SeaFoam Engine Cleaning Results - Moderated Discussion Areas

  ContinuousWave
  Whaler
  Moderated Discussion Areas
  ContinuousWave: Whaler Performance
  SeaFoam Engine Cleaning Results

search | FAQ | profile | register | author help

Author Topic:   SeaFoam Engine Cleaning Results

deepwater posted 03-09-2006 05:15 PM ET (US)
I heard all you guys rant and rave about SeaFoam. Is my through-hub exhaust supposed to look like some weird road kill? It is all air compressor yucked up. The smoke was kinda neat.
PeteB88 posted 03-09-2006 06:58 PM ET (US)
Sounds like it worked. Sal D is the SeaFoam guru. I use it in every tank and have done the de-carb to my Yamaha. Gunk and smoke. I have talked to the dudes at the factory [Yamaha or SeaFoam?] and they are very cool.
deepwater posted 03-10-2006 08:45 PM ET (US)
OK. But I'm tellin' ya, the through-hub exhaust looks like a camel sneezed in it.
PeteB88 posted 03-11-2006 12:42 AM ET (US)
Did you take a picture? I laid cardboard down under the motor when I decarbed it with SeaFoam following Sal's procedure to the letter. When I fired up the compressor to blow it out, lots of black and brown crud came out of the exhaust, but not copious amounts.
I think you need to ask Sal. He is the guru of de-carb.
gss036 posted 03-11-2006 01:38 AM ET (US)
We are talking two-stoke engine here, right? Maybe you should do it again. Not sure how you did it. I use about 3/4 -gallon of gas, 3-oz. TCW-3, and a 16-oz. can of SeaFoam. I run the motor for about 15 minutes at idle and then let it sit for 30-45 minutes, fire it up again and repeat the process. I usually get about three 15-minute runs at idle on the small tank. My gunk usually comes out black and you don't want it to be on cement. If you are getting milky color junk, I would think that your exhaust tube had a lot of sludge in it.
deepwater posted 03-11-2006 01:00 PM ET (US)
I used one full can of SeaFoam [size?] to three gallons of last year's stabilized gas. I ran the motor for about 10 minutes. Lots of smoke. I let it set for about 15 minutes and repeated. Ten minutes of running, set for 15, and run 10. I let it set over night until I got off work. There was lots of black yuck on my plywood drip pad. It looked normal. I have always had black yuck from my hub and down my skeg after a trip. I started the motor again,lots of smoke for 15 minutes, and let it set for five minutes and re-started two more times. OK. I am done by now. I think. That's when I noticed the gray-scrapple-peanut-butter-camel-sneeze hub plug. I did not go in to any high RPM, and the water always looked good. The heads only felt very warm. I had just never seen anything in my hub like that before.
gss036 posted 03-11-2006 02:53 PM ET (US)
Sounds like you are ok. I would watch the exhaust the next time out. It sounds as though you are seeing sludge from the exhaust tube. I just don't think you get as good a cleaning by mixing 3 gals of gas w/1 can of SeaFoam. You have the process right though.
deepwater posted 03-11-2006 08:10 PM ET (US)
I have been using OMC System-Matched [cleaner] in an aerosol can for years. It screws on to a [Schrader] valve above my carburetors. I got fogging oil, de-carbonizer, and tuner. I heard good things from you guys, so I got some [SeaFoam]. I'm guessing maybe [SeaFoam] is doing a better job than the OMC stuff, and it is cleaning out 17 years of yuck. I got pic
davej14 posted 03-11-2006 09:09 PM ET (US)
That is really ugly.
SpeedBump posted 03-12-2006 09:29 AM ET (US)
Shouldn't you be doing this with your prop off?
jimh posted 03-12-2006 11:04 AM ET (US)
Removing the propeller--good suggestion!
