Sea Foam
So often the XJ Owners Group Mailing List, forums and my e-mail run rampant with questions about Sea Foam. What is it for? Where can you get it? How do you use it? What the heck is it? Sea Foam questions like these come up so often that I thought it appropriate to prepare something to answer everyone's questions about this mysterious elixir.
/ Sea Foam: What is it?Sea Foam: What does it look like?
Sea Foam: What does it do?
Sea Foam: Where can it be used?
Sea Foam: How is it used when added to a gas tank?
Sea Foam: How is it used when added to oil in the crankcase?
Sea Foam: Where can it be purchased & for how much?
Sea Foam:
What is it?
In a nutshell, Sea Foam is a magical "Auto-Marine Motor Treatment". It's a petroleum-based solvent/cleaner that does all sorts of good things for your engine. Many people, me included, swear by it because it's so incredibly effective and generally awesome. No motorcycle owner should be without it. In fact, I keep about a dozen bottles the shelf at any time.
Sea foam: What does it look like?
Sea foam comes in a 473mL (16 fl.oz., 1 Pint) metal can which is either red, white & black (Canada) or red & white (U.S.A.). The picture below shows a Canadian can of Sea foam (left, Part#SF-16C) next to its U.S. counterpart (right, Part#SF-16).
Sea Foam: What does it do for your engine?
Rather than putting it into my own words, below is a list of things which Sea Foam is capable of as described on the product label.
Sea Foam: Product Label Claims• injector cleaner
• carburetor & jet cleaner
• carbon cleaner
• fuel stabilizer
• diesel fuel conditioner & anti gel
• frees sticky lifters-rings
• de-icer anti gel
• upper cylinder lube
• removes moisture from oil and fuel
• helps pass emissions tests / • cures hesitations, stalls & pings
• smoothes rough idles
• oxygen sensor safe
• cleans dirty engine parts internally
• cleans catalytic converter odors
• removes harmful gums, varnish & carbon
• increases RPMs, vacuum & compression
• restores power & pickup
• cleans PCV valve systems
• works & performs instantly
Sea Foam: Where can it be used?
There seems to be no limit to where this product can be used. The table below lists the engine applications for which Sea Foam claims to be appropriate as well as some means of application as described on the product label.
Sea Foam: Engine Applications• cars
• trucks
• tractors
• motorcycles
• snowmobiles
• snow blower
• inboard boat motor
• outboard boat motor
• lawnmower
• chainsaws / • add to crankcase oil
• add to gas or diesel fuel tank
• good for all engines: 2-cycle, 4-cycle, diesel
• oxygen sensor safe
• pour through carburetor or throttle body
• feed through manifold vacuum line
• use in injector cleaning machines
• fill into diesel fuel filters
• use to store & fog engines
• good to -60°F (-51°C)
Sea Foam: How is it used when added to a gas tank?
As per the product label, when Sea Foam is added to the fuel in a gas tank, it should be added at an average rate of approximately 8mL per Liter (1 oz. per U.S. gallon). The label indicates that 1 can of Sea Foam treat approximately 30 to 95 Liters of fuel (8 to 25 U.S. gallons).
While that may be true and may do exactly as the product label claims, experience and experimentation have shown that higher concentrations are more effective and achieve the goal more quickly and more thoroughly. Personally, I've divided Sea Foam fuel treatments into three categories that I've found work very well for my motorcycle:
Maintenance Dose / • add ½ to 1 full can of Sea Foam
to a full tank of gas (11½ Liters, 3 U.S. gallons)
Soft Treatment / • add ½ can of Sea Foam
to reserve volume of gas (3 Liters, ~ ¾ U.S. gallons)
Hard Treatment / • add 1 full can of Sea Foam
to reserve volume of gas (3 Liters, ~ ¾ U.S. gallons)
A very common reason for poor performance & related symptoms is varnish buildup in your carburetors and that's where Sea Foam really shines. Even if you believe that your carburetors are in perfect condition, Sea Foam may surprise you. If you have plans to have your motorcycle carburetors tuned in the near future, it would be wise to run through a few Sea Foam fuel treatments beforehand to make sure you're not going to have the carbs adjusted out of sync just to offset effects of possibly restricted jets. I highly recommend regular maintenance doses at the very least.... perhaps every 4th or 5th fill of the tank.
