I want to pour some in the spark plug holes and let it sit for a few days. How much should I use per cylinder? Won't it eventually seep down past the rings/piston and into the crankcase?
How much Sea Foam should I use?
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Ive done this with my son's saturn using chemtool b-12. i did not measure, but i put enough to cover the piston head and make sure it made its way to the rings. A whole can for 4 cyl. i turned the engine over some and let it sit overnight. The next day i put some mmo in each hole and turned the engine over a good bit before putting the plugs back in( you want to avoid hydolocked cylinders. I put the plugs back in, cranked it up and drove onto the ramps and immediately changed the oil and filter.
Originally Posted By: spasm3
Ive done this with my son's saturn using chemtool b-12. i did not measure, but i put enough to cover the piston head and make sure it made its way to the rings. A whole can for 4 cyl. i turned the engine over some and let it sit overnight. The next day i put some mmo in each hole and turned the engine over a good bit before putting the plugs back in( you want to avoid hydolocked cylinders. I put the plugs back in, cranked it up and drove onto the ramps and immediately changed the oil and filter.
Notice any improvement?
Ive done this with my son's saturn using chemtool b-12. i did not measure, but i put enough to cover the piston head and make sure it made its way to the rings. A whole can for 4 cyl. i turned the engine over some and let it sit overnight. The next day i put some mmo in each hole and turned the engine over a good bit before putting the plugs back in( you want to avoid hydolocked cylinders. I put the plugs back in, cranked it up and drove onto the ramps and immediately changed the oil and filter.
Notice any improvement?
seafoam is very thin and will probably run right past the piston rings, but it is a very good solvent so you cant go wrong there. honestly as long as you keep enough in there to keep the top of the piston covered then you'll be fine, doesnt matter if its MMO of seafoam, though MMO is cheaper ($3.88/32oz at walmart. i'd do 1-2oz in each hole and check periodically because it will leak past.
i just did an MMO soak in my dads honda because it was burning oil, about 1-2oz in each hole, after 6 hours, 3 of the cylinders were dry, and one actually retained the MMO (which is slightly thicker than seafoam) now only time will tell if it stops burning oil because the rings freed up.
when it comes time to start it, crank it over for about 10 seconds before putting the plugs back in, its very easy to hydrolock an engine when you are pouring that way it can blow out any excess fluid. ideally you would want to let all of the fluid in there (seafoam/mmo) work its way past the rings and then start it that way you avoid taking the chance of hydrolocking it.
if you use seafoam though i would recommend changing the oil shortly afterwards due to it being a straight solvent, where as MMO actually has some lubricating properties and can be run in the oil for quite some time, and is great for cleaning out engines.
good luck!
i just did an MMO soak in my dads honda because it was burning oil, about 1-2oz in each hole, after 6 hours, 3 of the cylinders were dry, and one actually retained the MMO (which is slightly thicker than seafoam) now only time will tell if it stops burning oil because the rings freed up.
when it comes time to start it, crank it over for about 10 seconds before putting the plugs back in, its very easy to hydrolock an engine when you are pouring that way it can blow out any excess fluid. ideally you would want to let all of the fluid in there (seafoam/mmo) work its way past the rings and then start it that way you avoid taking the chance of hydrolocking it.
if you use seafoam though i would recommend changing the oil shortly afterwards due to it being a straight solvent, where as MMO actually has some lubricating properties and can be run in the oil for quite some time, and is great for cleaning out engines.
good luck!
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I have never done a piston soak in the 400K KM's (240K Miles) I keep my vehicles ever (even the bad oil burner) and I'm not going to start now because IMO it's not needed and can cause more harm than good.
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Notice any improvement?
I'll let you know, we have about 2000 miles on it and i have had to add about a 1/2 quart. It was using a quart in 1000 so i quess thats better. Still on the first run of oil since the piston soak. I'm using t-5 now due to the detergents and less friction modifiers.
Notice any improvement?
I'll let you know, we have about 2000 miles on it and i have had to add about a 1/2 quart. It was using a quart in 1000 so i quess thats better. Still on the first run of oil since the piston soak. I'm using t-5 now due to the detergents and less friction modifiers.
Originally Posted By: StevieC
I have never done a piston soak in the 400K KM's (240K Miles) I keep my vehicles ever (even the bad oil burner) and I'm not going to start now because IMO it's not needed and can cause more harm than good.
how much harm can a piston soak with MMO or seafoam seriously do, waste $3?
I have never done a piston soak in the 400K KM's (240K Miles) I keep my vehicles ever (even the bad oil burner) and I'm not going to start now because IMO it's not needed and can cause more harm than good.
how much harm can a piston soak with MMO or seafoam seriously do, waste $3?
Using something like sea-foam can strip lubrication from the cylinder walls, dries out lubrication from the rings until the oil gets them good and soaked again, can dry out the rist pin and dilute your engine oil as it leaks down. (MMO is a different story and IMO wouldn't cause this but also doesn't do a good job like Sea-foam for this application)
Sure those areas will be coated again but some not so quickly and do you really want to crank over dry rings against a dry cylinder wall with a dry rist-pin and then lubricate it with oil that has now been affected by the soaking additive you have used?
