A while back I was reading a lot on one of the Maxima forums about guys using Sea Foam in their Max engines to clean them out and perform more efficiently. I got out and bought a can ($5). This past weekend I used 3/4 in the gas tank and the other 1/4 in the crankcase. I got some of the white smoke from the exhaust as guys had mentioned would happen, and then it went clear again. It seems as though my Max is running somewhat better and smoother with more pep, although my engine ran like a top prior to the Sea Foam. One day I plan to dump it in through the IM to see how that affects things. So far, I'm a fan of the stuff as it seems to do a little magic on the engine's performance. Has anyone else had similar experience with this stuff?

 

No, I put some in my 95 KingCab and it did not make any noticeable changes in performance.

 

I put 2/3 of it through the intake manifold, and it smoked like a **** for 20 minutes. I poured the rest in the crankcase. The only thing I noticed was that I got about 2 more MPG on subsequent fillups. The plumes of smoke at least told me that it had at gotten rid of some carbon buildup on the valves and stuff.

 

hmmmm might try this on my 60,000k 2k2...whered you guys pick it up at?

 

I bought mine at NAPA.

 

I wouldn't try that in Cali. They'll first call the fire department once they see the all the smoke and when they find out it's only SeaFoam they'll shoot you for raping the Clean Air Act...

 

Who are "they"? If your neighbors are that nosy then damn, I wouldn't want to live in your neighborhood. I told my next door neighbors I was cleaning out my car engine and they completely understood.

BTW, I got my can at NAPA also.

 

Got mine at NAPA too. It helped out my mileage as well.

 

okay =) im getting one. If my car explodes im comming after you guys..

 

I got my SF at Advanced Auto.

 

One tip that the NAPA guy told me was to let the SeaFoam sit in the engine for 30 minutes, instead of the 5 that the directions recommend. That way, if you have any really cruddy carbon buildup the seafoam has more time to try and dissolve it.

 

Anyone within a mile radius if you're in an urban area. I saw it done in an old farm tractor. This was in the summer with little wind and smoke plume hung around for a long time. The farmers within five miles were calling to see if everything was okay. It did get rid of the carbon buildup as well as the bugs...

 

I have used it on several vehicles and it always works. I have not poured any into my oil; only the fuel.

Also, I have a friend that repairs 2-cycle outboard engines. At the beginning of boating season he get a huge amount of customers who have gummed up fuel systems or at the least their boats run like crap.

Instead of taking everything apart and cleaning it, he just pours in Sea Foam and 8 out of 10 times that's all he has to do. The motors clear right up.

Good luck.

 

so basically you dump this stuff into your gas tank and it'll do its thing? hmm...i might get this a try.

 

I just used it in my wife's '88 Nissan truck and my '97 Maxima. For the truck, I SLOWLY poured it down the throttle body (carb type), using about 1/3 of the can. For the Maxima, I let it inhale it through the vacuum line entering the intake manifold just behind the IACV (other end goes to the EVAP Canister Purge Volume Control Valve). I did this SLOWLY by having the Sea Foam in a bowl, and using another piece of smaller hose (brake bleeding size) with an adapter stuffed in the bigger engine hose. I had to blip the trottle to keep the RPM's up, and used about 1/3 of the can.
Results on both were instant smoking. After getting the desired amount of Sea Foam in to the engine, I shut it off and let it sit for just over 5 minutes. During this time I reconnected the vacuum line on the Maxima, and cleared any codes from the ECU. On the truck, I replaced the air cleaner lid. After starting them up, both had white, billowing smoke from the exhaust. Surprisingly, my 85,000 mile Maxima smoked more than my wife's 168,000 mile truck. I let each idle for a few minutes until the smoke died down, then went for some spirited short runs. They still smoked on these drives, but it eventually stopped.
So far I've been pretty impressed with the results. The truck had a surging idle, which it doesn't now. Idle is also about 100 rpm higher, which I'll have to adjust down. The Maxima idled about 600-625 previous, and there was a slight vibration in the steering wheel while stopped at lights. Idle now is the same, but the vibration is less. The truck seems to have gotten some of its "pep" back, but the Maxima has no noticeable performance increase. It hasn't been long enough yet to know anything about fuel mileage, but hopefully that has increased.
For background info, all maintenance on both vehicles is current. The truck got an oil change after the Sea Foam use, and the Maxima only had about 500 miles on its oil (which will be changed in about 500-1000 miles just to be safe as the Sea Foam may cause the GTX 10W-30 to prematurely go out of grade).
All in all, I'd spend the $5.00 for it again in the future (30,000 miles or so down the road) to run through the intake like I did. I'm skeptical about adding it to my oil, though. I feel oil companies have a pretty good handle on additive packages, and the addition of Sea Foam may upset this balance, not to mention thin the oil out of grade. In my opinion, if oil is changed at proper intervals, additives aren't needed. As for running Sea Foam in my gas, I wouldn't see a problem with it, but I think there are better products available for that.

Dave

 

The one thing I would amend to that is that you are supposed to add the stuff until it actually floods the engine, that way it puddles on the valves and combustion chamber.