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Thread: The $12 Miracle Fix in a Can!? What???

  1. #1
    DX User 79Civic's Avatar
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    Lightbulb The $12 Miracle Fix in a Can!? What???

    I have been having huge problems with idle/fuel delivery for the past several months.

    New fuel filters helped some as did a new relay and fuel pump (the original was tired) for a while. Then it came time to "fix" the catalytic converter. All the while my idle issues persisted. I was left with the daunting task of removing/replacing all those vacuum lines..ugh!

    Then I found it the solution, I thought, the miracle fix that would solve ALL my problems and clean my marble counter tops as well! But, wait there is more... Not really!

    I went to O'Reillys(or rather the wife did) and picked up a can of this stuff called SeaFoam!? I had heard about it, seen videos, read testimonials (on 3geez) but colour me the skeptic!

    Two nights ago i had put $20 worth of gas (6 gal) and $12 of miracle in a can into my tank and fired up the FBT... it ran, but was NOT happy! Neither was I... I walked away, because punching fenders is costly, trust me I know!

    The next morning I had to head to work and the FBT was none the happier, but I made it to work with a lil extra throttle and too much brake! And walked away again from the FBT frustrated and looking to make a quick sale or trade… fast-forward to my break. >> Where are my keys? Apparently I had, in my frustration and blind anger, left my keys in the car. I found them in the ignition, car in the accessory position from rolling up the windows. I was able to get in on the passenger side, barely! I reached over and tried to start the FBT. It stuttered and finally coughed to life! Not throttle applied!? That’s a first I thought… But, alas I shut it down and returned to work (well not really work I am employed by the federal gubmint!).

    Fast-forward to the end of my tour >> I go out to start the FBT to limp it home… Wait! What is this the FBT fired up and quickly idled out at 1100 RPMs, hmm… That’s weird and not anywhere near “normal” for the FBT. Oh well, gotta get home dinner is waiting. I threw it into gear and set out. Wait! Where did the hesitation go? And this pedal on the right makes it go faster!? This cannot be! Hit the breaks, red light ahead, ready the gas and break control system to keep the FBT breathing! Huh? Why is the FBT idling at full stop at 1100 RPMs? OH YEAH! That miracle in a can stuff musta worked!!!

    So, in summation go get some!!!

    David

    P.S. I still think I need to do the vac thing and I will need to do the exhaust now, but all sales/trades are off! THE FBT LIVES!!!
    Last edited by 79Civic; 07-10-2014 at 08:45 AM.



  2. #2
    DX User pajamas95's Avatar
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    Re: The $12 Miracle Fix in a Can!? What???

    Did something very similar, but put half the can down the carb while my brother held the gas to barely keep it running (this stuff chokes the carb real bad), and the other half in the gas tank. Now the car cold starts at 1200 RPMs every time and idles so much smoother. Gotta do it to my '85 F150 now and hope I have the same results.
    1987 Accord Sedan LX KL 5MT in Sonic Blue Metallic - 2.5" lowering springs


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    3Geez Veteran lostforawhile's Avatar
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    Re: The $12 Miracle Fix in a Can!? What???

    stuff has been around for years it's the only can stuff most people on here will touch

  4. #4
    LX User 1813mdw's Avatar
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    Re: The $12 Miracle Fix in a Can!? What???

    Seafoam is awesome. I usually unhook one of the vac lines going into the intake manifold and dunk it in the can and let the motor syphon all the liquid out, does a real good job of cleaning carbon build up. Car will smoke like a mofo for a few minutes as you rev it up to clear it all out, but once your done your car def has alot more pep to it. Havnt really looked into the carb motors though.
    Reminds me of a guy who came into my work 2wks ago. Poured it in his oil before driving from Texas to here in Michigan. The bottle says to drive 100 miles(not 1500) and drain it, guy said it started going through oil like crazy about halfway through the trip. Car came in the shop smoking like crazy and barely moving under its own power. The seafoam broke down the oil causing the piston rings to grind down to nothing causing massive blow-by/loss of compression. Im sure his bearings werent far behind. He said his car was burning 3qts a day lol. Then was dumb enough to ask if he should add another bottle before he hits the road back to Texas

  5. #5

    Vanilla Sky's Avatar
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    Re: The $12 Miracle Fix in a Can!? What???

