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seafoam is a strange miracle potion


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this isn't a testimonial, there's an actual question at the bottom.  :lol:

 

back story - my 1984 turbo wagon has been sitting for the last 5-ish years, in that time i've put maybe 500 miles on it. as it sat in my garage i've slowly done work to get it back on the road (brake job, fluid flush and change, fuel filter, plugs and wires, cap and rotor, new starter and battery, etc.), including sorting some electrical gremlins and ECM issues, tracking down vacuum leaks, the normal stuff. the tranny is dying but i'm running it into the ground to justify a 5 speed swap. 

 

presently - i've been driving the car to/from the grocery store, home depot, etc. to blow through the gas in the tank that's at least a year old. on the way home from the store last week the car started running poorly - missing, putting along, no power. last night i went hunting for a vacuum leak with my propane torch and didn't find anything as i very recently replaced most of the vacuum hoses, intake hose, PVC valve, etc. 

 

the car was having a hard time idling and had a noticeable miss across the power band so i figured i'd run some seafoam to see if it'd make a difference. i pulled one of the hoses from the evap canister (the one that has crazy vacuum), sucked about 4oz of seafoam and the car almost immediately began running/idling better. 

 

i shut the car down and let it sit while i fixed dinner, came back out to go around the block a few times and the car is literally running like new. idling perfect, running perfect, power is restored, no miss or hiccups. 

 

what could've happened in the engine that such a small amount of seafoam fixed? could it have been some sort of a blockage in the vacuum line that i ran the product through? 

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I'd guess cleaning fouled plugs, and possibly freeing up a sticky/carbon covered valve.

 

You think that's cool.....try some Lucas injector cleaner in the Gas........I got 5mpg better on my first tank after using it and the 300k mile injectors happy now...more power.

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I'm curious, what trick do you use with propane to find vacuum leaks? I've always used a spray like brake cleaner sprayed around the intake, carb etc while it was running cause the fluid would block the leak for a second to help narrow down an area.

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I'm curious, what trick do you use with propane to find vacuum leaks? I've always used a spray like brake cleaner sprayed around the intake, carb etc while it was running cause the fluid would block the leak for a second to help narrow down an area.

 

You hook a tube to the propane so you can direct it to the engine. If there is a leak it will get sucked in and an idle change is observed. Similar to the way you use the brake cleaner.

 

Edited by MR_Loyale
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That's interesting and I like it, it sounds alot cleaner than spraying stuff all over the place and making a mess. Thanks for the tip!

 

i used to do the carb cleaner trick but it's not safe on an engine that hot, plus makes a mess. i'm sure those harsh chemicals aren't good for the vacuum (non oil or gas rated) lines either. 

 

the small propane torch trick is really effective. 

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Mmm, Creme Brulee...

C'est Bon!

 

Ok, Yes, Seafoam is amazing, my dad DOUBLED his MPG on his rig...

 

Of course his rig was the family RV...

 

The family RV is a 1966 GMC (former) Greyhound PD104 with a big honkin Detroit Diesel.

 

It took about a gallon of seafoam (heh, yeah...it comes in GALLONS too!) and she smoothed right out, purring like a kitten.

The problem was dirty injectors.

 

Went from 6MPG to just over 12MPG I'd say thats double, yes?

 

We swear by it here, any long roadtrip gets a fill up with a can of seafoam in the gastank.

you can get great mileage doing this (of course you have to drive it sensibly too).

 

all I know about this weird semi-precious fluid is that it works.

 

Happy Motoring.

 

quietly,

timothy.

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