Seafoam as injector cleaner

dirtmover · **Posted:** Tue Oct 18, 2011 8:19 am

Anyone used Seafoam as a diesel injector cleaner by following the instructions provided by the manufacturer:

"Another use for Sea Foam® in Diesel applications is cleaning fuel injectors. This is accomplished by getting engine to operating temperature then shut off. Remove the fuel filter (replace filter if needed.) Empty all diesel fuel from filter or filter housing and fill filter or housing with straight Sea Foam®. Reinstall filter on engine, making sure there is no air in filter. Start engine and let run about two minutes, then shut engine off and let sit about 5 minutes. This is called a “HOT SOAK” letting the Sea Foam® soak into the carbon. After the “hot soak” period, restart the engine and road test, driving aggressively for about 5 miles. This will clean carbon from the injectors and the combustion chamber inside the engine."

Now I've used this product many times on small engines where it seems to do a great job of cleaning up deposits. I don't have an issue with adding this to the fuel but I'm not so sure about running our CRD on neat Seafoam. Anyone tried this?

castnblast · **Joined:** Fri Oct 29, 2010 8:34 pm **Posts:** 18

I did exactly as you describe with the Seafoam when I last changed my fuel filter, and my engine ran as smoothly as it ever has right from the start. I didn't even get any white smoke. I run B20 all summer, though, and the engine is pretty clean anyway.

Best regards,

Castnblast

Hoosier CRD · **Posted:** Tue Oct 18, 2011 6:44 pm

Reading the MSDS shows that there is a fair amount of Naptha, a solvent. I'm not sure what Pale Oil is, I guess that it could be "Googled" My biggest concern is that of lubricity for anything used. A lack of it is what will wear your injectors.

Here is a link to the Seafoam MSDS:

http://www.seafoamsales.com/component/o ... ew,folder/

As has been mentioned before in other threads, I sell Stanadyne diesel fuel additives. I have had two different customers use the Performance and Lubricity (1/2 and 1/2) to fill the fuel filter and run the engine that they were working on. After the initial run, they said that the engine ran like new. I know that Stanadyne also uses Naptha, BUT there is also a good amount of lubricity to both products I've mentioned.

FWIW,

Hoosier CRD

Roostre · **Joined:** Sun Oct 24, 2010 3:57 pm **Posts:** 195

Pale Oil= Baby Oil

Should be plenty of lubricant for the Injectors.

I use seafoam in all my gas engines. Only use Lubro Moly Diesel Purge on diesels. Can't really tell if it has helped or not... :juggle:

dirtmover · **Posted:** Wed Oct 19, 2011 8:10 am

Haha, a search for "pale oil" reveals a number of hits from people trying to homebrew Seafoam. This guy http://hildstrom.com/projects/seafoam/index.html has done a bit of experimentation and has settled with diesel as the "pale oil"! Maybe filling the filter with his 4 part diesel, 2 part naphtha, 1 part IPA mix is the answer.

Kaluen · **Posted:** Fri Sep 21, 2018 6:51 am

Sorry for bumping...just my thoughts...
iesel does have a load of additives in it, but the stuff about supermarket diesel is nonsense, all fuel is refined in the same refineries, it doesn't matter which brand you use, the fuel in a particular area will have come from the refinery that is closest to where you buy it :idea:

ATF or even engine oil can help with lubricity (a ridiculous made up word) modern low sulphur diesels do not have the lubrication of older fuels, so you can have injector problems as a result, but be careful what you put in, oils have additives too and some of them can damage the fuel system :idea:

The best thing to use is the Lucas upper cylinder lubricant and injector cleaner https://wheelstips.com/best-diesel-injector-cleaner although even that is unnecessary, injectors will go a million miles without it. Some people will of course swear by their additives, saying they've used them from day one and not had a problem, it's kind of like putting a notice on your fridge saying that no elephants are allowed inside, you can guarantee that it will work, but I don't have a notice on my fridge, yet I've never had an elephant in it, maybe I'm just lucky :lol:

Any other additives that promise increased mpg are pure snake oil, especially ones that can also be added to the crankcase to protect your engine or the oil in it. The only way to improve fuel mileage from the diesel is to improve its BTU content and diesel is one of the most efficient substance on the planet for BTU content, for any product to work it would need to have a better BTU value than diesel and cost less than diesel, none of them do, so you may as well save your money and just buy diesel in the first place

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Fri Sep 21, 2018 10:46 am

Many swear by Marvel Mystery Oil.
Add it to both the diesel fuel and to the engine oil.
Engine runs smoother and it adds addition lubrication (lubricity) properties to both fluids.
Its been around a long time and has a proven track record.

A diesel mechanic who drag races diesel trucks told me about the qualities of MMO and also of adding cheap non-synthetic 2 cycle oil in the diesel fuel to provide additional lubrication to high tolerance machined parts like injectors and fuel injection pumps.

:SOMBRERO:

flash7210 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 21, 2018 11:44 am

Of course there’s also PowerService. And it’s made specifically for diesel fuel and does more than just keep the injectors clean.

papaindigo · **Posted:** Fri Sep 21, 2018 6:45 pm

I concur with Flash7210 just use PowerService (white or silver depending on the season) every so often or all the time, your preference, and don't mess with the other stuff. Just personal opinion and yes I use SeaFoam in gas motors from time to time.

GordnadoCRD · **Posted:** Sat Sep 22, 2018 1:29 am

Or buy from a source that treats their road diesel with PowerService to begin with, and NO they don't all do this, even though they all in this area buy from the same refinery.

joelukex4 · **Joined:** Thu Sep 29, 2011 4:54 pm **Posts:** 386

oil is paraffinic oil.

GordnadoCRD · **Posted:** Tue Sep 25, 2018 2:10 am

Paraffin is an adjustable component, and quantity depends on time of year and area of distribution.

joelukex4 · **Joined:** Thu Sep 29, 2011 4:54 pm **Posts:** 386

GordnadoCRD wrote:

Paraffin is an adjustable component, and quantity depends on time of year and area of distribution.

Not sure what this means.

Seafoam is 3 items:
Paraffinic oil, Isopropanol & VM&P Naphtha. Ask me how I know or better yet don't. The percentages of each are locked in the formula.

GordnadoCRD · **Posted:** Thu Sep 27, 2018 4:07 am

Sorry, I was replying to Kaluen.

Seafoam as injector cleaner

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