Long time stalker of this webpage, newly registered. It's a 04 with about 90K on her. Just did a full tune up and it wouldn't be complete without a good smoke storm. The last thing I have planned is a new clutch. Found a local retired BMW tech who will do it for $900.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVgC4k-cgfw

 

Any noticeable gains in MPG or throttle response?

 

Not sure on MPG, but it did have the infamous idle hesitation every so often and now that has gone away. It seems to be a lot smoother overall.

 

Did you use the aerosol spray or the pour the air intake or PVC tubes?

 

I did my second treatment yesterday, car does now seem a bit better off Idle and easier to pull away from a light with the A/C on. Not as much dark smoke on the second go through, and I let it sit for a good hour before i ran it. I poured through the Intake with s smaller hose and it just sucked it right in, very easy to do

 

hmmmmmm very strange. I now have an intermitant service engine soon. It comes on in the morning and after about 5 ignition cycles (on off on off on off....) which is roughly by about mid-day it turns off. I dont have a scanner and here in CA you cant rent them. Car seems to be running great though?

 

I'm thinking either O2 sensor or perhaps bad coil packs (small changes in voltage will result in SES right?)

Light is currently off. Probably will come on tomorrow morning.

 

Well I just drove down to the local auto repair shop and the guy let me use his scanner for free...cool guy! Codes that came up were PO130 O2 sensor bank one sensor 1 and PO301 cylinder 1 misfire.

I think these codes are a direct result of Seafoam. Once I have enough cash Ill replace the O2 sensor and see what happens. I erased the codes for now.

 

I would wait for a while to see if the O2 code comes back and my bet is that it won't. But if it does, clear it one more time before you change it. Cleaning it is too much work so if you are thinking about that, I would just replace it. But it is not cheap and the general consensus is that the OEM sensor is the way to go rather than a Bosch that the books say will work.

As for the misfire, clearly the Seafoam and no problem at all. I usually do my Seafoam treatment just before I am set to change the plugs.

///Rich

 

Thanks for the reassurance I figured the Seafoam is a direct result of all this and after clearing the codes hopefully it doesnt come back.

 

Just a quick update. After clearing the codes for a few days now I'm happy to report no SES or any issues at all.

 

How did you get the SF in the engine? I used to pull the vacuum hose off the master cyl on my camaro and suck it in that way... how is it done on the S?

 

We finally got a chance to pour 1/2 can of Seafoam into the PVC tube that's to your left as you look into the engine bay. It's the one nearby the MINI logo on the engine block.

From the various vid's and information here, it seemed like the "correct tube" to use, but it didn't suck up the Seafoam as expected, instead it sat inside the tube for a couple of minutes or so, sometimes even spitting it out in little squirts. We also put our thumb to cover the open hose thinking it should have sucked it in quicker, but it still just stayed in the tube for a while.

We let it rest for a good 35 minutes then cranked the engine over......no smoke, neither white or black. It did idle slightly with hestiation but went away, no CEL lights either. It runs fine otherwise.

So was the Seafoam used properly? We have almost 73K and first time Seafoamer on the S.

 

Steve, it sounds like the pvc tube is not connected to the throttle body, hence, no suction.

You can look under the stock intake tube to see if that is the case. If it looks connected, it may be plugged or otherwise blocked.