rugbyben Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 I just got a can of seafoam.... Now what do i do with it. Gas tank? Oil? Vacum hose? all of the above? And where might i find the correct vacum hose to suck it in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmanaenk Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 What, search does not work? here's a post with pics. Read the whole tread for more info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splicesite Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 you can just follow the instructions on the can and it works fine. Goes in the pcv valve tube or any other nearby vacuum line... even the little thin ones. Also can be used in fuel, oil, but thats another can of worms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarian Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 What you do with it depends on what you're trying to accomplish with it. If you're trying to clean the cylinder top end (valves and such) the vacuum lines would be the place. If you want to get sludge out of your crankcase and oil passages, add it to the oil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rugbyben Posted March 17, 2006 Author Share Posted March 17, 2006 I truly and sincerely apologize for beating a dead horse here. Please dont feel obligated but patronize me if you have a moment. I did a search but the term seafoam is used so often it is difficult to get a definitive answer. I'm not much of a mechanic, so I usually need a translator for posts here, or help applying them to my vehicle. (2000 Impreza Outback Sport, 2.2L NA, 75Kmiles, named Kermit) What I am trying to do is clean out the whole engine. It is not that old. Only 75K, but Kermey doesn’t have the get up and go he used to. I’d like a little spirit back. Again Im not well versed in engines but Im trying to learn. So please clarify. Adding it to the oil cleans the bottom, adding it to the intake cleans the top, right? Can I just remove the air cleaner and dump it into the intake while running, instead of pulling a vacum tube? That seems to me like the easiest way to get it in to the engine. I assume that will clean the injectors and inside the cylinders and exhaust valves? which will give back some pep. But do I miss out on anything by doing it that way? I am taking a long trip this weekend from central PA to CT (6hrs / 400mi each way). I wanted to do it prior to the trip since its supposed to help with mpg. I usually take my car to valvoline for oil changes especially in the winter. That is about 15 miles from my house. Is it safe to drive that far after the procedure before changing oil? Thanks for helping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rugbyben Posted March 17, 2006 Author Share Posted March 17, 2006 Okay I finally figued out how to read the entire post linked to by dmanaenk. It is fantastic. Thank you! Answered most of my questions. Especially the one about adding it right in to my intake. I will not do that now, since it might explode... I have yet to look for the PCV hose but it doesnt seem to hard to find. My only remaining question is about how long until the oil change if i do like 1/2 in the PCV, and the rest in the gas tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmanaenk Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 Putting seafoam in the tank is a waste of money. Buy some other injector cleaner. I'd put 1/2 into PCV/other hose, the other 1/2 into oil. 15 miles is fine. Just don't go CT with seafoam in your oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 how about a tune up? at that low mileage the engine long block (case, heads,cam) should not have any issues. you should have great compression and near new performance ben. agree on the seafoam in the gas tank comment, get a couple cans of injector cleaner if you'd like. try new: plugs, wires, air filter, PCV valve, fuel filter, O2 sensor.... those are replacement items that can affect performance to varying degrees. normally not much, but more likely than internal engine issues on a low mileage block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rugbyben Posted March 17, 2006 Author Share Posted March 17, 2006 Thanks Gary. all sound like good suggestions and i will try to get them done piece by piece. I also use the low grade gass, and should probably switch to mid grade at least every other tank. The issue i am experienceing is mostly a last of HP going up hills and a difficulty acellerating in the higher range. I noticed some improvement after my cats went bad and were replaced under warranty. But not much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAezb Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 I use Seafoam periodically on my vehicles and power equipment. On the Subies I usually have the vacuum on the throttle body suck up half the the can letting the engine finally choke and stall, let sit for 15 minutes and run the engine (produces a lot of white smoke by the way, so do it on windy day or you'll set your immediate neighborhood in a light fog :-p ). As for the oil in the crank case, I've turn to the old-school of, right before an oil change, draining a quart of oil and replacing with ATF III or IV transmission fluid, and running the car for a couple of hundred miles, then dump and then do the oil change. The ATF is cheap, and has high detergent qualities to do the same as Seaform in the crank case, pistions, and oil passages. It won't harm engine components. Some of the older mechanics I've talk to said it was pretty common years ago to fill the crank completely with ATF, run for awhile, and then dump and fill with regular oil. 190K on a 96 OBW, still runs well and gets good gas mileage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 In the 50s I worked in the local garage while I was in school. Oil was so bad that the engines would crud up and block oil and lifter passages. People used ATF and locally we used kerosene to flush them out. Before I use any product on an engine I look to see if it actually looks dirty. My Subie has always had good oil and regular oil changes and flushing it would be a waste of time and money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAezb Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 In the 50s I worked in the local garage while I was in school. Oil was so bad that the engines would crud up and block oil and lifter passages. People used ATF and locally we used kerosene to flush them out.Before I use any product on an engine I look to see if it actually looks dirty. My Subie has always had good oil and regular oil changes and flushing it would be a waste of time and money. Yeah, mine too. I do the ATF once a summer, Seafoam a couple of time a year just as a precaution. Time and money is not that big an issue on doing these though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 I would think those long winters would keep your operating temp down and give you more chance to crud. My car is always on high detergent oil, currently Mobil 1 for the last couple of years, and gets up to temp on each trip. the Mobil 1 changes color quickly but the engine seems pretty clean. I'll probably pull the valve covers to check the valves next year as it has been 36,000 miles since the last time it was opened up. At that time I'll see if I have to change the way I'm treating it. The last oil analasis said it was in pretty good shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rugbyben Posted March 17, 2006 Author Share Posted March 17, 2006 Well I only have 75K miles on it, and i keep up with oil changes, I use valvoline (since thats what they put in at Valvoline instant oil change shop) I check the stick every few fill ups and add as needed. The color is very good all the way up to when i get changes, so i think flushing the oil system might be overkill at this point. I think i will do the half can in the vacum, and then half can in the oil just for good measure and since i have it open already. Then get an oil and filter change. I really do appreciate the good advice everyone. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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