Show me how to Seafoam?

[engender]

Hello,

 

I am a brand new member, and I was wondering if anyone was available to teach me how to do the Seafoam treatment for my 09 MCS.

 

On Friday morning, during the monsoon, my MINI had several cylinder misfires on ignition. I know this because it threw the related CEL codes (I have an ODB reader left over from my days owning a 98 Saab 900SE). I made an appointment with Passport on Monday, but after researching the issue, I cancelled the appointment as I had the shell cleaning at Passport around four months ago. I've decided to try the Seafoam treatment to see if it is an alternative to a $600 payment to Passport every six months.

 

I've seen the videos and reviewed the thread on NAM, but I am very queasy about pulling a hose out of my engine while it is running and then pouring Seafoam inside. I would really like someone with experience to help me ensure that 1) I choose the right hose and 2) I reconnect the hose properly after the treatment.

 

I live in Arlington, near Shirlington village (at the corner of King Street/Leesburg Pike and South Walter Reed), so if it is convenient for anyone, we could meet in my condo complex parking lot. Or, I could come to you.

 

Obviously, I'd like to give this a shot as soon as possible. I'm available this afternoon or on Monday and Tuesday of this week.

 

Thanks in advance for your help and I look forward to meeting you!

[cmcveay]

Charles,

I tried to reply earlier but I was defeated by the forums...

 

Not sure if anyone got in touch with you via PM or email for this but honestly, it's not hard to do. Since you have a 2nd Gen, the hose you are looking for is on the passenger side of the valve cover, on the rear end of it (the corner nearest the passenger seat). The hose has a neat little "clamp" with two sections that you squeeze with your fingers and tug the hose right out of the valve cover. You can practice it a couple of times while the engine is cool and not running just to get it down.

 

When you are ready to do this, you'll need to have the car warmed up to operating temperature (you want the carbon deposits to be warm so they can be "melted" easier). "Stuff" that you'll need - good quality nitril gloves, your can of Seafoam and it really helps if you have another person to help by sitting in the car to help keep it running or restart it.

 

Put the gloves on, start the car, remove the hose, cover the end with a thumb or other finger. Personally, I always put one thumb over the end of the hose and one thumb over the opening of the Seafoam to control the amount coming out. Allow a slight opening in the end of the hose so it's sucking air in and then begin dribbling in the seafoam at a steady rate that isn't so much that you make the motor stumble and die. If that happens, cover the tube and restart it. Once you've run about a cup (roughly 8oz) of seafoam into the tube, pour just a little extra in, opening the tube up so it can get a little extra and then turn the engine off. Reconnect the hose, close the hood and head inside to wash up and have something to drink. Give it about 30 minutes to sit and soak. When the time has passed, go start it up and see how much smoke you make. The engine is going to sputter and idle roughly for a bit, that's okay, and it's going to throw codes - that's okay too. Once the idle starts to smooth out - mostly, you need to rev the engine and hold the RPM's but to 3-4k. If you can, get it out and drive it to do that. It won't take long - just a few minutes - and the smoke will stop and you should have a smoother idle, a little better throttle response and some of the "evil acts" will be gone. You will probably have to clear the codes with your code reader or they will clear themselves once it's started and run a couple of times.

 

When doing this, make sure you are in a place that's not going to be impacted by what can be billowing clouds of smoke. When Edge did his a couple of years ago, it was like we'd all moved to San Francisco and the fog rolled in. You couldn't see 10 feet through the cloud of smoke. Others have had very little or no smoke at all. The last thing you want to do is piss off your neighbors by smoking them out of their houses on a wonderful afternoon... That's bad karma.

[TGGRRR (Ali)]

Welcome to DCMM

 

I moved this thread over to the Maintenance & Modifications.

 

One tip I have found useful is to use a small plastic hose in the bottle of Seafoam. It helps to get the liquid to come out.

 

What city do you live in?

[minime331]

Sound like you are over neat the old five guys by tgi Fri

 

Edit fixed

Guess that's what happens when you've been working 3 straight double shifts in a row.

Edited May 19, 2014 by minime331

[TGGRRR (Ali)]

Sound like you ate overt neat the old five guys by tgi

 

Chris spell check!!!

[cmcveay]

Sound like you ate overt neat the old five guys by tgi

 

Or stop posting before you open the bottle of Tequilla...

[TGGRRR (Ali)]

Back to Seafoam

 

I'm willing to help you if you need it. My hands aren't strong enough to pull the PCV hose out but I know which one it is. I can run the gas and you dump the Seafoam.

