Will sea foam destroy my catylitic converter/o2 sensors?

[fitch303]

I'm showing my car some TLC today and sea foam is on the agenda, my concern is that it could clog my converter or foul out my o2 sensors. Has anyone had these problems before, I was thinking about taking off the cat and o2's while running the stuff through my vac lines.

[FORCE_FED_DUB]

it won't hurt a thing

[fitch303]

My car has 125k but the engine only has around 65k I was just concerned about what I mentioned above and also having the oil feed line to the turbo getting clogged with carbon particulate. From what I read on older threads it seems to work very well.

[FORCE_FED_DUB]

sea foam through the vac system won't do a thing for the oil lines. as long as you keep up on oil changes you shouldn't have any issues

[fitch303]

I was going to put some in the gas tank, crank case and vac lines then drive around for a few miles and change the spark plugs and oil. would it be safe to say that sea foam is similar to autorx?

[[email protected]]

I was going to put some in the gas tank, crank case and vac lines then drive around for a few miles and change the spark plugs and oil. would it be safe to say that sea foam is similar to autorx?

No. Seafoam and AutoRX are different....

Seafoam is harsh, and if not used properly can eat through gaskets and seals. AutoRX doesn't have that capability.

[fitch303]

So at what rate would it eat through the gaskets, i'll only have the stuff in my car for 30 minutes max.

[Capt. Obvious]

drive around for a few miles and change the spark plugs and oil. would it be safe to say that sea foam is similar to autorx?

You need to leave it in longer than a couple miles. Leave it in for a couple days (50-100 miles) then do the oil change and CHANGE THE OIL FILTER.

Like mentioned above, Seafoam is similar to AutoRX, but the detergent action is a bit harsher. However, leaving it in the car for a couple days isn't going to hurt anything. When you cook lasagna and have crusted on cheese and sauce in the pan, do you just dip it in the sink for a second and call it clean? No, you let is soak for a bit so the soap can do it's job. Same concept with putting the Seafoam in the crankcase, leave it in for a little bit and let it break down the deposits.

[[email protected]]

So at what rate would it eat through the gaskets, i'll only have the stuff in my car for 30 minutes max.

I don't know exactly, but Seafoam uses a powerful solvent, while AutoRX does not.

Seafoam is designed to work much quicker, but can break off big chunks at a time...which could potentially clog something. AutoRX is designed to work over time.

BTW, this info is on the AutoRX website.

[Capt. Obvious]

I don't know exactly, but Seafoam uses a powerful solvent, while AutoRX does not.

It's not THAT powerful. It's basically glorified kerosene.

[Ill 3.0]

It's not THAT powerful. It's basically glorified kerosene.

also you're not using 100% Seafoam, it's being diluted WAY out.

kind of like people who think they're losing 20 years off their life b/c of BPA of phthalate exposure.






Disclaimer: I'm not saying BPA or phthalates are completely safe. Nor do I accept any responsibility of anyone consuming unsafe levels of BPA or phthalates.

[fitch303]

So I just added the sea foam through the intake manifold vacuum line and noticed a small amount of smoke coming from the turbo side of the motor, sign of possible vacuum leak?

[Capt. Obvious]

So I just added the sea foam through the intake manifold vacuum line and noticed a small amount of smoke coming from the turbo side of the motor, sign of possible vacuum leak?

No, that's normal. It will stop doing that after a few minutes.

[fitch303]

So my check engine light came on so I went to autozone for the read out which was multiple misfires which I'm assuming is a result of the sea foam, how long does it take for the cel to go away?

[Capt. Obvious]

That's NOT normal. Chances are you happened to blow a coilpack while Seafoaming the car.

[fitch303]

The cel came on and flashed as I poured the sea foam in and the engine wanted to die. I just had my coilpacks replaced under the recall and everything runs smooth, I would even say the car runs better than before.