PeteB88 posted 03-12-2006 12:16 PM ET (US)
Man, I thought that was a wheel bearing!!
deepwater posted 03-12-2006 05:47 PM ET (US)
man Pete88 your right ^@^ and i'm glad its not. i only take the prop off once a year and that's to grease the splines and check for nicks and check the lower unit lube.the omc de-carbonizer in a can only made lots of smoke and black drips after it sat overnight, I'm going to take her for a run this mid week and burn off some gas on the choptank river so i can replace the gas lines with 3/8 SS tubing,
PeteB88 posted 03-13-2006 10:33 AM ET (US)
I found it!
Sal's Decarb Procedure - - http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/007656.html
Thanks Sal!
Buckda posted 03-13-2006 07:43 PM ET (US)
http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/007656.html
I would think that after all that sludge came out of your engine, you'd be experiencing some pretty profound improvements in your motor's operation - either from a smoke perspective or performance...or both!
Wow.
zotcha posted 03-14-2006 09:21 AM ET (US)
I recently used OMC Engine Tuner for de-carbonizing, for the first time. Followed instructions to the T. 1999 Johnson 175 (carbed) with 106 hours. Let product sit for three hours fired up and NO SMOKE and NO MESS! Could not believe it. Used less than half can via schreader valve located behind air box. Have pics of plugs before and after. Not satisfied, repeated the whole procedure and let sit for 24 hours. Fired up again and ran for 30 minutes. Same results. Plugs did not look TOO bad so I figured I'd use them for the first hard run. Ran boat for a couple of hours and was noticing she was running very well, until I tried to run WOT for a minute or two. WOT was 4600, exactly 1000 below normal. Brought it back to the boathouse expecting to find a wire poorly secured or one really clean plug. Not the case. Next move, replace with six new plugs and run her again. No other variables added. Any ideas? Thanks. zot.
gss036 posted 03-14-2006 03:50 PM ET (US)
Zot, I would suspect fuel, some small amount of grit/dirt in a carb loosended up. Maybe run a bottle of Techron/SeaFoam cleaner through the engine from a small tank, 5/6 gal gas. Maybe that will disolve the crud that came loose in the carb. Check the schrader valve to make sure it reseated proper and not leaking.
Be cautious you don't have one lean cylinder, you could hole a piston.
deepwater posted 03-14-2006 04:29 PM ET (US)
Like i said i used the OMC stuff for years/ every year and never saw the stuff I'm seeing now, i was hoping to run her on the river and blow it out at about 19mph ,that's just above my planing speed,, but the work schedule changed today, and I'm on it and rain /snow for Thursday so maybe Friday,, and i just re read sals post on decarbing and will follow it next time ,, also i pored the rest of the sea foam mix in to my tank for the first run of the year,
sail16 posted 03-14-2006 05:18 PM ET (US)
Is it possible that the 'crud' you're seeing is just the burned SeaFoam and not carbon from the engine?
vkr posted 03-14-2006 07:04 PM ET (US)
Zotcha, Be careful with your loss in power situation. gss036 may be correct with his diagnosis of your situation. Possibly, one of your jets are clogged. I believe you have to be careful that you don't continue to run with what could be a lean situation in one of your cylinders. My understanding is that this could lead to cylinder wall damage as a result of not getting enough lubrication in the cylinder. The other cylinders are doing most of the work and being lubed properly. However, the poorly fueled cylinder continues to go through the motions with insufficient lubrication.
I'm certainly not an expert on this, and possibly someone else can chime in with more accurate details. I just want to caution you to hopefully prevent any damage.
vkr posted 03-14-2006 07:04 PM ET (US)
Zotcha, Be careful with your loss in power situation. gss036 may be correct with his diagnosis of your situation. Possibly, one of your jets are clogged. I believe you have to be careful that you don't continue to run with what could be a lean situation in one of your cylinders. My understanding is that this could lead to cylinder wall damage as a result of not getting enough lubrication in the cylinder. The other cylinders are doing most of the work and being lubed properly. However, the poorly fueled cylinder continues to go through the motions with insufficient lubrication.
I'm certainly not an expert on this, and possibly someone else can chime in with more accurate details. I just want to caution you to hopefully prevent any damage.
