Seafoam in my E46 325ti
Discussion
Hi Guys,
I just wondered if anyone has any first hand experience of using seafoam on a 6 cyl E46? I've read good and bad stuff but most of the bad stuff seems to be from using it incorrectly.
I'm planning to use this guide;
http://nicoclub.com/archives/how-to-use-seafoam-to...
As a bit of background, I'm fully aware that replacing the oil control rings is the proper fix to excessive consumption, but it's also a serious undertaking, and at this point I'm better off exhausting all other methods to 'fix' as it'll only end up being rebuilt anyway if it doesn't work.
So far I've replaced the CCV system with genuine BMW bits, switched to 5w 40 oil, carried out the 02pilot mod, tried a number of short oil changes, engine flushes etc. The 02pilot mod has eased it somewhat but its still getting through a decent amount of oil and the state of the inlet manifold inside says it all.
Appreciate any feedback you guys have, and once I've done it I'll put up my findings.
I just wondered if anyone has any first hand experience of using seafoam on a 6 cyl E46? I've read good and bad stuff but most of the bad stuff seems to be from using it incorrectly.
I'm planning to use this guide;
http://nicoclub.com/archives/how-to-use-seafoam-to...
As a bit of background, I'm fully aware that replacing the oil control rings is the proper fix to excessive consumption, but it's also a serious undertaking, and at this point I'm better off exhausting all other methods to 'fix' as it'll only end up being rebuilt anyway if it doesn't work.
So far I've replaced the CCV system with genuine BMW bits, switched to 5w 40 oil, carried out the 02pilot mod, tried a number of short oil changes, engine flushes etc. The 02pilot mod has eased it somewhat but its still getting through a decent amount of oil and the state of the inlet manifold inside says it all.
Appreciate any feedback you guys have, and once I've done it I'll put up my findings.
Hi,
No I haven't tried liqui moly ceratec, I've watched a project farm video on it and it didn't seem to deliver on all its promises but would deffo consider trying it. Though I can't help but feel I need a product that can break down carbon build up if I'm going to do anything with the oil control rings first?
Looking at the car tonight I don't think the method I posted above is going to work as I can't see a vaccum hose that goes directly into the inlet and will supply all the cylinders. So thinking i need the spray can of seafoam with the line running into the throttle body intake hose after the maf.
What I'm thinking now is to use the seafoam spray first, then put seafoam in the crankcase and tank, then drop the oil, and then put fresh oil in along with ceratec..
Can you tell me more about the issues you had and what you found ceratec did?
My consumption depends on driving but a litre every 500 miles probably isnt far wide of the mark.
No I haven't tried liqui moly ceratec, I've watched a project farm video on it and it didn't seem to deliver on all its promises but would deffo consider trying it. Though I can't help but feel I need a product that can break down carbon build up if I'm going to do anything with the oil control rings first?
Looking at the car tonight I don't think the method I posted above is going to work as I can't see a vaccum hose that goes directly into the inlet and will supply all the cylinders. So thinking i need the spray can of seafoam with the line running into the throttle body intake hose after the maf.
What I'm thinking now is to use the seafoam spray first, then put seafoam in the crankcase and tank, then drop the oil, and then put fresh oil in along with ceratec..
Can you tell me more about the issues you had and what you found ceratec did?
My consumption depends on driving but a litre every 500 miles probably isnt far wide of the mark.
Watching this with interest, but I've always assumed these products don't do what they advertise. Far too much spent on advertising!
My 330ci has did about a pint every 1000miles for a year or two, then rapidly increasing with cleat indication on dropping oil. Replaced rocker cover without improvement, the did the filter housing manifold, which appears to have basically cured all oil loss. Not done anything with the ccv.
Daniel
My 330ci has did about a pint every 1000miles for a year or two, then rapidly increasing with cleat indication on dropping oil. Replaced rocker cover without improvement, the did the filter housing manifold, which appears to have basically cured all oil loss. Not done anything with the ccv.
Daniel
I had high oil consumption - 1L per 1200 miles, now the interval is nearly three times that. It bonds to metal and dramatically reduces the friction between the moving parts. It needs around 500 miles to bed in. But I had no build up as I have always been using LPG.
I would expect any faster motorway driving should dislodge the carbon build up, provided your thermostat is ok.
I would expect any faster motorway driving should dislodge the carbon build up, provided your thermostat is ok.
Thanks guys. Yep whilst the rocker cover gasket/ofhg/dipstick o ring etc etc are all usually needed on these cars, none of these if leaking, nor the ccv are going to be the cause of the sort of oil consumption we're talking about here. Pulling the disa valve and having a look in the inlet manifold will give you an idea, if you're burning plenty of oil it won't be pretty in there.
Thanks for the feedback, I am interested in ceratec, i've got seafoam in the fuel tank and the crankcase now so will run it for a couple of hundred miles then change the oil, I'm planning to then do the seafoam treatment for the top end of the engine plus put it in the crankcase again with the fresh oil. After that if I'm seeing positive results I'll do a further oil change and move to a better brand plus add ceratec at this stage.
We're certainly going to see if any of these additives can rescue an engine suffering at this level.
