Using Sea Foam the first time with LC/FP

[sifan]

Hello,

My engine of '03 Toyota Echo has 21k miles, and has been using LC/FP for the last 4.5k miles. A Frantz oil bypass filter was installed at odo 14k miles. The M1 5w30 oil along with the full flow oil filter has seen 6k miles of service with the last TP changed at 4k miles ago. PCV valve was replace at odo 11k miles. Air filter was replace at odo 15k miles.

Two days ago I dumped 16 oz of Sea Foam to the fuel tank. This morning I pour 16 oz of Seam Foam thru the power brake vacume hose. There was so much white exhaust as I poured the Sea Foam. I stopped the engine and let it rest for 30 minutes, then I took it out for a spin with several full throttles until no more visible white exhause. Now the check engine light is on the very first time.

My questions are as followed:

1) How do you reset the check engine light?

2) How does Sea Foam causes the check engine light to come on?

3) How effective is LC/FP in keeping the intake manifold free of carbon deposits? Since the engine has oly 21k miles with the use of a oil bypass filter and LC/FP, why was there so much white exhaust (sign of burning carbon)? Was it due to the burning of carbon suspened in the oil by LC? Or there was lots of carbon deposits in the intake manifold that FP is unable to remove in the first place? Ever since using LC/FP I notice the gas mileage going down from 44~45mpg to 41~43mpg.

4) Should I stop using LC/FP and start using Sea Foam regularly? Here is an interesting thread on using Sea Foam:

http://www.f150online.com/forums/archive/topic/147608-1.html

For those long time LC/FP users out there, can you try the Sea Foam on your car/truck and tell me how much white exhaust it generates?

Thanks,

Simon

 

[Rickey]

Regarding the check engine light: If there are no real problems with the engine the light will clear after three consecutive drive cycles. A drive cycle is defined as: start from cold, engine mgt system goes closed loop after warm up and vehicle attains certain speed (normal road speed 30 mph or more I think). Theese conditions have to be met within a certain period of drive time and sustained for a certain period of drive time (normal driving usually satisfies this,not short trips). Any faults during a cycle will cause the process to start over. Hope this helps...Rickey

 

[sifan]

Jeff,

Please read the entire thread I provided in my original post. Not all Sea Foam users get a lot of white exhaust. In that thread one guy got very little even he applied it twice. The white exhaust has to do with burning off carbon.

Would you suggest your customers not to use products like Sea Foam to clean the intake manifold/throttle body providing LC/FP are sufficient to do the job?

Simon

 

[pinoy99]

I don't get it .... only 21k total miles ... vehicle seems to be maintained properly but already doing a flush ...

 

[Bryanccfshr]

With that few miles I don't see the point of doing a seafoam decarb. or a crankcase flush. especially if he is already using the LC/FP. Sounds a little obsessive compulsive and he is overtreating the motor.

The PCV system does pollute the intake manifold with some oily deposits and that is what the seafoam is cleaning up. But I believe the use of LC/FP may reduce the amount of such deposits by treating the PCV system as well. THe flashed of LC and FP that get's into the crankcase will travel the same routes as the rest of the fuel blowby and flashed of crankcase vapors.

The Seafoam treatment through the manifold will foul plugs. I believe that is the cause of the CE light. The treatment should be followed by an oilchange and a plug change. but I wouldn't even think about it until it is time to replace the plugs anyway. At that low mileage the buildup is not significant enough to impact performance. Besides it is not as effective as a good Throttle body cleaner anyway. I do think Seafoam is a miracle for my lawn equipment though.

 

[sifan]

A mechanic told me that the throttle body should be cleaned every 15k miles to remove carbon deposits. This is my first effort in carbon removal for my car. I will clean the TB this weekend. It is all about preventive maintenance.

From an Echo forum I learn that I can reset the check engine light by pulling out a fuse inside the fuse box in the engine bay. I will first drive the car to see if the light will go off by itself. Disconnecting the battery will also reset the trip odometers (there are two of them), which are used to calculate gas mileage and to track the number of miles on the TP in the bypass filter. This will be my last resort. Thanks for your input.

 

[sifan]

I try LC/FP thinking they will keep my engine free of carbon deposits, so, I do not have to use products like Sea Foam or other TB cleaner. With 5% drop in gas mileage I am having doubt in their effectiveness. At odo 18k miles my engine began to ping a lot. FP only slightly reduced the pinging. It turned out the real culprit was dirty MAF sensor, which caused one bank of cylinders burning hotter than the other. Once I cleaned it, all pinging simply disappeared.

Many members of this forum have good opinions on LC/FP. However, my experience tells me otherwise. My car, like many other members', prefers certain brand of gas but not the other. Maybe my car's oxygen sensor does not like LC/FP. I am not here to bash LC/FP, but just want to hear the more balanced opinions from this forum on LC/FP.

 

[LCD]

sifan,

All I meant was we feel LC and FP is all you need to keep carbon build up in check. Reasons for your mileage dropping could be due to many factors such as weather, different gas in winter months, driving conditions/habits, many other factors within a car. Perhaps LC/FP are working hard to clean things up and this has caused the drop.

Also, FP and LC would not harm the O2 sensor. I realize I am biased, but these products have been in use since atleast the 1950's and there is truly nothing like them. No other product dissolves carbon the way these 2 products do. It has been seen and tested, it is not just theory.

 

[darkdan]

I've used seafoam many times (before I ordered FP).

I believe the amount of smoke depends on the amount of seafoam used.

I also believe the color of the smoke depends on how much carbon was/is present.

The first time I seafoamed my car it was dark gray smoke. Then after that it was white. Same thing with my other car and my dad's car.

