So, you're curious about Seafoam?

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well, for decades i was in the non-believers seats
but
i had a diesel vehicle delivered to me that topped out at 100 k/h, a beast to try and start, blew copious amounts of black smoke ... and the guy said "i have very little money and i really need to get this thing running better. after taking it for a spin i told the guy "go buy a different vehicle, this isn't worth fixing"
but
i decided to try the Seafoam treatment.
changed the oil, the oil was like mollases that came out, put 2 cans of seafoam and 3L of fresh cheap oil in.
pull the fuel filter and replaced it with new and fill that with a can of seafoam.
took it for a drive, well it smoked like it was on fire for at least 10 mins and brought it back to the shop.
i repeated the oil change with 2L of auto tranny fluid, 1L of seafoam, 2L of cheap oil.
dropped the fuel filter, dumped out the diesel and filled with another can of seafoam.
fired it up and went for another drive.
smoke cleared up nicely
power came back nicely (cruised nice at 120 now and a LOT quieter)
brought it back and did the final oil change

next morning
it started WAY easier, almost like it should.
it had way more pep
it had way less smoke
it was way more quiet

i have to admit i was shocked that it could do such an amazing change to a neglected engine.

so

i became a believer in the stuff.

as far as i know that vehicle is still running around 5 years later.
 
I always add a can of the stuff in my Integra's gas tank prior to doing an oil change and it always raises my MPG by almost 2 mpg. Tried using it on the Cruisers hoping for the same result but sadly no change.:frown: My local parts store had 'em on sale yesterday for 7.99 so I stocked up.:D
 
TheFuzz said:
Also, I know that there are many naysayers out there, but the Yukon I just sold failed emissions for the first time ever (after I sold it and bought the cruiser, of course). I thought that I was in a bit of a pickle, because according to CO law, the seller is required to fix any emissions related problems, or buy the car back. Scary. I found out that the reason for the failure was that Colorado just started testing for NOx (oxides of nitrogen) for the first time in 2010. For whatever reason, they had never tested for this before, but the Yukon just barely failed so I thought it would be a simple fix.

NOx is cause by high combustion temps, and through my research I found that the most likely cause is a bad EGR valve, a partially clogged injector, or carbon deposits built up in the combustion chamber that soak up fuel and cause the engine to run slightly lean.

I did the following to try and remedy the situation:

1. Cleaned the existing EGR valve with electronic-safe cleaner (due the the sensors built into it), and replaced the gasket. Whoops, it didn't like that. Dicked the thing up and made the NOx score increase. :doh:

2. Replaced the whole EGR valve and gasket. Back to where it was before I screwed the old one up. No appreciable improvement - it still failed.

3. Out of desperation, I ran some seafoam through the PCV valve, and put the rest of it in the gas tank. Told the new owner to drive it around for a couple of days to let it work a little, and guess what? IT PASSED.

I wouldn't have spent $130 on an EGR valve if I had even fathomed a $9 can of seafoam would have done the trick. I guess starting cheap is always the best way to go.

Sure, it could have been a coincidence. Say what you want, but I will continue to use the stuff every now and then.
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Fuzz,
How far off was the Yukon on the NOx?

I have a 94 LC that I have got the EGR working correctly and running well but missing the NOx by .1111 . I just need something to push it over the edge to pass.
When I started she was hitting 8.7 on the NOx, cleared the Intake passage to the EGR, which was completely clogged, and dropped the NOx. down to 4.4. Retarded the timing as far as possible and got it down to 4.111 today. The limit is 4.000 and used to be 9.000. :bang:
 
The limit for the Yukon was 2.0, it failed at a 2.2. After the seafoam it passed with a 1.94. I'd say that if your EGR was THAT clogged, then there is a pretty solid chance you have a bunch of carbon build up. Run some seafoam through it, add a bottle of Lucas injector cleaner to the gas, and drive it for two or three days to run the cleaners through the engine. I bet you'll pass. Let me know how it goes.

Where in CO are you? I'm in Littleton if you want a hand with it.
 
has anyone else noticed that 10 year old vehicles have to pass more strigent tests than brand new off the floor vehicles?
 
care to explain to me WHY an older vehicle has to pass a more strigent test than brand new vehicles?
 