 

You will need a location that won't mind masses of stinky clouds of smoke. The smoke doesn't last long and I always drive the car to get rid of it instead of just sitting in the parking lot revving the engine

 

Just realize the car will probably throw codes and may sound really rough until the stuff works through.

 

We always talk about a Seafoam party but we rarely get them together. I think PTuning is open, we just have to organize it.

 

I stopped Seafoaming Tigger since he's a first gen and he never smokes. The first gens just don't have the same issue with the carbon.

 

My husband has a catch can on his '09 JCW and he was dumping it weekly during the polar vortex. When I was speaking to Chad at the Dragon he said the reason that they all have first gens up there in Detroit is because of the issues that the turbo has with severe cold weather. This winter was really cold so I would guess there is a good need for a Seafoam party if anyone wants to put it together.

 

It's probably a worthwhile investment to put in an oil catch can to help prevent it from happening too.

[ChrisTKD]

We can definitely help with the sea foaming - Craig gave me pointers when I did mine. But, I don't think there's any reasonable explanation for needing sea foam when you had the shell blasting just four months ago. The engines have some carbon build up but it shouldn't be that much.

 

Opinions from the auto gurus in the club?

[cmcveay]

We can definitely help with the sea foaming - Craig gave me pointers when I did mine. But, I don't think there's any reasonable explanation for needing sea foam when you had the shell blasting just four months ago. The engines have some carbon build up but it shouldn't be that much.

 

Opinions from the auto gurus in the club?

 

I'd agree with you on that about 90% of the time. Some cars seem to have more oil blow through the intake than others. Part of it depends upon how the car is driven as well.

[FAST060]

I'd agree with you on that about 90% of the time. Some cars seem to have more oil blow through the intake than others. Part of it depends upon how the car is driven as well.

 

I am living proof of this.

[engender]

I'd agree with you on that about 90% of the time. Some cars seem to have more oil blow through the intake than others. Part of it depends upon how the car is driven as well.

 

To clarify, then, you think the cause is likely the carbon build up? I seem to be going through my share of oil as well. So, it could be that Napoleon has more oil through the intake than most.

 

I would also like to learn more about the catch-can mentioned earlier in the thread—or any other modifications that could ameliorate the problem.

 

I appreciate the pep talk in the first response, but I would really like another person to walk me through the process in person.

 

My condo complex isn't the ideal place to smoke out, but if I can drive while the seafoam burns off, no problem.

 

The cans were on sale at Autozone on Sunday, so I bought two. I will give the second can to whomever helps me out as an extra incentive!

[cmcveay]

Hey Charles. In my personal experience, the oil vapor catch can can help because it allows a good portion of the oil vapor to fall out of suspension so it's not going through the intake tract. The walnut blasting service (mechanical) and Sea Foam (chemical) are trying to do the same thing - remove deposits from the back of the intake valves and combustion chamber that's built up as a result of excess oil vapor passing through the intake. In "normal" engines, the fuel is introduced into the intake air stream somewhere along the intake system but in the MINI engine, it is injected directly into the combusion chamber. Without the fuel/air charge "washing" over the valves on it's way in.

 

In my first MINI, I did the chemical cleaning with every oil change and it smoked like a pile of burning leaves each time. When I put an oil catch can (I installed a BSH can), it got much, much better. On my second MINI, the catch can was installed almost immediately and I did chemical cleaning less often and I could have done it in the garage, with the doors closed - practically no smoke other than what was produced by the Sea Foam going through the system.

 

Don't forget to empty the catch can so when you look at the different versions/models, find one that makes it easier to empty. Mine was a PITA as I had to remove it from the car. I think they changed the design later and made it easier.

 

I would be happy to walk you through the process but I'd rather not irritate my neighbors with the smoke but it sounds like you'd be okay with a "dry rehearsal" before going off on your own. I think once you see it, you'll be comfortable with the process.

[TGGRRR (Ali)]

I know the catch can that Mark installed is easy to empty, it's the one sold by MC2 magazine

[engender]

How often does on have to empty the catch cans? How do you dispose of the gunk caught by the can?

 

Here is a link to the BSH catch can. Is that something that someone who is not mechanically inclined could install himself?

 

In the alternative, cmcveay, we could meet at a public parking lot. The only public parking areas I can think of at the moment are in parks, and that doesn't seem to be the best place to release a bunch of smoke. Let me think about possible locations (and review Commonwealth laws about doing automotive work on public property) and see if I can come up with something.

