HELP!!! used seafoam (stupid idea, but i didn't know any better) in my 3.0 A4

[quattro_b6.a4]

yesterday i used seafoam (per autozone employee recommendation, i know, they aren't mechanics) and was low on oil so i put a quart in and now my car has low oil pressure and is starting to knock, is it too late to save it? or can i do an oil change and it will run better? it doesn't knock at idle but it does around 2.5 to 3k rpm. please help as i really want to keep this car, i'm 16 and this was my high school dream car. i haven't driven it since it started yesterday night, had it towed home. it was driven for no more than five minutes after the knocking started and less than a minute after the low oil pressure message in the DIS.

[Antekaudi]

How many miles on the car?

[EuroxS4]

yesterday i used seafoam (per autozone employee recommendation, i know, they aren't mechanics) and was low on oil so i put a quart in and now my car has low oil pressure and is starting to knock, is it too late to save it? or can i do an oil change and it will run better? it doesn't knock at idle but it does around 2.5 to 3k rpm. please help as i really want to keep this car, i'm 16 and this was my high school dream car. i haven't driven it since it started yesterday night, had it towed home. it was driven for no more than five minutes after the knocking started and less than a minute after the low oil pressure message in the DIS.

If it’s knocking and has the oil pressure light on it is possible the engine might be toast.Oil change at this point would be the cheapest option either way.Why would you put a quart of sea foam in???the whole can is supposed to split into 3 or 4 even parts.So a 1/4 of a quart into the oil as it a petroleum product it will dilute oil and it’s lubricating properties.


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[Ol Dirty Noodle]

yesterday i used seafoam (per autozone employee recommendation, i know, they aren't mechanics) and was low on oil so i put a quart in and now my car has low oil pressure and is starting to knock, is it too late to save it? or can i do an oil change and it will run better? it doesn't knock at idle but it does around 2.5 to 3k rpm. please help as i really want to keep this car, i'm 16 and this was my high school dream car. i haven't driven it since it started yesterday night, had it towed home. it was driven for no more than five minutes after the knocking started and less than a minute after the low oil pressure message in the DIS.

Sounds like a recipe for disaster especially since you were low on oil to begin with and didn’t know the cause.

What were you trying to remedy with the sea foam? Did you put the seafaom in the crankcase? The vac system? Fuel system? Is the sea foam still in the engine?

Low oil pressure means you likely dislodged a a large piece of sludge from the pan and it’s now stuck in the pickup tube creating low oil pressure. Either way if you want to save it start by dropping the oil pan, changing the oil pump and pickup tube and properly desludging the motor. No guarantee your motor isn’t already fucked though. Make sure to post up all the info on the situation as well. Good luck

[Kevin C]

I would start with the easiest test, put fresh oil and a filter in and see if the problem goes away. If not your going to have to tear into the motor and see what's going on. Most bottom end knocks relating to oil are from rod bearings. As mentioned, sludge can work loose and clog the pickup. Thinned oil can be really hard on the bearings and typically rod bearings fail first.

When I was about 17 or so I added a quart of Rislene to my sisters car. I made it around the block and got an oil light; clogged pump pickup. That was a fun fix mid winter.

Keep an eye on the look of the oil and consider cutting the filter open to look for metal chunks.

Good luck!

[quattro_b6.a4]

i put half a can in a full tank of gas and the other half through the vac, i don’t put anything except oil and lucas in the crank case. it’s got 227k miles, i did it to help with my MIL i got for a cat that was clogged up. the knocking is very very light, i’m just hoping it lasts until i can save up for a new motor now. thanks for the replies.

[quattro_b6.a4]

i had the guy at autozone do it for me, he put half in the vac and half in a full tank of gas, none was put in the crankcase.

[Ol Dirty Noodle]

i put half a can in a full tank of gas and the other half through the vac, i don’t put anything except oil and lucas in the crank case. it’s got 227k miles, i did it to help with my MIL i got for a cat that was clogged up. the knocking is very very light, i’m just hoping it lasts until i can save up for a new motor now. thanks for the replies.