    Seafoam is the only fuel system cleaner I can recommend to anyone. Your experience is similar to mine, back when I had a carbed 3gee.

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    Re: The $12 Miracle Fix in a Can!? What???

    Sea foam in the fuel tank may clean a carburetor or injectors, but I would never hook a vacuum line to the can or pour any of that shit in the oil. Sea foam was designed many, many years ago as a gas treatment, to reduce varnish/etc in carbureted boat engines that sat for long times. it is a solvent. Breaking up all the oily carbon crap in an intake manifold and letting the motor inhale that is not good. If you want to clean the intake manifold, take it off and clean it. Putting solvents in the oil causes even more damage. Solvents do not lubricate, they break down accumulated crap. Best case scenario, increased engine wear, worst case, destroyed engine. the accumulated crap breaks down and goes through in the oil pump, damaging it, if bad enough, it clogs the oil filter, makes it go into bypass mode, and destroys the engine. If the motor is "dirty" under the valve covers, in the crankcase, the only thing you can do to clean it is more frequent oil changes. Another thing sea foam in a vacuum line hurts is the catalytic converter, coating it with all that smoke reduces its function.

  7. #7
    LX User 1813mdw's Avatar
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    Re: The $12 Miracle Fix in a Can!? What???

    Quote Originally Posted by Accordtheory View Post
    Sea foam in the fuel tank may clean a carburetor or injectors, but I would never hook a vacuum line to the can or pour any of that shit in the oil. Sea foam was designed many, many years ago as a gas treatment, to reduce varnish/etc in carbureted boat engines that sat for long times. it is a solvent. Breaking up all the oily carbon crap in an intake manifold and letting the motor inhale that is not good. If you want to clean the intake manifold, take it off and clean it. Putting solvents in the oil causes even more damage. Solvents do not lubricate, they break down accumulated crap. Best case scenario, increased engine wear, worst case, destroyed engine. the accumulated crap breaks down and goes through in the oil pump, damaging it, if bad enough, it clogs the oil filter, makes it go into bypass mode, and destroys the engine. If the motor is "dirty" under the valve covers, in the crankcase, the only thing you can do to clean it is more frequent oil changes. Another thing sea foam in a vacuum line hurts is the catalytic converter, coating it with all that smoke reduces its function.
    There are several Oil System Cleaners on the market for cleaning sludge and varnish out, and they work just fine. And for the seafoam in the intake, where do you think the carbon is going when you're srayin it through the injectors onto the back of your carboned-up valves? Never had a clogged cat from occasional seafoam in the 10+ yrs Ive been usin it

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    Re: The $12 Miracle Fix in a Can!? What???

    Quote Originally Posted by 1813mdw View Post
    There are several Oil System Cleaners on the market for cleaning sludge and varnish out, and they work just fine. And for the seafoam in the intake, where do you think the carbon is going when you're srayin it through the injectors onto the back of your carboned-up valves? Never had a clogged cat from occasional seafoam in the 10+ yrs Ive been usin it
    Anything you put into your oil to dissolve material that does not lubricate, or material that is abrasive, is going to bring that material into suspension in the oil, allowing that material to potentially cause damage. An "oil system cleaner" is fundamentally flawed as a concept. If you have crud built up in the motor, it doesn't hurt anything anyway since it's not on the bearing surfaces, just change the oil more often.

    With the intake valves, when was the last time you've seen carbon buildup in any significant amount on a port injected motor? The port injectors wash the intake valves clean. You'll see carbon in the intake runners, anywhere the fuel doesn't hit, from the PCV and EGR systems. You see carbon buildup on the intake valves of diesels (bmw 335d) and direct injected gas motors, (audi fsi) Not port efi motors.

    When you connect a vacuum line to a can of sea foam, if that is able to dissolve the carbon in the runners/plenum of the intake, the motor ends up inhaling that crap, which is not good for the rings and cylinder walls.

    The only application of sea foam that I wouldn't say not to do is in the fuel tank. (Like it's supposed to be used?)

