What the hell is seafoam and why would any one do it ?
please let me know, is it to improve gas mileage? or what ?

i have 97 honda civic lx and has 100k miles was wondering if i need to do it
Cylinder 4 Misfire

 

sounds like an injector is bad...we replaced an assload of those on 6th gen civics when i worked for honda.

 

how big is it a deal to replace the injector ? is it a DIY job ?
how much an injector costs ?

 

Whoa before you go replacing injectors(which are expensive) start with the basics. Sparkplugs, Sparkplug wires, Distributor cap and rotor. If that doesn't fix it then FIRST try swapping injectors and see if the misfire follows to that cylinder.


If it follows then you know you have a bad injector and can replace as needed.

 

thanks for the reply,
Well, i did replace the spark plugs, distributor cap, rotor like before 5000 miles. i got this CEL with same error codes 4th cylinder misfire. then i cleaned up the cap/rotor and plugs and had reset the cel light. it went away and came back after 3 months.

now i can notice the following

1. poor gas mileage.
2. poor accelleration.

now the turn is to change the spark plug wires. and see if it goes away

 

try adjusting your valves...since its only #4 it might not be the problem but 30mins of labor is well worth the trouble spent on more money....

 

had the same problem as you, went through 2 sets of used wires and still had miss. Ended up buying a new set and that cured it... moral = don't be cheap/ clean stuff, just buy new stuff

 

I use seafoam to clean the carb. on my Lawnmower...its a Honda
Its a fuel treatment/cleaner. I have never put it in a car, but have used it on 4 wheelers and lawnmowers with success.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1999all_motoR_teg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Whoa before you go replacing injectors(which are expensive) start with the basics. Sparkplugs, Sparkplug wires, Distributor cap and rotor. If that doesn't fix it then FIRST try swapping injectors and see if the misfire follows to that cylinder.


If it follows then you know you have a bad injector and can replace as needed.</TD></TR></TABLE>

instead of replacing a bunch of stuff and spending money that you dont have to, you could easily check to see if the injector is bad by putting a screwdriver on the casing of it and listen for ticking. if it clicks repeatedly, its working ok. the only problem is that a lot of them intermittently fail, so you will have to check when it is actually misfiring (rough idle, slow acceleration).

 

Thanks ya all for answering the question.
Well the good news is that I got a CEL when the car has an extended warranty on emmition. I got an appointment with Honda service and am getting a free tuneup and i might get all fixed for free

 

emissions extension program?? thats nice if you get those-it covers plugs, cap, rotor, plug wires, oil change, and sometimes injectors.

 

Seafoam works wonders...

 

you guys are thinking you just add seafoam to the tank. you can..but to get the full effect you have to do the following

start the car and let it idle. get a cup and put about 6 ounces of seafoam in it. pull a vacuum line off the intake manifold. put the line into the seafoam and keep the car running. right when it starts to stall pull the line out. on abotu the 3rd time suck it all out and let the car stall. let it sit and go drink a few beers.then, go fire your car up. its going to smoke so much your neighbors will call the fire dept. rev it, run the **** out of it and it will stop smoking. that smoke is all the carbon leaving the head and valves and piston tops. for a full write up with pictures go to these links from vwvortex.com this is from the 12V VR6 forums

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1668778

you can even put it in your crank case before an oil change.

ive done it on my GTI VR6 and noticed a difference when i pulled the head a month later.

 

Most of that smoke is oil that soaks the intake runners from the pcv valves. I seafoamed a car with 2 cans right before i rebuilt the motor. It didnt do ****. pistons were still black, intake valves had crud on them and the combustion champber was only clean around the valves. No different than last time i had an engine out. Intake manifold was cleaner on first 3 runners last one was a little greasier. It all in our heads about seafoam. Gas has enough cleaners in it already. If engines were so dirty the epa would mandate extra cleaners or seafoam treatment because they need it. I can also put automatic transmission fluid in the engine the same way and it will smoke way better does this mean this old school engine cleaning method is better than seafoam. No just that it smokes more. Or Kerosene which knocks a little if you use too much. I would also suspect that seafoam burns the oil off the cylinder walls which might not be good at all. Untill i see some controlled studies i dont see any proof that this is some miracle product just snake oil. It might do well in a lawnmower or other carbed engine.
In a moder emmision controlled fuel injected engine i dont see the benefits as they were disigned for a cleaner burn and have computer controls to monitor them as such.