Well there’s your first problem, nothing is going to clean a cat, it just has to be replaced, secondly you added way too much seafoam to both the fuel and the vac, you’re only supposed to use a cap full of seafoam into the vac lines, and putting Lucas in the oil was just a bad idea, in the future do some research and get something engineered for the motor from ECS or another euro specialty vendor.

I say pump out the entire tank of gas as half a can of seafoam is definitely going to contribute the knocking, run the highest octane you can through it and also change your oil and filter, after that you’re tearing the motor apart or parting ways with the car

[quattro_b6.a4]

so i’m fucked then? (pardon my language)

[Ol Dirty Noodle]

so i’m fucked then? (pardon my language)

Like I said try getting all that shit out, replacing the oil and filter, fresh gas and take it from there

[quattro_b6.a4]

ok then, i really appreciate your time. thanks guys.

[EuroxS4]

As suggested flush it all out and check.Long story short uppercut the autozone employee.


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[quattro_b6.a4]

lmao this forum is better than i thought 😂

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lmao this forum is better than i thought

[quattro_b6.a4]

thought i was having a bad day but this sorta made up for it

[imnuts]

So where was the Seafoam put in the car? In the original pay, it sounded like it was a full can in the oil, but later your saying it was just in the gas and vacuum lines.

I'm also not sure why everyone is saying the engine is toast. From what I've read this far, there isn't enough information to tell anything right now.

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[goalieman24]

I say pump out the entire tank of gas as half a can of seafoam is definitely going to contribute the knocking, run the highest octane you can through it

That's a little unnecessary. Seafoam's general suggestion is 1 ounce per 1 gallon of fuel. 1 can is 16 ounces...so if OP put half a can in a full tank of gas, that's no where near being "way too much".

[SJorge3442]

Also dont forget the 3.0 holds 7ish quarts of oil, so its much lower of a ratio than some might be thinking.

Oil change ASAP, fresh oil (id go with Rotella T6) and a new filter. See what happens. The 3.0 IS NOT known for the oil pump pickup issues as the 1.8 is, but its def a possibility. Oil change first, worry after that.

[Turbo510]

Any 3.0 that clogs it's pump screen was a neglected car, if that's what happened. And that clogged converter might be related to lack of proper maintenance too; perhaps at least one cylinder is passing a lot of oil. Check under the oil filler cap for gunky deposits, and through the slot where you can get a glimpse of the valve chamber. And no more running SeaFoam (AKA Kerosene) through your engine.

[sleepwalker_gsr]

yesterday i used seafoam (per autozone employee recommendation, i know, they aren't mechanics) and was low on oil so i put a quart in and now my car has low oil pressure and is starting to knock, is it too late to save it? or can i do an oil change and it will run better? it doesn't knock at idle but it does around 2.5 to 3k rpm. please help as i really want to keep this car, i'm 16 and this was my high school dream car. i haven't driven it since it started yesterday night, had it towed home. it was driven for no more than five minutes after the knocking started and less than a minute after the low oil pressure message in the DIS.

your low on oil and the oil to seafoam ratio are probably way off so its causing the engine to run like shit. First thing id do is change the oil ASAP.

[customa4]

BG Products

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[shurur9]

Relax..
Seafoam is pretty benign...and useless.
fix the cat problem after doing a good oil/filter change.

I'd actually go to a good muffler shop myself and just get the cat/braided line replaced.

Use Kreen next time...every 80k or so..
and MMO about 1k miles before each OC.
I change my oil every 7 k miles myself

[quattro_b6.a4]

so i changed the oil and now it's still giving me the oil pressure light, could it be the clogged oil pump? also when i drained the oil it was the consistency of water and was not very "slippery" compared to the new oil, the old oil had around 4k miles on it (or at least that's what the previous owners told me). it's a little worse now that i think about it, there were metal shavings in the oil, a decent amount too. i had changed the oil and it ran good for about 15 minutes until the light for low oil pressure came back on. the knocking is no longer present in the 2.5k to 3k rpm range.

[quattro_b6.a4]

i think it's done. and i went back to autozone and told the manager about this whole ordeal. they said that he shouldn't have pumped it through the vac system (especially half a can). they say that they're going to try and take care of it because they technically were the ones who "serviced" my car and they were the ones who decided to pump it through the vac. it kinda sucks that my car already has what is essentially a blown engine after a week.

