SporkLover

Right. Personal preference here, I usually Seafoam the day before an oil change. Then I dont have to worry about it.

01tl4tl

correct- if only doing gas tank and manifold vac methods- no need for an oil change JUST because of them.

WHEN you are ready for an oil change- lets say within a day, to be totally safe-
then pour approx 8 oz of seafoam into the engine oil adding hole with the engine OFF!!!
put it in when engine is warm from 10 minute drive- then replace/install the oil hole cap, start engine- go drive!!
next day change engine oil and filter and enjoy!!
Tech may say- wow your engine is really dirty- look at this oil.
You smile lightly and think- well it used to be dirty inside!!!

tihomirbg

iTrader: (1)

I got you.
Or I can pour the foam when the engine is off but warm form about 10 min drive. Turn the engine on idle for about 5 min and then change the oil and filter. Sounds good to you?
Tim

01tl4tl

thats how fsttyms1 does it... so yes it works fine
Others have found driving a little gets more pressure and flow so more can get cleaned on a first time doing it
Whatever you are comfortable with is going to be better than nothing at all

Its not like the other engine cleaners that contain stuff that eats seals and says on the can- do not drive!!

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

Thanks, I think I will do just that.

xoulu

iTrader: (3)

so omg!!! i just seafoam my car and massive smoke came out... i thought my car got on fire lol... A LOT OF SMOKE!!! i was so scared...but drove off with it, and as i was driving off even more smoke came out, all the cars behind me was like WTF??? and drove very slowly, should of took video of it, but smoke was really really big like a fog, coudlnt see cars behind me until they drove out of the smoke fog. I was amazed, but great result. Car felt very smooth and i can hear my v tech kick in much better and engine idles much much better. thanks for the diy

01tl4tl

did you read the part of the DIY directions about the hot foot drive with 4000 rpm sustained, then some full throttle runs (low speed) to get the real action happening?
That makes a big differance in the end results-
Repeat the seafoam treatment in 2000 miles for 1st timers- makes it really clean!

Glad you did it! keep us posted on the results- the next few days will get better too

tihomirbg

iTrader: (1)

Hello,
I don't know if it is not for turbo cars either, but my brother and I seafomed his Audi 2001 A4 which is turbo charged and no problems so far. On the bottle does not say NOT FOR TURBO CARS. So I guess it is fine.
Tim

apnorm

iTrader: (3)

Finally found time to seafoam the car this morning. After warming up the car, I added 8 oz. of seafoam to the intake using the sip sip method. Did it nice and slow and took close to 10 minutes.

I then turned off the engine and waited 15 minutes and restarted it. It started up fine and ran fine. I was expecting the engine to sound/act a little funny based on the threads I've been reading. Anyways, while I was waiting for those 15 minutes, I added 8 oz. to the oil crankcase and 16oz to the gas tank...I still had 1/2 a tank of gas left.

After I restarted the car, I headed to the highway and cruised at 4k rpm in 3rd gear (which was just under 55mph) for 10 minutes. The only thing I did differently was instead of going 10 - 50mph WOT, i went around 40mph - ???? WOT since I was on the highway and couldn't slow down all the way down to 10mph. I think I did these WOT runs in 3rd, never exceeding 5.5k rpm.

In any case, there was no smoke that came out that I could see. In fact, besides almost stuttering the car a few times when I was sip sipping, the car ran/acted normal.

I have a 2005 TL with just over 50k miles on the car so I was expecting some black smoke to come out of the exhaust. Did I do anything wrong or should I take this as a good sign that maybe the car didn't have much buildup?

Comments/thoughts?

spc425

Same thing here....no smoke...but I still saw a huge difference in my mileage.

happytang

I did this last night also. I pretty much did the same runs as apnorm. When I was driving around in 2nd gear, it felt like the engine was trying really hard to stay awake at the beginning, but after it went back to normal, I hit the highway. I can easily say that I see a difference in mileage. I did not see any smoke really (it was nighttime).

Most importantly though, I saw a 3-5 increase in gas mileage. I rate it as so, because before when I drove city, I would only get around 18-19 MPG at an average of 30-40 MPH. Now at the same, I get about 22-24 MPG.

NOTHING BETTER. Time to put some in the crankcase.

