A friend and I got around to Seafoaming and engine cleaning our cars in preparation for the DNE Car Show. Got everything done and went for a test drive...everything seemed fine while we laughed at the trail of smoke my car left behind.

Fast forward 2 hours...I drive up to the meet and feel my car stumbling, no cel. I park it and go about my business. Leave later that night and car is stumbling and cel light flashes then stays on. Check the codes and find 3:
0302 - EGR system malfunction
0702 - 3-way Catalytic converter
0412 - Upstream 02 sensor high voltage (right bank)
I think..."Umm...crap."

I reset the ecu just because I don't want to have to deal with it right then and car runs fine. Next morning it stumbles again but the only code I have now is the 0412. Reset it and it comes back.

Could Seafoam or an engine bay cleaning cause my 02 to finally fail on me?...or is this just a coincidence. Is there something else I should be checking...perhaps a connector got wet during engine cleaning and it still has moisture in it?

Thanks for any input...
-Jeff



*-*-*-*...in other news

Here is a pic that might help future SeaFoamers in regards to 'where' the brake booster cable is located that needs to be used to suck up the SeaFoam.


Results of Seafoam:

 

what is the mileage on your car? they should not go bad atleast for over 100k mark. your O2 sensor might gotten glogged up. with the smoke that came out. take it out and try to clean it.

 

How long did it smoke?

I did it last weekend on Sat. A bottle in the gas can, a 1/2 in the engine and 1/2 in the brake booster. Everything seems fine. Just like what CystumMax said, the smoke might of really mess the sensor up. Try and clean up the sensors before doing anything.

 

Mileage is 72,000...

My rear o2 sensor went out at 50k and this was before my test pipe.

I'll definitely try cleaning the sensor up...that's what I thought is that perhaps some carbon clogged it up. *shrug*

=====
Oh yeah, the car didn't smoke too long afterwards. Probably about 5 minutes or so after we let the engine soak in seafoam.

 

Forgive my ignorance, but what is seafoam and why are you pouring it in your engine? The only thing I've ever put in my engine besides oil: Lucas oil additive. The only thing besides gas I've ever put in my gas tank: Techron injector cleaner.

I use Gunk Foaming Engine Brite to clean my engine bay. What is the seafoam stuff?

 

Seafoam is a total intake/engine/exhaust cleaner that some find very usefull.

http://www.seafoamsales.com/motorTuneUpTechGas.htm


(not a stupid question...)

 

Some people prefer to use water first and let it steam. and then applying the seafoam. Got this from SC400 forum.

Also, some have said that their spark plugs dirtied a lot more using seafoam. Haven't heard too much on O2 sensors. Just try cleaning them probably.

 

The EGR is probably clogged because of all the carbon that got loose. The O2 sensor probably went bad cause tall the carbon must've changd the a/f ratio somehow. Same with the cat converter, although I'm sure you could take it out, shake it and get some of the crap out, worked for me. Also when you use engine cleaners and stuff like seafoam you're supposed to do an oil change withing a few miles after the procedure. I'd suggest you put a teaspoon or 2 of ATF into the spark plug holes. Then using the hose shown above you suck up half a bottle of ATF while the car is at 3500rpm followed by the same amount of water.

 

it says right on their website that it's oxygen sensor safe... if yours is bad maybe you can get them to pay for a new one...

 

^^ I like that idea...I'll run a resistance check on it this week.

 

Just what I was thinking....if it is dead contact their customer service....most of the time companies like that wwill help out.

 

just wondering how many people this has happened to i was planning on doing it this weekend and i dont wanna do it if its gunna make a o2 sensor to fail cause right now i dont have the money to start replacing sensors o2 sensors my car has 74k on it what do you guys think i should do is this gunna cause me a headache ?

 

I did it last weekend and my car's O2 sensor are fine.

 

Subscribed

 

C'mon guys. Seafoam is known for killing o2 sensors if they are already about to fail. It just takes the little life it has left. So if your o2 sensor is good then you shouldn't have much trouble. (from what I've witnessed) I have seen at least 3 cases of this myself. I replaced my o2 sensor before seafoaming my Camry.

 

Holy Thread Resurection!!

Didnt kill my 02 sensors. I used a decent amount. Car smoked no cel, ran fine.

It might kill it, if you have a lot of carbon build up then you use a lot of seafoam and get that caught in the sensors. Using it in a small dosage at first may solve the problems.

I'pve heard using it in your gas tank slowly eats up your o-rings on the injectors. I wonder if this is true.

 

Umm, this is NOT the brake booster vacuum line. The brake booster vacuum line comes off the brake booster... hence the name...

If the seafoam kills your O2 sensors then they were already worn and on their way out.

 

Forget Seafoam, take off the upper plenum and spray the hell out of it with throttle body cleaner. I did this a couple weeks ago now it starts right up every time and o2's are still happy.Time to label all the wires and hoses I disconnected, removal and cleaning of the inside of the upper plenum- 4 hours taking my time. Got it back together in a little over 2 hours.