[quattro_b6.a4]

yesterday i used seafoam (per autozone employee recommendation, i know, they aren't mechanics) and was low on oil so i put a quart in and now my car has low oil pressure and is starting to knock, is it too late to save it? or can i do an oil change and it will run better? it doesn't knock at idle but it does around 2.5 to 3k rpm. please help as i really want to keep this car, i'm 16 and this was my high school dream car. i haven't driven it since it started yesterday night, had it towed home. it was driven for no more than five minutes after the knocking started and less than a minute after the low oil pressure message in the DIS.

and i did not put a quart of seafoam in the crank case when it was low, i topped it off with REGULAR oil and THEN used seafoam. the seafoam was never intentionally put in the crank case by me. the autozone employee did NOT have my permission to put it in the vacuum lines, i explicitly told him the intake only, like directly into the intake.

[EuroxS4]

i think it's done. and i went back to autozone and told the manager about this whole ordeal. they said that he shouldn't have pumped it through the vac system (especially half a can). they say that they're going to try and take care of it because they technically were the ones who "serviced" my car and they were the ones who decided to pump it through the vac. it kinda sucks that my car already has what is essentially a blown engine after a week.

As I mentioned in a earlier post it looks like the motor is donezo.Metal shavings are an indicator something got nice and hot.Probably spun a bearing or damaged something internally.As mentioned sea foam is a petroleum product it dilutes just about any oil or fluid it comes in contact with.Further more depending where it’s being drawn in is crucial.You can’t just grab any vacuum line as the breather system on these cars is complex.Also the directions on the can clearly state how much is to be used.I believe the split is into 4 or 3 parts.Fueling system,crankcase,Intake system.Long story short too much was used causing the damage.Hope it all works out for you.

It wount knock at idle cause there’s no load on the engine.



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[quattro_b6.a4]

As I mentioned in a earlier post it looks like the motor is donezo.Metal shavings are an indicator something got nice and hot.Probably spun a bearing or damaged something internally.As mentioned sea foam is a petroleum product it dilutes just about any oil or fluid it comes in contact with.Further more depending where it’s being drawn in is crucial.You can’t just grab any vacuum line as the breather system on these cars is complex.Also the directions on the can clearly state how much is to be used.I believe the split is into 4 or 3 parts.Fueling system,crankcase,Intake system.Long story short too much was used causing the damage.Hope it all works out for you.


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yeah, i talked to the people at autozone and they said they would take care of it because they fucked up, they were the ones that decided to just hook i up to the first vacuum line they saw and pumped the shit trough it. i'm getting a new engine from them.

[Gin+]

Sign up for AAA, do another oil change+filter, hit it with liquimoly cera tec and lightly drive it until it blows chunks. Avoid long periods of idling as that's likely when the oil pressure is going to be at its lowest point.

[userbob0001]

How did you think they were going to put it directly into the intake? The only correct way to run it through the induction system is to pull it through a vacuum line or use the aerosol version at the throttle body. If it was poured into any part of the induction system, it was done wrong and could cause an issue. If it was put in the crank case it could cause an issue, but it doesn't sound like it was.

I've run seafoam through each part of two different 1.8t engines and never had an issue. The benefits are dubious but unless it was used incorrectly, I don't think it caused your issue.

How was it running before the light came back on? Is the level still good? Could you have a massive leak somewhere?

[quattro_b6.a4]

How did you think they were going to put it directly into the intake? The only correct way to run it through the induction system is to pull it through a vacuum line or use the aerosol version at the throttle body. If it was poured into any part of the induction system, it was done wrong and could cause an issue. If it was put in the crank case it could cause an issue, but it doesn't sound like it was.

I've run seafoam through each part of two different 1.8t engines and never had an issue. The benefits are dubious but unless it was used incorrectly, I don't think it caused your issue.

