Seafoam Working

beautiful Sunday is a good day for getting some car work done. The Wife mentioned that her Check Engine light was on, and the last couple of times that happened it was for the same reason: a dirty sensor that took five minutes to clean.She also needed an oil change, so I figured I’d get some Sea Foam and clean the engine and the intake.Sea Foam, for those of you who don’t know, is one of those products that a huge number of people who hang out in auto-repair forums swear by. You can add it to your gas tank to clean out your injectors, to your crankcase (i.e., your oil) to de-sludge your engine before an oil change, and even to your engine’s air intake to clean the valves.First of all, there is no auto parts store in Short Pump. Well, nothing good. The Carquest on Broad is great for getting a part or two, but it can’t complete with the selection at an AutoZone or Advance Auto.So I poured my existing Sea Foam into my crankcase, I looked up the “A” stores, and drove there, grumbling about wanting to open a franchise closer to me. Picked up what I needed and headed home. That would give my engine a nice cleaning; next I would change both our oil.That was a quick and easy job.Next, the fun part: putting the Sea Foam into the air intake. I read the instructions from several different people online, and they all agreed where to pour the stuff. I warned the Wife: “In a few minutes there’s going to be an, er, event outside.””What kind of ‘event’?””The kind that will make you raise your eyebrows and say ‘What the heck is he doing now?’,” I said. (Note: These are actual quotes.)So I started the engine, disconnected the proper hose, carefully poured the Sea Foam in, and let it do its stuff for a few moments. Then I shut the engine to let it soak, and repeated it with the Wife’s car.I called her out. “Come see.””Come see what?””Come see all the junk that’s in your engine.”While she stood on the porch I started her engine. Clouds of white smoke billowed out of the tailpipe as the Sea Foam – and a whole lotta engine crap – burned off and out.She went inside to avoid the cloud, which was spreading quickly. I shut her engine, then put all my tools and such away.”Tomorrow you get to drive to work James Bond style,” I said. “There’s more junk that needs burning off.”Wonderful.” News source: A Year In Richmond