  9. #9
    LX User 1813mdw's Avatar
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    Re: The $12 Miracle Fix in a Can!? What???

    Crud/sludge build up can be harmful in more ways than just getting on bearing surfaces. Clogged oil passages not to mention it contaminating the new oil you put in it breaking it down faster. Now I personally dont let mine get bad because i change my oil on time, most people dont. The makers of Seafoam must want us to use it incorrectly since they put directions on the bottle on how to use it in your oil before you change it. I dont use it in the oil but know many people who do.

    As for the rings and cylinder walls being compromised from burning carbon in the chamber; I dont think so. My 3gee was Seafoamed through the intake once a year for the 3yrs I owned it, and once a year for the previous 6 yrs when my friend owned it. The last compression test before I sold it w/ 240,000+ miles read 175psi on all but cyl #1 which was at 170. Not too shabby IMO

  10. #10
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    Re: The $12 Miracle Fix in a Can!? What???

    The motors I've taken apart where there was visible crud on the valvetrain (never seen this with hondas, just domestic motors, for whatever reason) there wasn't anything in the other parts of the motor where it would matter. For example, upon removing the rods from the crank, I'd never see anything in the oil passages of the crank itself. Same with the oil pump or any other part that had oil inside of it, like the hollow pushrods, etc. I don't know, but it seems like the crud only really forms when exposed to air, or maybe it has to do with the surface of the head being hotter than the other parts. Except the backsides of pistons, I have also seen crud form on the backsides of pistons, but not with a motor with oil squirters. That's why I said I don't think it really matters, and you'll do more harm than good by trying to remove it.

    It wouldn't really surprise me that much if the can of sea foam has instructions for a practice that is not advisable. Even in our current sue-happy, blame everyone else culture. If you clean your intake manifold frequently with sea foam, maybe there is never enough crap being inhaled at that time to cause damage. If you run a water/methanol, or just distilled water injection system, especially popular on diesels, it will keep the intake system clean all the way into the cylinders, and that doesn't damage anything. But surely you can imagine an intake coated with 20 years worth of oily carbon, and a guy spraying the hell out of it with brake clean or carb cleaner while the motor runs and inhales all of that crap. Some of that carbon is going to end up scraping between the piston and the cylinder wall as the piston is moving before it gets ejected. Maybe that wouldn't do any damage. Maybe I am just overly cautious when it comes to shit like that.

    But I want to emphasize that it is easy to damage a motor. Motors are fragile. If you have tight piston to wall clearance, and you run the motor hard, and your thermostat sticks open so the motor can't come up to temp, you will scuff your pistons into your cylinder walls, leaving vertical lines on them. How many people would think that? Not many. Most people would probably think it's easier on a motor to run it hard when it's under its normal temp.

    As far as the catalytic converter, I didn't say it would clog it, I said it would reduce its function, being coated with all that nasty, oily smoke. I bet if you did that, and then went to a smog test, you wouldn't have as clean of results. Almost all of it may burn off, like a diesel particulate filter, but still, why put it in the cat in the first place. I know that stuff doesn't ever burn off 100% completely though because of the oil requirements for dpf equipped diesels. I have to run a very specific oil in my vw for that reason. Over time, the motor burns oil and the result of that ends up in the dpf, hastening its demise. Normal motor oil, especially heavy duty motor oil with its higher percentage of extreme pressure additives (rotella, etc) does not burn as cleanly as the vw 507 spec oil. Some of those of those videos I've seen on youtube of people using sea foam are ridiculous, they make a little 4 cyl fill up a whole parking lot with smoke. There's no way that doesn't have an adverse effect on the cat.

    Again, I'm not saying to never use sea foam, just for people to be aware of what it can do, or is doing when being used in certain ways. You said a guy put it in his oil, drove a good distance, and basically ruined his rings and bearings, there you go. He probably never thought it would be capable of doing damage like that.

  11. #11

    Vanilla Sky's Avatar
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    Re: The $12 Miracle Fix in a Can!? What???

    Agreed with AT on the bad cats. You can poison a cat by running slightly rich for too long. It doesn't necessarily have to clog it to make it stop working.

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