I added some seafoam the my oil and was wondering how long to wait until I change it. The car has 121k on it and as far as I know this is the first time its been done, so id imagine it had a good amount of stuff to remove. I dont really like the idea of leaving the stuff floating around in there but want to make sure its had time to work its magic.

 

I think it suggests to put it in, let it idel for 15 mins, then change the oil. Thats what i did last time. I do this before every oil change. But before i learned this, i put it in the oil and ran around for a few weeks and it didnt hurt anything. So i guess its up to you.

 

I remember hearing run for 500 miles somewhere, but dont know if this was true. I've probably put 120 or so on it. I would look on the bottle but I managed to crush the thing with the bake booster hose.

 

I put Seafoam in my 161k motor that WAS running great. I drove the car for 36 miles with the SeaFoam in it and ROD KNOCK! NOWHERE on the bottle I have does it tell you to take it out after ANY amount of time. I called Seafoam to complain and all I got was "Sorry to hear that, you had a problem already". Ummmmm NO! You can see how the bearings were all "washed" clean and then 1 or 2 spun! I doubt I'd win a case in court over it, but I would ONLY use SeaFoam in the fuel tank or sucking some in thru the brake booster hose. Just my .02!
Mike

 

Seafoam is fine for in the induction and fuel systems to clean carbon and injectors but I personally thinks its dangerous for the oiling system. Nothing belongs in the oil but oil.

Even if you use oil sludge cleaners it says to idle the engine for 5 minutes and not to drive it.

CHANGE YOUR OIL NOW or bye bye bearings.

 

I guess thats why you are suppost to let it idel for 15 minutes and then change the oil. Its common sense not to go WOT with this stuff in your crankcase, since it provides no lubrication at all. Its alright for light driveing, but would be better if used as directed. Like i said before, i drove around with it in my crankcase for a while with no problems. Im only at 80,000 miles though. So being at 161,000 miles, all your bearings needed was an excuse to let go.

 

I've never heard of anyone using it in the oil. I've only used in through the intake and in the gas tank.

 

People put that stuff everywhere. (Not that I advise that).
I've sucked it into the intake on previous cars with good results.
You won't find it in my gas tank, oil or tranny .... EVER.

 

Sucking it in through the intake is the same thing as running it through the gas tank, except when it's in the tank, it cleans the fuel system also.

 

Except for the whole sitting in the tank part ... yeah.
That's exactly what I am trying to avoid.

 

I would disagree here, by sucking it through a vaccum hose (opti hose for me) you get larger quantities of pure seafoam in the intake, head passenges and cylinders. This is far more effective if you want to really clean the engine out.

By mixing it in the tank it will not clean things nearly as well, however it will clean the injectors and fuel line a bit.

I prefer to do both and to NEVER put the stuff in the oil.

 

Well cant say I feel any better having read this, but I put new oil in and put another 150 miles or so on it, no complaints so far.

 

I agree. I was more stating along the lines that it won't hurt to run it in the gas tank because it ends up in the same spot as pouring it in the intake. I do both also.

 

LOL I am actually looking at the can/bottle of it right now.......There is not ANYTHING on the bottle that says "Idle for 15 mins then drain" NOWHERE! I asked SeaFoam themselves when I called to complain and they said "No, I use it in my car all the time! It goes in whenever I change my oil, I even use it in my race car". I even said to him "How can this stuff lubricate? It looks like water!" He said "Oh no, it mixes with the oil and is the same as oil in just a few mins of driving". So, I DID use as directed, there was NO WOT runs (guy from SeaFoam claimed to use it in his race car...WOT!) with it.....in fact, I bet it never went over 2500-2700 rpm's in that 36 miles. That stuff is EVIL in your crankcase.....PERIOD. Want some nice pictures of some washed & spun bearings? I'm not flaming you, just responding to your post.....I did it per SeaFoams instructions on the label and BOOM!
Mike
PS. I talked to 2 others that had a lawnmower (haha) & an outboard marine engine go boom from using it in the oil.

 

Well when you have as many miles on your motor as you did, bad things are bound to happen. Its like camming a high milege motor, you have a higher chance of spinning a bearing. Ill find some instrctions tonight when i get off work. It might not say exactly what to do on the can, but if your unsure about useing this stuff, I would assume that you would do some research so you dont mess up your engine.