VanPelt

No smoke for me on the first time but I re-seafoamed a day later and it smoked like a bitch.I have no explanation other than I did not leave it sit for longer than 15 minutes the first but I did leave it sit for about 30 minutes the second time

01tl4tl

the smoke is largely the hi detergent oils reacting to exhaust heat
Can says wait 5 minutes- ziners say 15
You want HEAT to stay in the engine so foam turns crud to goo, and it blows out the exhaust with rpm
Must put in slowly- very slowly and you will get smoke at 1/2 can

RTLNOOBIE

ok. i want to try, i'm a first timer and had 53k on the car. im still kinda unclear cuzz im slow. first of all i just change my oil last week so it still 100%. i add 8oz to the tank at 1/4 to empty and 8oz to the vac line. turn off the car wait 15 min, and turn it on wait 5 min and hit the hight way at 3rd gear at 4k rpm for 10 min, then slow down to 10 mph and floor it to 50mph never execeed 5.5k rpm. is that right? and i don't have to change oil again untill it 3000 mile later? correct if me im wrong. thanks.

Be-in my TL

Yes, yes, no, and yes...

Dn't wait 5 minutes, I waited a few minutes because I was busy doing something...01tl4tl says to wait until IDLE is normal.

I just recently did a neglected 2004 QX56... had no smoke which is extremely odd because the oil in that car has been sitting there for 30,000. He was missing a quart, and oil was so old it burnt into the inside of the engine and dipstick, even around the port where you fill oil. It was disgusting, but I did not get any smoke. I must have added too little, but then again, I didnt go though the vac line we used on TLs... Iwent through the one that attached to the master cylinder.

happytang

A reminder that one of the best measurement tools is a clear tube, and instead of using a beer bottle like the front which you could say isn't readily accessible by most people, I used a plastic water bottle. This is the easiest measurement tool as most new water bottle are 16 / 16.9 oz, so half the bottle should be accurate enough in measurement.

01tl4tl

When you add to engine oil- change the engine oil and filter right away!!!
like within a day- or idle in driveway or drive around block a few times
If car has been sitting a year- put a new oil filter on first- add foam and drive a week, then change oil and filter

Oil method should NOT be combined with the vac port-gas tank
do it after them
Any effort at 4000 rpm will clear the stuff out of the engine and thru the exhaust
the WOT is just to get lots of fuel flowing into the engine while its good and hot inside to blast away more layers of crud

TLAdvanced

iTrader: (4)

I just wanted to let everyone know I just got my Seafoam from Walmart for $5.66 for 16oz. bottle. I will do this soon when I get down to 1/4 tank.

01tl4tl

smoke will be grey/white- its the detergent oils reacting to heat in exhaust
thats why we wait 5-15 minutes then drive- so engine and exhaust temps are still good and hot
You may not see the smoke in the mirror
When I do foam - there is some small amounts of smoke halfway thru adding can to vac port, then some on restart- then if you rev a little and let off- big puffs and clouds- go for the drive and its happening

25safety

I have 36.000 miles on my 2005 TL auto. I did the sip slurp method then changed the oil & filter. The car feels brand new again!! SMOOOTH!!!! Thanks to all in this post,(I'm a noob to this DIY stuff)

01tl4tl

did you add some to the engine oil and run it a little before the oil and filter change?
And did you run some in the gas tank?

the cleaning dose in gas is 2 oz foam to 1 gallon gas- so a normal 16 oz can will treat 1/2 tank really well

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

Holy crap thats way cheaper than autozone.

01tl4tl

and to recap- despite what the can says about 1/3 to each method

zinners have often been known to use 1/2 to full can, 8 to 16 oz per method
Personally- I get about 13 oz into the engine vac port at TB, and it just feels like its had enough and there is some exhaust smoke, then it stalls---thats good enough to me, the rest of that can gets added to the full can in the 1/2 tank of gas. That just gives it longer cleaning time- more gas with cleaner in it- seems logical to me~

apnorm

iTrader: (3)

I'm in the process of testing that now. Should know in about a week. I normally get anywhere from 19-22 mpg driving 70% hwy/ 30% city...pretty aggressive driving.

Due to the high gas prices, I did a little experiment a couple weeks ago. I limited my max speed to 60mph on the hwy and used very smooth inputs from every stop. My mpg went all the way up to 29mpg! Before I used to fill up every 4 days or so with anywhere from 320 - 350 miles on the odo. After I my experiment, I had just over 400 miles and still had over 2 gallons left!

Hope I can get even more now!

RTLNOOBIE

my car usually get 304-325mpg on high way and free way. but i just change my oil last week and i dont want to change oil again so soon. so im gonna wait untill it need to change again then i use seafoam.

25safety

My bad, forgot to mention (THANKS 01TL4TL) I added some to the engine oil and the gas tank. the gas was almost empty when I added the Seafoam,ran it then changed the oil.

01tl4tl

noob- you can do the vac port and gas tank anytime without the need to change oil afterwards
Only if you add it to the oil, do you need to follow it with new oil and filter

SRT-11

One thing concerns me- if we really don't want the foam in the oil/crankcase/etc for extended periods of time, how are we sure none of it is hanging around after we put it in the oil and drain it? it's not like we're removing every drop of oil when we drain it... there would logically be some residual seafoam left in the case and thusly in our new oil...

