I bought my X a few weeks ago, and finally got around to giving it the Seafoam treatment. I do this to all of my vehicles at least once a year, but this one is going to get it twice, due to the amount of smoke it created on the first time.

I swear this think gave a smoke cloud so large that it could be seen on local weather radar!! My God, this was the worst I've ever had one smoke!! i had a neighbor 2 streets up call the fire department because they thought there was a fire. LOL After I explained to the FD what it was, they told me to go out into an abandoned factory next time.

On the upside...it has better response and pick up now.

I called the previous owner to ask if they had ever done it. They said they hadn't, so I just cleaned out about 3/4 of carbon from the past 15 years.

I'll be running the rest of the can in the tank on my next fill up, and doing it all over again in a few weeks.

 

I am not sold on Seafoam, it is mostly kerosine.... Philip

 

I've seen the before and after affects on the engine from it...I've witnessed how well it does at cleaning the carbon out. I've seen it with my own eyes.

I'm sure that nothing I say will change your mind, so I won't try. However, I use it in my Mercedes and Audi. If it's good enough to use in those high dollar cars, then it's good enough to use in my >$1k used Explorer.

 

I've now given my recently-acquired 2004 Aviator decarb treatments with Seafoam 4 times in 2 months. It took that many before it stopped producing billows of smoke. The first treatment was right after I purchased it and it made a bit of a difference. A couple weeks back I noticed that when towing our camper with the "towing" tune in the PCM I was getting some pinging. So I gave it another Seafoam treatment. Similar results - a garage full of smoke so thick I couldn't see the door, and that was with the vent fan on. So 2 days later it got another treatment. This time the smoke wasn't as thick, and afterwards the Aviator drove like a sports car. It was a lot more responsive and actually would continue to accelerate when the rpms got above 3k. The next day I did one more treatment and got very little smoke so I called it good. This past weekend I towed the camper 260 miles through some hills and it towed like a dream. The cruise control could maintain 70 mph, even in the hills. There was no pinging, and to top things off, my fuel economy was higher than I've ever seen by 2-3 mpg (+3 mpg there with A/C off, +2 mpg home with A/C on).

Like you, JP, I've been using Seafoam in all my used cars as a decarb treatment for the past 10 years, and like you, I've had the opportunity to see inside an engine after the treatment. While I didn't have the engine apart before the treatment, the amount of smoke from the treatment would suggest there was a lot of carbon. And for what it's worth, the Seafoam was an attempt to resolve a problem, not the cause of the problem. That turned out to be a bad valve causing the misfire.

-Rod

 

Seafoam rocks. Used it the first time while restoring the Imperial. Ran good but had a sticky valve on the passenger side. Single treatment through the brake booster vacuum line netted a fair amount of smoke and the cold ticking disappeared. Throttle response like a new car. 440 with 138k now gets 14 mpg on the road. I'm seriously sold on this stuff.
Treated the old flathead 6 in the Coronet recently. No vacuum lines so had to do it through the carb. Not as much smoke as the Chrysler, car starts easier and idles smoother.

 

I have used it several times as well, works great. It more or less softens and breaks down the carbon deposits, and allows them to either burn or at least get blown out. I've got to do this on my latest addition, a 2000 Focus.

 

I'm planning on the second treatment tomorrow, in the rain. Hopefully the rains will keep the smoke cloud from filling the area too much. I found an empty lot to do it in, so we'll have to see how it goes.

I'll be doing my F250 as well. I just had a rebuilt Jasper that came out of a junk truck (2 year old rebuild with around 60k miles) installed and am interested in seeing how it goes.

 

In illinois the gas has 10% ethanol to do a clean burn. I drove my 89- 250k miles, the 2001- 215k miles and the EXO 150k miles. Never worked on an injector and never had sea foam.

 

Same mixture of fuel here...it still needs cleaned.

 

I was wondering: How much does a can of Seafoam cost? Secondly, why don't you guys/gals do the treatment in the dark? Seems like you'd get less complaints....

 

It's normally around $10 a can, depending on where you shop. Advance Auto Parts currently has it for $6.99 a can, according to their website.

It will only smoke really bad if the system is really loaded with carbon. The first couple of treatments are the worst. If you use it regularly as a general maintenance step, the smoke cloud is much, much less.

I've now put it through 4 times, and the Explorer runs like new. The idle is clean and smooth, power and pep is much better, and the MPG has increased by 2 miles.

I used the spray Sea Foam to clean the throttle body yesterday, with great results. That was the final key to super smooth idle.

I'm about 400 miles away from an oil change, so I'll be pouring it in the crankcase next. I'll put about 200 miles on it and change the oil.

As for using it in the fuel tank, I've done it before in other vehicles, but prefer the results of Redline Complete Fuel System Cleaner. I've been unable to find it in this area, so I'll pick some up on my next trip to Ohio.

I just junked one car that I religiously used Sea Foam in since I bought it. It wasn't because the engine died, I pulled that and have it in storage...the transmission finally gave up the ghost after 230,000 miles!

If that isn't a good testimony for Sea Foam, I don't know what is.

 

And for what it's worth, for a decarb, SeaFoam recommends using 1/3 of the can which makes it that much less expensive per treatment. I generally find myself using 1/2 can per treatment.

-Rod

 

I love to hear the MPG thing. My 02 Explorer 4.6L only gets 17mpg. lots of power but a real pig on fuel. I need to find seafoam here in Canada, I have seen it, just not sure where.

 

I have a 99 explorer and have never used the seafoam, but have a can on hand. Which is the best application for using it? I have 138,000 miles, and the engine is beginning to rough idle.

 

If you're trying it to possibly help with the rough idle, I'd suggest you wait until you're down to about 1/4 to 1/2 a tank of fuel. Then get the engine up to temperature, and suck 1/2 can in to the intake for the decarb. Turn the engine off for 5 minutes. While waiting out that 5 minutes, dump the other half the can in the fuel tank. After the 5 minutes are up, start the truck and let it smoke.

After it stops billowing smoke out the exhaust, shut the engine off and let it cool down. Assuming it's been awhile since the truck's had a tune up, this could be a good time to pick up spark plugs and plug wires as well as a fuel filter and air filter. While you're at the store, you may as well pick up a can of MAF sensor cleaner and, if you don't already have them, a security Torx driver to remove the MAF sensor. Clean the MAF and perform the tune up.

-Rod