Anyone ever used "seafoam" to clean the inside of their engine?

[BuchbrunnM3]

I had used this on my e36 I used to own and a couple of my 4Runners and had good results. I had some in the garage and decided to use it on my e39. Worked pretty good.. I found a good spot to SLOWLY funnel the product into the engine was the vaccum line that comes off of the intake tube(90 degree elbow comes out easily) and there is good suction on tube to the right side. My idle is better after using this. I also noticed smoother acceleration. I plan to buy some more to run in my gas tank and my crank case. Anyone else used this stuff?

[NEVER2LOW]

I've used it with mixed results. I put it in my truck and it wouldn't start right ever again (Multiple cranks and sputtered to life, before the SeaFoam it was flawless), then I put it in another vehicle of mine and it worked ok (aka did nothing). I put it in my bike and it completely screwed everything about it up (Through gas tank). So, from my experiences, I will probably just stick to Techron Fuel System cleaner and other less aggressive cleaners, unless my car is so completely screwed up it couldn't hurt (no point in trying to fix what's not broken).

[defaz]

Back in my wheelin' days I put some in my jeep and it never ran the same... I definitely wouldnt try that stuff in my E39, it just seems like something you'd do to an old truck, not a sexy european car...

Oh and on to what Never2low said, about not fixing what's not broken, I screwed up yet another vehicle (GMC Denali) with some fuel system cleaner, just trying to make it purr better, and it went from starting right up to cranking over for 10 seconds before starting... I not like.

I not like very much.

[M5.4.LyF]

I HATE THAT SHIT. It screwed up my 525i's MPG sensor. Although the car felt super smooth after that my sensor hasn't been the same.

And the smooth feeling lasted for only two weeks.

[NEVER2LOW]

Back in my wheelin' days I put some in my jeep and it never ran the same... I definitely wouldnt try that stuff in my E39, it just seems like something you'd do to an old truck, not a sexy european car...

Oh and on to what Never2low said, about not fixing what's not broken, I screwed up yet another vehicle (GMC Denali) with some fuel system cleaner, just trying to make it purr better, and it went from starting right up to cranking over for 10 seconds before starting... I not like.

I not like very much.

Yep, Silverado here. It seems as though the cleaner kills the GM fuel pressure regulators, not cool at all. Plus the owner's manual specifically states on the BMWs not to add any additives (oil, etc) because the car is not designed for that stuff. When in doubt, mimik zie Deutsch.

[Captain Morgan]

Ive never used it myself, but Ive heard more negative effects from using it than Ive heard positive.

[rennwerkes]

Interesting results.
Just over on the E36 forum you'll see way different results and most for the better or at the very least no difference.
I've personally never used it but have been following many of the SeaFoam threads.
In the above bad cases what may have happened is that the Seafoam over compensated and cleaned too much too fast thereby causing a problem rather than solving one.
Seems like one of the suggestions after running the Seaform is to let it set for a moment then drive the crap out of your car, billowing smoke all over the place.

[NEVER2LOW]

Interesting results.
Just over on the E36 forum you'll see way different results and most for the better or at the very least no difference.
I've personally never used it but have been following many of the SeaFoam threads.
In the above bad cases what may have happened is that the Seafoam over compensated and cleaned too much too fast thereby causing a problem rather than solving one.
Seems like one of the suggestions after running the Seaform is to let it set for a moment then drive the crap out of your car, billowing smoke all over the place.

I did all that, I researched on the appropriate boards before using and did it exactly as stated to, but still got those results. You can try it based on those reviews (like I did) or not, just be prepared for what 'could' happen to your car.

[blk98roadster]

I ran it through the H22A in my old Prelude, and it wasn't a good experience. Immediately after the Seafoam treatment, the car started throwing up O2 sensor codes and running like crap. Replaced the sensor with a spare, and it went back to normal. In addition, within a week the car started leaking oil from the main seal. That might have just been coincidence, or the Seafoam might have eaten up either the seal or the carbon deposits that were probably holding it together.

Just FYI, I ran some through the intake, and some in the crankcase.

[Fiziks]

seems like its more trouble than its worth :|

"If it aint broke dont fix it"

[ArmySweitzer]

i think a lot of people have problems with it because it cleans away seals made by build up and gunk. A lot of the time when seafoam cleans all that stuff off it leads to bad compression. So i guess in theory you'd be better off leaving it alone but technically if you had bad seals or whatever wouldn't you want to know so you could rebuild the engine?


not sure if that made sense but you should get the idea

[kbsilver]

Why do you want to use it? With proper oil changes (8K miles not 15K intervals) and the new synthetic oils, the inside of your engine shouild already be clean. Here is the Pix of my 2000 328i with 81K miles, BMW synthetic every 8K miles. It's squeaky clean (there is black plastic cover over the intake cam I did not remove for the picture)

[bigm77]

damn that is clean

[Ride]

There's a lot of videos on youtube of this stuff. Seems like just because there's a lot of smoke then people think it "must" be working.

[BuchbrunnM3]

WOW, lots of bad experiences! Guess I am one of the lucky few who have had good results! I have my fingers crossed, as I poured some seafoam in my gas tank to run through in that method as well. Good to see all the opinions thats the main thing I wanted to see. I remember on the Yotatech board I used to go on there was a seafoam thread with over 300 pages to it...Anyway thanks for the replys!