sea foam..yay or nay?

[pearcar32]

Im approaching the 15k mile mark in a couple days and am planning on doing an oil change this weekend. I've heard nothing but great things about sea foam, and im just wondering if any members here have used it and how it worked for them.

I've heard that our engines can cause some real bad carbon buildup so i figure i'll run sea foam for about 15 miles then change the oil out. I just wanted to ask you guys here if anyone knows if it's safe to use in our motors. I've read that i should poor half the bottle into the fuel tank, and the other half right into the engine, that sound accurate? thx for the info.

[FOOF3R]

http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=111632.0

[20speed310]

I don't know if it was just bad timing or from the sea foam for me. But I had poured half the bottle into my oil and the other half into the gas tank. 4 days later I had all of a sudden noticed a huge power loss. To the point where I am really no liking the car anymore. I have taken it to the dealership and they said the car was fine but I disagree. If I could go back I would never had done that. If you use Royal Purple or AMSOIL everything should stay clean on that end. I would recommend using Lucas fuel injector cleaner. Only thing I would try and use sea foam for would be to use in the vacuum lines to clean the carbon build on valves and tops of pistons. But I have herd this can foul out your spark plugs.

[1mpg]

yeah, unless you race all the time, just chagne the oil at 3k intervals and you will be fine. I have been chagning every 6 months since I drive like 3k miles every 6 months now!

[20speed310]

I change my oil every 5k but I only run royal purple or AMSOil so I can go longer.

[bani]

snake oil. waste of money and time. (or worse.. .your engine)

its damn near impossible to get carbon buildup off without a hammer and chisel. why would pouring petroleum in your engine (read the contents on the label) do any better?

[wingzero_]

I have had good luck with it, haven't used it on a mazda though. Did a friends 96 Corolla and my old Eclipse. Worked wonders on the Corolla, you wouldn't believe the amount of white smoke that came out the tail pipe until the stuff ran its course. The owner reported it worked better and got better mileage after it was done. The Eclipse didn't seem to have much effect, but that thing ran lean as the tail pipe was never black.

I did it through the brake booster line and gas tanks, when I used it.

[bani]

[quote author=WingZero_ link=topic=174360.msg3702175#msg3702175 date=1276953403]you wouldn't believe the amount of white smoke that came out the tail pipe until the stuff ran its course.[/quote]

thats what happens when you burn oil. just ask anyone with a leaky turbo seal.

look at the contents of the can. its petroleum.

[ndrewoods]

White smoke coming out of the tail pipe is caused by engine coolant being processed in the combustion chamber of the engine. Check the head gasket.

[t147]

if you do not use this stuff correctly you will damage your engine. too much in your cylinders at one time if you're sucking it through the vacuum port will cause bent valves, blown head gasket or worse. Liquids are not compressable. ( <--- this should be enough to describe how seafoam would rupture a head gasket, bend valves, etc. I would think if not, I will explain more.)

Yes this stuff works and it will remove carbon! I've used it multiple times and witnessed it work as a direct result of me dropping a Spring washer into an open intake port on a customers car(was not fun to have to disassemble to 3 piece manifold and remove the head again).

20speed310 - please tell me you did an oil change immediately after running the engine for the recommended 20 minutes and the way the manufacturer specified. Again, also hopefully you've ran the vehicle long enough to replace the fuel.

Most of the horror stories told with Seafoam are because people don't correctly use it. The remaining people with horror stories tried to clean an engine that had carbon build up and the rings were so worn of the valves were so pitted or bent or what have you that the Carbon actual was helping the engines effiency by occupying the space of the worn component.

------More on topic, when seafoam is used correctly it is an effective tool in removing carbon and possibly restoring some lost performance in your vehicle. Remember, nothing will work as well as actually scrapping and chipping carbon away but, if you don't have time to prepare and complete this task, or know how, then this will work pretty well as a temporary substitute. I've been using it for quite some time. Both personally and professionally on customers and my own vehicles.

Doubt if it works? Then why has it been around since 1942... Not many products have been around that long... <--- Snake Oil? Really? This is like saying Turtle wax is a waste of money or armor-all doesn't protect.