Sea Foam for sticky rings??

[Nessism]

Glad to learn your bike is running well but please understand that Seafoam should not be used in your oil, except for maybe just before an oil change. Drain that stuff out before you damage the engine. It acts like a solvent and thins the oil out - your 10W-40 becomes 10W-30 or worse.

[GS750GUY]

Glad to learn your bike is running well but please understand that Seafoam should not be used in your oil, except for maybe just before an oil change. Drain that stuff out before you damage the engine. It acts like a solvent and thins the oil out - your 10W-40 becomes 10W-30 or worse.

Thanks Nessism! I have only put maybe 50 miles on the oil but will get it drained and replaced before my next ride.
The instructions on the Sea Foam can say to only use 1-1/2 ounces per quart of oil which equals only about 5.7 ounces per 3.8 quarts of oil. With the 20W-50W weight oil that my manual recommends it wouldn't seem that 5.7 ounces would thin almost 4 quarts of oil by very much. I notice the oil still looks clean and bright though the site glass.

GS750guy

[GS750GUY]

FYI Regarding Sea Foam

Below is a copy of one of the FAQ questions regarding Sea Foam and how to use it when adding it to the crank case. Info is taken from the Sea Foam website.

The most frequently asked question about using Sea Foam is as follows: “After using Sea Foam in my oil, fuel, or through the vacuum line (to clean carbon from the combustion chamber) do I need to change my oil?” The short answer is: No you don’t have to change your oil after using Sea Foam in any application.
When using Sea Foam in your fuel or through the vacuum line for carbon cleaning your oil does not need to be changed. Using Sea Foam in your oil, at 1 ½ ounces per quart, is a safe way to clean a crankcase, free up rings or free up sticky lifters as you drive. Sea Foam is not a chemical engine flush and therefore, it will not damage internal engine components or plug the oil pick up screen. Sea Foam is a pure petroleum blend with no chemical additives and is safe for long term cleaning or short term pre-service cleaning.
Sea Foam is a blend of highly refined additive oils and is compatible with all motor oils including synthetics. It is safe for all internal engine components and will not affect any seals, gaskets or o-rings. Sea Foam cleans oil deposits and varnish in your crankcase by safely/slowly re- liquefying the old oil residue so contaminants may flow and be filtered. The longer Sea Foam is in your oil the cleaner your crankcase will become. When adding Sea Foam to clean oil, for long term maintenance cleaning, you must check your oil periodically for color and clarity, when your oil looks dirty change it. Because you added cleaning oil (Sea Foam) to your oil you may have to change oil before the expected service interval.
When adding Sea Foam to dirty oil before an oil change, for best results use 1 ½ ounces per quart of oil at least 100 miles before oil is changed.


I guess......in a nut shell this is saying. Use it per the cans instructions and when the oil looks dirty....change it.

GS750GUY

[chuck c]

Thanks for the info! It helps to go to the source for the facts. You did, I didn't, shame on me.

[Nessism]

Seafoam is a light viscosity petroleum product so it will thin the oil much like adding solvent to the oil. I suppose if you only added 1.5 oz. per quart the thinning effect won't be overly severe so no panic. Personally though I don't believe in oil additives and wouldn't use the stuff.

[trippivot]

trip pivot speaks his !!!opinion!!!

SEA FOAM is crap!! DO NOT USE SEA FOAM UNLESS YOU WANT TROUBLE!!!!!


I know there are sworn lovers of this poison. They might even make promises like a snake oil salesman..

hell yeah there are vitimins in moonshine!!


In 30 years of MY mechanical service career I have had to repair sea foam users motorcycles and EDUCATE them to what is and what is not going on with their bike countless times. I quit counting before the 21 century.

Use the PROPER chemicals

if the carb needs cleaned take it off and clean it
if the gas is bad drain it
if the gas needs to be stored use a proper fuel storage fluid like stabil
if there is water in the gas use a product like heat and use it in the proper ratio.
sludge in the oil ? drop the oil pan and mechanically clean it out.
water in the oil? same thing. and re change the oil 2 or 3 times in a short time.
gas in the oil same as the previous two statements.

all I know there is no such thing as mechanic in a can

sticky rings ? wow wonder how you came up with that diagnosis?
stuck to what? piston ? piston ring groove? cylinder wall?

[Nessism]

I know an engineer that worked at the Saturn factory in TN. He told me that on the early 1600 cc Saturn engine they used pistons that didn't have proper oil drain passages for the oil control rings so they would stick in the piston grooves and the engine would burn oil. The fix to loosen the rings was the use of Marvel Mystery Oil in the gas tank. According to this guy the MMO would work on the sludge and carbon and free up the rings. He said that he had personal experience with this fix and it works.

The point I'm trying to make is that sometimes there are useful chemicals you can add to the crankcase and/or gas tank. Using Seafoam in the gas tank for example will help break up minor varnish. I'd never use Seafoam in the gas unless I knew for a fact that the carbs have properly fresh O-rings inside since that stuff is not "rebuild in a can". It can help break down minor deposits which is not bad. Using the stuff in the oil is something I would never do since I don't see the point. Use some high quality diesel or motorcycle oil in the crankcase and put the engine on 1000 mile change intervals if you are worried about sludge. I feel this is a much better way to clean the oil compared to dumping solvent or detergent as it were in the crankcase.

[tkent02]

In 30 years of MY mechanical service career I have had to repair sea foam users motorcycles and EDUCATE them to what is and what is not going on with their bike countless times.
?

OK, what is it?
What damage have you seen from using Seafoam in bikes?
I'm not disagreeing with you, not a Seafoam fan at all, but I am curious what you are talking about, as I have heard of no problems...

[chuck c]

I agree Sea Foam doesn't fix leaky o-rings and such and is not a substitute for a real fix, but it's not engine-destroying junk either. It dissolves caked carbon and varnish, period. Used correctly it does that very well. I'm not rebuilding my truck's engine just to get it to pass the emissions test when a shot of SF does the job. When you're trying to get and keep 25-40 year old engines running, it's darned useful. I say try SF BEFORE tearing your engine down, it might be all that's needed. If it doesn't fix it, THEN grab a wrench.

[chuck hahn]

any disclaimers on the can?? any guarantees? Call them and ask for a detailed warantee before ya dump it in?? If they are that sure then throw that at them and see if they baulk!!!!

[hubert hefner]

I've used sea foam in about everyway possible on a auto engine and from all of my experience it works very well. I have only used it in the gas tank on my bikes and never had a problem . My dad uses sea foam in about every tank of gas for everything (even the mower sometimes). I have no complaints of sea foam. I dedicatedly use 1qt of tranny fluid in place of oil when i change the oil in my cars(not sure if i would do that on my bikes though, maybe if it was a harley).

[GS750GUY]

Wow! I guess the Sea Foam issue stirred up some pretty strong fellings.

As far as detergents and cleaners are concerned; if I'm not mistaken, just plain old motorcycle oil out of the bottle even contains detergents and cleaners.

All I know folks is that before Sea Foam my bike was pouring blue smoke like a fire breathing dragon, didn't seem to have much power, and was going through a half quart of oil in just a few hundred miles. Now I have absolutely no blue smoke at all or even hints of smoke, the bike uses very little if any oil, and the engine has a lot more guts to its get-up-and-go. The engine now runs and performs like new. The plus is I didn't need to do any wrench work. Now that the bike is running great I will change the oil and filter and enjoy the riding season.

Thanks for all your input and comments.

GS750GUY