When I used to use almost a whole can there was plenty of smoke. Then I cut it back to 1 oz per cylinder (so half a pint for a V8) I noticed a lot less smoke.

 

[Bryanccfshr]

Sifan,
The first thing I would check with a pronounced change in mileage, if it is indeed significant, would be the fuel filter. Change it. You could have gotten a bad batch of fuel, it only takes one tank of it. Toyota says there fuel filters never need replaced, do not believe it, they are usually the culprit when milage suddenly goes to crap.

 

[Bryanccfshr]

Also with all the cleaners you are shocking the system with you could have dislodged enough debris in the tank to clog the filter. Be gentle with the chemicals.

 

[road_rascal]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Bryanccfshr:
The Seafoam treatment through the manifold will foul plugs. I believe that is the cause of the CE light. The treatment should be followed by an oilchange and a plug change. but I wouldn't even think about it until it is time to replace the plugs anyway. At that low mileage the buildup is not significant enough to impact performance. Besides it is not as effective as a good Throttle body cleaner anyway. I do think Seafoam is a miracle for my lawn equipment though.

---

Not necessarily true. I use Seafoam through the intake in my '99 24V Taurus as the secondaries are notorious for getting carboned up due to poor engineering. I've never had a plug get fouled. The check engine light comes on in my car due to the comp detecting a cylinder misfire when I'm injecting the Seafoam. It either goes away after a few drive cycles or I force it off using my Equus 3100.

 

[Bryanccfshr]

quote:

---

Originally posted by road_rascal:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Bryanccfshr:
The Seafoam treatment through the manifold will foul plugs. I believe that is the cause of the CE light. The treatment should be followed by an oilchange and a plug change. but I wouldn't even think about it until it is time to replace the plugs anyway. At that low mileage the buildup is not significant enough to impact performance. Besides it is not as effective as a good Throttle body cleaner anyway. I do think Seafoam is a miracle for my lawn equipment though.

---

Not necessarily true. I use Seafoam through the intake in my '99 24V Taurus as the secondaries are notorious for getting carboned up due to poor engineering. I've never had a plug get fouled. The check engine light comes on in my car due to the comp detecting a cylinder misfire when I'm injecting the Seafoam. It either goes away after a few drive cycles or I force it off using my Equus 3100.

---

Pardon my symantic mistake. I should have said, May, or likelyhood to foul plugs. When you wash carbon out of the intake and into the CC that is an inherent risk. If your plugs don't foul then that is beneficial but I would not assume it to be the rule. I have heard this treatment had benefited many, I am not knocking it, I am just stating that I don't believe it to be without side effects.

 

[Sparkman]

The first time I seafoamed my XJ I got a MIL, and it was the result of a misfire code. It ran really rough with the seafoam in the engine, so the PCM detecting a misfire didn't surprise me a bit. I cleared it and it never came back. I didn't get a MIL the second time I seafoamed it.

 

[Shaman]

IN MY OPINION, I have seen more good come from Seafoam than Fuel Power. It made my F-150 purred like a kitten after seafoam. On the other hand, in another car, with similar mileage, i have seen nothing to benefit the vehicle except 1 mpg that might or might not be attributed to FP. This is apples to oranges, but basically, i bought FP and LC on recommendation, and either have a car that is too clean to be cleaned, or my car is not getting cleaned.

 

[phenomic]

Mine threw a lot of codes when i ran it. It ran rough for the rest of the day and the next time i turned it on, it was great. I got misfires and some error codes for a few days and just kept clearing them. I havent gotten since, i think its out of the system. I put some in my crankcase and it does remove moisture as promised. I used to always have condensation on my cap but i checked it after iwas running the car and didnt see any moisture on the cap. I guess it did something.

 

[Jackpot01]

As for your check engine light, I had a similar problem when I added Sea Foam thru the brake booster on my mom's Monte Carlo. Most likely what happened was that it didnt spark in one of the cylinders when it was smoking real bad. Thats what happened to me. The car ran fine, I took it to my mechanic and he reset the check engine light. Usually you can pull the negative battery terminal for about 10 mins and put it back on and it will reset the light. With my mom's GM it didnt do that, so thats why I had to goto the mechanic. Good Luck

Eric

 

[LCD]

Just a quick note on the white smoke. I highly doubt it is a result of carbon being burned. More likey just the chemicals in the product create this white smoke as it is immediate.

I'll let other unbiased members comment on the other questions, but yes LC/FP will greatly reduce carbon and varnish from all parts of your fuel system and crankcase.

Jeff

 

[uconn1150]

Depending on the ECU, it may reset itself. It did both on a Saturn and a Honda. If after a couple of days, the light doesn't turn off, try disconnecting the battery.

Some people also use tranny fluid (auto), neutra, and even water to clean the CC.

And yes, it will smoke like you are spraying for skeeters!

 

[sifan]

My engine did misfire which caused the engine light to come on. The engine ran crappy initially and slowly becomes smoother as the onboard computer and oxygen sensor continue their adjustments. After the third engine start the check engine light did go off by itself.

I though I needed to replace the plugs because the engine was running very rough. So, I went to a Toyota dealer last Saturday to get some plugs. The guy at the parts counter told me there was no need for that, just let the computer and oxygen sensor do their work. When I started the engine in the parking lot, I noticed the check engine light did not come up.

Prior the Sea Foam treatment to the fuel tank and intake manifold the engine oil had a slight brown color. Now the oil looks even cleaner which has a golden color like that of brand new oil. I just can not figure this one out. Does Sea Foam have the ability to disolve carbon like LC, too? Will Sea Foam treatment thin out the engine oil such that an oil change is required?