Sea Foam?

[rjfowler]

Any fans of Sea Foam as a fuel system cleaner? I have run it through the vacuum hose on my Tacoma, but have never added it to a tank of gas. My 4Runner has around 50k miles on it now, and I figured it was about time to run something through the tank.

The only other info on the board I found was this, which is a couple years old.

 

[Stifler]

I see no point in seafoaming a vehicle with 50k miles on it

 

[XMountainMan]

I use it often on my motorcycles and lawn equipment with great success but only when I store it over the winter to keep the gas from going bad while it sits. Not sure as to how or if it actually cleans the fuel system as opposed to just protecting it from moisture build up but I think an actual fuel system cleaner would do you better off.

 

[KidVermicious]

No Seafoam. Change your oil regularly and use quality gas with a bottle of Techron every now and again, and there will be no need for cleaning anything.

 

[jediwebdude]

I used SeaFoam through the vacuum hose on two diff vehicles and learned a lot from those two experiences:

2007 4Runner at 110,000 miles - I bought this vehicle brand new, ran fuel injector cleaner through it every 5,000 miles, and used only quality gasoline. When I ran SeaFoam through it (a few days before doing spark plug change), I barely had any smoke coming from the exhaust. Watching videos of other 4Runners doing SeaFoam, I realized my engine was not as dirty as others.

2006 Tacoma at 126,000 miles - I bought this used last year for my son. First thing I did was SeaFoam and spark plug change. According to CarFax, this truck had lived all over the country by various owners. The result from the SeaFoam treatment was dramatically diff than my 4Runner experience. The exhaust produced smoke for 3 days. Clearly this was a dirty engine.

If doing SeaFoam through the vacuum hose, you will want to change your spark plugs shortly thereafter.

As for SeaFoam in the gas tank, I don't think it does much cleaning that way. It does seem to boost fuel ignition, which makes me think I'll use it in my car's tank next time I go to the track.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Keep in mind that just because it is a "newer" vehicle, doesn't mean that the engine won't carbon up. It will take a bit longer than older vehicles, but due to emissions regulations and the need for PCV systems, oil will migrate into the intake as well as combustion gases.

Some vehicles/engines are worse than others (Prius, BMW ect. that puke oil into their intakes for example; and/or GDI engines with insane valve over lap and such.)

 

[SigSense]

Seafoam is good stuff IMO. Used it on a Tacoma also. Got some smoke like you see on some of the YouTube videos. Truck ran better post-vacuum hose method.

 

[Matt fe2o3]

We use Technon, i buy it by the case at Costco. Mostly on my Aprilia V twin 990 fuel injected engine, as the sensitivity to injector performance is significant. I would not use Seafoam, but that's just me.

For stabilizer StarTron is the snake oil of choice, again mainly for motorcycles, Home Depot / Lowe's seem to have the best prices. Over by the lawn mower and chain saw section.

I basically run a 12 oz bottle of Technon for every 6.5 gallons on the bike, twice in consecutive fill-ups., twice a year. Clears up rough/lumpy idles. We run a bottle or two year though each vehicle as well.