I own an '02 Tl Base with 197k miles on it. Had the standard tune up (water pump, timing belt, etc...) at 125k and change the oil and filter with synthetic every 3k miles.
Recently I replaced the valve cover seals due to them leaking and cleaned the EGR port while I was in there. I want this car to last a long time before I have to break down and buy a new vehicle. I read up on how to properly seafoam and I did that today. I only did the vac line. While I was gradually feeding the seafoam in through the hose I attached I noticed not a lot of smoke coming out. I kept going slowly until the can was empty. Once the can was empty the car coughed really bad and a plume of blue smoke engolfed the car. I let it idle and I rev'd to about 2k on and off and it continued to smoke really bad. Anticipating the smoke I was not worried. I drove it around until the smoke disapated.
I assume that the seafoam was held up by some gunk and it broke loose and that's what happened. If that is the case should I re-seafoam to make sure it is clean?

I'm going to replace oil and plugs tonight.

 

sounds like you're going overboard!

this car is pretty simple.
if something is broken, fix it.

I personally dont believe in Seafoam. Just my opinion.

and it sounds like your car is running in tip top shape.

3k mile oil interval change is a waste.
with the advance in oil chemistry, standard oil can and will last up to 6k mile intervals.

 

I was raised to take care of my stuff. Lived on a farm where we couldn't afford stuff breaking down so maintenance was never late. It might be a waste but I don't wait for my oil to turn black, it comes out a darker shade of how it went in. Personally I have never thought I was going overboard, but maybe I am?

I did see a difference in overall power in my car after the seafoam, so far I am a believer. Possibly un-related but my granny is shifting smoother too. No more clunking into gears at high rpms.

Thanks for the info on the oil, I may let it go to 5k and see what it looks like. Synthetic is spendy.

 

Seafoam is a cleaner and should not be confused with anything else that claims to run your car better. If you seafoamed through the vacuum line and got all that smoke and and drove all the rest of the smoke out you should be good to go. Yes synthetic is more pricey but those of us who use it and start there engines in winter appreciate a lot more.


Mobil 1 Ep and a mobil filter about 45 bucks. Some places (auto zone and wal mart) will run specials and you get both for a better price and do your oil change once every possibly 10 months, that's the benefit for paying more.


Hope you use ngk plugs.


Note: My dad and grandpa were livestock farmers and 50% of my family oversees still tend to livestock. One of cousins has 30,000 chickens.

 

That's a lot of chickens. We had a dairy farm for Dairygold.

my whole goal was to clean the intake system from carbon buildup. I think it succeeded.
I use ngk plugs and oreily's synthetic 5-20. Car is much easier to start when it is -10 outside with that oil for sure! We finally hit over 32 degrees today for the first time in 2 weeks!

 

some oil's are meant to change color quicker than others.
the oil contains cleaners and lubricants!

as long as you change the oil regularly, at about 5k -6k miles, you dont necessarily have to use synthetic.

the conventional stuff for $23-25 for 5 quarts will do just fine!

 

Here is the math:


$25 for oil and $10 for a filter with conventional oil=oil change every 3000 to 5000 miles.


$35 for oil and $15 for a filter with synthetic oil(Mobil 1 Extended performance)= oil change maybe 8,000 to 10,000 miles


What justnspace said is not incorrect but you do the math.

 

So am I being too scrupulous with my oil changes? If using synthetic in an environment that drops below freezing in winter for weeks at a time and exceeds 100 in the summer for weeks at a time, is it still safe to run 8-10k miles? That's almost 7-8 months of driving

 

I wouldnt do 8-10k in harsh conditions like that.

seems like 6k is the sweet spot.



my 3G TL comes with an oil life monitor.
it'll ask me to change the oil about 6k miles worth of driving.

I drive it pretty hard.

 

You do actually check the oil once in a while before the car tells you to right?

 

Synthetic will hold up better than conventional oil. -17 here a couple of days ago started the car, let it warm up for a few minutes ran like a champ.

 

If ya have been running synthetic, stick with it. For a few bucks it's worth the extended time and mileage intervals between changes, IMO.
However if ya insist on doing 3k intervals, conventional dino oil will suffice.