How was it running before the light came back on? Is the level still good? Could you have a massive leak somewhere?

it was running better than it was, it was knocking, but it was extremely light, the oil pressure light came back on and it got back to the point where it was when the problem first occured. i don’t have a leak, it’s still full with oil

[quattro_b6.a4]

all i care is that autozone is working with me because they used it incorrectly causing over a thousand dollars in damage (this being a lot with me making 8.90 an hour and my parents aren’t rich).

[SJorge3442]

This whole story is whack for a lack of better terms. I have never heard of Autozone employees touching anything other than batteries and wiper blades as its a legal issue. Hell, they wont even clear your CEL even though they can. Either way, if you're getting a new (ish?) engine out of them, well done sir. You just beat the system and won without even lifting a finger. Just don't let autozone be the ones changing the motor.

[Ol Dirty Noodle]

all i care is that autozone is working with me because they used it incorrectly causing over a thousand dollars in damage (this being a lot with me making 8.90 an hour and my parents aren’t rich).

Isn’t that below national minimum wage???

[GS Dave]

I've used SeaFoam for years on my L67 (Blown Buick 3.8L) and always ran it through the vac system. The problems you are having are totally unrelated to the SeaFoam. The only way AZ could have screwed it up is if they cracked/broke/left disconnected a vacuum line and the car went crazy lean and popped a piston or something after you drove it hard. SeaFoam in the gas tank won't do anything. You can however damage the Cat converter when using SeaFoam by getting it too hot. I'd be very surprised if AZ stepped up on this one. Poor guy there probably going to lose his job over this.

[pablolizarraga]

I’d be very surprised if they follow through w/ compensating you. Until they do, and if you still have the oil you drained, I would hold on to it just in case you need “Exhibit A”. Good luck.


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[quattro_b6.a4]

Isn’t that below national minimum wage???

lmao yeah but i'm only 16 so they're allowed to pay me 85% of minimum wage, and trust me, i still have the oil. i'm keeping it for a while. and GS Dave i never drove it hard, nothing was left disconnected, it was simply because the amount of seafoam was too much for the amount of oil.

[Gin+]

I'd be shocked if autozone parted with a penny without some serious local/social media arm twisting. Get that oil sample off to blackstone-labs.com for an analysis if you feel motivated to come out of this a winner.

[userbob0001]

i don’t put anything except oil and lucas in the crank case

it was simply because the amount of seafoam was too much for the amount of oil

So, did they put seafoam in the crankcase or not? If they put it in the vacuum line, it's not related to the oil and they likely didn't do it incorrectly because if they poured it into the vacuum lines, I think the car would have stalled and refused to start until it all evaporated.

If they get you a new engine more power to you, but I don't see it happening even if it was actually their fault. If the oil was messed up and full of metal on a car you've owned for a week, I'd be looking hard at whoever sold it to you as it doesn't sound like AZ did anything that could have caused that. Unless they actually poured a full bottle into the crankcase.

[Turbo510]

I wouldn't get my hopes up that AutoZone will pay anything except refund the SeaFoam cost. Whatever they did, that didn't cause the watery oil and bearing metal fragments- that was a defective car when you got it. The technical people at AutoZone corporation will surely stop any claim, no matter what the local manager says.

[goalieman24]

+1 that this was not AZ/SeaFoam's fault. It's ok to put in the gas tank, it's ok to put into the vac lines, and you're supposed to drive a bit if it's put into the crankcase (which you seem to have conflicting statements on) so it's not at fault considering this happened as quickly as it did.

The AZ employee likely just gave you some lip service to keep things cordial but that whole plan will get squashed once it gets to the higher-ups.
I'm sure you'll get something out of it since their employees probably aren't supposed to be doing stuff like that. But a new engine is ambitious.

[EuroxS4]

I wouldn't get my hopes up that AutoZone will pay anything except refund the SeaFoam cost. Whatever they did, that didn't cause the watery oil and bearing metal fragments- that was a defective car when you got it. The technical people at AutoZone corporation will surely stop any claim, no matter what the local manager says.

Clearly you know nothing about sea foam.Should do some reading Or add half a quart of gasoline to your crankcase and let me know how that works out for ya.


New engine is pushing it chances are at best junkyard/salvaged engine.Probably wount cover replacement costs.


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