for a very long time with it in there, it thins out the oil and affects it's viscosity.

 

I've recently bought a 2000 ranger 4.0...changed the oil immediately and was the dirtiest oil i've ever soon...i'm considering running SF in the crankcase but held back so far due to a wide range of contrasting opinions...anybody with experience using SF in the crankcase? I know not to run it for too long as teh breakdown will clog things up...but aside from that, any other words of wisdom? just add in 1/3 can and run for 10-15 mins and dump the oil?

[bigbuck]

Barefoot, I'd run it for around a half hour or so at LOW RPM, don't rev it up too much with a can of Seafoam in the crankcase. Do it the next time you do an oil change, any crud should be flushed out of your engine. Another thing you should do is take it out for a good highway run (a couple of hours or so), that should break up any junk too. Modern motor oil is designed with lots of anti sludge and plenty of detergent additives to keep your engine clean. Really, you don't need to do Seafoam your engine. Do your next couple of oil changes earlier than your regular service interval (5000kms) and you'll have cleaned it out.

[Billy Bob]

I've recently bought a 2000 ranger 4.0...changed the oil immediately and was the dirtiest oil i've ever soon...i'm considering running SF in the crankcase but held back so far due to a wide range of contrasting opinions...anybody with experience using SF in the crankcase? I know not to run it for too long as teh breakdown will clog things up...but aside from that, any other words of wisdom? just add in 1/3 can and run for 10-15 mins and dump the oil?

 

Years ago to clean a engine of sludge/crud we would change the oil but put in one qt of tranny fluid and 4 qts of oil.....run for a few days and drain. Refill with recommended 5 qts of oil and good to go...