Sea Foam or Snake oil...

[Semper Gumby]

OK...I've got the ethanol blues.  So when ever I get the chance I ask - what cures ethanol in my fuel.  The carbs on the CBR 600 are leaking gas from every seem.  Its going to cost a lot of money to fix.

People just scratch their heads until this last Tuesday and I'm up in North Georgia on an overnighter camping trip on the 1969 BSA Firebird...





Yep thats two tents, a camp chair, a lantern, tool kit, air pump (for the bike just in case), overnight bag, water bottle, Cliff Bars, 1 quart of Spectro golden 70 wt and a towel.  But I digress...

...and this guy has a really nice 1980 Honda CB750 that is running perfectly and I ask him the question.  Is there anything that keeps the ethanol from chewing up my orings on the carbs and he answers "SeaFoam".  He says it keeps the seals from drying out.  And immediatly I can see a connection to our CV carbs and their diaphrams plus other o-rings.

So I google it and get this thread...

http://www.kawasakimotorcycle.org/forum/kawasaki-cruisers/27876-ok-i-give-up-what-seafoam.html

My question to you guys is have you heard of this stuff and is there anybody that uses it?

Thanks in advance,

[Bob_Roller]

I have seen it at the local NAPA auto parts store for about $8US per 12 ounce can .

I personally have never used it, but I have a co-worker that restores '60's and '70's muscle cars, and he uses it to clean the intake tract and intake valves .

No idea if it contains anything that would help extend the service life of rubber parts in the fuel system .

[MrRiden]

NHMAF made reference in another thread that this additive may swell the diaphragms
http://www.bmwr65.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1245695971/0

[montmil]

So, Bill... how much suspension travel remained on the Firebird after you mounted up?

Well I'm a travelin' man, made a lotta stops...   -Ricky Nelson


Monte

[k_enn]

I have used Seafoam, but not for the carb seals.  On the motorcycle, I used it for winter fuel storage.  It is both a gasoline stabilizer, and an anti-moisture additive.  I found it works well for both purposes.  

I have also used it in my car as an engine / gas system cleaner.  It worked very well, especially when injected directly into the intake system through an evap. port.  

Bottom line, to the extent that I have used Seafoam for any of its claimed purposes, it has done the job.  Several people I know swear by it for cleaning out residue and stuck sludge from the oil system when changing the oil.  

Also, I will say that since I used it this winter, a pesky leak at the carb bowl seal has gone away.  Could be coincidence, or not.

k_enn

[Ed Miller]

I've never had problems with ethanol in vehicles, only when I ingest too much.  So I just burn it.

I never knew BSA made the dual sport bikes too; now I'm jealous.  Of course, I want the Triumph version.

[nhmaf]

I've used the seafoam as a fuel stabilizer/additive for cleaning out carbs that were basically clean, but seemed to exhibit just a bit of symptoms of partially clogged jets in bikes and in lawn equipment.   It works well, or at least better than most GumOut or similar products I've tried for the same use.  Some folks on a KAwasaki forum I also frequent have reported it causing some swelling of carb seals after relatively high ratios (but still within the manufacturer's specs) of seafoam-to-gas were used.    I am suspicious that it can also cause the swelling of Bing CV diaphragms, but so far (knock wood) I haven't had any carb problems with it in the R65 for a couple tanks of gas (not going to use it any more before the rally though).

I suppose that if it does cause some level of seal swelling it could, in theory, "fix" the leaky issue that you mentioned, but I couldn't say one way or the other if it's effective for that purpose or pure fiction..

Sorry that I can't be of more help - but $8 would be enough for a number of tanks of gas at 'normal' concentrations, and if the alternative is spending a couple days rebuilding carbs again, it might be worth a can for an experiment.

[Justin B.]

People on various Rice-Burner Forums seem to swear by it.