Given that Seafoam is somewhat known in your area, I would say go ahead and
give it a treatment. Then...just drive the damnned thing. It will give you
plenty to worry about after that ;-)
Terrence N. Banbury
1967 SPITFIRE MK III
1988 Honda Accord lX
1998 Ford Expedition EB
2000 Ford Mustang GT
1973 Honda CB350G
> ----------
> From: Dummer, Dan[SMTP:Dan.Dummer@BestBuy.Com]
> Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2000 4:49 PM
> To: 'Banbury, Terrence'
> Cc: 'Spitfire List'
> Subject: RE: Seafoam
>
> Seafoam is an engine detergent sold in auto parts stores around here
> (Minnesota). I thought it was a fairly universal product, but nobody
> else
> seems to have heard of it, so maybe not. I'm not trying to sell the
> engine short. Its simplicity of design, and resilience are a couple of
> the
> reasons I like the brand to begin with. What concerns me is that the car
> was stored (if you can call letting it sit outside in the rain with the
> top
> down for multiple years storage) with very dirty oil in it. Which gives
> me
> an idea of how much it was loved and cared for before it was "stored"
> When
> I drained the oil, it had all the consistency of cold molasses, and was
> blacker than tar. What I'm thinking is that years of sitting may have
> caused the heavier dirt particles to have settled onto the bottom of the
> pan, and elsewhere. A single oil change, or more, won't loosen it up.
> Or
> worse, it will dislodge it enmass and who knows what trying to push that
> much sludge through the system will cause. I've heard of people using
> diesel fuel because of the detergent content, but it doesn't have decent
> enough viscosity, and I think it would do more harm than good. I know
> the
> "right" answer would be to pull the engine apart and make sure its clean.
> Thats a time consuming and expensive endeavor, and I don't want to
> undertake
> it at the beginning of the nice driving weather. If there is a silver
> bullet for this problem, I'm hoping someone on the list might know if it.
> Or maybe I just need someone to tell me to stop worrying so my and just
> drive the damn thing. ;-)
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Banbury, Terrence [SMTP:Terrence.Banbury@dnr.state.oh.us]
> > Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2000 2:36 PM
> > To: 'Dummer, Dan'
> > Subject: RE: Seafoam
> >
> > Dan, never heard of Seafoam. Don't take advice from anyone who hasn't
> > worked on a Spitfire. And don't sell these engines short. My brothers
> > sat
> > for years neglected, and after points, plugs, oil change, fresh fuel
> (and
> > a
> > little starting fluid) it started. From there you just fine tune it.
> In
> > short, use no magic stuff. Maybe the no. 1 piston has a problem, but
> > magic
> > goo won't help it.
> >
> > > ----------
> > > From: Dummer, Dan[SMTP:Dan.Dummer@BestBuy.Com]
> > > Reply To: Dummer, Dan
> > > Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2000 1:58 PM
> > > To: 'Spitfire List'
> > > Subject: Seafoam
> > >
> > >
> > > List,
> > >
> > > Could I get opinions/caveats on using "Seafoam" to clean engine
> > internals.
> > > Does it work ? Is it bad for the engine ? Is there something better
> ?
> > > The reason I ask is that I have a Spit that has sat un-running and
> > > un-cared
> > > for, for a long time. (it didn't run for the PO, and I have no idea
> how
> > > its
> > > been idle). As part of a "get it running" project, I'd like to get
> > the
> > > engine internals as clean as I can without a teardown. The parts
> > > jockey's
> > > at my local parts store recommended putting Seafoam" in both the crank
> > > case,
> > > and dumping a can of it in the gas as well. But..... since they were
> > > surprised to hear the Triumph made cars instead of motorcycles, I'm
> > taking
> > > all of their recommendations with a grain of salt.
> > >
> > > On a related topic, as part of my "get it running" project, I did a
> > > compression check, and came up with 122 PSI in cylinders 2 thru 4, but
> > > only
> > > 98 in cylinder 1. Still within tolerable range, but doesn't fill me
> > with
> > > warm fuzzies. I was going to try to find a chemical product of some
> > > sort
> > > to see if I can dislodge any carbon that may have built up and see if
> > that
> > > fixes it. Can anybody recommend one ? If it can't be fixed
> > chemically,
> > > how far can I push it before I have to start thinking about new
> > > valves/rings
> > > and other more expensive fixes ?
> > >
> > > Cheers,
> > > dan.dummer@bestbuy.com
> > >
>
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