LHG posted 03-14-2006 07:20 PM ET (US)
I think Sail 16 may have hit on this particular marketing gimmick. There are tons of "marine store" gimmicks like this on the market, and this seems like one of them. Why would anybody put something in your engine that looks like that crud.
Why do we give the engine manufacturers so little credit, and think that some operation like this can invent something that cleans their engines better than what their research people come up with. Kind of like all these plane-off fins on the anti-ventilation plate.
All of the engine manufacturers have their own anti-carbon and carb cleaning products, they all work exceptionally well, and none of them put on a show like this.
If you think your engine is all carboned up, use Mercury QuickClean or Yamaha Ring Free, or the BRP product, or plain Techron. I know it works, because I have seen inside the cylinders of my 2-stroke engines at routine head gasket replacement time, and the cylinders and piston were like new
deepwater posted 03-14-2006 08:19 PM ET (US)
sail16,,well it was dark and foamy with black stuff mixed in and i only used about 1 1/2 gal out of the 3 gal i started with, if it is all the yuck of 16 years of use/non use,i should feel a difference as my back pressure should be less and let the motor breath out better and pull in easer,could it have been the Sea Foam ,, i sure hope so,,it went in like water and came out like yuck,, could it be buy this better stuff hype ? yep it could ,, but none of the manufactures have come forward and said if you use Sea Foam we will not cover your motor , or any other cleaner for that mater ,, some do work better than factory,and some don't work at all ,but anything that works to keep your motor running as good as new for longer is Not In The Best Interest Of The Manufacturer, if it don't wear out or break, they don't sell many more
Sal DiMercurio posted 03-15-2006 05:54 PM ET (US)
Deepwater, I'd do it again because thats alotta crud coming outta the exhaust.
I guarantee that isn't seafoam residue, it's carbon & exhaust buildup.
Be glad it came out.
Would you feel better if it was still in your engine?
I prefer to allow the solution [ either seafoam or engine makers solution ] to set over night, with the engine in the full tilt position so the engine is horrizontal & not turned to one side.
Do it again & you will see less smoke & most of that crap will be gone because the de-carb solution has turned the hard carbon & exhaust sludge to liquid & it's on it's way outta your engine.
You "WILL" notice the difference in performance.
I was never a believer of a mechanic in a can until de-carb solution came into my world, now I use it in all my engines.
Just remember, do "NOT" over rev your 2 stroke past 1500 rpms in neutral,thinking your blowing out the carbon because all your doing is risking harm to your engine.
Sal
bsmotril posted 03-15-2006 09:26 PM ET (US)
Seafoam is not crud, and it has been around longer than the Mercury or Yamaha decarbon products. It has a long history of use on motorcycles, autos, and aircraft engines for de-carboning. Treating every 50-100 hrs with Seafoam is also a lot less expensive than running the fuel additives on an ongoing basis. The gunk you see in the prop hub are dissolved oil and carbon deposits from the exhuast housing leg mixed with the seafoam that did not burn. When you run it through an auto or 4 stroke motorcycle motor, you don't get those deposits because their exhaust is not coated inside with unburned two stroke oil crud. BillS
JMR posted 03-15-2006 10:37 PM ET (US)
I plan a decarb on well-maintained carb 2-strokes this Spring and I find the discussion very frustrating because most of it is anecdotal. I looked at the site 'boatsetupcom' and in particular the reports of "Rowdy" as to the decarb for a carborated 2-stroke:
http://www.boatsetup.com
http://www.boatsetup.com/Decarb_Carb.html
Is this a joke that one needs a can of the usual OMC-Engine-Tuner/Brand-X-Decarb per cylinder and literally hours of work? Why the express rejection of use of the Schraeder valve which is what I have?