 

seafoam- use it thru gas tank to complete the job- vac port does not reach everything!
1 can to half a tank is cleaning dose and you are good to go
a can in full tank halfway thru year is the `maintenance dose`

oil- in sub 32 areas its good to use synthetic 0w-20 for fastest oil flow to bearings on cold start

the oil change reminder light is set at 7500 miles for a reason

 

Seafoam is great stuff as a fuel system cleaner and as a carbon cleaner. The method you described is for cleaning carbon out of the valves and tops of the pistons.

I recommend getting the spray can and spraying into the throttle body. The vacuum port method may only get half of the engine. Keep using it every week or so until you stop getting so much smoke. I used it on a jeep I bought with 140k on it and noticed a big difference (it smoked out the whole neighborhood the first time). Once the carbon is cleaned out, it won't smoke very much when you seafoam. I did my Nissan Titan recently at 125k (I'm the original owner and have always kept Marvel Mystery Oil, seafoam, or Lucas fuel additives in the fuel periodically). I didn't get very much smoke from seafoaming it because the other fuel treatments I use all help clean carbon. I also only buy name brand gas, not grocery store brand.

You should shut the engine off after injecting the seafoam and let it sit for 15 minutes to let the seafoam dissolve the carbon.

Put half a can of seafoam in your oil about 100 miles before your next oil change. It helps break up sludge witch keeps oil from getting where it needs to go.

Oh yeah, synthetic oil flows much better in cold temperatures and when the oil isn't hot yet, which is when most engine wear occurs.

All the above mentioned fuel addatives provide upper cylinder and valve lubrication, extending engine life. 90% of cylinder wear occurs in the top 1 inch of the cylinder because it gets less oil there.

Fuel additives = Good
Seafoaming for carbon = Good
Synthetic oil = Good
frequent oil changes = Good
Seafoaming engine oil before oil change = Good

 

Seafoam has worked well for me - un-sticking a carbon-stuck valve in a neighbor's Escort, and regularly opening up clogged jets in small carbureted engines that sit too long - motorohome's generator, quads, motorcycle, scooters, lawn mowers, etc.

It's great for certain applications. It's not a panacea, but it's not snake oil either.

 

^^^ Yeah, Seafoam is a well respected product to use in our TL's and almost anything that has a gas motor !!!

Simply empty a can of Seafoam in your fuel tank once a year for good "PM". The key is to use better quality premium fuel and keep up with regular oil changes.

Try to not let the fuel level go too low or sit for extended periods of time. The newer ethanol blended fuels are not very forgiving and will mess things up if left neglected.

 

When putting Seafoam into the intake system make sure to kill engine and let it sit in there for a bit to give it time to work... Then have fun with the smoke when you start back up!

 

Haven't tried it in oil before a change, but I have heard of others that swear by it.

 

there is NO need to fog the engine to a stop unless storing the car for several months
That's the best way to cause spark plug fouling- where the oils burn onto the plug and its garbage

Please understand the smoke is NOT carbon amount being displaced- its the oils that make up seafoam reacting to heat in the cat convertor

go to seafoams official site and read on how to do carb and injected cars- the 2000 rpm blast method and more
www.seafoamsales.com

the fuel tank method gets EVERYTHING it just takes a few weeks

the TB/master vac does a fast hard cleaning blast of intake valves and pistons
but misses the entire fuel delivery system, critical fuel lines/filter sock- all bypassed when using vac port
Intent of that method is for techs to quickly clean a crudded up engine= to diagnose running after shutdown and other carbon buildup related running problems

 

in the oil- first timers install a new cheap oil filter
then add 1/2 can seafoam- that's 1.5 oz per qt oil= (per seafoams help guy)
more doesn't increase cleaning abilty or action!!
Drive up to 100-200 miles and change oil and filter when engine warm from 15 minute drive
drives over 30 minutes allow heat buildup= max cleaning to occur, good to have seafoam in gas tank as well, it loves heat and time!

The new filter was to ensure capture of the many forms of sludge hiding in the oil passages, now they are in the filter and can removed from system
Use of VTEC rpm during drive will allow cleaning to occur in the vtec sliders, which tend to clog- gen3 has a bigger prob than ours
vtec operates on oil pressure and senses oil pressure changes, so a clean system makes it work better too
better oil pressure- even a few psi, is a big deal on a 40psi engine