seafoam cause engine light?

[taintedtattoo]

Hi guys, I just purchaced a used toyota corrola for my daughter, when I got it home I wanted to run some fuel injector cleaner thru the system so I poured a can of seafoam in the gas, its a smallish tank and I used about 3/4 of the bottle.. After about 10 minutes of highway driving the engine light came on, when I got home I pulled the code and it was a bank 1 o2 sensor fault. Do you suppose that the solvent in the seafoam gave the sensor a bogus reading? It seems like that is the case, what are your opinions? Thanks in advance.

 

[Steve S]

Maybe, run it a while tofinish the tank of gas, then remove the code and see what happens. How many miles and what year Corolla?

 

[Vizzy]

DO NOT USE SEAFOAM IN YOUR FUEL SYSTEM!!!!!!!!

It could cause damage!!!!!!

Use a 35-50% PEA detergent based product like Techron Total Fuel System Cleaner.

 

[dparm]

You might have nuked that sensor, unfortunately. I would pull the sensor, clean it, reset the light, and see if it comes back.

Most guys who run Seafoam intentionally remove the O2 while it's in there.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I never put any cleaners or lubes in my fuel system anymore - either stuff doesnt work or it causes problems. Bad gas/ stale gas - dump in a 1/2 tank high detergent premium. At least you get a goodly volume of usable fuel for the 10 bucks spent. (Oh i lied - wife got bad gas at Shell last winter and I put a bottle of Shell V-power cleaner I got a wally world. Seemed to smooth the idle but who knows if it would have cleared itself anyway.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Originally Posted By: dparm
You might have nuked that sensor, unfortunately. I would pull the sensor, clean it, reset the light, and see if it comes back.

Most guys who run Seafoam intentionally remove the O2 while it's in there.
Isnt the best way to clean an o2 sensor to "drive it like you stole it" ? Any plated on metal on the ceramic thimble cannot be cleaned off - let say junk from "octane enhancers" like MMT. That junks kills o2 immediatly (1 tank). Any typical organic can be "burnt off" with the italian method. The MIL lamp may be a coincidence.

 

[J. A. Rizzo]

My guess is the light was probably on before the car was sold, and they reset it for the sale. Now that it's been driven through the drive cycle to test the O2 sensor function, the light is back on.

I agree that Sea Foam doesn't belong in fuel tanks, but I've never heard any convincing arguments that it causes O2 sensor problems either. From the Sea Foam web site: "SEA FOAM is an EPA-registered product, and will not harm engine components, seals, gaskets, catalytic converters or oxygen sensors."

Use a PEA-containing cleaner like Techron or Regane or Redline Fuel System Treatment if you need to clean the fuel system.

That said, it's probably just time to replace the O2 sensor.

 

[Kira]

Hello, What year? What mileage? Kira

 

[beast3300]

Originally Posted By: Vizzy
DO NOT USE SEAFOAM IN YOUR FUEL SYSTEM!!!!!!!!

It could cause damage!!!!!!

Use a 35-50% PEA detergent based product like Techron Total Fuel System Cleaner.


What?? Seafoam works fine poured into your fuel tank.

I would run that tank out before replacing any parts.

 

[Tdbo]

+1. Adding it to gasoline is one of the applications of Seafoam. Read the side of the can.

 

[taintedtattoo]

The vehicle has about 90K miles,its an '02 model.. I was told by a very reputable guy at Napa that Seafoam is one of the best fuel stabilizers out there, and works great in gasoline.

 

[Vizzy]

Originally Posted By: taintedtattoo
I was told by a very reputable guy at Napa that Seafoam is one of the best fuel stabilizers out there, and works great in gasoline.


There is your first mistake...never trust chain store parts guys.

If you ask any car manufacturer today they will tell you NEVER use any additive unless it is approved by them...Most of the car makers DO approve of PEA gasoline detergent products (like Techron)...I don't think ANY car makers approve of seafoam or MMO for that matter....

Anytime you start putting solvents and other chemicals into your fuel system (no matter what somebody says) you risk serious damage....

UNLESS the maker specifically approves of seafoam I would never even put it NEAR my tank.

 

[Vikas]

Did you check the car with a scanner before purchasing it? Did you verify all the monitors were complete? If not, then it is exactly as JA Rizzo described.

Seafoam will not cause the sensor to go. Go ahead and use PEA based cleaner and see if the light goes out. What is the exact code?