deepwater posted 03-16-2006 07:29 AM ET (US)
the schrader valve as i just found out its name is used for fogging an engine as well ,,i'm wondering if the valve core can be removed and something made up to be able to run sea foam/gas through it, i wonder if there is any suction at the valve? ,i have an empty can of omc decarb ,,ill try and rig it to a 3 gal gas can with sea foam /gas mix
deepwater posted 03-16-2006 03:39 PM ET (US)
well the can wasn't empty so i used it up, as per instructions and lots of smoke and 2x the gray camel sneeze stuff no black carbon ,,i did remove the valve stem and it looks like it would be better left in ,, the tube that affixes to the schrader valve has a small tip inside the threaded cap ,,this depresses the valve stem and allows the pressurized cleaner to enter the carbs by some very small tubing,,i found some small aquarium valves made of bronze and have a twist valve to control the amount of air to an aquarium ,, i guess it would be the same with a liquid,,,maybe slower, can you use just sea foam and no gas ? the motor will be running from the main tank with gas oil mix.
gss036 posted 03-16-2006 04:19 PM ET (US)
I would suggest that you use a can of Seafoam "DEEPCREEP" (same product) which comes in a spray can, spray into the spark plug holes and it will clean the rings/top of piston and hopefully get the camel snneze out of your exhaust.
I had a small 2 stroke motor cycle exhaust so gunked up I had to punch a rod through it. That was because I had the oil turned up way high for the kids so they would not burn up the engine, but all that excess oil had to go somewhere.
On regular vehicles, most people will pull the vaccum hose from the brake booster and suck and whole can of SeaFoam into the upper end of the 4 stroke engines. That really puts out a lot of white smoke, you don't want anyone behind you when you drive down the street.
Have you had a chance to run the engine out on the water yet?
deepwater posted 03-16-2006 04:32 PM ET (US)
haven't run her yet ,,winds around here have been too gusty and just too cool for me to get out on the water and with snow flurries after midnight tonight, i cant say my motor sounds any different but ill know in about an hour out if its running better ,, i have several no wake zones to get past before i can open her up its a nice warm up area ,,after that the water is very well protected and has several long strait stretches well over 1/2 mile with some kiss your ass turns at the end ,than some more nice long runs ,my GPS should tell me ^@^
Sal DiMercurio posted 03-16-2006 09:56 PM ET (US)
If you use sea foam you have to put it into a chemical proof hand sprayer because it comes in an un-pressurized can & just pores out.
Deep Creep "IS" sea foam in a pressurized can but 4oz less than the sea foam can & more expensive.
I have found it's best to remove the carb or air covers [ injected engines ] & spray it in while at idle, than remove the spark plugs & spray another can into the cylinders,....one can is enough for all the cylinders, "NOT" one can per cylinder.
Let the engine set overnight, it wont hurt a thing.
Who ever wrote that method of multiple cans dosen't have the slightest idea of what he's doing.....1-1/2 cans is plenty for a V6 engine & 2 full cans wont hurt a thing.
Sal
Sal DiMercurio posted 03-18-2006 12:19 PM ET (US)
Forgot to mention.
If your de-carbing a FICHT engine,...."DO NOT" use the screw on type of de-carb can that attaches to the shroeder valve because that valve is only used to check fuel pump pressure, "NOT" for anything else.
Sal
deepwater posted 03-18-2006 05:51 PM ET (US)
ok thanks
efduffer posted 03-19-2006 10:50 AM ET (US)
A good de-carb procedure and discussion can be found here. [Removed link to another website and its recommendations on how to use decarbon solvent. This procedure is quite radical and I don't endorse it.--jimh.]
deepwater posted 03-21-2006 12:25 AM ET (US)
well its not going to be pretty,, snow and freezing rain again for today and tomorrow is my day off ,i got another can of Sea Foam and i think if i ever get my boat wet ^@^ ill add it to my tank at around 6 gal for the return trip back up the choptank, than drain whats left in to a small tank for decarbing this fall than start with all fresh fuel for mackerel and shark this April
deepwater posted 03-29-2006 03:29 PM ET (US)
i just got back from my first run of the year and the motor sounded great,,and i picked up 3 mph from last year according to my not so accurate but consistent depth finder,, Sea Foam has a new home with me ^@^

Hop to:

Contact Us | RETURN to ContinuousWave Top Page

Powered by: Ultimate Bulletin Board, Freeware Version 2000
Purchase our Licensed Version- which adds many more features!
