Best Outboard Engine Treatments

[Rscardina]

Re: Best Outboard Engine Treatments

Can ayone explain how the seafoam actually does what it does?
Can anyone explain the exact procedure as well?

I am thinking of doing this since I have not done it and would be curious of the results on a two stroke..better running? power?..feul economy etc..

Thanks for the help.

PS..i have an 86 Evinrude v4 14o hp w/ vro

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Best Outboard Engine Treatments

Well no fear of the injectors getting plugged since it is a carbed outboard ..........

A benefit of running fuel with ethanol is cleaner insides in the carbs.....

Sea Foam works fine as a de-carb product..... you have other problems if it will not start.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Best Outboard Engine Treatments

Well, I am one of those boaters that never uses anything other than gasoline in my outboards--no stabilizers, no seafoam to clean, I consider them "snake-oils" and usually a waste of money. I don't winterize or "fog" my engines and have never had a problem. Like the Energiser Bunny, they keep on running and running and ---

OK before you fellows get nasty on me: I know, God protects drunks and fools.

 

[chevinrude]

Re: Best Outboard Engine Treatments

Well, I am one of those boaters that never uses anything other than gasoline in my outboards--no stabilizers, no seafoam to clean, I consider them "snake-oils" and usually a waste of money. I don't winterize or "fog" my engines and have never had a problem. Like the Energiser Bunny, they keep on running and running and ---

OK before you fellows get nasty on me: I know, God protects drunks and fools.

My cousin lives by the same motto. Nothing but gas, and his engines run forever. From here on in, Im not adding anything. Not Seafoam, not Stabil, not Startron... im done

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: Best Outboard Engine Treatments

Well, I am one of those boaters that never uses anything other than gasoline in my outboards--no stabilizers, no seafoam to clean, I consider them "snake-oils" and usually a waste of money. I don't winterize or "fog" my engines and have never had a problem. Like the Energiser Bunny, they keep on running and running and ---

OK before you fellows get nasty on me: I know, God protects drunks and fools.

I never ran any additives either when I ran the boat more often than I do now. I just use them to (hopefully) keep the fuel fresher.

 

[86 century]

Re: Best Outboard Engine Treatments

I used sea foam to decarb an eng went overboard oil slugged the bottom end. It took forever to get it to start. What i am getting at it was not the product but the user.

 

[chevinrude]

Re: Best Outboard Engine Treatments

I seriously barely used any... but like some other users said, it was probably coincidence.

 

[ENSIGN]

Re: Best Outboard Engine Treatments

All you need is CLEAN gas

 

[marcortez]

Re: Best Outboard Engine Treatments

.i see you used ngk plugs.toss them and get the proper champion plugs and you wont regret it.

Care to provide details on this?

 

[LORDY611]

Re: Best Outboard Engine Treatments

I have had no ill effects using SeaFoam, but what I can praise is a high-end stabilizer like Stabil called PIR-G. I use this stuff in everything I own with a motor. Cars, mowers, string trimmers, outboards. WITHOUT EXCEPTION they all start up and run well. My outboards (4, 9.9, 40hp) all get used sporadically in a 2 week vacation each summer. I run this stuff always, and I also fog the cylinders every summer after the last use. The next summer I have no starting problems. These motors are not pampered either. The 4 is early 70's, 9.9 late 80's, and the 40 is mid 90's. The PIR-G supposedly keeps the carbon molecules (?) from clumping in the gasoline, which enables them to be burned. Evidently when they clump, they dont burn, and become deposits on internal parts.
I have tried SeaFoam in mowers and a car, and it did create a smoke show for sure, but honestly cant say for sure they ran better after the treatment. What may have happened, though, is that they continued to run instead of breaking down due to fuel system problems at a later date. I view SeaFoam as a preventative measure as opposed to a fix-in-a-bottle. Thoughts?

 

[LORDY611]

Re: Best Outboard Engine Treatments

Recently I tried a de-carb using Seafoam. My boat doesnt start. Im wondering what everyones thoughts are on engine additives/stabilizers/treatments. I now will not use Seafoam in anything I own. I refuse to use it. Some fellow boat owners told me the only thing they use is Marvel Mystery Oil. What are everyones thoughts?

Please forgive if you answered this in this thread--I read every post, and there were a lot, but dont recall you addressing this: Has the carb been cleaned and rebuilt in the last several years? Old gas can crud things up in a hurry. Perhaps the Seafoam cleaned some buildup off of one area of the carb and it got into a little orifice. That can be a problem for sure. Doubtful that the motor would have been running well for long if the carb was ready for a disassembly and cleaning. If the old gas deposits werent too bad, perhaps the Seafoam might have helped, but it wont repair years of neglect. I just rebuilt the carb on my 9.9 and had to do it twice because evidently I didnt get all the tiny holes opened in the idle circuit. More Seafoam and 90+ PSI of compressed air did the trick. Love my motors when they purr. When they dont, I want to break something.

 

[cougar1985]

Re: Best Outboard Engine Treatments

Care to provide details on this?

oh hit a nerve with ngk lover?lol.its been my very humble experience that this is one of the few time to follow the factory reccomendation !most of the older omc,s were designed to run with champion so why would you run anything else?if you would care to start a thread on the subject im sure you would get many stories of ill running motors that when changed back to the reccomended plug, the ill running stopped.i only have 35 or so years playing with them so maybe im not experienced enough.(smiling ).

 

[Banditz]

Re: Best Outboard Engine Treatments

I've used sea foam not only in my marine engines, but also my cars and trucks...my whole life...when used properly you can not go wrong. But dump in the whole can in under a second and hydrolock your motor and its sea foams fault...seen this many times before.