Thanks for the feedback, I am interested in ceratec, i've got seafoam in the fuel tank and the crankcase now so will run it for a couple of hundred miles then change the oil, I'm planning to then do the seafoam treatment for the top end of the engine plus put it in the crankcase again with the fresh oil. After that if I'm seeing positive results I'll do a further oil change and move to a better brand plus add ceratec at this stage.
We're certainly going to see if any of these additives can rescue an engine suffering at this level.
OP, I know you mentioned replacing the CCV and checking various o-rings on the intake side.
Have you checked all of the vacuum related tubes/pipes on the inlet side? It's possible the vacuum is too high and is sucking the oil up past the rings, what happens if you try and remove the oil cap with the engine running, is it really tight, or does it just give a little whooosh?
There's a you tuber 50skid (50's kid not 50 skid!) who has a few videos on tracking down vacuum problems and oil consumption issues on M54 engines, there might be something else that could help before tearing the engine apart.
Have you checked all of the vacuum related tubes/pipes on the inlet side? It's possible the vacuum is too high and is sucking the oil up past the rings, what happens if you try and remove the oil cap with the engine running, is it really tight, or does it just give a little whooosh?
There's a you tuber 50skid (50's kid not 50 skid!) who has a few videos on tracking down vacuum problems and oil consumption issues on M54 engines, there might be something else that could help before tearing the engine apart.
Olivergt said:
OP, I know you mentioned replacing the CCV and checking various o-rings on the intake side.
Have you checked all of the vacuum related tubes/pipes on the inlet side? It's possible the vacuum is too high and is sucking the oil up past the rings, what happens if you try and remove the oil cap with the engine running, is it really tight, or does it just give a little whooosh?
There's a you tuber 50skid (50's kid not 50 skid!) who has a few videos on tracking down vacuum problems and oil consumption issues on M54 engines, there might be something else that could help before tearing the engine apart.
Hi Oliver, yes I think we're pretty sound on the vaccum side, more or less everything has been checked or replaced, down to the rubber blanks on the back of the inlet manifold. Pre 02pilot mod you could barely detect any vacuum at all just by taking the cap off with the engine running. Post 02pilot there is now some vacuum or though nothing too extreme, the idea with this mod is that it increases vacuum which in turn forces the oil control rings out towards the cylinder. This does seem to have worked to a degree but I imagine the condition of the control rings isn't great hence this alone is not enough to provide any real fix.Have you checked all of the vacuum related tubes/pipes on the inlet side? It's possible the vacuum is too high and is sucking the oil up past the rings, what happens if you try and remove the oil cap with the engine running, is it really tight, or does it just give a little whooosh?
There's a you tuber 50skid (50's kid not 50 skid!) who has a few videos on tracking down vacuum problems and oil consumption issues on M54 engines, there might be something else that could help before tearing the engine apart.
Yea I've watched a number of 50's kid videos.
AW10 said:
Does the engine have any external oil leaks? If yes, try to get them sorted. Basically if oil can leak out then air can get pulled in and with the unintended air flow into the engine some oil gets pulled into the manifold and burned off.
Hi, no it's been all dry now for a while after rocker cover gasket/oil filter housing gasket/dipstick o ring replacements.Hi All,
Just thought I'd give you a quick update on this! So my car is fully seafoamed, so far its had a bottle in the tank, two applications into the crankcase, one pre oil change and one post (I'm now on shell helix 5w40), and tonight I've done a bottle through the intake using the aerosol. That latter was a little scary as the amount of smoke was insane and it put the engine light on for a short period as well as not sounding too clever! Given the amount of smoke I'm very glad I did it at night!
Once cleared the engine light went out and it went back to normal running. Am now about top the oil up to max and give it a week or two to monitor any improvement.
I can say as far as seafoam in the crankcase goes I haven't noticed any improvement, oil consumption has stayed roughly the same.
Once I've done a brief test on the aerosol seafoam I'll then move on to the next treatment which is liqui moly engine flush, obviously this will be followed by a fresh oil change, I will then monitor any improvement from this before going to the last stage which is going to be liqui moly ceratec.
Hopefully by the end of this I'll be able to at least advise which proďucts I think helped or indeed if none of them helped at all!
Just thought I'd give you a quick update on this! So my car is fully seafoamed, so far its had a bottle in the tank, two applications into the crankcase, one pre oil change and one post (I'm now on shell helix 5w40), and tonight I've done a bottle through the intake using the aerosol. That latter was a little scary as the amount of smoke was insane and it put the engine light on for a short period as well as not sounding too clever! Given the amount of smoke I'm very glad I did it at night!
Once cleared the engine light went out and it went back to normal running. Am now about top the oil up to max and give it a week or two to monitor any improvement.
I can say as far as seafoam in the crankcase goes I haven't noticed any improvement, oil consumption has stayed roughly the same.
Once I've done a brief test on the aerosol seafoam I'll then move on to the next treatment which is liqui moly engine flush, obviously this will be followed by a fresh oil change, I will then monitor any improvement from this before going to the last stage which is going to be liqui moly ceratec.
Hopefully by the end of this I'll be able to at least advise which proďucts I think helped or indeed if none of them helped at all!
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