© Infopop Corporation (formerly Madrona Park, Inc.), 1998 - 2000.

Author	Topic: SeaFoam Engine Cleaning Results
deepwater	posted 03-09-2006 05:15 PM ET (US) I heard all you guys rant and rave about SeaFoam. Is my through-hub exhaust supposed to look like some weird road kill? It is all air compressor yucked up. The smoke was kinda neat.
PeteB88	posted 03-09-2006 06:58 PM ET (US) Sounds like it worked. Sal D is the SeaFoam guru. I use it in every tank and have done the de-carb to my Yamaha. Gunk and smoke. I have talked to the dudes at the factory [Yamaha or SeaFoam?] and they are very cool.
deepwater	posted 03-10-2006 08:45 PM ET (US) OK. But I'm tellin' ya, the through-hub exhaust looks like a camel sneezed in it.
PeteB88	posted 03-11-2006 12:42 AM ET (US) Did you take a picture? I laid cardboard down under the motor when I decarbed it with SeaFoam following Sal's procedure to the letter. When I fired up the compressor to blow it out, lots of black and brown crud came out of the exhaust, but not copious amounts. I think you need to ask Sal. He is the guru of de-carb.
gss036	posted 03-11-2006 01:38 AM ET (US) We are talking two-stoke engine here, right? Maybe you should do it again. Not sure how you did it. I use about 3/4 -gallon of gas, 3-oz. TCW-3, and a 16-oz. can of SeaFoam. I run the motor for about 15 minutes at idle and then let it sit for 30-45 minutes, fire it up again and repeat the process. I usually get about three 15-minute runs at idle on the small tank. My gunk usually comes out black and you don't want it to be on cement. If you are getting milky color junk, I would think that your exhaust tube had a lot of sludge in it.
deepwater	posted 03-11-2006 01:00 PM ET (US) I used one full can of SeaFoam [size?] to three gallons of last year's stabilized gas. I ran the motor for about 10 minutes. Lots of smoke. I let it set for about 15 minutes and repeated. Ten minutes of running, set for 15, and run 10. I let it set over night until I got off work. There was lots of black yuck on my plywood drip pad. It looked normal. I have always had black yuck from my hub and down my skeg after a trip. I started the motor again,lots of smoke for 15 minutes, and let it set for five minutes and re-started two more times. OK. I am done by now. I think. That's when I noticed the gray-scrapple-peanut-butter-camel-sneeze hub plug. I did not go in to any high RPM, and the water always looked good. The heads only felt very warm. I had just never seen anything in my hub like that before.
gss036	posted 03-11-2006 02:53 PM ET (US) Sounds like you are ok. I would watch the exhaust the next time out. It sounds as though you are seeing sludge from the exhaust tube. I just don't think you get as good a cleaning by mixing 3 gals of gas w/1 can of SeaFoam. You have the process right though.
deepwater	posted 03-11-2006 08:10 PM ET (US) I have been using OMC System-Matched [cleaner] in an aerosol can for years. It screws on to a [Schrader] valve above my carburetors. I got fogging oil, de-carbonizer, and tuner. I heard good things from you guys, so I got some [SeaFoam]. I'm guessing maybe [SeaFoam] is doing a better job than the OMC stuff, and it is cleaning out 17 years of yuck. I got pic
davej14	posted 03-11-2006 09:09 PM ET (US) That is really ugly.
SpeedBump	posted 03-12-2006 09:29 AM ET (US) Shouldn't you be doing this with your prop off?
jimh	posted 03-12-2006 11:04 AM ET (US) Removing the propeller--good suggestion!
