Sea Foam

[Shamus McFeeley]

And how do you think the oil gets dirty to begin with?

The top end makes the crud (blowby past the rings) the bottom end has to live with until the oil is filtered/replaced.

Cleaning the top end breaks down the carbon putting it in the oil!

If anything, it's probably putting more out the exhaust than into my oil. Unless I have a ring sealing problem that is, then you're absolutely correct. I do appreciate your two cents, I misread your reply the first time thinking that you meant put B12 in the oil (instead of in the tank).

 

[Kaisersoze]

Did oil change on FZ6 and discovered small crack in oilpan. Put seafoam in crankcase and let it run for about 100 miles. Drained oil to change oil pan and the NEW oil I put in about 500 miles ago was almost black from the junk the seafoam picked up. No way a clear synthetic would get that dirty from about 500 miles of use total.

Also put seafoam in top-end and you could see it reacting (bubbling) with carbon deposits on valve if you looked through air intake. 15min of smoke later and my idle problem was gone.

^^ to answer above - You have to warm up engine to temperature before adding to top-end and let it sit for no more than 5 - 10 minutes (as per instructions on bottle). I assumed it was because the heat expanded rings to seal it from going into crankcase? But I could see it blowing by if you let it sit overnight like some people do.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

On a KLR forum, guys have been using it to clean the combustion chamber of the head. The head is removed and turned upside down. Fill the chamber and let sit overnight. All the buildup and carbon loosens up and comes off..

And yes, most of what comes loose will get blown out the exhaust, its easier to get blown out a valve then to squeek inbetween the rings. Sea Foam will help loosen carbon build up on the rings as well...

IMHO, if you use it fairly consistantly, you won't have the buildup.....

 

[birdman2389]

Sea foam works great for minor cleaning and fuel stabilization. It is one of the few products on the shelf that actually works decent and is not a complete waste of money. However, it is a very good idea to clean your bike every year of deposits, gum, and especially carbon. The only product I have seen that actually has a major effect cleaning the engine is one made by of course... YAMAHA! It is called Ring Free Plus fuel additive. This stuff is my go-to when sea foam does not cut it. It is pretty spendy but worth every penny. Yamaha first sold it solely as a carbon cleaner for the cylinder (hence the name) but people started noticing that it cleaned everything and now they have changed the label to include carbs/fi's, valves, cylinders, etc.. The Yamaha rep at work even has told me that it has been known to fee up stuck cylinders with the shock treatment. Constant treatment is 1oz/10gal so a small bottle goes a long way. If you do a shock treatment change the oil and filter in the engine after. I have seen it first hand work on a coughing, hesitating, overall very rough running engine and after a few gallons of gas it starts to work and eventually run great. If you are having problems like this I would give it a try. Even if you are not it is not a bad idea to clean everything up once in a while.

Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA - Additives Ring Free PLUS

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Sea foam works great for minor cleaning and fuel stabilization. It is one of the few products on the shelf that actually works decent and is not a complete waste of money. However, it is a very good idea to clean your bike every year of deposits, gum, and especially carbon. The only product I have seen that actually has a major effect cleaning the engine is one made by of course... YAMAHA! It is called Ring Free Plus fuel additive. This stuff is my go-to when sea foam does not cut it. It is pretty spendy but worth every penny. Yamaha first sold it solely as a carbon cleaner for the cylinder (hence the name) but people started noticing that it cleaned everything and now they have changed the label to include carbs/fi's, valves, cylinders, etc.. The Yamaha rep at work even has told me that it has been known to fee up stuck cylinders with the shock treatment. Constant treatment is 1oz/10gal so a small bottle goes a long way. If you do a shock treatment change the oil and filter in the engine after. I have seen it first hand work on a coughing, hesitating, overall very rough running engine and after a few gallons of gas it starts to work and eventually run great. If you are having problems like this I would give it a try. Even if you are not it is not a bad idea to clean everything up once in a while.

Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA - Additives Ring Free PLUS

This product is also recommended at the Yamaha outboard marina's. Works on both 2 and 4 strokes... I used it on my old Evinrude 2 stroke 150, not yet on the 4 stroke Yamaha OB.

 

[famous556]

When I picked up my old KLR, I bought it from an uncle who hadn't ridden it much in the 2-3 years he had owned it (like maybe 500 miles that whole time or less). The bike would not idle even after a drain and fresh gas. When I got the bike home I drained out the fresh fuel, mixed in a half a can of seafoam and the bike ran with that, after using the second half over the next two tanks, the bike ran great and now runs like a top and gets a consistent 50 MPG.

 

[badpuss]

Seafoam is great stuff, but kind of expensive these days. B12 chemtool works the same way and is half the price. Usually I'll put a few ounces in the tank when I change the oil. Mostly the stuff is made from MEK, one nasty chemical, but it cleans oh so good.

+1 on Berryman B12 Chemtool, it is a solvent, it dosen't have any lubericants in it like seafoam (kerosene) and is 1/2 as expensive as seafoam and works better for cleaning fuel systems, seafoam may be a better stabilizer but i have my doubts about that too.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I never used the B12 but just did some research...

Seems its an excellent cleaner and you do have to be carefull with it as it IS strong...

