Sea Foam burnt up seals?

[hlamar]

When I first got my 97 NAS D90 a little less than a year ago, it was running fine. It had about 79K miles on it. Not knowing the full service history of the vehicle, I began prophylactically changing all the fluids. When I changed the oil the first time, at a friend's suggestion, I added some Sea Foam to the oil(http://www.seafoamsales.com/motorTuneUpTechGas.htm). Within a few days after, it seemed the truck starts running rich and having the "smelly exhaust" problem recently referenced in Hutch Craig's recent post in this forum. I also started noticing oil leaks all around the oil pan -- it had been a little moist before but never dripped to the floor. Some of the oil leak is right by the catalyst converters (any danger of fire here?). Could Sea Foam eat up the seals like this, maybe even cause oil/gas mix in the engine -- causing the "rich" smell (i.e., burning oil)?

How much of a pain in the arse is it to drop an oil pan in a 97 NAS D90? Any help comments, experience, etc. is much appreciated!

Heston

[Tim Scully]

Heston,

How much sea foam did you mix into the oil? I have heard of people doing that but have never experimented with it myself. I would tend to think that it would take longer than a week to deterorate the seals in the engine and this is probably just a coincidence. As for the smell I guess the sea foam could be more combustable and thin the oil out causing it to smell differently. The smell is more than likely just the oil hitting the exhaust as it drips off of the rear of the engine.

The oil pan isn't terribly difficult but can be a messy job. I always use the "RightStuff" sealant instead of permatex or other sealants. It can be hard to get the pan off sometimes but if it is leaking a great deal using a small pry bar should get it right off. While you are in there be sure to make sure the pick up doesnt have a lot of debris in it. A lot of the oil pans were resealed by the dealers and the techs were known to use too much of the sealant causing the pickup tube to be partially blocked. You need to drop the sway bar if you still have on the get the pan out. Just remove the four bolts on the sway bar rubber mounts and the pan comes out behind the fron axle.

[hlamar]

Thanks for the reply Tim. I actually drained the oil w/ the Sea Foam about 100 miles ago and replaced the oil and filter but same smell & leaks...

[pendy]

Its just coincidence. If the oil pan is leaking. Remove it and reseal it. Not the biggest job to tackle.

Rislone is a much better way to help clean sludge from an engine.

JP

[Monkeyboy]

Or just change it more often and drive the crap outta it :cool:

I've never used any of the cleaner stuff except Techron in the gas .... and Rotella oil ... why would I need the Seafoam / Rislone again?

Good to see you can type, Jimmy :)

"Italian Tune-up"

[pendy]

I removed a Disco oil pan last year with in excess of 280,000 on the clock. There was an indention in the buildup of sludge at the bottom of the oilpan. Over an inch deep depression leading to the Drainplug.

Seen this over the years on high mileage RRC also, but this was something extra special. These engine likes to run dirty, even when maintained. A little rislone every now and again is my answer to this. Besides it pours out blue, so it must be cool.

JP

[Monkeyboy]

Besides it pours out blue, so it must be cool.

Ooooo, blue!? I'm sold now :cool:

[hlamar]

Okay, mechanic has a theory on what happened -- he said many of my seals are dried and cracked. He said they were likely sealed up by sludge, so once the Sea Foam cleaned-up the sludge, out came the oil! See new post about related repair question please!