How long do you guys keep Seafoam in the crankcase for?

[Mike02A4]

I just picked up a can and want to do this this weekend. I was thinking of adding it to the oil after a drive, then keeping it in for 15-20 minutes driving it around the block a few times and letting it idle in the driveway, then drain and refill with fresh oil/filter. Good?

I may even refill it with regular oil and drive it around to be sure any left over gunk is all out, then drain and refill with synthetic as usual.

[dirtybrd]

I think you just let it idle, no driving. Then just let it drain for about 20 mins. change fliter, add fresh syn. and go!

[Papachristou]

it says drive 50 miles gently... then drain... many let it sit overnight then drain...

[Mike02A4]

I do not see on the can where it says to 'drive 50 miles'.

[FireWire]

^ thats what i did as well 5 minutes of sitting & then driving 50 miles , drain after.

I heard letting it sit in the engine isn't really a good idea considering the muck that just came off your crankcase can cause clogs and blocking.

[snafooz1]

I recently seafoamed my 1993 festiva, put it in, drove it to and from work (about 70 miles) and drained it. I made a hell of a difference, inside of valve cover was much cleaner then before, idle was smoother and throttle response was quicker.

i'll hopefully be doing it on the audi this weekend...

[Papachristou]

well, its got to circulate a little bit to eat off the sludge... i just poured some in my crankcase, ran it a few minutes, then im leaving work in 2 hours and driving about 30 miles home, then im going to drain it... i also got a OEM filter and mobil 1 M-301, im going to compare them in size

[Capt. Obvious]

Personally, I pour in about half a bottle, and let is sit in there at least overnight and put about 50 miles or so on the car. You're not going to clog your oil passages with the sludge it breaks off, it dissolves the sludge into the oil, so the filter can catch it... which is why it's so important to change your filter after you do it.

Some people will disagree about driving a lot with it in there, but I disagree since I have the experience of doing it to pretty much every single car I've ever owned with mileage ranging from almost 200k miles to as low as 50k, with both dino and synthetic oils. So it's really a matter of what you feel comfortable doing. However, think about it this way: do you really think something like Seafoam is going to be able to dissolve years of sludge and dirt from you engine in twenty minutes? I doubt it. Give it time to do it's thing.

[Mike02A4]

Alright maybe i'll pour it in, take it for a highway drive, come home and let it idle for a few minutes, then drain it. I might also throw in some regular oil for the rest of the afternoon after I drain the seafoamed oil out just to be sure any gunk is out. Then drain that and refill with mobil 1 0w40 and a mobil 1 m-301 filter. Autozone has a sale on 5qts of castrol gtx with a fram filter for $13.99. Dirt cheap so its not going to hurt the wallet much to only leave it in for less than a day.

[Capt. Obvious]

Trying to "rinse" it out with regular oil is a waste of time, money and oil. If you drain it thoroughly and put a new oil filter in, there is absolutely no need to change the oil twice.

Seafoam isn't an acid that will eat your engine alive, it's a mild petroleum-based engine detergent.

[sailor]

Nobody mentions it but I can envision the filter getting plugged up in about 5 min, then the bypass just lets all that dirty oil recirculate. I would be inclined to use some cheap filters and change them often during the process. Then with new oil in I would change the filter in maybe 500 miles just to make sure you got it all.

Years ago, and I mean many years ago, my Dad was a used car dealer. He would clean up a dirty engine by putting in a quart of transmission fluid, run it for an hour and drain it out. Baring that he would use Havoline oil which was not paraffin based and had a high detergent level. Putting Havoline in an engine run on Quaker-state would clean it up pretty quickly.

I haven't needed to clean an engine in 40 years, so is there a problem with the Euro formula?

[Capt. Obvious]

It would take A LOT of sludge to clog the filter on a 1.8T, assuming you're using the "big" filter that VAG changed to after the sludge issues were discovered. I don't really see this being an issue.

