Experience with bad piston rings?

[Linas.P]

No - do all of them. As well if I correctly understand how it work, then I don't believe you could do single cylinder. 

[ColinBarber]

2 hours ago, perseuss69 said:

@Mr Vlad @Linas.P What do you think, should I only soak cylinder 3 (lowest compression) with Sea foam or all of them?

If you are going for the soaking method then you need to change your oil after (because some will seep through the pistons and contaminate the oil) so do all of them at the same time, otherwise you may end up doing multiple oil changes.

[Mr Vlad]

Hi J. I take you've managed to get some Seafoam. As stated above do All the cylinders. There are videos on YouTube showing how to use it by spraying it via a vacuum pipe. Don't. That method will only reach the right bank and barely touch the left bank. As I said earlier spray it through the throttle body. Also as stated earlier change your engine oil straight after the seafoam service. 

[ColinBarber]

Just using seafoam through the intake or fuel won't do much for piston rings clogged with carbon. You need to use the soak method. Take out the plugs, pour in some seafoam to cover the top of the piston and leave for a few hours, vacuum out and repeat a few times (moving the pistons slightly each time). After the final vacuum out, pour in some oil (like a wet compression test) and turn over to remove any remaining seafoam and dislodged bits of carbon, then do a full oil change and put the plugs back in.

[perseuss69]

On 9/20/2023 at 8:00 PM, Linas.P said:

No - do all of them. As well if I correctly understand how it work, then I don't believe you could do single cylinder. 

 

On 9/21/2023 at 6:50 AM, Mr Vlad said:

Hi J. I take you've managed to get some Seafoam. As stated above do All the cylinders. There are videos on YouTube showing how to use it by spraying it via a vacuum pipe. Don't. That method will only reach the right bank and barely touch the left bank. As I said earlier spray it through the throttle body. Also as stated earlier change your engine oil straight after the seafoam service. 

 

23 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

Just using seafoam through the intake or fuel won't do much for piston rings clogged with carbon. You need to use the soak method. Take out the plugs, pour in some seafoam to cover the top of the piston and leave for a few hours, vacuum out and repeat a few times (moving the pistons slightly each time). After the final vacuum out, pour in some oil (like a wet compression test) and turn over to remove any remaining seafoam and dislodged bits of carbon, then do a full oil change and put the plugs back in.

Thanks for the advice. I am going to use the soaking method, to have any potential effect on the rings at all. That means removing the spark plugs, spraying/pouring some amount of Sea foam into the cylinder and letting it soak. I read on their site that you should let it soak for 2-3 days while adding a bit more each day and cranking the engine.

Since it is indeed advised to change the oil after the procedure, I'm thinking of using Liqui Moly's engine flush as well. Or would that be too much?

[Mr Vlad]

Hi J. Removing all the spark plugs is quite a big job. Look on YouTube how to remove the intake manifold. 

As for an engine flush. By all means yes use it but I suggest do it after the oil change after the soaking service. Yes it means more oil but using the flush in the 'new' oil will make sure all the crud is removed within the engine.

[perseuss69]

1 minute ago, Mr Vlad said:

Hi J. Removing all the spark plugs is quite a big job. Look on YouTube how to remove the intake manifold. 

As for an engine flush. By all means yes use it but I suggest do it after the oil change after the soaking service. Yes it means more oil but using the flush in the 'new' oil will make sure all the crud is removed within the engine.

In the first post in this thread I mentioned that I replaced the spark plugs and did a compression test, so I am aware of the process :).

That's a good point to do two oil changes. I'll think about it. Will cost a bit more but it would be better.

[perseuss69]

Bit of a halt of plans currently. Turns out that you cannot ship aerosol sprays out of the UK. Not sure what a good substitute would be that I could get my hands on. Don't think there are many.

[Mr Vlad]

Oh dear. You should then be able to get the liquid equivalent. The liquid would be better since you're doing the soak method.

[Mr Vlad]

Sea Foam 1 Pack (16 Ounce) Extreme Marine & Rv SF-16 Seafoam Liquid 16 Fl Oz https://amzn.eu/d/aPsE2Xw

This stuff maybe.

[J Henderson]

From the product description.

Legal Disclaimer

** This Product Is Only Available To Be Delivered To Mainland UK Addresses** Please Do Not Order If You Are In UK Islands As Your Order Will Be Cancelled.

[perseuss69]

20 hours ago, Mr Vlad said:

Oh dear. You should then be able to get the liquid equivalent. The liquid would be better since you're doing the soak method.

 

20 hours ago, J Henderson said:

From the product description.

Legal Disclaimer

** This Product Is Only Available To Be Delivered To Mainland UK Addresses** Please Do Not Order If You Are In UK Islands As Your Order Will Be Cancelled.

Yeah, I can't get that either. Matter of fact, I can't get anything that people normally use for that process, so I'm going to be using a 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF.

[AFlex]

this guy uses Berrymans and STP as alternatives

 

 

[AFlex]

Have you considered the angle of the pistons being a V6? Most of the videos I've seen have been on I4 or I6 engines hence the pistons are upright and so you get better 'soakage' (yes I'm sure that's a word )