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Sea foam use in the engine

148K views 160 replies 94 participants last post by  pocobind 
#1 ·
#3 ·
I swear by the stuff...if you have carbs you better have sea foam!
 
#6 ·
Yep, me too. I always have 2-3 cans of the stuff in my cupboard. Not just for carbs though, works great on FI stuff too. I've used it in literally every internal combustion engine I've owned in the last 20 years...right down to the chain saw and weed eater.
 
#5 ·
I use seafoam in my car's gas and oil as well as my quad's.
My quads oil still looks almost new because of it.
 
#7 ·
if i could drink it i would... it's that good.:yeahbaby01:
 
#11 ·
For the 400ex, it has the external oil compartment thing, is it okay to use a little in the oil or not? I'm talking like 2-3 ounces or something. It says to put it in gas and oil to clean the dirty shit in the motor. excuse my french. lol :blush:
 
#13 ·
I use good ol' plain ATF. Never tried the SF, but have heard good things about it.
In all of my ic engines, I add it on schedule to the fuel regularly and to the oil for a few hours prior to a change.

In a coked-up old engine, it will clean one out in a hurry, too. ---So much so that if used too strongly in the oil, it will cause literal chunks of carbon/tar to come loose in pieces, threatening oil flow, so....
(Quality, synthetic engine oil will actually do the same, so FYI!!)

Anyway, I got on to ATF in the fuel/engine, b/c while still in HS I worked at an FBO, and we retrofitted all the light planes with the kits to run on automobile gasoline. Boss was instructed that if he would always mix some Marvel M Oil (~ATF) into the fuel, that he would have none of the usual buildup/etc prob's with the car gas. We were skeptical to say the least, but followed the tip.
Sure enough, it worked wonders on keeping the internals sparkling clean. (LOTS of detergent in it.)
I use this stuff in my parts-washer, I clean my shop-hands surgically clean with it in seconds, (even into the cuticles), as well as feed it to my engines periodically. Way friendly to delicate parts, and unbelievably effective.

Pine oil (this is ~what B&G sells that works so well, but costs $$$$) will also clean an old engine out marvelously, but kills the oil's lubricity at the same time---as will running an engine ~WFO while spraying a mist of hot water down the intake! LoL
 
#14 ·
#18 ·
txkawboy i have never heard of using it in gas but i have used it to remove carbon in many vehicles and have seen alot of people use seafaom also i bought a can to use on my 87trx250 and mtc i bet its good but if its in old cardboard cans then it may be more valuable to a collector then to you for use just my 2 cents
 
#25 ·
Most of that "trendy stuff" is designed to do ONE thing above all else....separate you from your hard earned dollar! Same for the synthetic oils. You shouldn't be using ANY of that garbage in an engine using a WET clutch as most all atv's have. "Super slippery" oils will only help your clutch SLIP. Use a good quality oil, keep it clean (changed) and also the FILTER. This also goes the AIR filter. Any crap that passes through the AIR filter goes straight into the combustion chamber of your engine. If the air filter gets packed full of dirt and not cleaned, the engine will suck in more GAS. If it's clogged up enough, it'll help cause the excess gas to wash down the cylinder walls of the engine (washing all the oil off) then you'll be metal on metal with the rings and cyl walls. THEN you'll be burning a LOT of oil and needing a top end. Most additives are manufactured to make money for the manufacturer by convincing people who don't know any better to BUY IT!
 
#50 ·
beardhd said:
This post was NOT about synthetic oils it was about a particular additiive. You're making statements out of ignorance of the engineering principals involved.
Rewind a few posts back


Most of that "trendy stuff" is designed to do ONE thing above all else....separate you from your hard earned dollar! Same for the synthetic oils. You shouldn't be using ANY of that garbage in an engine using a WET clutch as most all atv's have. "Super slippery" oils will only help your clutch SLIP. Use a good quality oil, keep it clean (changed) and also the FILTER.
and some more about oil

Automobile and truck engines run around 200 degrees operating temperature. AIR COOLED engines run right around SIX HUNDRED DEGREES normal operating temp. Oil not only LUBRICATES the engine, it also CLEANS AND helps COOL the engine. HEAT is the biggest cause of engine oil breaking down. That makes keeping the oil changed REGULARLY on air cooled engines IMPERATIVE!
and more oil...