PeteB88	posted 03-12-2006 12:16 PM ET (US) Man, I thought that was a wheel bearing!!
deepwater	posted 03-12-2006 05:47 PM ET (US) man Pete88 your right ^@^ and i'm glad its not. i only take the prop off once a year and that's to grease the splines and check for nicks and check the lower unit lube.the omc de-carbonizer in a can only made lots of smoke and black drips after it sat overnight, I'm going to take her for a run this mid week and burn off some gas on the choptank river so i can replace the gas lines with 3/8 SS tubing,
PeteB88	posted 03-13-2006 10:33 AM ET (US) I found it! Sal's Decarb Procedure - - http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/007656.html Thanks Sal!
Buckda	posted 03-13-2006 07:43 PM ET (US) http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/007656.html I would think that after all that sludge came out of your engine, you'd be experiencing some pretty profound improvements in your motor's operation - either from a smoke perspective or performance...or both! Wow.
zotcha	posted 03-14-2006 09:21 AM ET (US) I recently used OMC Engine Tuner for de-carbonizing, for the first time. Followed instructions to the T. 1999 Johnson 175 (carbed) with 106 hours. Let product sit for three hours fired up and NO SMOKE and NO MESS! Could not believe it. Used less than half can via schreader valve located behind air box. Have pics of plugs before and after. Not satisfied, repeated the whole procedure and let sit for 24 hours. Fired up again and ran for 30 minutes. Same results. Plugs did not look TOO bad so I figured I'd use them for the first hard run. Ran boat for a couple of hours and was noticing she was running very well, until I tried to run WOT for a minute or two. WOT was 4600, exactly 1000 below normal. Brought it back to the boathouse expecting to find a wire poorly secured or one really clean plug. Not the case. Next move, replace with six new plugs and run her again. No other variables added. Any ideas? Thanks. zot.
gss036	posted 03-14-2006 03:50 PM ET (US) Zot, I would suspect fuel, some small amount of grit/dirt in a carb loosended up. Maybe run a bottle of Techron/SeaFoam cleaner through the engine from a small tank, 5/6 gal gas. Maybe that will disolve the crud that came loose in the carb. Check the schrader valve to make sure it reseated proper and not leaking. Be cautious you don't have one lean cylinder, you could hole a piston.
deepwater	posted 03-14-2006 04:29 PM ET (US) Like i said i used the OMC stuff for years/ every year and never saw the stuff I'm seeing now, i was hoping to run her on the river and blow it out at about 19mph ,that's just above my planing speed,, but the work schedule changed today, and I'm on it and rain /snow for Thursday so maybe Friday,, and i just re read sals post on decarbing and will follow it next time ,, also i pored the rest of the sea foam mix in to my tank for the first run of the year,
sail16	posted 03-14-2006 05:18 PM ET (US) Is it possible that the 'crud' you're seeing is just the burned SeaFoam and not carbon from the engine?
vkr	posted 03-14-2006 07:04 PM ET (US) Zotcha, Be careful with your loss in power situation. gss036 may be correct with his diagnosis of your situation. Possibly, one of your jets are clogged. I believe you have to be careful that you don't continue to run with what could be a lean situation in one of your cylinders. My understanding is that this could lead to cylinder wall damage as a result of not getting enough lubrication in the cylinder. The other cylinders are doing most of the work and being lubed properly. However, the poorly fueled cylinder continues to go through the motions with insufficient lubrication. I'm certainly not an expert on this, and possibly someone else can chime in with more accurate details. I just want to caution you to hopefully prevent any damage.
vkr	posted 03-14-2006 07:04 PM ET (US) Zotcha, Be careful with your loss in power situation. gss036 may be correct with his diagnosis of your situation. Possibly, one of your jets are clogged. I believe you have to be careful that you don't continue to run with what could be a lean situation in one of your cylinders. My understanding is that this could lead to cylinder wall damage as a result of not getting enough lubrication in the cylinder. The other cylinders are doing most of the work and being lubed properly. However, the poorly fueled cylinder continues to go through the motions with insufficient lubrication. I'm certainly not an expert on this, and possibly someone else can chime in with more accurate details. I just want to caution you to hopefully prevent any damage.