[Capt. Obvious]

It started to stutter and the CEL came on as you poured the Seafoam into the crankcase (through the oil cap I would assume)? There is no way those events are related.

[fitch303]

sorry for the confusion, I poured the sea foam into a vacuum line (not crankcase) that connects to the intake manifold.

[[email protected]]

sorry for the confusion, I poured the sea foam into a vacuum line (not crankcase) that connects to the intake manifold.

Then you did it too fast. You'll drown the motor (which is what you did) and it'll studder really bad if the Seafoam goes in there too quick. That's all.

[fitch303]

Ok cool, I tried to keep the tiny hose I was using half way submerged so too much wouldn't go in. Since the cel is on would my car be in limp mode, and what exactly happens during limp mode?


And holy shit there was soooo much smoke that came out my neighbors thought I just blew my motor lol

[Four Play]

Ok cool, I tried to keep the tiny hose I was using half way submerged so too much wouldn't go in. Since the cel is on would my car be in limp mode, and what exactly happens during limp mode?


And holy shit there was soooo much smoke that came out my neighbors thought I just blew my motor lol

You'll notice right away if your in limp mode when you take it for a drive. With so much smoke coming out, chances are your plugs got fouled. $10, 5 minutes of your time, and clearing the code by disconnecting the negative cable and you should be on your way.

BTW, I did my first sea foam at 70k, but I didn't get a whole lot of smoke. I did need to change my plugs after wards as I was getting a bad miss when it would get into boost. I just did it for the second time at 128k and didn't hardly get any smoke once again. Also, I had smoke coming from the area by the turbocharger both times as well as when I did it on my Talon...

[texasboy21]

Yea the misfires are from you pouring in the seafoam too fast, happened to me too.

[Cootabang]

When putting seafoam in for the crankcase do your put it in the oil cap hole? And do you have the car running or shut off when doing the crankcase?

[alexza4]

^I always did it with car running and i beleive thats what the instructions on thier site say as well.

[mayhem]

Yea the misfires are from you pouring in the seafoam too fast, happened to me too.

He didn't pour it in, he put the vacuum line INTO THE CAN. Bad idea.

CELs are supposed to go off after three error free trips, I think they have to be of a minimum cetain length, but maybe not. So long as you didn't actually damamge anything, your CEL should go off in a couple days or so.

[Killerteve]

Sorry for not searching, but is the sea foam process pretty self explanatory or is there the potential of messing things up? I've seen the threads about related problems but never read them in depth, are they usually the result of user error or people just being worried about seeing smoke, misfires etc?

[j-rod]

I don't even know what "sea foam" is.

I'm wondering if I should do this on Saturday when the T-belt, T-stat, and plugs/coils go in. I'm at 78K.

[03a4sport]

Seafoam and Lubro Moly for me this weekend. Car should love me afterwards.

2 cans total, 1 can for the gas tank, 1/2 can for crankcase, and other 1/2 in vac lines. Saweeeet!

[fitch303]

He didn't pour it in, he put the vacuum line INTO THE CAN. Bad idea.

CELs are supposed to go off after three error free trips, I think they have to be of a minimum cetain length, but maybe not. So long as you didn't actually damamge anything, your CEL should go off in a couple days or so.

I poured the sea foam into a glass and then slowly dipped the Vac line into it. I was getting impatient so I put the vac line into the bottom of the glass with about 1 inch of fluid left. After the oil change and sea foam my car runs better but i'm still not getting the right gas mileage. Starting off in first gear my car feels dead off the line, not until 3rd do I notice the boost kicking in, first and second feel as if I'm getting 0 boost. Another thing is that when I either start off the line quickly or punch down the gas while in gear my car slightly bucks/hesitates. Ive had misfires to know this isn't one, I'm thinking it's either n75 or diverter valve but this is my first boosted car so I'm clueless. When I drive off in my car whether it's warm/cold the dash says I get aprox 9-12 mpg untill I hit 3rd gear then it settles down, I want to know why i'm running so rich?

