Seafoam problem

[shakotan710]

Just wondering if anyone knows what could possibly be wrong with the l20b?

I ran the engine for a bit to about 125-150 degrees and then I put in a tiny bit of seafoam and the car will start, and then die if I try to keep on the throttle

I'm guessing it was just because it got cold outside, but any suggestions or input would help

Thanks

[Tristin]

Once the car was warmed up, did it run fine?- that would tell you if it was stumbling because it was cold. 

 

 

 

The way you have this phrased it sounds like car didnt run at all. You put in a little Seafoam. Car now starts, but stumbles when given gas. Is that accurate? We might need some more details on whats going on with your car. 

 

Seafoam works great with what its intended to do. It really will clean out all the gunk in your system, but sometimes its more than you want with older engines. Sometimes that gunk seals up your rings and once you clean them out, you start having blow by or similar. Putting a "tiny bit" probably did nothing for your engine and the hard idling issue would have been present without the Seafoam additive. 

[shakotan710]

I put it in and it did the normal thing for a second where it dropped idle, and then I put a little bit more in and my friend forgot to step on the gas pedal and it died. Then I tried to keep on starting it and it wouldn't crank over except for every once in a while and it would go rough and smoke like it says for about 30 seconds then die, I had to do some stuff and I think it let the motor cool down too much, and when it was around 60 outside, the car would start every once in a while, im just thinking it got cold lock or something, but I don't think there was even close to enough for hydrolock, I'm guessing I put maybe an ounce in.

[flatcat19]

So if the car warms up will it stay running?

 

I'm confused.

[Tristin]

So if the car warms up will it stay running?

 

I'm confused.

 

Exactly... Im confused. 

[shakotan710]

Idk, it got too late for me to try, it wouldn't start up, im gonna wait till tomorrow to figure it out, I didn't want to try to start it too much, I don't want to ruin the starter

[flatcat19]

What I'm guessing is that there was a lot of carbon build up, you knocked it out, now the mixture is off-causing it to run poorly.

 

But I doubt that will be your case.

 

 

Not a fan of Seafoam or any off the shelf "cleaner".

I think most of anything out there is garbage.

 

Why did you put it in?

Was everything working fine prior to doing so?

I think there are key parts to the story you are leaving out.

[shakotan710]

That could possibly be it, I took off the intake manifold to change out the gasket, because of a leak, and the valves were just covered in it, I just was curious for inputs and to see if anyone has done the seafoam on an l20b before. Hopefully it starts in the morning, and even though its old, it only has 65,000 miles, which isn't too bad for a 38 year old engine

[flatcat19]

That could possibly be it, I took off the intake manifold to change out the gasket, because of a leak, and the valves were just covered in it, I just was curious for inputs and to see if anyone has done the seafoam on an l20b before. Hopefully it starts in the morning, and even though its old, it only has 65,000 miles, which isn't too bad for a 38 year old engine

 

What does that mean?

 

 

So you fouled out the spark plugs?

 

Take out plugs, Hit them with a flame. Reinstall and stop doing things you shouldn't.

[shakotan710]

And by mixture, did you mean air/fuel mixture, because when I bought my 32/36, the instructions said to run the screw at 1-1 1/4 turns out and I have had it at 3/4 turn lately, so maybe adjust the mixture screw? 

[flatcat19]

And by mixture, did you mean air/fuel mixture, because when I bought my 32/36, the instructions said to run the screw at 1-1 1/4 turns out and I have had it at 3/4 turn lately, so maybe adjust the mixture screw? 

 

No. If new-leave alone.

 

Did the car even run prior to you doing this stuff?

[shakotan710]

yea, it ran, but its been acting up lately, I have to constantly retune the carb and I put new plugs in and after a month they looked ok, a bit of carbon buildup but that's it

[flatcat19]

Go back and read post #9.

[shakotan710]

Woops, sorry, i'll check the plugs in the morning, it just got too dark outside before I could really do anything

[flatcat19]

What were the valves covered in?

[shakotan710]

It just looked like carbon buildup, I should've taken a picture of it, it was just black and looked a little lumpy

[shakotan710]

Turns out that it did foul the spark plugs, and running a little less than 1/3 of the bottle did help out quite a bit, its running a lot smoother now

[captaingamez]

I never use additives like seafoam, anything additive wise that claims that it cleans the inside of your engine is something to avoid,

[Tristin]

Ive never had any issues running Seafoam, but you have to know when you can use it. Like I mentioned earlier it does a fantastic job of cleaning up the gunk in your system. But sometimes you need that gunk to keep the engine running well; its sealing up some parts. You get rid of all the buildup and you could lose the sealing they were providing.

 

If youve got a freshly rebuilt engine and you know your valves or rings are good, Id have no issues running the stuff. Have an L16 that hasnt been touched since Nixon was president, then Id be a little worried. Youd probably just make things worse. 

[captaingamez]

but why would you run it on a freshly rebuilt engine?

 

most of the off the shelf stuff I will admit as a mechanic, that a lot of it actually does work. BUT, most people dont use them correctly.

 

perfect example is radiator stop leak.

 

the stuff actually works great, and it doesnt cause any damage to any part of your coolant system, BUT, how many people actually read the instructions and follow them?

 

most people just buy it and dump it in and call it a day, the leak goes away and they have a whole pile of crap and aluminium shavings in their engine cooling system. that is not how it is to be used.

 

 

you are SUPPOSED to dump it in, get it hot, run it til the leak stops, then drain and flush your coolant. I have seen people put one after another bottles of that garbage in. and I have never seen someone follow the directions on their own.

[Tristin]

but why would you run it on a freshly rebuilt engine?

 

Im not talking about a 10mi rebuild, but something thats slightly recent. Just because you have a newer/rebuild engine doesnt mean you cant get carbon build-up. 

[captaingamez]

are you talking about mixing it with your oil or with your gas though?

[shakotan710]

I mixed some with my gas, just a tiny bit, nothing to mess up the engine, I just wanted to see if I could get it to run smoother, and so far it has worked quite well, i'm not so sure if I want to run it through my oil though

[Guest_kamakazi620]

Seafoam works great.on a good compression motor that has been a little neglected.it will not fix the air/fuel mixture a cause of carbon build up.it will clean up the carbon but you need to fix the real problems first.last oil change i put half a bottle in the oil and the other half in my gas tank, I read the instructions I had a full tank of gas, I drove it back and forth to work I did not "get on it" while driving, after the week of driving I warmed the engine up then dropped a quart of oil out of crankcase then added a quart of ATF ran it at idle for 1/2 an hour then changed my oil and filter I also adjusted my timing and changed my plugs at this time.it runs great and you wouldn't believe some of the goopy crap in the drain pan.if your motor has good compression I see no reason NOT to use seafoam unless your motor is fresh and is clean as hell under the valve cover.mine had been neglected and was a little gunky.