LHG	posted 03-14-2006 07:20 PM ET (US) I think Sail 16 may have hit on this particular marketing gimmick. There are tons of "marine store" gimmicks like this on the market, and this seems like one of them. Why would anybody put something in your engine that looks like that crud. Why do we give the engine manufacturers so little credit, and think that some operation like this can invent something that cleans their engines better than what their research people come up with. Kind of like all these plane-off fins on the anti-ventilation plate. All of the engine manufacturers have their own anti-carbon and carb cleaning products, they all work exceptionally well, and none of them put on a show like this. If you think your engine is all carboned up, use Mercury QuickClean or Yamaha Ring Free, or the BRP product, or plain Techron. I know it works, because I have seen inside the cylinders of my 2-stroke engines at routine head gasket replacement time, and the cylinders and piston were like new
deepwater	posted 03-14-2006 08:19 PM ET (US) sail16,,well it was dark and foamy with black stuff mixed in and i only used about 1 1/2 gal out of the 3 gal i started with, if it is all the yuck of 16 years of use/non use,i should feel a difference as my back pressure should be less and let the motor breath out better and pull in easer,could it have been the Sea Foam ,, i sure hope so,,it went in like water and came out like yuck,, could it be buy this better stuff hype ? yep it could ,, but none of the manufactures have come forward and said if you use Sea Foam we will not cover your motor , or any other cleaner for that mater ,, some do work better than factory,and some don't work at all ,but anything that works to keep your motor running as good as new for longer is Not In The Best Interest Of The Manufacturer, if it don't wear out or break, they don't sell many more
Sal DiMercurio	posted 03-15-2006 05:54 PM ET (US) Deepwater, I'd do it again because thats alotta crud coming outta the exhaust. I guarantee that isn't seafoam residue, it's carbon & exhaust buildup. Be glad it came out. Would you feel better if it was still in your engine? I prefer to allow the solution [ either seafoam or engine makers solution ] to set over night, with the engine in the full tilt position so the engine is horrizontal & not turned to one side. Do it again & you will see less smoke & most of that crap will be gone because the de-carb solution has turned the hard carbon & exhaust sludge to liquid & it's on it's way outta your engine. You "WILL" notice the difference in performance. I was never a believer of a mechanic in a can until de-carb solution came into my world, now I use it in all my engines. Just remember, do "NOT" over rev your 2 stroke past 1500 rpms in neutral,thinking your blowing out the carbon because all your doing is risking harm to your engine. Sal
bsmotril	posted 03-15-2006 09:26 PM ET (US) Seafoam is not crud, and it has been around longer than the Mercury or Yamaha decarbon products. It has a long history of use on motorcycles, autos, and aircraft engines for de-carboning. Treating every 50-100 hrs with Seafoam is also a lot less expensive than running the fuel additives on an ongoing basis. The gunk you see in the prop hub are dissolved oil and carbon deposits from the exhuast housing leg mixed with the seafoam that did not burn. When you run it through an auto or 4 stroke motorcycle motor, you don't get those deposits because their exhaust is not coated inside with unburned two stroke oil crud. BillS
JMR	posted 03-15-2006 10:37 PM ET (US) I plan a decarb on well-maintained carb 2-strokes this Spring and I find the discussion very frustrating because most of it is anecdotal. I looked at the site 'boatsetupcom' and in particular the reports of "Rowdy" as to the decarb for a carborated 2-stroke: http://www.boatsetup.com http://www.boatsetup.com/Decarb_Carb.html Is this a joke that one needs a can of the usual OMC-Engine-Tuner/Brand-X-Decarb per cylinder and literally hours of work? Why the express rejection of use of the Schraeder valve which is what I have?