[grpeape]

You need to leave it in longer than a couple miles. Leave it in for a couple days (50-100 miles) then do the oil change and CHANGE THE OIL FILTER.

Like mentioned above, Seafoam is similar to AutoRX, but the detergent action is a bit harsher. However, leaving it in the car for a couple days isn't going to hurt anything. When you cook lasagna and have crusted on cheese and sauce in the pan, do you just dip it in the sink for a second and call it clean? No, you let is soak for a bit so the soap can do it's job. Same concept with putting the Seafoam in the crankcase, leave it in for a little bit and let it break down the deposits.

MMMMMMMMM.....Lasagna!

[n7plus1]

lol

[DaSkorpion]

Sorry for not searching, but is the sea foam process pretty self explanatory or is there the potential of messing things up? I've seen the threads about related problems but never read them in depth, are they usually the result of user error or people just being worried about seeing smoke, misfires etc?

--------

More as in user ID10T error....just couldnt help it - LMFAO

[NatesGeo]

I'm showing my car some TLC today and sea foam is on the agenda, my concern is that it could clog my converter or foul out my o2 sensors. Has anyone had these problems before, I was thinking about taking off the cat and o2's while running the stuff through my vac lines.

Short answer NO:

Long answer...
I have a 1996 Geo Metro. Engine light came on 3 to 4 months ago. Error read P0420 ...Second O2 sensor has a bad reading. It ran fine up until last week. A huge loss in mpg from 48 down to 30+. Then the accelerator wouldn't work, and it began to chug. I thought I bought bad gas! Filled up with premium gas. Next couple days later It wouldn't start cold or hot. It wanted to start without pressing the accelerator, but then any gas pedal movement it died.

I changed my spark plugs, wires.. No Effect
I changed my fuel filter.. No Effect
I changed my fuel regulator, no damage.. No Effect
I changed my fuel injector throttle body (salvage yard swap).. No Effect

If the car sat, it would start, but then either 5 minutes in or 15 it would chug and stall in the street. This was always happening throughout repairs.
I was going to swap out the O2 sensor on the back side of the Cat. But I finally figured out the effects of a really bad / plugged Catalytic Converter. YouTube videos claimed to work by soaking the Cat in soapy water or dumping Laquor Thinner in the gas tank. I didn't have any soap that could even clean my inside of the tail pipe off the muffler - so some of the hype I didn't believe. All the comments on forums like this one either say... A. Love IT! B. Don't trust it C. It Ruined my Engine.

I have never trusted any gasoline additives in any of my cars before. But what did I have to loose? I could get a new Cat for 300-500 or a swapped engine for 500. Either it will work, or plug my Cat even worse! I took a leap of faith and bought a 11 dollar can last night!

Following the directions EXACTLY (the recommended amounts, vacuumed into the brake booster's vacuum hose). The instructions on the back said to wait to see smoke out the tail and then shut off the engine and wait 5 minutes and then start it up again. I waited about 20-30 minutes. Reset my Engine Light (disconnecting the battery). Drove it for 30 minutes (which normally it dies after either 2 minutes or 15). My engine light never turned on, engine is feeling better with the throttle! All Fixed!

Time will tell if it ruined my engine, however I have not tried cleaning my camshaft with the Sea Foam yet. I put 1/3 can into the vacuum brake booster line, 1/3 can into the gas tank (with about 5 gal in the tank).

One drop landed on my pinky and I wiped it off after a burning sensation was felt 5 min later. This acid stuff is powerful! I would use recommended amounts, using recommended methods, and this "snake oil", "miracle liquid" seems to be really good stuff after 1 hour in!!! Just like anything, use your brain! You wouldn't eat Advil like candy. You wouldn't eat Advil if you had cancer. Use what has worked! Sea Foam Works! No error codes from O2 sensor! Everything is back to normal!