To Seafoam or not to seafoam, that is the question

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What is the general consensus on vacuum line seafoam treatments? I have heard some swear by it, others that say to avoid them at all costs. What do you guys think? The vehicle Im thinking about seafoaming is the truck in my description. 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 4.7L V8 with 92k miles.
 
What issue are you attempting to fix? It can be effective, for seriously carboned intake valves and combustion chambers....
But that isn't generally a problem if you are using decent fuel, and don't short trip the vehicle inordinately.

Is the truck pinging/preigniting? Running rough? If not, there is no reason to buy yourself trouble. Just sayin'.
 
It wouldn't be to do anything but remove the little bit of carbon that has gathered over the years. Even though I only use top tier gasoline, it gets about 99% stop and go city driving and short hops, so I thought it may be beneficial to clean it out.
 
Yea, those Chrisfix vids show that Seafoam is actually better at removing combustion chamber carbon than other fuel system treatments.

I always have success using the vacuum line method with Seafoam; it reduces knock/detonation in the hot summer months. I do it every spring.
 
Originally Posted By: 4wheeldog
What issue are you attempting to fix? .


smile.gif
I like to fix stuff that's not broken (although sometimes when I get done it is broken)
 
I've used it on my 1998 RAV4 with 224,000 miles & pulled the sparkplugs before using Seafoam. There was a good amount of carbon on the pistons looking down the tube. Ran Seafoam through the pcv hose lightly for a couple minutes on & off. The pulled the sparkplugs & poured some in & let it soak for 2 hours. Turned the crank by hand occasionally to circulated the cleaner. Fired it up & ran it until the exhaust stopped smoking. Pulled the sparkplugs again & I can easily see clean piston tops & i think it cleaned up my rings or oil return holes in the piston skirts because I don't burn oil on cold startup anymore. I've always has a couple seconds of oil smoke on startup for the last 2 years & it's no longer visible since the Seafoam treatment.
 
I wonder what products he used first? Using the same vehicle to try 3 different cleaners seems a bit un-scientific.What if the Sea Foam was first,and it managed to remove the easiest particles,but left behind stuff nothing else could touch.
 
Thanks for the responses. I am not a big fan of Techron, so that is pretty much out of the question here. I may buy a borescope and do a before and after with seafoam. If so I will post the pictures here for all to see!
 
I'd run a double dose through the fuel for a couple tanks in addition to the vacuum line treatment. That will get the back sides of the valves really well. The vacuum line might have trouble distributing evenly through the intake. For the piston crowns, I'd pull the plugs and pour and ounce or so in each cylinder on a warm engine and let it sit, rotate the engine a few times every 15 minutes and add another ounce after the first half hour. Before re-installing the plugs, crank the engine over a few times to blow out any excess liquid then put the plugs back in and get out on the highway for the old Italian tune-up treatment.

I've had great luck with this procedure on several gummed up grandma cars that only drove around town
 
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