deepwater	posted 03-16-2006 07:29 AM ET (US) the schrader valve as i just found out its name is used for fogging an engine as well ,,i'm wondering if the valve core can be removed and something made up to be able to run sea foam/gas through it, i wonder if there is any suction at the valve? ,i have an empty can of omc decarb ,,ill try and rig it to a 3 gal gas can with sea foam /gas mix
deepwater	posted 03-16-2006 03:39 PM ET (US) well the can wasn't empty so i used it up, as per instructions and lots of smoke and 2x the gray camel sneeze stuff no black carbon ,,i did remove the valve stem and it looks like it would be better left in ,, the tube that affixes to the schrader valve has a small tip inside the threaded cap ,,this depresses the valve stem and allows the pressurized cleaner to enter the carbs by some very small tubing,,i found some small aquarium valves made of bronze and have a twist valve to control the amount of air to an aquarium ,, i guess it would be the same with a liquid,,,maybe slower, can you use just sea foam and no gas ? the motor will be running from the main tank with gas oil mix.
gss036	posted 03-16-2006 04:19 PM ET (US) I would suggest that you use a can of Seafoam "DEEPCREEP" (same product) which comes in a spray can, spray into the spark plug holes and it will clean the rings/top of piston and hopefully get the camel snneze out of your exhaust. I had a small 2 stroke motor cycle exhaust so gunked up I had to punch a rod through it. That was because I had the oil turned up way high for the kids so they would not burn up the engine, but all that excess oil had to go somewhere. On regular vehicles, most people will pull the vaccum hose from the brake booster and suck and whole can of SeaFoam into the upper end of the 4 stroke engines. That really puts out a lot of white smoke, you don't want anyone behind you when you drive down the street. Have you had a chance to run the engine out on the water yet?
deepwater	posted 03-16-2006 04:32 PM ET (US) haven't run her yet ,,winds around here have been too gusty and just too cool for me to get out on the water and with snow flurries after midnight tonight, i cant say my motor sounds any different but ill know in about an hour out if its running better ,, i have several no wake zones to get past before i can open her up its a nice warm up area ,,after that the water is very well protected and has several long strait stretches well over 1/2 mile with some kiss your ass turns at the end ,than some more nice long runs ,my GPS should tell me ^@^
Sal DiMercurio	posted 03-16-2006 09:56 PM ET (US) If you use sea foam you have to put it into a chemical proof hand sprayer because it comes in an un-pressurized can & just pores out. Deep Creep "IS" sea foam in a pressurized can but 4oz less than the sea foam can & more expensive. I have found it's best to remove the carb or air covers [ injected engines ] & spray it in while at idle, than remove the spark plugs & spray another can into the cylinders,....one can is enough for all the cylinders, "NOT" one can per cylinder. Let the engine set overnight, it wont hurt a thing. Who ever wrote that method of multiple cans dosen't have the slightest idea of what he's doing.....1-1/2 cans is plenty for a V6 engine & 2 full cans wont hurt a thing. Sal
Sal DiMercurio	posted 03-18-2006 12:19 PM ET (US) Forgot to mention. If your de-carbing a FICHT engine,...."DO NOT" use the screw on type of de-carb can that attaches to the shroeder valve because that valve is only used to check fuel pump pressure, "NOT" for anything else. Sal
deepwater	posted 03-18-2006 05:51 PM ET (US) ok thanks
efduffer	posted 03-19-2006 10:50 AM ET (US) A good de-carb procedure and discussion can be found here. [Removed link to another website and its recommendations on how to use decarbon solvent. This procedure is quite radical and I don't endorse it.--jimh.]
deepwater	posted 03-21-2006 12:25 AM ET (US) well its not going to be pretty,, snow and freezing rain again for today and tomorrow is my day off ,i got another can of Sea Foam and i think if i ever get my boat wet ^@^ ill add it to my tank at around 6 gal for the return trip back up the choptank, than drain whats left in to a small tank for decarbing this fall than start with all fresh fuel for mackerel and shark this April
deepwater	posted 03-29-2006 03:29 PM ET (US) i just got back from my first run of the year and the motor sounded great,,and i picked up 3 mph from last year according to my not so accurate but consistent depth finder,, Sea Foam has a new home with me ^@^