Seafoam to the crankcase wisdom

[Brandon Gatz]

At the Volvo forum site i visit often many add seafoam to the crankcase, but only for 200mi prior to a planned OCI. Is this copasetic, and if so, is there any wisdom to doing the seafoam treatment-in addition to-a current ARX cycle. Will seafoam conflict with ARX in any way...

thanks.

 

[Ken2]

NO SEAFOAM. It is just a solvent. You do not want to thin your oil, and that is exactly what any of these solvents do. If your engine is heavily sludged, the solvents can loosen a lump of sludge that can clog the oil pickup screen. Auto-Rx is a very specialized product that works very well. Let it do its job. I am very satisfied with the results of A-Rx in my 855T.

Seafoam in the fuel side is OK. You can mix it with gas or suck it directly into one of the vacuum fittings. Do it at night...it'll smoke a lot.


Ken

 

[Screwdriver]

Use Seafoam only through the Intake Manifold. I used my Brake Booster line.

It's not really doing anything in the tank and putting anything other than LC20 OR ARX in the oil would seem redundant.

Aviv

 

[unDummy]

A full bottle of Seafoam can be used as a 5-15 minute flush on a cold engine prior to an oil change. Do not run it for 200 miles or anything like that.

For any longer usage, use no more than 1.5 ounces per quart. 1 ounce per quart added for a normal OCI won't cause any issues.

 

[Strjock81]

quote:

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It's not really doing anything in the tank

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I disagree with this statement on the grounds that it has worked wonders for me personally in a couple of applications.

A) I have a Honda 4wheeler that sometimes starts running rough and doesnt want to idle, and just dies when you are off the throttle. Throw a few ounces of seafoam in the tank and she is good as new for several months of daily use.

B) I have It's not really doing anything in the tank '63 Case 830 gas tractor that we used to have to have carb adjustments done on every year to help with misfires, rough idle, etc. Started using Seafoam in the gas a couple years ago on mechanic's recommendation and it hasn't been back since. Bad idea for mechanic's job security, huh.

THese are both carbed vehicles so I can't say that it works in modern fuel injection systems, but I know for a fact that in these two applications, it does work, and works well.

 

[Brandon Gatz]

riddle me this: let's say i drop in a can of seafoam into the crankcase, in a cold engine, right before my planned oil change and run it for 5-10 minutes. doing this, do you think the ARX rinse stage will still be necessary?

 

[andyd]

How can you expect a product to work if you dont use it as directed?

 

[Brandon Gatz]

i am seeking knowledgeable replies! thanks though!

 

[BrianWC]

I have a bit of experience with this. Let me say this. Yeah, it will remove things but arx will as well and safer. It's not going to dissolve big hard particles and you then risk them clogging the screen if you unleash too many at once.

Plus, even on a cold engine, it's going to increase wear after you change your oil because it's going to leave less of an oil film behind. I've always thought it harmless but a few crazy noises immediately upon cranking right after using it convinced me I don't need to. Plus, my own arx expereinces had ended up being impressive after getting off to a slow start.

I will say I think it or Chemtool would be fine in the tank, though for a little extra cleaning.

 

[Turk]

gr8 - I put in the Seafoam about 200 miles before the PP drain.

The PP wasn't very dark all along, but after I added the Seafoam and drained the oil, sure enough, it was quite dark. So, that tells me the Seafoam did the trick and cleaned 'er well.

Hope that helps, let me know...

 

[unDummy]

I agree. It works well in the tank. I prefer a full bottle of Seafoam with a full tank vs. the vacuum method. Less of a hassle, and IMO, the same end result!

 

[wpwren]

It sounds like you're asking if it would be a good idea to put the Seafoam in just before dumping the ARX clean cycle and avoid the rinse cycle altogether, true? If so then you wouldn't be allowing ARX to fully do it's job and you really wouldn't be getting a good feel for the result of one product or the other. It's like when you modify you make one change and then test it. That way you know what the change caused.

You most likely would be defeating the purpose of ARX as well, I would think. All and all...IMHO.

 

[Brandon Gatz]

wpwren: keep in mind that the ARX has already done its work, adding the seafoam will not undo all the cleaning that has taken place over the previous 2500mi. i'm going to do the rinse stage in proper fashion, fwiw, my question is just a random curiosity....

methinks i'll be putting in the seafoam at the end of the rinse cycle....

 

[wpwren]

Oh ok...for a minute there I thought the Seafoam would restore all the sludge and carbon back to their original locations.

Why not just stay with ARX to include an after treatment maint program? That may be better long term for the Volvo I would think.

If you really have the hankerin' for using the Seafoam then you might try putting it in through the vacuum tree and just follow the instructions using 1\3 of the can. Just a thought mind you but that's what most seem to do over on VS.

 

[Brandon Gatz]

i had a vacuum tree on my 95 850t, but not so on this XC. i see vacuum lines, but i cannot figure out which one to use to utilize the seafoam action. i've not gotten a straight answer about this at VS....

 

[wpwren]

That has the LPT does it not? There should be one under the throttle body cover if it is an LPT.

If not then look for a vacuum line connection to or from the intake manifold.

 

[marcre]

There are a lot of mixed reviews of Seafoam on this board. I like Seafom a lot, I use it regularly in the PCV line as well as in the gas tank. I've used it in the oil as well.

When I got my 99 Rodeo two years ago it made a ticking noise at highway speeds. At first I thought it was a sound in the dash area. I put seafoam in the oil and let it idle for ten minutes, took it for a drive (2-4 miles) followed by another short idle.

Ticking has never been back. I am not the most mechanically inclined person when it comes to the inards of an engine, so I never pinpointed it, but it's gone. I did another seafoaming next oil change. On the next one, I used Auto-RX. There have been a few OCI's since. Next week I'll be changing oil again, using Seafoam. Also through the PCV line and the EGR system.

A lot of people call it a harsh solvent, it is not harsh. It has been used for years.

I'd say use it, but not at the same time as ARX, they'd conflict eachother (I'm assuming they'd conflict, I don't know). Use the ARX if you have it and in the future use the seafoam. I like both of these products.

Obviously from your reading on the Volvo forum you see people like it. Many people like seafoam including me.

Marc

 

[Brandon Gatz]

wren: do you by chance have a link that would visually describe the locations....

 

[nicholas]

Hey there,
every 18months I flush my crankcase oil,
right before my oil change I drain all the 5w-30 out of my cars,
I then put in 20w-50 with a 20% mix of seafoam
I let the car idle for 15-20 mins, then drain the oil and replace the filter.
Also I let the car drip for about 3 hours, or until the dripping stops.

I have done this for over 7 years on all my cars, and i have never had a leaky gasket or replaced a gasket.
valve train is spotless..

but hey everybody does something different.
nik

 

[Brandon Gatz]

good call nick...may i ask why you choose 20w50?