Sea Foam: How is it used when added to oil in the crankcase?
I've never treated the oil in a crankcase with Sea Foam before so for now, I'll defer to the instructions. As per the product label, when Sea Foam is added to oil in a crankcase, it should be done in such concentrations that 1 can of Sea Foam treats 9.5 Liters (2.5 U.S. gallons) of oil. Unfortunately, that's all the detail the label provides and that isn't quite enough. There's no mention of whether the engine can be run under load or whether it must simply idle in neutral. There's also no mention of how long this treatment is to be applied. Should the Sea Foam cycle through the engine for only minutes or should it remain there for months? There really isn't enough detail to ensure that damage isn't done by its use and that's why input from some XJ owners would be more valuable here. When I have some instructions based on prior XJ owner use, I'll add those details here. Until then,use your own judgment.... and by that I mean ask someone who knows better.
Sea Foam: Where can it be purchased & for how much?
Sea Foam seems to be a lot more plentiful south of the border, in the U.S.A. It apparently ranges in price from about USD$3.99 to USD$7.99 depending on where you buy it, in what quantities and whether it's on sale or not. In the Great White North, Canada, Sea Foam is available at fewer stores and costs from about CAD$10.29 to CAD$14.00, again depending on the source, the quantity and the sale.
To help you locate a source for Sea Foam near you, I've compiled the following lists for both Canada and the U.S.A. based on input from XJ owners who have previously purchased Sea Foam for themselves and others. Where available, the list shows cities and stores where Sea Foam has previously been purchased with a corresponding price. For store chains, I've provided links to store locators and a known price range for Sea Foam at the corresponding stores. I'd be happy to include additional information if you're willing to send it to me.
CANADA
• Auto Value Parts Stores
Calgary, Alberta, Canada / • CAD $14.00
• Base Automotive
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada / • CAD $?.??
• CarQuest (Canada)
Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada
Burlington, Ontario, Canada*
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada / • CAD $7.99* to $13.00
• Ideal Supply
Huntsville, Ontario, Canada / • CAD $?.??
• NAPA (Canada)
Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada / • CAD $10.29 to $11.90
• Wayne's Auto Supply
Huntsville, Ontario, Canada / • CAD $?.??
U.S.A.
• Ace Hardware
Spokane, Washington, U.S.A. / • USD $4.99
• Advance Auto Parts
Woodstock, Georgia, U.S.A.
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A.
Pennsylvania, U.S.A. / • USD $5.44 to $5.99
• AutoZone
Lansing, Michigan, U.S.A.
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A.
West Toms River, New Jersey, U.S.A. / • USD $5.49 to $6.99
• Blain's Farm & Fleet
Wisconsin, U.S.A.
Illinois, U.S.A.
Iowa, U.S.A. / • USD $5.99
• CarQuest (U.S.A.)
San Diego, California, U.S.A.*
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A. / • USD $4.99* to $6.98
• Menards
Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.A.
Iowa City, Iowa, U.S.A. / • USD $4.88 to $4.99
• Mills Fleet Farm
Wisconsin, U.S.A. / • USD $5.99
• Murray's Discount Auto Centre
Lansing, Michigan, U.S.A. / • USD $6.99
• NAPA (U.S.A.)
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A.
Forked River, New Jersey, U.S.A. / • USD $6.00 to $7.99
• Northern Tool & Equipment
South Carolina, U.S.A.
Virginia, U.S.A.
U.S.A. / • USD $3.99 to $5.00
• O'Reilly Auto Parts
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A. / • USD $5.99
• USD $42.99 / U.S. gal.
• Pep Boys
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A.
EastTomsRiver, New Jersey, U.S.A.
San Diego, California, U.S.A. / • USD $5.99 to $6.99
Of course Sea Foam Sales Co. does not sell to people directly but they can certainly help source their product so I've provided their contact information here as well with an additional link to their distributors page:
Sea Foam Sales Co.
P.O. Box 5178
Hopkins, Minnesota
ZIP 55343-1178
U.S.A.
So, if this sounds like an endorsement of Sea Foam... well, I guess it sort of is... but it's certainly not official. Remember, this page was created just to answer questions about Sea Foam for those people who will inevitably ask. It will undoubtedly save a few people some time in repeatedly typing the same e-mail replies to the same Sea Foam questions. I certainly hope this page is helpful & provides some answers.