SEAFOAM

GRTV8

Well-Known Member
Anyone on here used seafoam in their V8 ?
I have a bottle and my car engine has done 102,000km .
I pulled the sump off last year and was horrified with the sludge/gunk in the pan .So I've been thinking about sludge in the oil ways and heads and in the rest of the motor.
Watched a few vids on You tube and it seems pretty straight forward.
Gerald
 
I'd be more inclined to increase your oil change frequency for a while. If you have a lot of sludge in the engine you don't want them all detracting at once and blocking oilways. The best way is to flush the engine a few times with cheap oil to start removing things.
 
The sump is the best place for the gunk (after the filter). Additives are very dodgy on a V8 because swarf and dirt accumulate in various nooks and crannies (as well as the sump) where by and large they don't do any harm. Any detergent might make these mobile whereby they can embed themselves in bearing surfaces causing rapid wear. This is the same reason synthetic, high detergent oil isn't recommended (unless perhaps the engine was rebuilt as new and always is used).

By all means drop the sump and strainer and clean them but if you want long engine life, change the oil every 3000 miles and ensure you have enough ZDDP. The V8 is a dirty engine, you can reduce this a little by using the later cylinder heads with improved valve sealing but they simply don't work like modern engines with the much superior lubricants they are designed to use.

There are people with engines upward of 300,000 miles with effectively nothing more than top end overhaul (you will be a fair few cams in by then). I'd ask them if they'd use this.
 
Thanks for the "heads Up" Peter and Sdibbers.
I change the oil/filter every six months regardless of milage - I do sweet F-all milage in that time.
My oil has ZDDP as an additive [penrite 30]
Its just that I got a surprise when I had to remove the sump when I put in the bigger oil pump. The collection of rubbish in there over its 40yrs was horrifying.
The motor still goes beautifully .
I'll stop thinking about Seafoam -thanks
 
The V8 is a dirty engine

Hi Peter,

That may be the case for the earlier engines, i.e. the P5B, P6B, but it isn't the case for the 4.6, or rather my 4.6. My flame traps and hoses don't accumulate dry dirt like the old engine, nor does the insides of the rocker cover etc turn brown with grit. In the 10 years since being fitted, and now with 151,000 miles on that engine, the rocker shafts and within are all still clean and silver in appearance.

With respect to additives, I used to use Redex engine treatment on occasions, and never noticed unwanted issues. My original engine had 203,000 miles when removed.

Ron.
 
Hi
Apparently according to RPI website
Leaving out ! Or only tightening the lower head about 10/ 15 psi stops the old V8 from being dirty as the lower bolts distort the heads?
Clive.
 
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