sea foam?

[kdiddy8]

Can you put sea foam in a 93 vr4? In the gas and in the oil? if not what does anyone recommend to put in the oil as an additive to clean it. thanks.

[Linebckr49]

BEFORE you do this, can i ask you: how many miles are your engine? WHY do you think you need/want to clean the oil & gas?

to clean the oil you can put ATF in there, and let it idle for about 15 mins (not sure on actual time, i'll double check). but whatever you do, do NOT drive it around with ATF. ATF is full of detergents, and it will clean it out really good. HOWEVER, since ATF will clean it soo well, when you put oil in it later (after draining ATF, obviously), your car may smoke. a friend of mine did this on his 3S TT. ATF cleaned his engine out soo well, its cleaned out all the oil deposits that were keeping the oil in the engine. so afterwards, he was forced to go to a thicker oil (20W-50, synthetic, Amsoil).

[Linebckr49]

but yes, if you want to put SEA FOAM in there, you can do it. i've heard of ppl doing it before.

I hope Stealthee will chime in, he always knows the nooks and crannies of these cars. if he doens't post, Kiddy8, then send him a PM.

[kdiddy8]

It has 123k miles on it. I just want to do everything I can to keep the engine clean. I know its never been done before. Shouldnt you do it every once in a while? Ive never heard of ATF. So no matter what I put in it, I shouldnt drive it? I just changed the oil about 300 miles ago.

[Linebckr49]

ATF=automatic transmission fluid.

if you want to put Sea Foam in it, i would follow the directions on the bottle.

here's what i was talking about with the ATF: http://www.3si.org/forum/showpost.ph...21&postcount=8

here's some more info on Sea Foam and how to use it:
http://www.3si.org/forum/showthread....=seafoam+supra
http://www.3si.org/forum/showthread....8&page=1&pp=10
http://www.3si.org/forum/showthread....light=sea+foam
http://www.3si.org/forum/showthread....light=sea+foam

[Linebckr49]

i only linked a few threads, but i read through those and many more. its a good idea to do the sea foam service (or any engine cleaner/additive/flush) just before you're next oil change because after the cleaner does its job, the carbon deposits and sludge will be floating around in your engine, and you'll want to remove that as soon as possible--hence the oil change.

for the Sea Foam treatment: basically, use 1 can of seafoam in your car, putting 1/3 in gas tank, 1/3 in oil, and 1/3 into the combustion chamber via a vacuum line (brake booster line). gas tank first, then vacuum line (must have car started to create a vacuum--be sure to give the car some gas via throttle cable to keep the car from stalling when the sea foam is sucked through the vac line), then shut the car off. then add to the oil. let the car sit for about 20-30 minutes to let the seafoam soak in and begin to break up carbon deposits and oil sludge. turn the car on and let it idle for 10-15 minutes.

now here is where the debate rages. because sea foam will thin your oil, some people are scared to drive the car out of fear of a possible spun bearing. so they just let the car idle, then drain the oil. others, however, say that you should drive the car like you stole for a while and let the sea foam remain until 100 miles, then change the oil.

personally, i have never used engine cleaners, flushers, or additives. that's not to say its a bad idea, i just have no experience with them. so i would err on the side of the former camp by just letting it idle, then changing the oil.

a friend of mine who has a beast of a Stealth TT (and he's a Petroleum Engineer, so i think he knows what he's talking about), and he cleaned his oil using Automatic Transmission Fluid by just letting it idle for 10-15 minutes. i'm not sure how much ATF he used, and if he just put it in the oil (crankcase), or also the vac lines and gas tank. but i will find out from him the details and report back.

in researching, i have found people who say that after using an engine cleaner/additive, seals can begin to leak. a remedy if this happened would be to use a thicker oil, or obviously replace the seal...but likely you'd still have to run a thicker oil.

[jason_bet]

some good sites.. i work at auto zone and i sell more of that sea foam then any other aditives.. it has done some amazing things! brake power booster is the way to go if you want to clean out your intake manifold.