Seafoam to flush crankcase after coolant contamination

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Mar 15, 2022
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Will seafoam help me flush coolant contamination out of my engine? I'm already planning on changing the oil a couple times after I fix my head gasket, then checking for milkiness of the oil every couple days after until it's clean. I just don't want the cost of the oil to exceed what I paid for the gaskets.

So what I'm really asking is whether seafoam will reduce the number of oil changes I need to do before being back to normal; whether it will help the oil dissolve more coolant than it would otherwise. I know it at least claims to help with moisture in the oil, but I'm asking about the additives that make it coolant, not the water.
 
Seafoam is oil with alcohol and some naptha. I don't see it doing anymore to coolant than regular oil would. Diluting the coolant with an oil change should do it.

I would fix the head gasket, change the oil and filter with an inexpensive oil like supertech or autostore house oil, then change it again in 500 miles or so.
 
What is naphtha? How do you know what seafoam is made of? I couldn't find anything about the ingredients
It is usually in the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet).

 
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Seafoam is a fix proven for water contaminated gasoline, I imagine it would help with water contaminated oil as well. Isopropanol mixes with both water and oil, helping the oil collect the water and water soluble compounds in coolant so it can be drained out with the oil.

It sure won't hurt and probably will help.
 
Fix the cause of the coolant leak, head gasket, whatever needs to be done. Replace oil/filter. Run it for a short interval (days, a few hundred miles, etc.), then do another full OCI. Monitor, and if still contamination, repeat with new full OCI. Each interval you're getting about 85% of the fluids out, so it may take 2-3 oil changes. Use inexpensive oil each interval until satisfied it's all cleaned out, and then do a high quality oil and filter change.
 
Fix the cause of the coolant leak, head gasket, whatever needs to be done. Replace oil/filter. Run it for a short interval (days, a few hundred miles, etc.), then do another full OCI. Monitor, and if still contamination, repeat with new full OCI.
I know. I'm not asking how to fix milky oil, I'm asking about the chemical properties of seafoam
Seafoam is a fix proven for water contaminated gasoline, I imagine it would help with water contaminated oil as well. Isopropanol mixes with both water and oil, helping the oil collect the water and water soluble compounds in coolant so it can be drained out with the oil.

It sure won't hurt and probably will help.
I don't care about the water; it's easy to deal with. I'm asking about the "concentrate." The chemicals.
It is usually in the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet).

Thanks for the link. Know anything about the ability of that stuff to dissolve coolant?
 
I know. I'm not asking how to fix milky oil, I'm asking about the chemical properties of seafoam

I don't care about the water; it's easy to deal with. I'm asking about the "concentrate." The chemicals.

Thanks for the link. Know anything about the ability of that stuff to dissolve coolant?
Pretty much everything in coolant is soluble in organic solvents which is what seafoam is. You could also try Berrymans B12.
 
I know. I'm not asking how to fix milky oil, I'm asking about the chemical properties of seafoam

I don't care about the water; it's easy to deal with. I'm asking about the "concentrate." The chemicals.

Thanks for the link. Know anything about the ability of that stuff to dissolve coolant?
I think Seafoam is designed to clean carbon and similar deposits, etc.. Seems to me you're just needing bad contaminants drained out and that can be accomplished thru several OCIs. But hey, B12 or Seafoam is only a few bucks a bottle, so it cannot hurt to try it.
 
Detroit Diesel called for a 50/50 mix of butyl cellosolve(2-butoxyethanol) and motor oil to flush the engine oil loop after coolant contamination.

Seafoam should work, it’s not as volatile as B-12. The glycol and inhibitors will wash off with either.
 
I was taught in tech school to change oil and filter any time that a head was off and then 100 miles after the work was complete. Best way? Who knows but it has worked for me and my instructor that was a tech for decades before teaching.
 
The alcohol portion is what you need. Not sure how bad your contamination was.
It doesn't have a lot of alcohol, but then again it cant have too much for its advertised uses, since alcohol does not lube well.
So Seafoam certainly wont hurt but is not a panacea, I would still do a couple extra oil changes with super short intervals ( use cheap oil obviously)
 
Pretty much everything in coolant is soluble in organic solvents which is what seafoam is. You could also try Berrymans B12.
B12 should only be as a flush added like 15-30minutes before an oil change, idle the car and then drain it, b12 is known for being quite harsh on seals and it's a much stronger cleaner than seafoam and can quickly lift large chunks of sludge and crap.
 
If it were my car after the HG repair I'd change the oil and filter. With cheap oil and a decent filter I'd use B12 for a 15 minute flush and change the oil and filter. I'd fill it again with cheap oil and a decent filter. Run that for 500 miles, dump that and use my favorite oil and filter. Wasteful to some, maybe.
 
I know. I'm not asking how to fix milky oil, I'm asking about the chemical properties of seafoam

I don't care about the water; it's easy to deal with. I'm asking about the "concentrate." The chemicals.

Thanks for the link. Know anything about the ability of that stuff to dissolve coolant?
It is apparent you really don't know what you're asking or talking about here, it seems more like trying to start a contentious discussion of Seafoam rather than actually address the issue - assuming there really is one to start with.

As BMWTurboDzl notes above, change the oil and filter and move on. Trying to solve one mess of a mixture by creating another one is not the solution.
 
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