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Seafoam works!


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My 85 wagon developed the famous tick... After about a week of it ticking, I couldn't take it anymore ( no radio to turn up ), Thought i would give seafoam a try.

Pulled the 5/8 line off the pcv valve and poured seafoam directly in through the intake while working the throttle with my other hand. Only took about a cap full before the tick went away. Went ahead and put in about 1/4 can anyways.

Needless to say its been a week and the tick hasn't come back and the car runs better than it ever has.

Ive heard mixed response on seafoam, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. I think possibly if treated early on its very effective.

 

If anyone is considering seafoam i would definitely recommend it.

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Yeah i read in another post.. which i cant find right now, that several people had put it in directly through the intake manifold via pcv valve. In theory if you do it this way you wont have to change the oil. It says on the can also directions for going through the induction system. Just pour it in slowly while working the throttle because it will bog it down. You should get a lot of black smoke out the tailpipe, which will turn to white smoke and then you know your done. Like i said there are some other posts about going in through the intake instead of just putting it in the oil. just gotta find em.

 

 

Good luck

Wes

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What else you can do is, run it thru the Brake booster hose, let it suck about 1/2 can then shut the car off. let it sit for a few minutes then fire it up again. it'll eat any build up thats in your air ports/hoses. worked good for me. I havn't added it to the oil yet, Might someday. I don't really have a lifter tick (I do have some noise though, I think its a rocker arm with some play in it or maybe a valve) Dunno. I can hear it more clear under the engine. Anyhoo, yes I like Seafoam. Good stuff!

 

-Tom

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I second tom, suck half the can, kill it, start it up and let it run until some of the smoke clears, then suck in the other half a can. kill it, then start it up and let it idle for a while occasionally revving it a little to blow out your cat. until the smoke goes away. My EA82 had 169k on it when I did it, and it smoked for 45 minutes. The throttle response and power increase was amazing!! :banana:

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I use a slightly different technique: split one-third of the can between the brake booster hose and throttle body; another third of the can in the crankcase; the remainder in the gas. Obviously you'll want to do an oil change after running it in the crankcase for a bit, but other than that it's pretty much set it & forget it. Using the Deep Creep aerosol instead of the pour-in stuff helps make sure you don't hydrolock the engine since it's easier to control how much you're putting in.

 

FWIW, I tend to do this towards the time when an oil change is due anyway - the stuff in the crankcase helps with keeping the lifters free and easy, but you don't want to leave it in there for the full interval between changes. I find about 25 miles or so of mixed city/interstate driving (keeping an eye on the oil pressure gauge just to be safe) does an excellent de-sludge and lifter job.

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I'm glad you fixed your TOD, but really, I don't see how you would fix TOD by pouring it directly in the throttle . That way, the Seafoam is going directly to the valves and the cylinder, and should get rid of carbon buildup, but that's about it. It's not going anywhere near the TOD problem area, which is the hydraulic lifters.

 

You would need to pour it in the oil and run it awhile to get rid of the varnish buildup on the lifters.

 

Can someone explain why I'm wrong?

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I'm glad you fixed your TOD, but really, I don't see how you would fix TOD by pouring it directly in the throttle . That way, the Seafoam is going directly to the valves and the cylinder, and should get rid of carbon buildup, but that's about it. It's not going anywhere near the TOD problem area, which is the hydraulic lifters.

 

You would need to pour it in the oil and run it awhile to get rid of the varnish buildup on the lifters.

 

Can someone explain why I'm wrong?

 

Your not wrong, this is the only way I can see it getting to the HLAs and other components. only thing your doing by sucking it thru any air intake is removing and type of dirt and build up thats been cause over the years. and by putting it in the fuel system, its only getting on the valves and injector(s) to eat away varnish from poor quilty fuels.

 

-Tom'

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I did 1/3 can in my oil which did get rid of the tick on the drivers side, but now at random it's back again. The engine was very cruddy when I got it a few months back so maybe something got loose and is causing it again.

 

I'll have to try the PCV/brake booster line as well since my engine sometimes hesitates when I give it 1/2 throttle or more.

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I'm glad you fixed your TOD, but really, I don't see how you would fix TOD by pouring it directly in the throttle . That way, the Seafoam is going directly to the valves and the cylinder, and should get rid of carbon buildup, but that's about it. It's not going anywhere near the TOD problem area, which is the hydraulic lifters.

 

You would need to pour it in the oil and run it awhile to get rid of the varnish buildup on the lifters.

 

Can someone explain why I'm wrong?

 

Dirty valve stems can *stick* a bit or rather just drag slowly in and out of the valve guide. If the vavle doesn't return to fully seated each time it goes up and down, there could be some extra slack in the vavletrain.

 

Just my best guess why this worked for him.

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  • 2 years later...

The problem with Seafoam in the crankcase it is that I does cause oil seal failure and possibly gasket seepage. However, this may depend strongly on which formulation you are using (see below).

 

My strategy is to use about a 1/3 in the crankcase, run the engine for a few miles...then let it sit overnight. Start the engine...let the mixture circulate again and then immediately change the oil.

 

 

One thing about Seafoam in the tank is that it honestly seemed to cause the oil to get far more viscous and even a bit jelly when cold. I would wager that the heat/pressure in the combustion chamber probably causes certain unintended chemical reactions even with the thin film of oil coating the inside of the cylinder on each stroke.

 

Given the composition of oil these days there may be such an unintended consequence given the older (apparently) formulation of Seafoam.

 

I noticed that there are two separate and distinct formulations of Seafoam. One has a greenish tint (and a more acrid smell) and the apparently newer formulation is clean and not so offensive to the nose.

 

--Damien

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