Did the treatment last night, got a CEL but it went off after driving the car for a bit and I do notice better throttle response. I did it three times and noticed less and less smoke especially after the third time. It was somewhat difficult to try an introduce the seafoam slowly but by the third time I think I mastered the technique.

Thanks for everyone's help !

 

Well, I did this treatment a few days ago, and I honestly didn't notice an amazing improvement in performance. There was a significant amount of smoke, however, and a CEL afterwards. I cleared the CEL and it hasn't come back since, but I didn't notice much of a difference at all!

This is a 2008 MINI Cooper S with 35,000 miles.

 

etalj, I would look here http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/onl...el.aspx?id=173
and try one of the following: Liqui Moly fuel injection cleaner. It is made to add to gas, but I think would work fine used as the Sea Foam style treatment. Or Flash Lube Valve Saver Fluid or Injector cleaner or Valvoline Synpower fuel injector cleaner. The Liqui Moly products are high quality German made motor oils and fuel additives they sell it worldwide and I have used the valve deposit cleaner in my Mini Cooper S but they do not appear to sell it in Australia . Here is a link to the Liqui Moly Australia site. http://www.liqui-moly.com.au/ Get the fuel injector cleaner, they state it removes carbon from valves. The site also lists dealers in Australia and you can buy online. I think it will work as well as Sea Foam.

 

why not slowly pour it in? too difficulut to regulate? does the engine stall easily?

 

The PCV tube is about 3/4" diameter and if left open to atmosphere, the engine will stall. So pouring would be a challenge without killing the engine - that's why using a small diameter tubing is an effective approach. That's the theory anyway.

Letting it ingest slowly is key to saturation in the intake tract - you want to permeate as much built-up carbon as possible prior to shutting off and letting it soak. So a slow drip gets you good distribution. Too fast and you'll just pass it through the combustion cycle and not get the results you seek in the intake tract.

Here's the finished project:

1) Decarboned with 4 cycles of Seafoam.
2) Installation of a catch-can on the right VC Vent to intake
3) Cleaned the MAF with spec MAF cleaner
4) New spark plugs





The car runs like the day it was delivered. A very much needed piece of maintenance for this car (at least in my case).

Thanks for everyone's contribution to the knowledge base that is NAM. That's why this site rocks.

 

The motorheads at www.bobistheoilguy.com claim that Amsoil Powerfoam is much better than SeaFoam at removing carbon deposits. See this thread http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...ue#Post1389779

They also listed this stuff from Lubeguard designed for our purposes and available at NAPA http://www.lubegard.com/~/C-207/PRO+...282+can+kit%29

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...ue#Post1670986

Check this You Tube video on how to use the 3M ( or other intake system cleaner kits ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX5J5kZLTw4

 

speaking of oil fouling ^^^^
get rid of that K&N filter, the oil from it will cook on your elements of your MAF sensor and cause additional driveability problems. If you really want to use an aftermarket filter, look for a "dry" reusable filter like one of the AEM dryflo units or Amsoil if they have one that fits.

 

Did one treatment for the first time last night. The car does seem to run smoother, as it was running rather rough as of late (thought it needed a tune to get it smooth after adding the after market parts). Not sure about the performance increase yet, but I think it seems a little crisper on the low end. Will be doing another treatment this weekend, but overall, for $8.50, it seems well worth it

 

Thanks so much for that! I rang super cheap auto, but they said they had no idea what i was talking about....

Tomorrow I'll go buy some thin clear hose and some Liqui-Moly Fuel Injection cleaner...

Oh and a quick question. The PCV hose of interest is the one on the left, not the right, yes?

 

I've had a K&N filter on my DDMWorks RIS for about 20,000 miles with no problems and I clean it every 3500 miles. I just make sure to wait a day or two for the excess oil to drip off the filter. I think the instructions recommend an hour but it will still be really wet. Maybe that's what happened to you?

 

if the filter is dripping, you've put too much on. Spray lightly and let the wicking effect get the oil to cover the full material. And FWIW, there are those that will always say "ditch oiled filters" and it's my experience that when done properly, oiled filterd don't pose a problem to MAF equipped cars. But dry filters don't have the possibility of doing damage to the MAF.

Also, not all MAFs are the same. So what hurts one may not hurt another.

Matt

 

+1, I will say this I saw plenty of MAF damage with Porsche cars with the oiled Filters, but it really depends on the car, and how it is taken care of.

 

I induced 100ml of Liqui-Moly and waited 25 mins. No smoke. Idled, revved, and then took it out for a hard 5 minute drive. Put the remaining 200ml in and now waiting for 30 mins to take it out again.

My JCW didn't come close to stalling with the PCV hose removed, is that abnormal?

 

I had a K&N oiled filter on my car pretty much from the beginning, almost 60K miles never had any problems with the MAF. I clean it everytime I do an oil change. And oiling it I think is the key (agreeing with DrObnxs). Too much oil = no good.

 

For any of you guys that are overseas or downunder and want the product, you pay for the product and shipping and I'll send it to you.

PM me if I can help you.

Mark

 

Another thing I do after carefully oiling my filter is spritz the MAF sensor with approved MAF sensor cleaner.

 

Ok, I am going to throw this out here. Over two weekends I did the Seafoam intake treatment three times. I then had the MINI dealer change out my fuel filter. My MINI has 45,000 miles on it.

I had my MINI and the DYNO in late april with the following results:




Here are the DYNO results from last Friday, December 4th after the three Seafoam treatments and the new fuel filter:



WHP is up from 188.5WHP to 199.4WHP. TRQ is up from 204ft lbs to 212ft lbs.

Having no addition performance mods from April to December I would have to believe that carbon build-up played a huge part in the previous poor DYNO results.

 

Can't deny or verify if that was the reason but if it was, you probably just spiked Seafoam's sales...


Mark

 

I have done nothing else. Same DYNO, same two guys running it, temperature was between 55-60 degrees on both days and I always use the same gas station to fill up. I can say the car is a lot more fun to drive after the Seafoam treatments.

 

Well, personally I'm glad to hear it for two reasons. It shows me just how much it's needed since it made a heck of a difference on your car and b) it's great to see you got that much of an improvement.

More smiles per mile. (I wonder if your mileage increases too)

Mark

 

On a side note, you MINI is missing the clip, at the valve cover, that holds the other hose in place and would prevent a possible vacuum leak. Don't feel special; I have seen a lot of MINIs missing this clip including mine. It's item 16 (MINI part number: 13717570673) on the diagram. It will run you about two dollars.

 

Quick question...how important is changing the oil after doing the treatment? Reason why I ask is I've noticed that my car is a lot noisier now after the treatment. I changed the oil about two weeks prior, same as I have done for the life of the car. Didn't notice anything then, but after the treatments it runs louder. Idle is the same and throttle response is better. I was thinking to dump out the oil and replace it.

 

Yes, if you put SeaFoam into the crankcase then it's a good idea to change the oil shortly after. If you just put it through the PCV hose, then it's not the oil.

 

Mark that's very kind of you to offer to ship Seafoam down to us heathens.

Could you give me an estimate to ship 2 or 3 bottles to me in Melbourne? If the shipping isn't outrageous (like some other places) I'd go for it.

Kind Regards,
Elie

 

Same manufacturers, just black instead of bare aluminum! Learn something new every day....

Matt