Besides, if your engine has been neglected to the point that there is enough sludge in it to clog the filter, you probably have far greater issues to worry about than a clogged oil filter.

[sailor]

You are probably correct, the sludge problems of the ancient past were caused by wax build up. I still wonder if the detergent level of the Euro formula is too low for some reason.

[Mike02A4]

Trying to "rinse" it out with regular oil is a waste of time, money and oil. If you drain it thoroughly and put a new oil filter in, there is absolutely no need to change the oil twice.

Seafoam isn't an acid that will eat your engine alive, it's a mild petroleum-based engine detergent.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but I do not see it as a waste of time and money. I was just saying incase any gunk didn't get drained, a quick rinse through with regular oil shouldn't hurt. Sure its excessive, but like I said, it'll only cost me an extra $13.99.

I always give the oil a thorough drain when doing an oil change on every car I own/have owned. I'm anal when it comes to maintenence

[Capt. Obvious]

The "gunk" will drain with the oil. It gets dissolved into the oil, you won't have "chunks" or stuff floating around or stuck to the inside of your engine.

It's okay to be anal about maintenance, but just know there is a line where "preventative" becomes "nonsensical".

[Mike02A4]

Alright sounds good, i'll just throw my mobil 1 in after I seafoam it. The other 1/2 of the can i'll pour in the gas tank when I fill it up tonight or tomorrow.

4 and 1/4 quart is the capacity with the larger filter, correct?

[Papachristou]

lol @ the captain... ive never seen chunks in oil either...

[sailor]

lol @ the captain... ive never seen chunks in oil either...

What do believe it is that destroys engines? The filter screen on the pickup tube gets plugged when a chunk breaks off somewhere.

[Mike02A4]

Alright I threw the seafoam in the crankcase today (1/2 in the crankcase and the other 1/2 in the gas tank) Then I went and filled it up with gas and went on a 35 mile highway drive. Then I stopped at autozone on the way home picked up some mobil 1 0W40 and a mobil 1 m-301 filter and went home. I let it idle for a few minutes then I put it on the drive on ramps and changed the oil and filter.

While I was under there I removed the low oil sensor and took a peek. It looked fine, I tried scraping my fingernail on the oil pan and no sludge came off. I could not find the oil pick up though. Are you able to see it with the sensor out??

[fitch303]

put it in the crankcase and drive around for about 50-60 miles then get the oil change. Adding it and then letting it sit is f-ing retarded, it wont do any good sitting in your oil pan. This solvent needs time to work and if you add it and then idle for 5 mins and change your oil you wasted 5 bucks on seafoam.

[AudiA4Turbo22]

^^ x2!

[Papachristou]

i also added mine about 3PM, let it run a few minutes, then drove home at 6pm 35 miles and did the oil change... no problems, engine ticks less now....

[Elliott]

So what is the general consensus?

1/2 bottle in gas tank
1/2 bottle in crankcase
1/2 bottle in front intake manifold line
1/2 bottle in rear intake manifold line

Does this sound correct?

[Capt. Obvious]

I recommend 1/3 in the tank, 1/3 into the oil and then make a 50/50 mixture of other 1/3 of the can with water to suck through the vacuum lines. The water literally "steam cleans" the engine when it burns in the cylinders (which is the same reason that cars with blown headgaskets usually have super clean cylinders when you pull the head).

Also, I usually put around 50 miles or so on the car with the Seafoam in the crankcase, but don't suck it through the intake manifold until you're ready to change the oil.

[SlappyB6]

I put 1/2 can in my front intake manifold one, 1/2 can in the crankcase, and 1/2 can in the gas tank. I let it circulate through, then let it sit for about 15 minutes. I then took if for about a 5 - 10 mile drive and let it sit overnight (it was late). I drove it to work the next day and back, about 30 miles, and then changed the oil and filter. When I started it back up after letting it sit that first 15 minutes, it smoked like a 4-alarm fire for at least 10 minutes. Ran and idled much smoother after that.