kdawg8526

iTrader: (3)

i just wanted to know if you can put sea foam in the vacuum line and put redline si fuel injector cleaner in the fuel tank..

acutee

It shouldn't be a problem to do so.

kdawg8526

iTrader: (3)

im going to be doing seafoam this week are there any things i should watch out for.. and do i have to change spark plugs/oil

goMO

I sure hope so!! I just did the vacuum line last weekend, and I'm planning on putting the redline in tonight!!

goMO

also, I put a can in the oil, drove it 5-10 miles, then changed the oil. I don't think you want to leave it in the oil very long or your filter will clog.

Re: the vacuum line, just take it slow and if the engine starts to stall, back off on feeding it the seafoam. Then take it for the "spirited" drive fifteen minutes later. Lots of smoke, but lots of fun too!!

01tl4tl

read the first few and last few pages of the seafoam DIY,
some corrections were made
make sure to use the main vac port at the TB, it has a small finger sized black rubber hose with a clamp that you squeeze with 2 fingers to open- its the ONLY one like it anywhere near the right area- take it off and spray into metal tube it was on, or use tubing and engine will suck seafoam from a bottle..sip sip sip is best method for cleaning

use clear tube or bottle so you can watch how much at one time- it makes tornadoes in the bottle- fun to watch in a sports drink bottle (cleaned)
Deep Creep seafoam aerosol version is easy to spray into vac port

Dont sweat if engine stalls 2-3 times during process just restart and continue
Wait 15-30 minutes and start- wait a few minutes so it runs on gasoline--
as it gets seafoam out (its combustible but not as much as gas, more than 50/50- will not burn. let engine stabilize, smoke may be extreme- always point exhaust downwind

Must remove plastic engine cover for access to throttle assembly and TB vac port.
Warming the engine with a drive first is very important- heat is your friend for this job

its best to put fuel cleaner in first- I like redline 1 bottle to 1/2 tank cleaning dose
Then its working on the injectors while you do the warm up drive and spirited drive after to blow out all the `liquified` carbon and crud and keeps working after
Redline works fast- so does seafoam,
repeat both in a month then you are good for a year

Used in oil- if engine is cruddy inside install a new cheap filter and 6 oz foam to crankcase filler cap hole- drive 30 minutes/miles to 100 miles
change oil when warm -not cold- sludge will be in the pan to drain out and the filter will have a lot of stuff in it

If normal clean TL engine just add 4-6 oz and drive 30 minutes- change oil
It needs 30 minutes to really `liquify' carbon - thats from www.seafoamsales.com the company website
great info there

01tl4tl

the filter issue is based on how much crud is inside- like an old 350 chevy you havnt stared in years,,thats going to need a fresh filter to catch the amount of stuff coming its way~
If an oil filter reaches its capacity it opens its relief- bypass valve
good filters have them, but some dont!- any filter for the TL should be equipped with one.
look inside to know next time

when the bypass is open it does exactly that- allows the oil to bypass the filter and cirulate thru the engine,,opposite of the reason we put cleaner in!

use a new filter if any doubt in your mind on the TL

I get 3/4 to full can in engine vac before its running rough and I decide its ready to percolate 15 minutes or so
Step back when radiator fan comes on- no reason to get blasted by heat- resume foaming when fan turns off

goMO

you're the best, O1tl4tl!!!!

01tl4tl

I can use the internet to learn things from websites and personal experience
For some reason following the directions does actually work~

01tl4tl

you only have to change the plugs if they were ready for a change anyway

If really weak spark- it may leave crud on the plugs and foul out
not likely unless you have over 100k miles on the TL plugs
If you have over 60 its a good idea to replace the plugs a week after foam- so everything is nice and clean for new plugs- keep the cars mileage and performance at peak instead of waiting till parts die

wohoo! this is my 16,000 post,,,and of course it was about seafoam LOL

goMO

congrats! In my very short term here on the AZ, I've found your posts incredibly informative and your attitude towards helping others quite refreshing. Keep up the good work!

(and I need new plugs - 137K miles on the original ones..)

kdawg8526

iTrader: (3)

thanks for the help guys ill remember to keep all dese points in mind wen i do seafoam

shizzytheking

how much to put in the oil

01tl4tl

add to warm engine thru oil filler cap (engine off)- 4-6 oz of seafoam
about 1/3 of a can
drive 30 miles/minutes, a freeway cruise to let it really liquify the sludge in the oil gallies and around the rings etc

Get home or to shop and change oil and filter while still warm
Dont want the goo to get solid again~

If you have a really dirty engine- if the oil looks bad on the dipstick,
install a new cheap oil filter, then add seafoam and drive.
That will catch the large amount of crud likely in a dirty engine

Change oil and filter- use good brand filter and enjoy

kdawg8526

iTrader: (3)

do you really have to change spark plugs if u put sea foam.. my car has 120 000km about 75 000 miles and i think the spark plugs were changed but not sure because i bought the car when it had 95 000 km from acura dealership... and they usually do a full inspection before selling it

acutee

It is suggested to change the plugs after you performed seafoam. But, it is really up to you if not much crud or buildup bonds to the plugs, or the plugs appear to run normal.