Be-in my TL

But there just isnt enough to kill your engine. You also have to remember, there is an oil filter for a reason. It shouldn't be out 100%, but it isn't going to/shouldnt harm your engine. If you really don't want it... I suggest buying 11 quarts of oil and do the method they use for tranny fluid change. It'd be awaste of money and oil =P

01tl4tl

what little residue that doesnt burn off or evaporate or drain out, will simply do a maitenance cleaning for you, and deposit crud in the filter

Considering most of us who are discussing this do our own oil change, and let as many drops as possible come out before finally relenting and putting the plug back in....

Can you find any other reasons to be paranoid about a product with 50 years of experience on the market?

RTLNOOBIE

ok thanks 01tl4tl, and thanks be-in my tl for DIY. im doing tonight. for my understanding i don't have to change oil and filter. when seafoam is use in gas tank and vac line. sorry for being slow.

SRT-11

01tl4tl, you know I trust you mang! I'm just covering my bases! I use AMSOil, which is (according to them) good for 1yr or 25k miles, and I only drive about 6k miles a year on the TL but I plan on leaving the oil about 6 months between changes. I would think a filter full of crud also might not flow oil through it as efficiently... I gotta ask man!

01tl4tl

you are correct- a filter full of crud does not flow or filter as well, and when it reaches its limit- the bypass valve opens and the filter no longer accepts oil from the system to filter- you are running bare!!
Thats a main reason to change the filter halfway thru a long mileage use
Especially until a few lab test have confirmed whats happening inside the engine

jimsta

iTrader: (1)

Just did this to my 05 TL with 41k on it. I used half of it being sucked in the vac line and on the last sip i let it suck it in until the engine died. I then poured the other half into a 1/5 tank full of gas. (Not sure if was supposed to put it into the gas tank as I was sucking it through the Vac line).

I had some smoke but not alot. Some smoke came out in the first 4-5 minutes..nothing like some of the videos i have seen. I had some WOT runs between 1st and 3rd gear as well as a sustained 4k RPM run then jump to 6 and back down and such. But during all of these hard runs, had no smoke.

Will do it again in 2k miles as o1tl recommended.

RTLNOOBIE

i did mine. 8oz to the tank 8oz to the vac line.. no smoke well do the sip sip car died a few time. let it sit fully 15 minutes.. start the car fine and smooth still no smoke.. take off still no smoke..drive at 3rd gear with 4k rpm still see no smoke behind me. after 10 minutes drive drop to 2 gear at 10pmh and floor to 50 no smooke. that's mean it good for one year? or repeat it after 2000mile? then good for the year

ecliptics

thanks bookmarked.. ill def seafoam soon

01tl4tl

try using as much of the 16 oz as the engine will take and still keep running- Every time I use that method on my or someones TL , there IS some smoke at the ehaust tips when getting close to done- and immedialty after it sits and restart there is smoke
Maybe you guys are putting it in too fast??

Engine MUST be warmed first- then foam- little sit time then drive- you may only see it out the back when parked, when driving, its hard to see, unless you follow someone who just did it- then you will see!
Repeat in 2000 miles for all 1st timers
Add to gas tank, replace gas cap - do vac port method- drive
so there is gas with cleaner in it while you are pumping lots of fuel at the engine with revs
2 oz foam per 1 gallon of gas in the tank
since few of us run it down all the way to empty- I throw a 16 oz can in about 1/2 tank of gas and not worry

Donte99TL

Bookmarked for feature reference.

Also can seafaom be used at every oil change?

apnorm

iTrader: (3)

I just did the 8 oz in the engine and other 8 oz in oil. I had a friend with me who made sure car didn't stall - came close a couple times but he kept it going. We actually timed it and it took 9 min. 40+ sec to do the 8 oz. It could have smoked while I was driving as any minimal smoke wouldn't have been seen. From some of the stories, I was expecting to see huge amounts of smoke covering the cars behind me. I'm going to seaform in another 1k miles or so...this time only in intake and gas. Just got my oil changed!

01tl4tl - would you suggest the full 16 oz in the intake? I was planning on 1/4 tank and putting 8 oz in gas and 8 oz in intake. I can always wait until 1/2 tank and buy two bottles and put 16 oz in each the intake and gas.

Spiritman

OK, I did a search, didn't find any ref. to this. Shouldn't you plug the removed vac. line? You don't want it sucking in any dirt. Maybe you just thought that this goes without saying?

In the other video (clear tube) you can see his vac. line is wide open. I have never seen a mach. leave a line open like this. Just don't want to see anyone have any trouble. Not tring to be a smartass nor nuting....