Even when sprayed into the carb, as I have done many times...it will not keep your engine from running. It will only help...again when done correctly.


If you wish to do this it will help not only speed, but also your idle, and response times. basically its like cleaning the inside of the motor. But I never use it in the gas....always suck it through the vacuum lines or through the carb.


Either way, do whatever it is you yourself feel comfortable in doing. That way everyone is happy!

 

[sloopjimd]

Re: Best Outboard Engine Treatments

I use omc engine tuner for my boats and all my customers boats. I also use Marine Grade Stabil exclusivley. Ever since i started using this product especially during winterizations on my customers boats Ive never and I mean never had a call in the spring for boats not starting. Both of these products are a bit more pricey than others but they work I winterize about fift to sixty boats a year(small one man shop) I cant afford to have come backs for taking shortcuts. You have to use these products following the directions and they work great.

 

[marcortez]

Re: Best Outboard Engine Treatments

oh hit a nerve with ngk lover?lol.its been my very humble experience that this is one of the few time to follow the factory reccomendation !most of the older omc,s were designed to run with champion so why would you run anything else?if you would care to start a thread on the subject im sure you would get many stories of ill running motors that when changed back to the reccomended plug, the ill running stopped.i only have 35 or so years playing with them so maybe im not experienced enough.(smiling ).

No nerves around here Cougar......
I just thought you had an opinion on why you say toss the NGK plugs...other than "I have used them (Champion) for 35 years"

Construction shoddy?
Cruddy components?
Electrodes no good?
Heat ranges way off?

 

[ufm82]

Re: Best Outboard Engine Treatments

SeaFoam works by softening the carbon deposits in the engine. To try it yourself, take a chunk of carbon and drop it in a glass of SeaFoam. (We did this with carbon of the valves of a Ford Crown Vic; old variable-venturi carbed 5.0L's from the early 80's had real issues with carbon build-up.) It was interesting to see what happened. The chunks would get mushy very quickly- what felt like rock going in would crumble when being fished out. The carbon softens and then is "washed out" by the fuel mixture. The SeaFoam would penetrate any carbon build-up in the engine, break it loose and it would either burn off or come out in chunks. I've seen severely deposited engines actually spit out chunks after being treated.
AK Steel used to run E250 vans on the foundry grounds. These things would never be driven more than a couple thousand miles a year as the speed limit on the grounds was 15mph. However they would run all day as they ferried people around. They would bring them to us because they would start knocking. The culprit was carbon build-up on the piston tops or valves and a chunk would drop off and get squashed between the piston top and the cylinder head, causing a knock. We would take them in the back lot and SeaFoam them with a 50-50 mix of SeaFoam and gas. You had to keep on the throttle to keep it running but it would smoke like crazy and the knock would get worse as carbon broke loose and then POOF, the knock would go away. We'd run them down the highway after that for 10 miles or so and they were fine until next time. We boroscoped one to see what it looked like before and after and the difference was substantial. What looked like the inside of a cave turned shiny and clean after the treatment. So yes, it does work.
I did my Merc 150 in my driveway when I first bought it and the black crud that came out of the prop told me it had some build-up. It's a '93 with probably a bazillion hours but it runs great to this day. I add SeaFoam to every other tank of fuel to keep it from getting nasty again and can say that it has never caused me any issues.

UFM82

 

[cougar1985]

Re: Best Outboard Engine Treatments

No nerves around here Cougar......
I just thought you had an opinion on why you say toss the NGK plugs...other than "I have used them (Champion) for 35 years"

Construction shoddy?
Cruddy components?
Electrodes no good?
Heat ranges way off?

ok will quickly answer if i may.ive found that on more than one occasion that to use ngk was to invite a poor running omc engine ,i will start a thread so others can say weather they have had the same experience.

 

[eli_lilly]

Re: Best Outboard Engine Treatments

Another way you can tell seafoam is working is by the black crap dripping out of the prop for a week after using the seafoam... that's all the crap loosed in the exhaust tube.

-E

 

[444]

Re: Best Outboard Engine Treatments

I've used seafoam on several vehicles I own. I've used it on two of my 2-stroke sleds, all I did was run the primer feed into a seafoam can and pumped the primer to give it a shot of seafoam in addition to the normal fuel flow. After I was done it smoked for a while because some of the seafoam passed through unburned and sat in the exhaust until it steamed off. I've used it in my big block v8 as well. Actually after I was done with the seafoam I filled the can back up with water and dumped two canfulls of water down the carb while it was running. I do this routinely. Really helps cut down on the carbon build up, and yes I did pull apart my big block and found it to have little carbon in the cylinders compared to other untouched motors I've pulled apart.

To you guys who don't want to even run stabil in your motors. All I can say is have fun with your motor not starting next year. All I know is one year I forgot to put stabil in the snowmobiles before packing them away. Next winter when I went to take them out they would NOT fire on the old gas. They would run on it but not start on it. Lesson learned there. Modern gasoline doesn't last long, I think the ethanol mix is especially bad. Also fuel doesn't deteriorate nearly as quickly over the winter because a cold outside temp can slow the chemical reaction right down but I still do the stabil in everything I own.

 

[itsaboattime]

Re: Best Outboard Engine Treatments

If your motor has "Yamaha" on the side of it - use a Yamaha product.
If your motor has "Mercury" on the side of it - use a Mercury product.
If your motor has "Evinrude" on the side of it - use an Evinrude product.
If your motor has "Seafoam" on the side of it - use a Seafoam product.
If your motor has "Stabil" on the side of it - use a Stabil product.
That's how I'd do it anyway.

Well put.