As far as I know, dealerships do nothing to used cars before selling them; except change oil, fill up all fluids, air for tires, vacuum, wash, clean, and that is it unless it does not drive normal or anything is visually and obviously abnormal.

01tl4tl

plugs are not scheduled till 105 so its doubtful acura replaced yours just for sale of the car- no cabin filter either~

If you do the procedure and burn off drive afterwards there will not be anything stuck to the plugs
The only time its an issue is if you are at 100k miles already- the plugs are weak and may get loaded up as they cant spark hot enough
If you remove a few plugs you can tell their condition now

In my opinion- if you have over 60-70k miles its ready for plugs anyway- go ahead and make their home clean and then replace for max performance and mileage

fantysd

I did the full sea foam treatment a few months back and just spend all morning redoing my oil pan gasket. I looked up honda bond and it's "solvent based for easy removal". Can't prove it but I'm guessing the sea foam did its thing but since the TL only has the honda bond for a gasket......

The sea foam worked great on the vacuum line.

01tl4tl

sorry no!
seafoam is 3 distinct oils and not a `solvent` that damages gaslets among them.

Maybe you had loose oil pan bolts and THAT caused the pan gasket leak???
every bolt on the car is subject to vibration and loosening- almost every car I ever worked on had a few oil pan bolts loose

1st timers to foam need to repeat in a month or 2, then good for a year
Make sure you are all using the MAIN vac port `metal NIPPLE`- near the TB to manifold connection- to put seafoam in the manifold

01tl4tl

solvent based- for removal means something like actual solvent or paint thinner

that removes hondabond- which is similar to gasket cinch- a tacky formula for holding gaskets in place during installation and never dries hard

note: I use gasket cinch avail at parts stores on every cork or fabric type gasket, not on rubber but everything else
Makes it easy to remove and never worry about a vac leak from valve cover gasket getting sucked in or,,,especially things you have to frequently remove or may have to work on again or are just plain hard to reach and you want no problems at all- it really works!!

kdawg8526

iTrader: (3)

i just sea foamed today i decided to do it at 11:00 at night car stalled once and there was soo much smoke...CEL came on for like 30 seconds when i floored it for the first time to 6000k rpm... i made it a foggy day for one of the blocks i flew by then smoke stopped after 5 mins lol

fantysd

I agree with one thing: sorry no!

Here is the link for the MSDS;

http://www.automotiveforums.com/t885...estion___.html

You'll see that seafoam is basically 50% oil; 30% Naptha; and 20% Isopropyl Alchohol.

Naptha: A volatile, colorless product of petroleum distillation. Used primarily as paint solvent, cleaning fluid, and blendstock in gasoline production, to produce motor gasoline by blending with straight-run gasoline.

Logically; seafoam has to have solvent capabilities otherwise it would not clean deposits.

I realized I do have the ability to see if seafoam will dissolve the gasket. I snipped a piece of the old gasket off from yesterdays oil pan work and put it in a dish with some seafoam. I'll post results tomorrow.

01tl4tl

read seafoams site for better info on its contents www.seafoamsales.com

its not `solvent` like whats needed to remove gasket sealer

Not 1 ziner has ever reported a problem with gasket leak after foaming

kdawg please follow the DIY instructions on rpm- not supposed to be doing 6000 rpm full throttle runs until its cleared out and running smooth-

01tl4tl

technically its 100% oil products- of different levels of the oil barrel quality/use diagram

01tl4tl

fantysd

Did you foam the oil? if so - at the correct doseage?
if not- seafoam destroyed your oil pan gasket exactly how?

or are you needing an excuse for never checking the oil pan bolts and now it leaked?
Were any of the pan bolts loose at all when you did the job?

Im tired of people using a product wrong then blaming it for other problems
That may be tire dressing, car wax or engine cleaners...

fantysd

01tl4tl,

Touchy aren't we. Above I suggested seafoam acted as a solvent; you said "solvent based- for removal means something like actual solvent or paint thinner"; the MSDS clearly shows seafoam has Naptha or paint thinner (which I agree is a petroleum product). I did not see detailed ingredients in the website link you sent. Just marketing blurbs-might have missed it.

Now, did i use the correct amount: Yes
Did I find loose bolts (once it started leaking): Yes- 2 slightly loose right were the leak was.
The more interesting questions is how is the gasket doing in the seafoam: very interesting - honda bond is tough stuff. It is not dissolving but is did swell and soften. Now, this was an extreme test since the sealant will not be soaking in pure seafoam.

So what do i think happened to my oil pan seal? I think the loose bolts allowed the seafoam to get to the gasket enough to weaken it. I also think I left it in too long. 100 miles for me is a week. In hind sight I think that was WAY too long.

