Seafoam

[kat-a-tonik]

Thoughts and opinions, does anyone use it in outboards and would it help an antique outboard

 

[ondarvr]

Help in what way? If there's nothing wrong it will do.....nothing.

 

[bruceb58]

It will help you lose weight!

 

[Idlespeedonly]

I have used it, and had absolutely no luck with it.
But some people swear by it.

 

[GA_Boater]

It will help you lose weight!

Out of your wallet. LOL

I do throw in some Seafoam a couple of times a season just for GP, but not a steady diet of the stuff.

 

[Natesms]

Over the weekend I witnessed it work it's magic. Big block motor sounded horrible, had a miss, could barely idle, smoking from running to rich. He poured some right down the carb, and a bunch into the fuel tank. Fired it up and within a minute the miss was gone and the idle went back to normal.

How quickly the motor came around makes me question if there wasn't something else going on there but all he did was pour in some seafoam...

 

[smokeonthewater]

Pouring it in the carburetor would loosen carbon build up tho it is much safer to let it slowly suck it in w a vacuum hose and in the fuel tank can clean up a grungy carb... It doesn't always fix everything but I have had very good luck with it dozens of times.

 

[hotrod53]

I use StarTron in every motor that I own and don't use Seafoam any more. I have used Seafoam in my outboard but never saw any difference. HOWEVER..... I used it in the fuel tank of my 2007 Toyota Camry with 95,000 miles on it. After finishing that tank of fuel, my Camry began to burn 1.5 quarts of oil every 2000 miles. Not that Seafoam caused this problem, as 4 banger Toyota motors were known for this, but after cleaning things up with Seafoam, I then had a problem on my hands. I eventually had to have the motor re-ringed.

Now when you think about my situation, it's both good and bad. Good that the gunk is gone, bad that gunk that was sealing things up was now gone and I had a problem.

 

[bruceb58]

I used it in the fuel tank of my 2007 Toyota Camry with 95,000 miles on it.

I would never use SeaFoam with an engine that has O2 sensors. I know they claim it won't hurt them but since SeaFoam is half oil, not sure why you would do that on purpose.

 

[kat-a-tonik]

Thanks for the info, i'm not having problems with motor, its just an old motor that hasn't run much in a few years, I bought it a couple of years ago for $65 and have just gotten around to fiddling with it this year, I rebuilt the carb. and changed the ignition plate and all its components from another motor that I knew ran, took it out on the river once and it ran great, ( made my little 14 foot deep V stand up on its end lol, right now im working on replacing all the seals in the gear unit, I was just wondering if burning some seafoam through it might be a good idea.

 

[H20Rat]

Fired it up and within a minute the miss was gone and the idle went back to normal.

How quickly the motor came around makes me question if there wasn't something else going on there but all he did was pour in some seafoam...

Yeah I'm thinking something else was up. At idle, it wouldn't have gone through the fuel in the line yet even. (depending on length, but probably a quart or so of fuel give or take... If you burn through that much at idle you have a problem!

Even if the engine is burning a gallon of fuel per hour at idle (most v8's are around .5-.6 gallon/hour), you would have burnt 4 tablespoons of fuel in a minute. (that is about 8 inches of 5/16 fuel line)

 

[smokeonthewater]

Again... Pouring it through the carb would loosen carbon.....
Free up stuck valves..... Improve ring seal.....

Those alone can make a big difference IF those problems exist.

 

[cptrick3]

I've had good luck with it with motorcycles but the only thing I have ever put on boat gas is Stable at the end of the season.

 

[bruceb58]

Thanks for the info, i'm not having problems with motor,

Then there is no reason to put snake oil in it.

 

[gddavid]

I agree with others to leave well enough alone.

I have had good luck with the stuff, my daily driver with around 200,000 miles on it started using a ridiculous amount of oil (1 pint every 80 miles) and was down on compression by about 35% on two cylinders. I suspected and/or hoped it was stuck rings so I poured some seafoam down the spark plug holes and let it soak overnight figuring I had nothing to lose. (I realize that it must have drained right out of the low compression cylinders and into the pan within seconds so waiting overnight may have been pointless but it is what I did) Luckily enough it freed the rings or performed some other miracle because my compression was improved and the oil usage when down to 1 pint every 2,500 miles. I must be very effective at breaking up carbon however that can be very dangerous with that much grit freed up and working though your engine at once, I wouldn't use it as I did unless I was on the verge of replacing the engine. Instead, I would work smaller amounts through the engine over a longer period of time in the hope that the carbon would be dissolved rather than broken up in chunks. First time I ever tried a "miracle in a bottle" type product but it really worked well for me. This was a 3 liter Toyota v6 motor by the way. The car's multiple catalytic converters was doing an incredible job of cleaning up the exhaust even when it was burning so much oil, the only time I saw blue smoke was when the engine was warm but the exhaust was cold like after restarting after the car had been turned off for only a couple of hours.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Thanks for the info, i'm not having problems with motor, its just an old motor that hasn't run much in a few years, I bought it a couple of years ago for $65 and have just gotten around to fiddling with it this year, I rebuilt the carb. and changed the ignition plate and all its components from another motor that I knew ran, took it out on the river once and it ran great, ( made my little 14 foot deep V stand up on its end lol, right now im working on replacing all the seals in the gear unit, I was just wondering if burning some seafoam through it might be a good idea.

Since you tore the carb apart, rebuilt it and the motor runs great, leave it alone. If it aint broke, don't fix it... If I use my boat a lot I dump a can in the tank every now and then(about 18 gal tank). I always put a can in during winter layup. You're supposed to be able to use it in an vehicles crankcase. Supposed to loosen sticky lifters......... At least in the older stuff.... I'm one of those guys that swear by it, but have no hard facts to back it up, except all my motors(I use it in everything) run great..........

 

[WIMUSKY]

Again... Pouring it through the carb would loosen carbon.....
Free up stuck valves..... Improve ring seal.....

Those alone can make a big difference IF those problems exist.

If a person were to do that, how much would one use? I'm thinking about dumping some down the carb of my street rod.....

 

[Natesms]

If a person were to do that, how much would one use? I'm thinking about dumping some down the carb of my street rod.....

It was a small amount, 1/4 cup maybe. As others have suggested, feed a bottle through a vacuum line. There are directions on the bottle but basically you slowly feed it through the line keeping the motor running until the very end of the bottle. You then dump it in to kill the motor. Let it sit 20 minutes. Fire it up and watch the smoke start rolling out the back.

I caused myself issues with the stuff in a car. when it cleaned it'self out it took out the IAC an O2 sensor and something else on the exhaust side by forcing all that crud through the system.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Don't EVER "dump it in"... That's how you hydro lock cylinders... Shattered rings, bent rods, busted pistons, etc.

 

[Silvertip]

The engine dies because of an over rich mixture, not because it is hydro locked. And you don't simply dump it in willy-nilly. As are dribbling it initially, the engine will tend to want to stall. You therefore know how much you are inserting. Add about twice as much and the engine will die and the amount ingested will then do it's job. But my question is, if you want to do this to a street rod, why is it you feel it is necessary. Just because someone uses a product for a specific purpose does not mean you "need" to do it as well. Pull the plugs and use a bore scope to check for carbon. I'm betting there is none and if there is, it very minor and the solution would be to run SeaFoam in the fuel at the recommended rate to gradually clean things up gradually. Your street rod is a 4-stroke, not an oil burning stroke. But I suppose your street rod could be an oil burner as well.