BrandonM

I'm about to get a 2002 B4C with over 200,000 miles on it. I plan on doing a tune up as soon as i get it home, one of the things I've come across is that SeaFoam supposedly clears out deposits in your engine and I wanted to know what your take on it was?

I'm a new member, thought I'm familiar with this site

young maro

IMO don't **** with seafoam on a high mileage motor..... the build ups can be doing more good than bad. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

We seafoamed my girls sunfire w/ 70k on it, immediately after re-starting it we heard "ping, ping ping ping ping" like there was something that broke loose and was flying around in the motor.

AL SS590 M6

Do the 3 way Seafoam treatment then tune it up.

BrandonM

Also with 200+ thousand miles on it what do you suggest be done, this car has been well taken care of (getting off my dad), car was bought from highway patrol at 103,000 back in 04-05

Kevin Blown 95 TA

If it's been well taken care of, why do you think you have to do something to it?

Maybe do a general tune up, check all the stuff under the hood, and do fluid changes if you want. Get under there and see what all seems worn out and what you need to keep an eye on.

I think the thing with seafoam is that it might break loose all kinds of crud which can get in your oil pump pickup or plug up your filter and cause trouble.

BrandonM

thats a good point, but 200,000 miles is alot, i was thinking just the basic tune-up like you said, just wondering if i should do more is all

Marc 85Z28

My take? It works very well.

If you hear a "ping ping ping" noise it was either there before or you did something you shouldn't have.

mlopezart

I myself was close to buying a can until I hear all these horror stories on what it did to their engines. I tried getting the Mopar Combustion chamber cleaner since I heard good raves about it (it was supposedly safer than seafoam) but the government seized the selling of it (at least in California). One major thing you should look at is where to apply it. From what I've read (and thats a lot) there's a step where you allow the brake booster to suck in the Seafoam---don't do the brake booster thing since it gets caught in only 3 or so cylinders, instead allow it to get sucked up by the PCV where it can flow better. Read first, then buy if convinced you can do it. I myself will get around to buying the stuff once I do enough research on my particular engine. (Seafoam sounds very friendly and is easy to remember---probably why it sells like crazy. With either good or bad results, the name sticks and therefore popular through word of mouth. Smart.)

GreenDemon

It seemed to work fairly well cleaning out the VANOS on a BMW 325i (variable cam timing actuators). Dumped the whole can in the crankcase and drove it for a while. Had no more fault codes and the guy hasn't come back yet.

Sometimes an engine can have enough sludge buildup that all of it coming loose at once can clog the oil pump pickup. I don't think there's much danger putting it in the intake unless you just dump it in and hydrolock a cylinder. Just dumping it in the gas tank is also an option.

BrandonM

so if i decide to go with it, just dont add it to the oil

94QuasarZ

If memory serves me correctly, the instructions tell you to divide the can equally between your gas tank, crank case, and brake booster/pcv system. From what I've seen on this thread, the car has been well cared for despite the higher mileage. You're buying it off your dad, so you know how well he took care of it and what specifically (if anything) you should focus on while doing your tune-up. If he changed the oil every 3 months or 3k miles, then you should have no issues with any built-up sludge clogging your oil pump. The same holds true for the fuel system if he ran 93 all the time and threw some injector cleaner/octane booster in there at each oil change. Change the fluids and consult your owners manual (if applicable) for whatever maintenance needs performed on the car per it's current mileage and get that taken care of as well. If you don't have an owner's manual, go to your local auto zone and pick up a Haynes manual for our cars, they run somewhere between 15-20 bucks. I've had one for every vechicle I've owned and they've proven to be great investments. Add the seafoam in with your new oil, then add the rest of it to your pcv/brake booster system and your gas tank as directed, drive it out, and you should be good to go.

Marc 85Z28

I wouldn't bother dividing it up. The cans are cheap. Get one for the gas, and pour it in. Just make sure the tank is full when you do it. I really wouldn't bother adding it to the oil unless you have sludging.

As far as the intake cleaning, that's it's greatest benefit. Open the can. Start the engine, and then jam a penny in the throttle stop holding the throttle partially open. Carefully remove the brake booster hose from the check valve - leave the valve in the booster. Gently touch the booster hose to the top of fluid level in the can, so you suck in a mix of air and Seafoam. Once the can is about 1/3 full, stick the hose in the bottom of the can to suck only fluid. The engine should struggle - quickly turn off the engine reconnect the booster hose. Let sit for an hour, then start it - make sure to drive it like you stole it. Enjoy the smoke show for the next 20 minutes It's an LS1 so there is lots of burnt oil on the pistons and valves.

edklee

My son put seaform in his blazer some years ago and after a while it developed a engine knock. Putting a substance in a high mileage vehicle my not be a smart thing to do. With anything that gets hot, after a while you will get some deposits and that may cause the deposits to break loose and cause internal problems. I would recommend a good tune up and stick with what oil you have been using.

94QuasarZ

Marc spoke of intake cleaning, they also make another type of Sea Foam called "Deep Creep". This comes in an aerosol can and is designed to be sprayed directly into your intake with a WOT (with the car off of course), you might try that out?

BrandonM

Thanks guys! Everything said is really helpful I'll be picking up the Camaro in a couple of days I''m excited to finally be getting an F-Body! (insurance companies have kept them out of my range until now )