Regardless, I thought I'd share my experience; your mileage may vary. About to put the oil back into my TL and see if my repair job worked. I, personally, will not use seafoam in the oil again. I liked it on the vacuum line and in the gas.

01tl4tl

Im trying to prevent BAD info from spreading-
seafoam did not cause your oil pan gasket to fail!! you are blaming a product for your negligance-- which may scare other members away from doing a much needed service

loose bolts cause pan gasket leaks- plain and simple- seafoamed or not
thats how it happens to any car- ones that never heard of seafoam loosen their bolts thru vibration and soon there is a leak
One of the things I DIY on my oil changes is a pan bolt check-
learned that as a tech decades ago and still do it on any car I see- ck valve cover bolts and pan gasket bolts -are all tight? or is this car going to need a gasket? how bad is the oli leak today (daughters car)

your direct soak test didnt prove the theory ... I suggest real paint thinner to remove hondabond, thats whats in my garage
though seafoam may be helpful as a gasket softener/remover for cleaning parts taken off the engine- will try that !

you dont have to drive 100 miles with seafoam in oil- what DIY did you read?
thats only for extremely dirty engines like a 20 year old chevy with bad valve seals and sludge in the oil; (did 100 miles on my 01 for fun, with a new filter, to cut open and inspect results)
In that case install a new filter then foam and drive- monitoring dipstick closely each day

For normal people- seafoam says drive 30 minutes/miles
Their thing is the 30 minutes, and that being a proper soak time to `liquify` the crud, then immedialty change warm oil and filter
Same for their way of intake cleaning- ck the site again for their methods- there are several depending on what your trying to accomplish

01tl4tl

the oil level in the pan is below the gasket - so leaving it in a week wasnt the issue

according to the maker you can run it up to 1 month-500 miles for extreme dirty engines - with daily monitoring of buildup of sludge on dipstick

fantysd

Whatever; I'd suggest you actually read what is written and understand it before accusing for of negligence and doing things wrong. This is no longer a productive discussion.

totaledTL

More Seafoam drama continues....

fantysd- What exactly did you like about using it in the vac. line & gas- did it run better?

01tl4tl

fantsyd--did the overnight soaking test cause deterioration of the gasket?

Dont belive me, go ask any mechanic if 2 loose pan bolts right where a gasket leaked would have any corellation~ Dededee

01tl4tl

totalled- everyone has reported better power and mileage increase after use in the gas and intake--its simple physics of combustion

There are even youtube vids with a boroscope camera inside the engine- showing cleaner removing crud from piston tops and valve stems.

I dont care what product anyone uses- but cleaning the intake and injectors is going to make the car healthier, reducing emissions and annual operating cost.
Hydrocarbons are reduced when combustion is more complete!!
there are are few that are better than others- wynns-bg-gm-honda-techroline- seafoam are all better than average products, compared to stp

kdawg8526

iTrader: (3)

i did the seafoam and the throttle response is amazing i barely have to tap the gas to get the car going.... and today i tried driving tiptronic mode with full throttle and the car pulls way better now soon i will check if theres any difference in mpg

01tl4tl

good deal! remember to repeat gas and vac line methods in a month, then good for a year
Also get the TB air plate clean- inside the TB throat-very important

After 2nd foaming- its time for plugs based on miles and age

niju321

watch your transmission! don't want to kill your 3rd gear enjoying the results of your seafoam

did you make sure to reset the ecu afterwards? #13 CLOCK fuse in the passenger side fuse box for even better response!

01tl4tl

Its not the using of 2nd and 3rd so much as the downshift engagement into them at max rpm limit that puts the stress to the clutch paks
Most of the race track is 3rd gear~

fantysd

totaledTL -- noticeable power/response improvement. I'm just not going to put in my oil again. I also did the EGR port cleaning shortly after seafoaming since I was installing a thermal block on intake. The ports have very few deposits and this was at 100K. I had just finished cleaning the EGR ports on the honda with 150K (no seafoam) and the ports were 80%+ plugged. So, like I said, I like it in the gas.

totaledTL

Ok, was just wondering. I put some in my gas once but did not notice any difference.

01tl4tl

totalled- the correct ratio is 2 ounces foam per gallon of fuel for CLEANING doseage
suggest 1 can to just under 1/2 tank of gas- thats about 8 gallons of which you will use 5-6 of before refilling at the low fuel light

repeat in 1 month at cleaning strength, then maitenance dose it every 5000 or once a year cleaning with the manifold

maitenance dose at 5000 miles is 1 oz per gal, 1 can to a full tank

per seafoam website: Less than 3/4 ounce foam per gallon gas is NOT effective at cleaning thru the gas. The can info is not clear on how much gas to add to

kdawg8526

iTrader: (3)

how do i clean the TB plate is there a diy on this