You'll need a couple of bottles of throttle body cleaner and new gaskets are recommended. Valvoline Synthetic stuff worked the best. There's no way that seafoam would clean out the passages like how I cleaned them. This job is a PITA though.

 

They dont call you crazy 97 for nothing




thats a good idea, if some has the time.

 

There was a moment when it was time to put it all back together and I was like "Oh WTF have I done now??"

I was hoping for better fuel economy after I did this but that has not changed. Maybe now I should pour sea foam in.

 

you should be consuming a little more air due to the cleaning, and much smoother idle.

 

umm....im not quite sure b/c im not in my engine rite now but that is it, its all one line i believe...well, thats the one i used and it worked

 

just remember, seafoam is 100% silicone a.k.a. oil . it's not very combustable and is gonna burn and stick to ****. old skoolers used to use trans fluid !!! before o2 sensors and all. water works, but is shady, carb/ throttle cleaner works too. i used the aresol seafoam, it's easier to meter. then "chased it with throttle cleaner after the burn off. no probs. seemed to help a little. had deposits on my plugs so i changed them and a few chunks holdin my egr open. worked it up and down, broke it free, fine ever since.

 

Might as well disassemble the whole engine while your at it...

 

Oops... your right it is the same line... just further down.

 

I know there's a lot of good opinions arround here about the Seafoam product, but.... when I went to my closest AutoZone the guy told me that never in his career has anyone come and asked for the Seafoam. He keeps this stuff hard to reach, coz there's no people wanting it. He told me that he has some stuff that really works and that people buy. He himself claims that before starting his job as a seller in AutoZone he used to be a mechanic for 13 (!!!!!!) years - so I assume he knows what he's saying....
Has anyone of you guys ever used the Marvel Mystery Oil ? I heard a lot about how good this stuff is... If someone has used it, can you explain how precisely you did that? Neither on the bottle, nor in the internet can I read if I'm supposed to add it before having my oil changed, or should I drive the car normally with it inside of my oil and fuel tank?

 

Does your leg still hurt from where he was pulling it?

 

I used seafoam last weekend and all I can say is WOW, the max must have had a lot of carbon build up cause she smoked for a good 20 minutes. I actually used the little vaccum hose that connects to you CAI to suck it. Did a good job of taking it in. I used a clothes detergent top full. I believe my O2s were bad from the get go before I seafoam. The car does run smoother but either the O2's are clogged as hell or my PCV valve is clogged cause I'm not getting good gas mileage anymore and the car gets hard to start sometime. But for the seafoam, it did wonders for the car.

 

Sounds like it might be more trouble and cause more problems than it fixes. I think I will just use oil addatives, and fuel injector cleaner, Lucas or Redline

 

It seems as if it is suppose to help your car but in the long run it destroys more then it worth

 

crazy97,

I did my intake plenum a couple years ago. Total time was around 5 hours or so taking it easy. At first, I didn't know about the two bolts on the rear near the firewall. Figured it out with my FSM. Doing it that way is more effective than a Seafoam treatment (which I do about every 10,000 miles or so). But I really fon't think removing the intake plenum is necessary very often.
I also take my TB and IACV off when they need cleaned (about every 10,000 miles or whenever I'm bored). Much more effective than trying to do them on the car. Cleaning those really helps the idle smooth out.

stypa1, Marvel Mystery Oil (MMO) is pretty good stuff as a gas additive. I use 5.25 oz just about every tank. Myself and other on Bob is the Oil Guy (http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php) have had good results with it. It is not as effective as some other fuel treatments for cleaning gunked up engines, but it does help to keep them clean. I, along with several others, have noticed increased mileage also. Nothing major, but easily worth the cost of the MMO. It may be attributable to the upper cylinder lubrication properties, decreasing friction. I'm going to test Lucas UCL to see if I get the same results, which would verify the UCL theory.

Seafoam is a decent product when used properly. I doubt it will harm healthy O2's or cats. An easier option to the liquid type is the SeaFoam Deep Creep. An aerosol with extension tube is just more convenient. And you can use it through your TB to get it clean while you're at it.
Hope this helps.

Dave

 

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I remember when i was considering using sea foam. I wasn't very good with cars so i decided to go with BG44K. I think BG44K is amazing.

 

i was under the impression that you shouldn't run seafoam w/ 02 sensors in there or your cat. its used for marine use, and those engines dont run w/ o2 sensors or a catylatic converter

 

That’s exactly what that is... don’t tell people crap like that....

 

Can you even read you moron?

 

Seafoam actually does work. Remove one of your spark plugs and look at the top of the piston with a flashlight and note the carbon build up. After you use the seafoam after several times, check the top of the piston again and you will notice that the amount of carbon build up has decreased. It is an honest product in my opinion.

 

so i should clean out my plugs??

 

Yea its the same line.... dont make it seem like he used the wrong one!!

 

I recently used Gumout Regane on my system. Should I use Seafoam aswell or do they do the same thing? I'm refering to removing the carbon build-up.