Miracle fixes in a bottle

purplepickup · January 03, 2013, 02:00:46 PM

I've never been one to believe the marketing hype I've heard my whole life about secret formula fix-its for cars. The first one I remember was STP, then the teflon additives, magnetic fields on the fuel line, and so on. JC Whitney had a bunch of them. Some of that stuff might work but I've never seen any concrete evidence amongst people I know. There's lots of believers spending lots of money, and I've tried a couple but never experienced the miracles they promised me.

Lately a few believers I know have talked about Seafoam. Well I just couldn't see paying $7 for a can but 3 weeks ago Menards had some CRC Motor Treatment on sale for $1.99 a can. It made the same claims as Seafoam, had similar warnings, and the can was the same shape so I picked up a can.

My '01 Taurus winter beater has been running a constant code for the last 4 years that I've ignored, P0401, which is restricted EGR flow. I was told carbon was the culprit. The car ran ok except for a little hesitation at around 40-55mph and the lazy side of me could live with that. Anyway, I dumped the CRC in the gas tank with about 8 gallons in it. I forgot about it for a while then noticed the check engine light was off...and it hasn't come back on. It could be a coincidence but it appears the stuff worked.

Now I don't know what to do, there are so many miracles out there just waiting for me......

58 Yeoman · January 03, 2013, 02:07:42 PM

On a side note, George, JCW is now owned by a huge parts conglomerate out in CA. My daughter used to work there in the phone dept.

I use Seafoam in my fuels; the sun shines every day, the birds are always chirping, and my tires last for millions of miles each.

unklian · January 03, 2013, 03:13:14 PM

IIRC, Seafoam is mostly Mineral Spirits.

The MSDS is available online.

purplepickup · January 03, 2013, 04:16:36 PM

Quote from: "unklian"IIRC, Seafoam is mostly Mineral Spirits.

The MSDS is available online.

Yeah, I see Seafoam ingredients per the MSDS are:
PALE OIL 40-60% (whatever that is)
NAPHTHA 25-35%
IPA 10-20% (Isopropyl alcohol, I think)

and the CRC stuff is:
Hydrotreated heavy paraffinic distillate 45–55%
Mineral spirits 30–40%
2-Butoxy ethanol 10-20%

Oh well, for a buck 99 my light's off....and I still don't believe in miracles

Apparently Taurus just needed a cocktail.

enjenjo · January 03, 2013, 04:33:08 PM

Josh's Honda 4 cylinder was throwing an EGR code and they are famous for plugging the EGR passages with carbon. We pulled the EGR valve, cleaned what we could reach, and dosed the rest with Seafoam. It cleared right up, and with an occasional dose in the tank it has not come back.

unklian · January 03, 2013, 04:54:00 PM

http://hildstrom.com/projects/seafoam/index.html

BFS57 · January 03, 2013, 06:26:12 PM

Hello;
I to have "dumped" a bottle or 2 of Seafoam in our 02 Trailblazer. It now has over 150,000 miles on it and runs really great! I was using the Chevron product but heard a few raves for the Seafoam so I'm kinda convinced. I also change the oil about every 5K or so as the Mrs and myself get into "arguments" over the 3K oil change.

Bruce

kb426 · January 03, 2013, 06:36:33 PM

I thought you guys meant alky for us old guys.

1800guy · January 03, 2013, 08:13:47 PM

I've always been against any sort of "cure in a can", but I'm really sold on Sea-Foam. I started using it for winter storage of the lawnmower, chain-saw, etc. For the last 3 or 4 years I've added a can to the gas tank at each 5,000 mile oil change, and never had any fuel injection related problems (including O2 sensors) on any of our cars. YMMV

Beck · January 03, 2013, 08:40:57 PM

You guys have me thinking. We have a snowblower and a powerwasher at work that are suffering from a couple years of storage with fuel in them. Neither will start. You think a dose of this miracle down the carb could hurt anything? They are already broke.....

1800guy · January 03, 2013, 10:37:44 PM

It's really not designed for the carb, but rather the fuel itself. That said, what I would try is adding it to the fuel and letting it set for a few days. On SU carbs, where it is easy to access the float bowl, I've poured some directly into the bowl and into the fuel pump and filter, and then spun it over a few times to move the fuel a bit and then let it soak.

idrivejunk · January 04, 2013, 07:44:54 AM

I have a friend who liked adding Seafoam to ethanol-free premium gas before storing the car. Bad idea unless you want to replace your whole fuel system, because the (not old, replacement) tank, lines, and injectors rotted in a short time. Grey crunchy flecks covering the inside of the tank above the fuel level line. I told him he should have used Lucas fuel stabilizer, HEET, or Sta-Bil instead, for storage. I've used Seafoam but only on carb cars and it works (as do many other liquids) well for carbon removal. Sometime I'll try it (or maybe CRC) in my wore-out daily driver but it sure is high. Never seen anything work quite as well as the old formula GM top engine cleaner from a decade ago.

rumrumm · January 04, 2013, 04:25:47 PM

For several years I have poured a cupful of SeaFoam in the gas tank rather than using Stabil. I have not had any problems with gasoline sitting in the tank from November-April. But I don't run it through the lines and into the carburetor. I also put a little in my lawn mower and my weed wacker which sit over the winter.

Arnold · January 04, 2013, 06:20:25 PM

My neighbour..and friend.. is a large dealer,supplier of Seafoam.
Mine does not cost me much

I first used their transmission tune as my 93 Escort trans. when it shifted into o/d it started to shake pretty bad like it was seizing up? :evil: The trans. tune is very aggressive! :!: :!: Can't leave it in any longer than 5 miles before a flush. Fixed that. I had nothing to lose..my friend supplied it.
Then I used it to clean the maf sensor that was acting up..tsb's on it. Just dumped the Seafoam in a coffee cup and in went the sensor.
I use it as a carbon cleaner. I use their spray stuff..Deep Creep as a penetrating oil Really good stuff! I spray it down intakes.
ALL small engines run on it for me. ALL small engines are run on it until out then stored. I use it as a stabilizer.
I put the odd can into each of my vehicles every now and again.
Recently I cleaned an O2 sensor in a cup of it.

Pretty expenisve in Canada! $11.49PLUS 13% tax. I do buy it every now and again. I moved far away from my friend. :cry:

Arnold · January 04, 2013, 06:32:07 PM

Quote from: "Beck"You guys have me thinking. We have a snowblower and a powerwasher at work that are suffering from a couple years of storage with fuel in them. Neither will start. You think a dose of this miracle down the carb could hurt anything? They are already broke.....

Get the old gas out of them. Get the spray Seafoam and the regular stuff. Spray into the tanks,and around the linkages and into the plug holes.Spray the ignition too. It is a drier.Pour in the Seafoam.Stuff WILL run on that alone. Leave it in for a day or two. Clean the plug and crank it with the plug out.Once they run I dump out the Seafoam and run it on the stongest mixture they reccommend. I think it is 30:1. Watch out for this! This stuff can loosen carbon and crap and before you know it can plug and glaze plugs. I don't lean on anything that I have cleaned with Seafoam until I am pretty sure that is not going to happen.