SeaFoam in 4Tec?

[muskokamarc]

I’ve been thinking about buying some seafoam to put in my machine (2007 supercharged 4Tec). What do you guys think of this stuff?

 

[Chester]

What are you trying to accomplish or fix?

Chester

 

[muskokamarc]

What are you trying to accomplish or fix?

Chester

I hear it’s good for cleaning out engine gunk. Just trying to do some preventative maintenance.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

I wouldn't do it, I don't see any benefit. If you're observing gunk there must be an underlying problem such as lack of oil changes, wrong type of oil or cooling system leaks.

The engine oils are working hard to protect and lubricate, any kind of oil or fuel additive might compromise the balance.

 

[Arkie Bob]

sssSSNAKE OIL.

 

[mikidymac]

There is nothing on your ski that a cleaner in a can is going to fix. Today's gas has all the detergents you need and the new fuel injected engine don't run super rich like old carbed engines. As others have said it simply isn't needed.

If anything just run marine Sta-Bil to help with storage and how quickly new gasoline degrades.

 

[muskokamarc]

Appreciate the input. Will stick to the basics!

 

[Arkie Bob]

And keep the BLENDED fuels out of it!

 

[sktn77a]

"And keep the BLENDED fuels out of it!"

Huh?

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Yes, I agree that ethanol blended fuels and two-strokes might not mix well and should be avoided if possible. Be vewy carefwl.

That said, I felt comfortable tweaking my tune slightly, partially for this reason and I felt there was room for slightly more fuel.

 

[sktn77a]

Still confused - the 2007 215s are all 4 strokes.

 

[benjilafouine]

For some reason, I always put premium gasoline in my cars to avoid ethanol. Same for all my gasoline gizmos. Maybe I am paying more for nothing.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Still confused - the 2007 215s are all 4 strokes.

I think it's not as critical in 4-strokes and that's my opinion but consider the fuel types recommended by the manufacturer who provided the warranty and tuned the engine, their recommendation is the one to follow.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

For some reason, I always put premium gasoline in my cars to avoid ethanol. Same for all my gasoline gizmos. Maybe I am paying more for nothing.

I place high regard for the manufacturers recommendation, I believe it's true premium fuel won't benefit unless called for and sometimes not necessarily. For instance, if grandma's supercharged Buick is actually driven by the little old lady from Pasadena, it's more likely to reach combustion pressures where premium would benefit. I guess that old lady should run premium as her owners manual suggests but if grandpa doesn't have a lead foot he's probably fine with regular.

 

[benjilafouine]

There is no gas pedal on a pushed lawnmower...

Jan & Dean...

 

[sktn77a]

Most premium fuel contains ethanol. Fuels of any octane rating can contain ethanol or not.

 

[benjilafouine]

Yes I know but there are less chances... theoretically...

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

True, despite being blended we can anticipate premium to produce higher octane as advertised. To me, higher octane means it burns slightly slower thus cooler and less prone to detonation.

I think we all understand or expect the shelf life of ethanol fuel isn't nearly as long as non-ethanol an argument for non-ethanol in case you tend to neglect the age of the fuel stored in your tank.

Marine engines have a much higher duty cycle than other applications and are tuned accordingly, there's no coasting up to traffic lights or down hills for example, thus there's not as much tolerance for questionable fuel quality in this case so special attention should be taken to ensure it doesn't spoil.

Assuming engine damage doesn't occur, still it's not much fun pumping 200 gallons of stinky brown goo from the below deck tanks of a cruiser then manually cleaning the tanks and disposing of the hazardous waste. Even worse, having to rip up the decks and replace corroded tanks.