[cmcveay]

How often does on have to empty the catch cans? How do you dispose of the gunk caught by the can?

 

Here is a link to the BSH catch can. Is that something that someone who is not mechanically inclined could install himself?

 

In the alternative, cmcveay, we could meet at a public parking lot. The only public parking areas I can think of at the moment are in parks, and that doesn't seem to be the best place to release a bunch of smoke. Let me think about possible locations (and review Commonwealth laws about doing automotive work on public property) and see if I can come up with something.

 

How often? Yes... It really does vary from car-to-car and weather conditions to name a couple of variables. I would recommend checking it monthly to see what shape it's in.

 

Where to dispose? Most service stations that do automotive service will take it, some automotive parts places and some of the county landfills will take it. I'd suggest keeping a quart sized oil container and using that to drain the catch can into. That quart size container will probably last for a year or so.

 

You may want to reach out to a couple of the club vendors such as PTuning or Mach V to see if they'd mind you doing this outside their shops. Both are in industrial areas and I think they've both been amiable to hosting a Sea Foam party in the past.

 

Difficulty in installation? Not really all that hard but it can get frustrating as you try to find a place to put something that's about the size of your shoe under that hood... BSH did a great job with their fittings and they send enough hose that you have lots of placement options.

[TGGRRR (Ali)]

How often does on have to empty the catch cans? How do you dispose of the gunk caught by the can?

 

Here is a link to the BSH catch can. Is that something that someone who is not mechanically inclined could install himself?

 

In the alternative, cmcveay, we could meet at a public parking lot. The only public parking areas I can think of at the moment are in parks, and that doesn't seem to be the best place to release a bunch of smoke. Let me think about possible locations (and review Commonwealth laws about doing automotive work on public property) and see if I can come up with something.

 

 

During extreme cold weather it needs to be emptied weekly, other than that monthly seems to be fine.

 

My husband isn't super mechanical and while there was some cussing, he did install it himself.

 

PTuning will usually let members go smoke up their lot if you don't mind driving to Manassas. You would of course want to call first and ask

[vetsvette]

When I installed the BSH can I also installed the BSH Dual Boost Tap in the other (passenger side) PCV outlet.

As stated before, during cold weather you need to check/empty the can often because it will fill up quickly with water in addition to oil due to condensation caused by hot/cold cycling. During warmer weather, I check it when ever I check my oil, in other words, whenever I fill the tank.

I use a large basting injector/syringe. Cut the tip off and plug the holes in the injector portion. You can easily make one using a large syringe and a piece of vacuum tubing. They sell the exact part on line for around ten bucks. I prefer mine with the rigid extractor rather than the flexible hose version. Also because I had one laying around gathering dust. YMMV

[cmcveay]

When I installed the BSH can I also installed the BSH Dual Boost Tap in the other (passenger side) PCV outlet.

As stated before, during cold weather you need to check/empty the can often because it will fill up quickly with water in addition to oil due to condensation caused by hot/cold cycling. During warmer weather, I check it when ever I check my oil, in other words, whenever I fill the tank.

I use a large basting injector/syringe. Cut the tip off and plug the holes in the injector portion. You can easily make one using a large syringe and a piece of vacuum tubing. They sell the exact part on line for around ten bucks. I prefer mine with the rigid extractor rather than the flexible hose version. Also because I had one laying around gathering dust. YMMV

 

That is a BRILLIANT idea! Most of these things have a drain plug that's down low of course. To drain it, you have to remove the thing from the car so it can become a PITA. Your idea of a syringe - the type used to inject seasoning/spices into meat - with either a rigid or flexible hose is awesome! Most Ace Hardware stores have a good selection of flexible hose and they may have the meat injectors (don't even try to make a joke there Scavenger) as well.

[bguy40]

Reviving an old thread here...but we should still make this seafoam party happen...

 

:idea:

[Ice]

How often would you all do this? If you want to make a party of it come on out here. 2.5 acres of open land in my yard and I don't care how smokey it gets.

[TGGRRR (Ali)]

How often would you all do this? If you want to make a party of it come on out here. 2.5 acres of open land in my yard and I don't care how smokey it gets.

 

You don't need to do it that often and second gens benefit from it more than most 1st gens. Tigger releases a dainty puff but Mr OEM gassed us all like no other.

 

PTuning has said we can do it there too

[1975_mini]

I do it twice a year. Once in the spring and once in the fall. I doubt mind doing as a group.