Looks like Seafoam is considerably more forgiving (not as strong)and lubricates as well...

Depends on the situation what product to use....

 

[Norbert]

i read somewhere that techron is better than seafoam for cleaning.
seafoam does a good job as a stabilizer, though. i dont think techron tries to be a stabilizer. i use techron as a cleaner, now.
bmw recommends using techron in their bikes every few thousand miles --it's written in the owners manual.

 

[NC-Tony]

Have been using Mystery oil in everything I own from Trucks,Cars,Bikes as well as my lawnmowers.

 

[RJ2112]

I have always just used franchise gas stations and never had any issues (Sheetz, Chevron, etc).

We had a spate of cr@ppy gas, right after the earthquake..... the shaker stirred up the sludge on the bottoms of the tanks. Same deal, if you buy gasoline right after the tanks are refilled from the trucks.

 

[Norbert]

We had a spate of cr@ppy gas, right after the earthquake..... the shaker stirred up the sludge on the bottoms of the tanks. Same deal, if you buy gasoline right after the tanks are refilled from the trucks.

hey how has the move worked out for you?
hope you are liking the area....

 

[LVNeptune]

And how do you think the oil gets dirty to begin with?

The top end makes the crud (blowby past the rings) the bottom end has to live with until the oil is filtered/replaced.

Cleaning the top end breaks down the carbon putting it in the oil!

I don't claim to be a mechanic but this is completely wrong. The oil is in the engine to keep it cool and lubricate components. The oil gets "dirty" from the metal shavings that break down in the engine.

 

[ChevyFazer]

I don't claim to be a mechanic but this is completely wrong. The oil is in the engine to keep it cool and lubricate components. The oil gets "dirty" from the metal shavings that break down in the engine.

You can believe that if you want but final impact is right, and you do know that coolant is what cools the engine right?

 

[LVNeptune]

You can believe that if you want but final impact is right, and you do know that coolant is what cools the engine right?

Motor oil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Motor oil or engine oil is an oil used for lubrication of various internal combustion engines. The main function is to lubricate moving parts; it also cleans, inhibits corrosion, improves sealing, and cools the engine by carrying heat away from moving parts

 

[ChevyFazer]

Well yes it helps to cool the engine but oil is a poor heat extractor, if you were to only rely on your oil to cool your engine it would blow up very quick, but I was mainly getting at the top end is where the oil gets dirty from like final said

 

[LVNeptune]

I didn't clarify. I know it can't keep the whole engine cool I was mainly talking about the components that it is supposed to lubricate it helps keep them cooler as well.

 

[ChevyFazer]

On the same page with that then you saying that is main purpose was to cool had me thinking wtf.... But also you shouldn't have any metal shavings in your oil unless the engine is still getting broke in, if it's already broke in as in a couple 1000s miles and your seeing metal shavings then you got a pretty serious problem

 

[yamihoe]

Anyone interested in using this or any other fuel additive, here's a real world, empirical test. Pull at least one spark plug and check the color. Then run a full tank treated with Seafoam, recheck color of the same plug. This would probably work best if the plugs are not new but have a few miles on them.

I did this with my 06 Roadstar (notorious for carbon build up and sticky exhaust valves). The plugs were the OE plugs that were in it the day I bought it new. They had about 6-7K miles and were dark brown on the white ceramic electrode insulator and black and sooty around the edge and close to the center electrode. After the tank of Seafoam (At their recommended "Shock Treatment" mixture ratio) the plugs came out looking clean and almost new. I concluded that if the plugs were cleaned, the whole combustion chamber, valves and valve stems, were cleaned as well. No more sticky exhaust valve symptoms either!

Just one mans experience! Some additives ARE Snake oil, I feel I have proven (At least to myself) that Seafoam does what it claims.
Phil

I think ill do that, ill take pics and post them
start a new thread or just post them on this one??? does it matter?


you are both right, chevy and neptune, without oil the coolant would be useless because the friction would create more heat the the cooling system could handle(no matter how big the radiator) and without coolant the oil isnt flowing thru the right places nor is it capable of cooling by itself. theres a reason that liquid cooled engines dont need rebuilt at 15k miles like Harley (no insult to Harley guys) its a better system that uses both oil and water to work together but separately

 

[Phil_RC_1]

I don't claim to be a mechanic but this is completely wrong. The oil is in the engine to keep it cool and lubricate components. The oil gets "dirty" from the metal shavings that break down in the engine.

You can believe that if you want but final impact is right, and you do know that coolant is what cools the engine right?

I think you are all right except that you disagree.:thumbup: LVN probably should have said metal particles instead of shavings. How else would parts wear over time? pieces that rub against each other, even cooled and oiled, wear, which is metal particles floating in the oil. Oil also "helps" cooling. Also the heat of the engine cooks the oil which will discolor it over a few miles making it look dirty.

Even a new fresh engine will have some blow-by which dirties the oil as well. But the main reason we have to change the oil is because the molecular structure breaks down from wear and it no longer lubes properly.

I do not advocate changing your oil just because you have used seafoam. I believe the majority (99.9%) of what it cleans out of the combustion chamber (top end) goes out with the exhaust, or at least if your engine is working properly, it should, and your oil filter should do the rest until your oil is due to be changed.

Just my $0.02