Seafoam and B&G are both great products…….BTW just because Seafoam is less expensive doesn’t make it less effective. The thing to keep in mind w/ both is that neither claims to be effective on exhaust valve carbon – the bigger problem for our V8s. Ignition burns up their effectiveness before they can make it to the back of the exhaust valves and their respective stems. Your engine isn’t 100% efficient so some of it makes its way there…..not much though.
The point of dripping water into the intake (same place for Seafoam on throttle body) is that the H2O turns to steam, and the steam heads out & cleans the back of the exhaust valves & their stems. The water does increase the octane so you’re not looking to dump copious amount into the system all at once.
Now for some actual experience w/ using H2O. 5-6 years ago I purchased a D1 from an owner who was very up front about the carbon build up in the engine. It was misfiring all over the place and was, according to the dealer & an independent LR shop, in desperate need of a valve job as the exhaust valves were sticking on multiple cylinders. This is what I did:
Pulled the Stepper & cleaned it.
Cleaned the MAFS
New air filter
Replaced the vacuum lines to the plenum & cleaned the oil separator on the right valve cover
Seafoam in crank case for 15 minutes @ idle then drain & drop the oil pan to clean it out
*Don’t want to send that sludge/ crap back through the engine. When I put the pan back on I wasn’t looking to for the perfect seal because I was going to do this again
Put new oil filter on & refilled w/ synthetic
Can of Seafoam in the fuel tank
1/3 can Seafoam through TB vacuum line @ idle
Rest for 30 minutes then drive it around
1/3 can Seafoam through TB vacuum line @ idle
Rest for 30 minutes then drive it around – yes, 2nd time
1/3 can Seafoam through TB vacuum line @ idle
Rest for 30 minutes then drive it around – yes, 3rd time
*Things were already starting to smooth out, but I could see w/ the vacuum gauge that exhaust valves were still sticking intermittently
1 ltr of water slowly dripped through TB vacuum line @ idle
*I only dripped at the rate that the computer could keep up w/ the higher octane created by the water – idle became smooth & vacuum gauge was no longer showing sticky valves (even while driven around town)
Seafoam in crank case again for 15 minutes @ idle then drain & drop the oil pan to clean it out again
Cleaned everything up then put the pan back on w/ Great Stuff for a nice tight seal
Put new K&N oil filter on & refilled w/ synthetic
1/3 can Seafoam through TB vacuum line @ idle
Rest for 30 minutes then drive it around
*Exhaust was coming out clean by now so I did it one more time for good measure
1/3 can Seafoam through TB vacuum line @ idle
Rest for 30 minutes then drive it around
The truck ran like new…..very smooth & responsive, and the dipstick came out honey colored by the next oil change @ 3000 miles. BTW, change the oil about every 3000……not 4000, not 5000, not 6000…..you get the picture.
Total cost was under $100 but the way I saw it was that even if I still did a valve job on it, cleaning out what I could before I pulled the heads was a good start. Engine ran beautifully and the codes never came back, so I ended up keeping it on a good maintenance routine and worked on other things.............never reared its head again.