Then the engine fires up and starts burning fuel again and anything you just did to clean up the piston heads is now negated in seconds to a half-hour.
It's a waste and can cause more harm than good and it's not needed. You do more good running a top-tier fuel and the occasional PEA fuel system cleaner now-again and then following up with an upper cylinder lubricant like MMO or Lucas or something.
Sure those areas will be coated again but some not so quickly and do you really want to crank over dry rings against a dry cylinder wall with a dry rist-pin and then lubricate it with oil that has now been affected by the soaking additive you have used?
Then the engine fires up and starts burning fuel again and anything you just did to clean up the piston heads is now negated in seconds to a half-hour.
It's a waste and can cause more harm than good and it's not needed. You do more good running a top-tier fuel and the occasional PEA fuel system cleaner now-again and then following up with an upper cylinder lubricant like MMO or Lucas or something.
Originally Posted By: StevieC
Using something like sea-foam can strip lubrication from the cylinder walls, dries out lubrication from the rings until the oil gets them good and soaked again, can dry out the rist pin and dilute your engine oil as it leaks down. (MMO is a different story and IMO wouldn't cause this but also doesn't do a good job like Sea-foam for this application)
Sure those areas will be coated again but some not so quickly and do you really want to crank over dry rings against a dry cylinder wall with a dry rist-pin and then lubricate it with oil that has now been affected by the soaking additive you have used?
Then the engine fires up and starts burning fuel again and anything you just did to clean up the piston heads is now negated in seconds to a half-hour.
It's a waste and can cause more harm than good and it's not needed. You do more good running a top-tier fuel and the occasional PEA fuel system cleaner now-again and then following up with an upper cylinder lubricant like MMO or Lucas or something.
i agree the solvent can and will remove the oil from the cylinder walls, thats why i follow up with some mmo before starting it.
As for the purpose of the piston soak. Its used to free up rings in engines known to have oil ring sticking problems, its not to clean up the piston heads. If the rings are worn it will do nothing. Saturns are oil burners even with good compression due to oil coking in the ring lands.
Using something like sea-foam can strip lubrication from the cylinder walls, dries out lubrication from the rings until the oil gets them good and soaked again, can dry out the rist pin and dilute your engine oil as it leaks down. (MMO is a different story and IMO wouldn't cause this but also doesn't do a good job like Sea-foam for this application)
Sure those areas will be coated again but some not so quickly and do you really want to crank over dry rings against a dry cylinder wall with a dry rist-pin and then lubricate it with oil that has now been affected by the soaking additive you have used?
Then the engine fires up and starts burning fuel again and anything you just did to clean up the piston heads is now negated in seconds to a half-hour.
It's a waste and can cause more harm than good and it's not needed. You do more good running a top-tier fuel and the occasional PEA fuel system cleaner now-again and then following up with an upper cylinder lubricant like MMO or Lucas or something.
i agree the solvent can and will remove the oil from the cylinder walls, thats why i follow up with some mmo before starting it.
As for the purpose of the piston soak. Its used to free up rings in engines known to have oil ring sticking problems, its not to clean up the piston heads. If the rings are worn it will do nothing. Saturns are oil burners even with good compression due to oil coking in the ring lands.
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Seafoam has 40 to 60% light motor oil (pale oil, look up the CAS #, its the same CAS for many group II motor oils) so its not going to dry out machined surfaces and cause rust to form. With so much motor oil in there, its usually ok to run in the crankcase. MSDS here: http://www.seafoamsales.com/component/option,com_rokdownloads/Itemid,42/id,266/view,file/
Berryman's B-12 however is a pure cocktail of solvents. Similar composition to some lauquer thinners. Parts seem to "dry out" with this stuff.
Berryman's B-12 however is a pure cocktail of solvents. Similar composition to some lauquer thinners. Parts seem to "dry out" with this stuff.
So I would soak the engine top in MMO and then add 1 quart of MMO to clean quality oil and run that to clear up the rings. Much safer!
i run MMO through my fuel, use top tier gas like shell v-power, seafoamed through the intake, and run it very hard. while changing my spark plugs today i looked into the cylinder, didnt even have a thin layer of carbon on the piston, bare metal, and i could read the serial number on top.
also looked down the lower intake plenum at the valves, perfectly clean, not one bit of carbon gunk buildup on the valve stems, looked like a very thin ring of carbon around the sealing edge so i shot about 1cc of MMO into each one of them and let it sit for an hour.
car runs like a champ, MMO and seafoam truly work.
also looked down the lower intake plenum at the valves, perfectly clean, not one bit of carbon gunk buildup on the valve stems, looked like a very thin ring of carbon around the sealing edge so i shot about 1cc of MMO into each one of them and let it sit for an hour.
car runs like a champ, MMO and seafoam truly work.
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