Quote:
Originally Posted by torqueaddict
Good info. I remember a few guys Seafoaming their DISIs early on. I've always been of the belief that you follow the manufacturer's maintenance schedule and that if it aint broke, don't fix it. Where I'll stray is with engine oils. I'll use full synthetic but that's about it.
I've read both pros and cons regarding Seafoam and it's all hearsay and opinion. Some think it's snake oil and can possibly cause damage. Ohers had positive results like you did. What are your thoughts? Any possible downsides to it?
|
I used seafoam a couple of times as a preventative, so I didn't really see much difference. But then again, that would be the expected outcome on a low mileage engine that you are doing maintenance on.
BUT, my wife's Traverse has close to 90,000 miles on it, and she told me that she tried to start it and it failed to start. She tried a second time, and it started. I tried to reproduce the issue, it started each time, however, it did take a few more cranks before it kicked in than usual. I checked the battery, the starter, the alternator, and they were all fine. I did some research and some folks have had issues with the valves coking because it's a DI engine. I also read that CRC works better than Seafoam, so I though I would give it a try. Worked like a charm. It was a huge improvement on starting (starts right away, big difference), and we (both her and I noticed) that it had more pep to the engine, shifted better, and got better MPGs. It was very noticeable.
That engine had never had any treatment like this before, so I am regretting not doing it as a regular maintenance thing. But, I will now.
Another time, I helped a guy do it to his engine (a Honda something or other with over 150,000 miles), and when we were done, he was very impressed with the results, so who am I to argue.
I am not sure about doing any damage. I doubt that it could. It's just a solvent designed to dissolve the gunk on the backs of the valves. But then again, so is gasoline. In fact, the issue with DI is that you don't have gasoline spraying on the backs of the valves so they don't get cleaned. And if it harmed a bunch of engines, they would get sued eventually and go out of business, stop producing it, or change the formula. The stuff has been around for a long time and many folks swear by it. In my opinion (take that for what it's worth, this is the internet after all), the worst case scenario is that it doesn't work much, so it's a waste of time and money (not much of either though).
So, I'm going to start doing it on my Camaro. I don't think it will hurt, and may prevent future problems.
One other note: I have noticed that you can buy bore-scopes pretty cheap now. I see some that just connect to your laptop by USB for about $10. I may pick one up and scope my engine before/after treatment, to see if there is any need/difference. I like proof rather than intuition.