Brand new vehicles have on board monitoring systems that take care of all the testing pre-OBDII vehicles need. It's not that they have lower/easier requirements to meet, it's just the vehicles can be more efficiently tested. Gone are the days of running a car on a dyno and monitoring the exhaust gases.
 
hummm, actually the emission requirements for a new vehicle IS less than a 10 year old vehicle
and
a 9 year old vehicle has a easier standard to pass.

now, i am assuming that the poster was stating that in the past his testing was easier to pass (easier requirements) than this time around. that was the reason he had to try the seafoam injection.

i also know for a fact that the big 4 are trying to get the governmnet to back a fleet renewal program which will take all over 10 year old vehicles off the road.

now, if you are an automaker and you want to sell cars you can not just TELL everyone to remove their old cars off the road. the retailiation would be unheard of, but, you can lead people to beleive they are driving gross polutors and unsafe vehicles thus encouraging them to voluntarily remove them. (think cash for clunkers)

what does this have to do with SeaFoam? if the requirements stayed the same for used vehicles as new then there would not need to be people struggling to try and pass.

no?
 
TheFuzz said:
The limit for the Yukon was 2.0, it failed at a 2.2. After the seafoam it passed with a 1.94. I'd say that if your EGR was THAT clogged, then there is a pretty solid chance you have a bunch of carbon build up. Run some seafoam through it, add a bottle of Lucas injector cleaner to the gas, and drive it for two or three days to run the cleaners through the engine. I bet you'll pass. Let me know how it goes.

Where in CO are you? I'm in Littleton if you want a hand with it.
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Thanks Fuzz! I'm near SW Plaza in the Littleton mailing area. I'll probably get a can and SeaFoam it tonight, after dark. I will let you know how it goes. Next is some decent tires and we can head for the hills in a month or so!
 
Cool man, sounds good. Go introduce yourself and post some pics of your rig on here. It's nice to have more LC owners in CO.
 
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TheFuzz said:
The limit for the Yukon was 2.0, it failed at a 2.2. After the seafoam it passed with a 1.94. I'd say that if your EGR was THAT clogged, then there is a pretty solid chance you have a bunch of carbon build up. Run some seafoam through it, add a bottle of Lucas injector cleaner to the gas, and drive it for two or three days to run the cleaners through the engine. I bet you'll pass. Let me know how it goes.

Where in CO are you? I'm in Littleton if you want a hand with it.
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Yahoo!! I passed emissions this morning!!! Did the Seafoam on Sunday night around 11pm, so the big smoke screen was not a big deal for the neighbors, put the rest of the can in the gas tank and ran that tank out this week. I put in half a tank of Premium (91) gas in last night, drove a little, and then took it in this morning to test. The NOx was last at 4.111 before the Seafoam treatment and the premium gas was the other change I made to drop the NOx down to 3.689.
 
cokid said:
Yahoo!! I passed emissions this morning!!! Did the Seafoam on Sunday night around 11pm, so the big smoke screen was not a big deal for the neighbors, put the rest of the can in the gas tank and ran that tank out this week. I put in half a tank of Premium (91) gas in last night, drove a little, and then took it in this morning to test. The NOx was last at 4.111 before the Seafoam treatment and the premium gas was the other change I made to drop the NOx down to 3.689.
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Nice bro! Congrats!

Take that, naysayers. :flipoff2:
 
crushers said:
care to explain to me WHY an older vehicle has to pass a more strigent test than brand new vehicles?
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Years of testing has shown that brand new vehicles do not fail the test at rates that merit testing them.

Usually you start testing at about 4 years.

- Added content - I love that emissions tests are causing to people to dump improper fuel into their vehicles and create huge plumes of acrid smoke. :rolleyes:
 
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that still doesn't explain why new can have a poorer emissions standards than 10 year old and still be good for the road.
 
This thread is about Seafoam, guys. Take it to a new thread if you want to talk about emissions, unless its directly related to the use of seafoam. :cheers:
 
NMuzj100 said:
Added content - I love that emissions tests are causing to people to dump improper fuel into their vehicles and create huge plumes of acrid smoke. :rolleyes:
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...and in the process of smoking a little, helping a vehicle that was otherwise failing established emissions standards to pass them? Seems like a little bit of smoke to get a vehicle running within emissions specs might be worth it in the long term, but who knows. There are worse things in the world than a couple of minutes worth of white smoke. Like, say, diesel owners who shoot out huge plumes of acrid, sooty smoke every chance they get. :rolleyes:

If you don't like the stuff, fine by me - nobody is forcing you to use it.

I do find it interesting (and somewhat amusing) that when the stuff actually does work (as proven twice in this thread), the naysayers abandon their "it doesn't work because it's BS snake oil" argument and resort to complaining about the process itself....eh, I'm over it. Think what you want folks, the info is here for your education and/or enjoyment.
 
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