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Thread: Cel while using Sea Foam

  1. #1

    Arrow Cel while using Sea Foam

    Last weekend i bought a can of Sea Foam which is really good to clean your vacum lines, on my old car i would disconnect a vacum line and turn my engine on so that pressure would suck the liquid into the engine, turn the car of for about 5 minutes, and start it up and take it for a smoky ride. That thing works imidiately and you can see the trail of smoke as you drive it of. Anyway i tried this on my Miata and it triggered three codes for my check engine light (CEL). It cause high circuits in the IAT sensor, spark plug misfire, and mass air temperature... This happened when i turned on the car with the vacumm disconnected.
    I unplugged my battery for about a minute and plugged it back, the codes were gone and the car runs better. I poured the other half of the can straight into my gas tank and the car runs smoother now.
    Anyone ever used Sea Foam on the oil tank? I wanted to do this but i gotta be sure it won't cause any problems. The instructions said it could go in your gas tank, oil tank, and vacumm... my best bet would be to use it about a week before i do my oil change...
    any inputs on this product?
    10/30/06 - 93' black primered MX5 1.6L
    Wiseco Pistons 9:1, Carrillo Rods, ARP head and main bolts, FM valves +1mm and stiffer springs, new lifters, main bearings, cometic head gasket, port and polish head, ready for boost....

  2. #2
    Shallow and Pedantic Majik's Avatar
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    Oil tank? I dont think I would mix that with my oil. Putting it in the intake like you did, and the gas tank means it is going to get burned away in the cylinder. If it is in the oil, what is is going to clean? The oil out from between bearing surfaces? Also, I have sucked it up through the intake like you, and I didnt get any CEL, but if they are staying off dont worry about it.

  3. #3

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    A bunch of us have been using Seafoam for years! It's good Stuff!

    Don't think I'd use it in my crankcase, but that's just me!

  4. #4

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    I get a mis-fire CEL about every other time... No biggie... just means the computer can actually tell what's going on...

    Never put it in the oil, but I'd definitely follow the product recommendations if I did... I think it says to put it in 300 miles before an oil change.

    However, I think you'd get the same results over a couple cycles of Mobil 1.

    I'm sure altiain will have something disparaging to say about odd fluids in the crankcase in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...
    Maybe 4 wheels aren't so bad after all... wickett.org
    It only goes to show when people can no longer discriminate on the grounds of race, religion, or sexual orientation, they can improvise and still find someone to hate. - Dave Moulton

  5. #5
    Obnoxious at any speed altiain's Avatar
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    Yeah, I'm an even bigger fan of using Mobil 1 after this thread comparing Sammm's head at 70k miles with dino oil versus mine at 89k.
    Iain

    "We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw

  6. #6

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    That golden color is normal for dino oil. That being said, I still use Mobile 1. It's a requirement for Turbos
    93 FMII + LOTS MORE
    The Black Mamba

  7. #7

    Thumbs up Nice clean engine!!!

    wow, i've been using penzoil but i think i'll switch to mobil1...
    thats a nice clean engine aitlan, when you take of the cover, do you
    need to torque down the screws to specific numbers or do you just take it
    of and put it on like any other part? I'm curious now to see what mine looks
    like after all the cleaning fluids i've used in the past few weeks.
    10/30/06 - 93' black primered MX5 1.6L
    Wiseco Pistons 9:1, Carrillo Rods, ARP head and main bolts, FM valves +1mm and stiffer springs, new lifters, main bearings, cometic head gasket, port and polish head, ready for boost....

  8. #8
    Obnoxious at any speed altiain's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mouglie
    when you take of the cover, do you
    need to torque down the screws to specific numbers or do you just take it
    of and put it on like any other part?
    There is a specific torque value (a low one, like 14 ft-lbs, iirc), and a specific sequence in which the cam cover bolts are supposed to be torqued. It's posted on this board in a thread somewhere, but I'm afraid I don't have the time to search for it this morning.
    Iain

    "We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw

  9. #9
    Team Cheap Bastard
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    Quote Originally Posted by altiain
    There is a specific torque value (a low one, like 14 ft-lbs, iirc), and a specific sequence in which the cam cover bolts are supposed to be torqued. It's posted on this board in a thread somewhere, but I'm afraid I don't have the time to search for it this morning.
    This will cover it -
    http://www.miata.net/garage/valvecover/index.html

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by sammm
    Yes... it is 43 - 78 inch-lbs. Be careful... TC and I tried to do mine with my foot-pounds torque wrench set to the lowest setting. We stretched a bolt, almost snapping it. Town North didn't have any in stock and it took them a couple weeks to get them in for me.

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