 

[taintedtattoo]

I did not think of checking for codes before purchasing, the light was off at the time so if it was giving them grief they cleared them all beforehand. The code number was po420 catlyst system fault (bank 1)

 

[Vizzy]

Definitely sounds like you screwed the o2 sensor and or the converter..

 

[Spyder7]

Originally Posted By: Vizzy
Originally Posted By: taintedtattoo
I was told by a very reputable guy at Napa that Seafoam is one of the best fuel stabilizers out there, and works great in gasoline.


There is your first mistake...never trust chain store parts guys.

If you ask any car manufacturer today they will tell you NEVER use any additive unless it is approved by them...Most of the car makers DO approve of PEA gasoline detergent products (like Techron)...I don't think ANY car makers approve of seafoam or MMO for that matter....

Anytime you start putting solvents and other chemicals into your fuel system (no matter what somebody says) you risk serious damage....

UNLESS the maker specifically approves of seafoam I would never even put it NEAR my tank.


If the additive maker says its safe to use, and they've been in business awhile, and there is nothing but postive results here, that's good enough for me. MMO in fuel meets all those criteria. I also use ashless 2 cycle oil in fuel (when I don't have MMO) and see no reason to discontinue the practice.

I haven't used Seafoam and am a little bit more wary of it, but I doubt it damaged his O2 sensor, assuming he used the product as directed.

I'm with the others who say the O2 sensor problem already existed prior to his buying the car. The seller likely reset the code, or simply pulled the hot battery lead to kill the CEL.

There are plenty of sellers who resort to such practices, and worse, in the used car market. Caveat emptor: let the buyer beware.

Much of the time when you are buying used, you are buying someone else's problem. The trick is figuring out whether the problems you uncover are worth not only the asking price, but worth dealing with at all.

If its just a bad O2 sensor, no big deal. Not the cheapest part to replace, but far cheaper than a tranny and an easy job.

Edit: different additives do have their place, whether the auto manufacturer specifies them or not. The key is in sorting out the real ones from the snake oil, and making a well informed decision on how and when to use it.

-Spyder

 

[Vizzy]

Originally Posted By: Spyder7
[


If the additive maker says its safe to use, and they've been in business awhile, and there is nothing but postive results here, that's good enough for me. MMO in fuel meets all those criteria. I also use ashless 2 cycle oil in fuel (when I don't have MMO) and see no reason to discontinue the practice.



After being a driver and owning cars for over 25 years now I'll put my trust in the engineers and car companies that produced their product, not a company making a living out of selling magic elixers...LOL
Those addiditive companies can say anything they want. When you end up with a severely damaged engine their promise won't repair the damage for you.


Quote:

Edit: different additives do have their place, whether the auto manufacturer specifies them or not. The key is in sorting out the real ones from the snake oil, and making a well informed decision on how and when to use it.

-Spyder


I say unless you know for a fact that the car in question has a specific problem such as carbon deposits you should NEVER EVER EVER use an addidive unless the car maker specifically approves it.

Even then use a product that is proven in tests to actually help solve the problem and not do any damage in the process. That is why PEA is endorsed by the car makers ..it has a proven track record of reducing or eliminating fuel system deposits while giving total assurance that no damage will occur in the process. The nice thing to know is that many major brands of gas use very small quantities of PEA in their regular pump gas.

Words of Wisdom for other car owners ...if it ain't broke, don't even think about fixing it.

 

[cjcride]

It's probably the MAF sensor, remove it and clean it with MAF cleaner. Clear the code and it will not return.
I had the exact same scenario on my 2001 Corolla.

Use the Seafoam as per the instructions on the can.

 

[SL8R]

What ratio of gas to seafoam did you end up with? You say that the car has a small gas tank. Was it full when you added 3/4 of the bottle of seafoam?

 

[taintedtattoo]

The tank is probably about 15 gallons, I used about 3/4 of the Seafoam,, the container says mix one bottle to 8-24 gallons of fuel,,I would guess I was somewhere in the middle. I called the dealer and he said they knew the engine light came on when they got the car in and they replaced the 02 sensor after the cat. and they claim they put around 150 miles since that with no light so they thought it was fixed, an honest mistake on thier part, I will give them the benefit of the doubt, I know it's a new sensor by looking, it's all nice and clean, including the wires. I have 2 thoughts, the seafoam is giving a bogus reading on the sensor, perhaps it is a bit slow in responding or sensitive, or the cat. is shot. There is a slight rattle noise comming from the exhaust which is a symptom of the cat going, but on an older car, it's hard to tell, there could be several sources, all I know is it runs fine and we are taking it in this week, he said he would replace the proper parts and stand good for his work.