Won't start after sea foaming

the great him

the great him

Elite Member
So today I bout two cans of sea foam and ran through my intake via the PS vacuum line, ran the truck the whole time. Then shut it down and used part of another can to spray(it was a spray can that I had never seen before) to spray off the throttle body/ butterfly valve, and used a small nylon bristle brush to clean any remaining deposit then washing it out with some more blasts from the spray can. I let that sit for about 5 min and then put everything back together and went to start the truck. It cranked over a few times then stopped and it now just clicks when I turn the key. Just one solid click. I have tried to jump it with another truck -to rule out dead battery, haven't had any indications that there is a starting issue. I pulled the starter relay and plugged it back in, opened up the intake tube again and opened the throttle valve looking in, everything is clean and dry...

I have no clue what's going on or why it would crank over and then stop. I'm left scratching my head... Could I have hydrolocked it with sea foam ?
 
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hydrolocked.

too much liquid sprayed in when it wasn't running.

pull the plugs and crank it over to clear it out.

hopefully there is no permanent damage.
 
nevada said:
hydrolocked.

too much liquid sprayed in when it wasn't running.

pull the plugs and crank it over to clear it out.

hopefully there is no permanent damage.
Click to expand...

This plus maybe spray off the plugs with some brake cleaner while they are out too.
 
I was guessing could be it, but I wanted to check with you guys first and see if anyone had the same thought or other thoughts... Its been sitting now for a couple hours so when I get home in about an hour I'll pull the plugs
 
Turn the motor over by the crank or remove all the plugs and crank it. It is possible to hydrolock the motor, hopefully you didn't.
 
My experience with sea foam was I decided to try it one day truck was running fine did the vacuum line deal and smoked all day anyways after the sea foam. idle was erratic the foam did something to my spark plugs changed the plugs and fixed the idle issue be careful with putting the sea in your ride
 
i have done sea foam several times with no ill effects until now. i pulled the plugs, they were soaked, pulled the EFI fuse, as well to ensure no fuel would get sprayed down into the cylinders while i was cranking... went to go crank it over and still just a click every time i hit the key. just one solid click...

there was no thud or pop or any sounds associated when the motor stopped turning over... do you think i broke a rod or bent a rod? i would think the motor would still crank over right?
 
Not if it seized. Put a breaker bar on the crank and see if you can roll it over by hand. If you can't turn the crank clockwise with the plugs out, that's gonna be bad news!

If it rolls over by hand, maybe you've just got starter trouble. Stranger coincidences have happened.
 
the kid said:
i have done sea foam several times with no ill effects until now. i pulled the plugs, they were soaked, pulled the EFI fuse, as well to ensure no fuel would get sprayed down into the cylinders while i was cranking... went to go crank it over and still just a click every time i hit the key. just one solid click...

there was no thud or pop or any sounds associated when the motor stopped turning over... do you think i broke a rod or bent a rod? i would think the motor would still crank over right?
Click to expand...

that doesn't sound good.


id do as kid suggested, and get a socket on the crank and see if it turns at all.


ive helped try to push start a guy(toy truck/3.0) after he went too fast through a puddle and it wouldn't start.

all the sudden we see oil leaking on the ground. a quick look showed a big hole in the block. there was no strange sounds. so it can happen, and not make noise.
 
Seized engine is sounding like a possibility. As stated, try to turn the engine over with a wrench on the crank bolt.

I've never been a fan of the idea of dumping solvent into the intake in large quantity, and then immediately shutting the engine off so the solvent can supposedly soak and remove deposits quickly. A likely unintended consequence of that practice, is hydrolocking the engine, or washing down the cylinder bores so there is no lubrication on the cylinder walls at start-up.

Cleaning deposits gradually, is much safer for the engine in the long run.
 
Had this exact situation happen to me about a year and a half ago. I just about flipped out I was so pissed. I let it sit for a few hours, went to start it, and it cranked right up.
 
ok so spun the motor over by hand, its all smooth, not catches not sounds no hard spots, no nothing... all the pistons are moving as they should... wtf
 
Robb235 said:
Had this exact situation happen to me about a year and a half ago. I just about flipped out I was so pissed. I let it sit for a few hours, went to start it, and it cranked right up.
Click to expand...

I'm rooting for a coincidence! I've submerged an engine and had it start after I let it set a while, of course all that water was in the oil so it had to get drained immediately. I also hydro-locked a motor on an old truck that had a bad fuel cap, which caused fuel to flow past the mechanical pump and overcome the needle and set to flood the intake through the carb. I had to use a vise grip on the fuel line to stop the flow, then drain the engine, only to have it do it to me again! LOL that was SO weird.

I also had a HONDA that dropped the cylinder sleeve and blew up, let's hope yours is NOT that bad.

:couch2:
 
At least your days going better than these guys
 

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i just completely tore down the starter and rebuilt it like 4 months ago, and i mean complete tear down, and cleaning, all new seals, dust caps, contacts and brushes... its been working like a champ, i dont think thats my issue....
 
Do all your electrical things work fine when you turn the key to run but don't try and start it? Like dome lights, radio, all your normal dash lights are on like ABS and the check engine light?

How many times did you crank it? I'm thinking maybe you blew the alternator fuse. It's a 100 amp in the engine bay fuse box.
 
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I know you stated you tried a jump start and I hate to state the obvious, but the symptom sounds like a classic loose battery terminal.

Check both and see if you can turn 'em by hand. If you can they are loose.


Good luck!
 
I may be way off base here but every time I've ever gotten just a "click" when trying to turn the motor over it was either dead battery (which I'm sure you don't have) or a bad ground. Maybe while you were under the hood a ground has been knocked loose.

Even if the battery terminals and ground are okay there is usually another one coming off the block that grounds to the firewall. I found that one rusted once when my Jeep went from running great to "click" to running great and back again...
 
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