Seafoam Valve Cleaning

Seafoam like Techron or any other valve cleaner or fuel additive should only be used every 10-15k miles. Over the course of normal driving carbon can deposit itself on the back of the valves and piston tops. Using cleaner through the intake can help control these deposits, which can cause a loss in fuel economy and performance. Below you can see two pistons removed from an engine with 32,000 miles. The piston on the left is from a cylinder treated with Seafoam prior to removal.

Start by measuring out 6oz or 3/4 cup of Seafoam into a small jar. Now, with the car heated up and running locate a vacuum line that can be disconnected at idle, or source one from the vacuum tree under the throttle body cover or off the wastegate. Place your finger over the line to confirm it is indeed a source for vacuum. Leave your finger over the hose until you are ready to begin.

Slowly submerge the vacuum line in the Seafoam until the engine starts to stall. This step is a balancing act of keeping the engine idling while tying to induce the cleaning solution as quickly as possible. If you are having a problem with the engine stalling out, try dabbing the vacuum line in and out of the solution.

Once you have introduced the 6oz of seam foam shut then engine off and wait ~10 minutes.

Once ten minutes have elapsed and you have reconnected the vacuum line restart the engine. At this point the exhaust will smoke and you may experience some back firing. This step is the Seafoam burning off. Wait until the smoke has slowed and then take the car on a 3-4 mile drive. During acceleration expect some light to heavy smoke which will subside after a few mile. This valve cleaning process should be repeated every 2-3 oil changes.

There is a movie on this process located here

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