Dave, the main thing that breaks down motor oil is heat. Water cooled engines also run with much closer tolerances than air cooled engines. Most new cars use 5 W 30 motor oil, try using THAT in your air cooled engine with it's larger clearances and you won't like what happens. None of those additives were made for WET CLUTCHES (clutches that run IN OIL). We had a lot of customers who had Honda Gold Wings when the synthetic oils first came out. They thought they were doing their machines a favor by paying the extra bucks for the expensive oil....until their clutches started slipping and had to have all of the friction plates replaced. There IS a major difference.
Can't very well say that this post wasn't about synthetic oil. You only mentioned it in ALL of your posts! :) TRUE STORY! This topic was started over Seafoam use in gasoline. You decided to bring in synthetic oils being waste of $$$$$ Thermodynamics have a lot to do with calling your story BullCRAP!
 
#26 ·
Most oil additives are originally intended for use in passenger cars and trucks, NOT AIR COOLED ENGINES, and definitely NOT for use with a WET CLUTCH.

Automobile and truck engines run around 200 degrees operating temperature. AIR COOLED engines run right around SIX HUNDRED DEGREES normal operating temp. Oil not only LUBRICATES the engine, it also CLEANS AND helps COOL the engine. HEAT is the biggest cause of engine oil breaking down. That makes keeping the oil changed REGULARLY on air cooled engines IMPERATIVE! Cars can go 3000 miles between oil changes air cooled engines CAN'T! Some of the newer water cooled atv and motorcycles have more leeway than the air cooled types but still face a LOT tougher life than the oil in a car or truck. The extra dirt and dust in their "normal working environment" is 10 times that of a passenger car just for starters. Keep your oil & filter changed and forget the "magic bullets" offered by the supplement manufacturers.
 
#48 ·
Automobile and truck engines run around 200 degrees operating temperature. AIR COOLED engines run right around SIX HUNDRED DEGREES normal operating temp.
We're talking cyl head temp at the dome of the combustion chamber. Autos have cyls and cyl heads surrounded by 190 (or so) degree WATER to wick away the combustion heat....heat that runs WAY over 600 degrees.
Which one of the above statements are you wanting to go with? 600 degrees normal operating temp on air cooled engines or 600 degrees in Auto at the cylinder head? I'm just curious as to which one you believe, and which one you want us to believe.

Air cooled engines have only the ambient air temp. Which medium do you think wicks away the heat better....air or water? Here's a hint which medium does SOUND travel through most quickly and efficiently?....The reasons are much the same it's much more dense and absorbs more heat at much faster rate. It's called THERMODYNAMICS.....I didn't invent it, just trying to share some knowledge. If you think you can alter the laws of physics, ....be my guest.
Actually, you made an important statement. You didn't invent it. You also didn't invent air cooled 4 stroke engines. And I believe that I am as safe as the next guy who's been using synthetics for years. I just think you rolled in here making some pretty outlandish claims is all I am saying.
 
#27 ·
600 degrees??? really??? your telling us that if i take a laser thermometer for reading engine temps and point it at my cylinder after riding for an hour os so itll read 600 degrees?!?!?!? i have a hard time believin that.
 
#28 ·
Yeah, sounds a little too hot to me too. Although, I can't tell you what temperature the engine actually runs on these air cooled ATV engines, I can tell you that on most of the air cooled ATV engines with the oil coolers, the fans generally kick on when the oil temp reaches anywhere from 200 to 300 degrees F, depending on the model.
 
#29 ·
how about this, i get the thermo from work and go ride one day and check temp peiodiclly and give an avg temp reading and post it the following evening. then we'll have a more accurate guess to this subject. do alot of the honda qhads have fans? mine doesnt
 
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#30 ·
how about this, i get the thermo from work and go ride one day and check temp peiodiclly and give an avg temp reading and post it the following evening. then we'll have a more accurate guess to this subject
That sounds good.
 
#31 ·
By all means, check it out! The POINT I was trying to make is the show the operational differences between cars & trucks....which most of these supplements are aimed at and ATV's. There is NO question about the air cooled engines running significantly HOTTER than water cooled automotive type vehicles. WHY you want to quibble and make the question about the EXACT temp doesn't have any bearing on the original point of the statement??? Get you laser thermometer (boy, THAT's impressive) and be sure to measure the temp at the CYL HEAD. THEN measure the cyl head temp on your family auto! You will see why using these automotive supplements in air cooled ATV's makes no sense......which was my original point!
 
#32 ·
it is impressive isnt it, its not mine. all i was saying was i will check it out, just curious as to what they run! i know they run hotter, W/C engines in cars run about 200 or so. im not disputing that, but 600 is way over what the engine, plastics could handle, or your legs.
 
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