I tried sea foam in my car after someone told me to do it. I was trying to see if it would make my 02 sensor code go away. 10 miles after putting a can in 3/4 of a tank of gas I noticed the car had a profound increase in power. Like a junky I put another can in a full tank another week later. About a quarter tank later, I turned it on in the morning and noticed it was driving sluggish. The little yellow maintenance sign below my speedometer also turned to red around the same time. -Does this mean there's a new code or is it seperate? It got better after a while but is still not like I remember it being.

The guy who told me to use it assured me it would not pull gunk out of my gas tank and foul the fuel system. I am starting to doubt this. I went by Bond Auto after work and when I found out a fuel filter is $30 I thought I would come here and ask you guys about it first. Car has 173k, I bought it a month ago, it seems maintained. I looked at the spark plugs they are very nice, well three of them are, right one not as much. Basically, who is right, my friend or me about sea foam in the gas tank, and what would you go cleaning or replacing?

This could be from something else- I am just drawing a parallel between putting the sea foam in, noticing decreased power and seeing the the maintenance sign turn red.

 

the maintenance light means nothing so ignore it ... odds are the excess seafoam is simply causing a really low octane situation ... either drain it or drive it off

 

I'll give it another tank of gas before I do anything. It's improved and I'm on the same tank of gas. It was running like a champ one day and then like a buick, now it's 70% better. It would be nice if that's all it was.

 

SeaFoam itself will not hinder the fuel quality, however the gunk/goo/varnish it breaks down may. So you may have been running on the sludge the SeaFoam has broken up/thinned down.
Other thing is SeaFoam will break up carbon deposits, if this is happening off the cylinder head/piston face this can affect the O2 sensor and other components. Basically flushing out the crud. If after another tank you still have issues it may be something else.

 

It seems to be improving but I am still pushing hard to get 75 on the interstate. I am on new gas now. I should give it 50 more miles. I did buy a fuel filter. I'm wondering what you all think I should go at first, the injectors or sensors.

 

If you have a CEL light on for the O2 sensor, replace it. Seafoam will not clean/fix a fouled/inoperable O2 sensor. then if you are still having power issues you should have a compression test performed on the engine.

 

Could the o2 sensors be the problem if they were bringing up codes before it happened?

 

I completely skipped over the O2 code, herp-derp on my part.
If your primary O2 is setting off a code, the engine is running too lean/too rich(you will need to find out why), or there is a problem with the O2 itself.
Best thing would be to monitor the O2s voltage output to see if it is correctly switching.

 

I replaced the fuel filter and primary o2 sensor. I think there is more that is not working properly. I will probably clean the injectors today, I would appreciate any insight on what to go after, I may just give up and throw more techron or sea foam in it to see what happens.

 

Maintenance light normally comes on after 3000 mi to alert u of a necessary oil change. the seafoam my have triggered this light which would be good meaning it has cleaned out ur engine internals.

also i noticed my car driving kinda sluggish after filling with regular gas where i normally use premium.

u can always reset ur ECU which will erase CEL codes and they might never come back (false positive/ problem fixed) to do this u need to pull the ECU fuse under the hood. of course if the light/code comes back then try to resolve it

I was told not to use seafoam or lucas products in engines and most oil mfg. dont suggest it but they might just be trying to sell more product

good luck

 

The maintenance required light is triggered by mileage not by anything related to engine performance.

 

Your wasting your money and having hardcore-placebo effects.

And as pointed out, the Maintenance 'light' is triggered by mileage alone. The CEL is the one to be concerned with if it comes on.

 

Drove it 600 miles in 1 trip... seems better but not like when I got it, maybe because of hole in exhaust though. Noticed spark plug wires where loose from when I check them because they barely stick on. They are the original ones although the plugs are newer. I still have 2000 miles to go. My only real concern is the power steering is a little stiff sometimes after stopping, so I'm wondering if a flush or something might be good insurance.

 

"do you know anything about detonation?"
"muffin man the muffin man"

 

p.s. my car wont even start the same on regular gas compared to premium? but im just crazy and thats all in my mind

 

muffin man u wanna weight in here?

 

I do, and I promise you that your (presumably) stock F22B1 is not getting you any performance, gas mileage, etc from 93 octane over 87. It's 100% in your mind. The ECU on those cars does not tune to the gas you put in it. Your motor is low compression and doesn't even have a knock sensor.

How many links would you like me to post debunking your theory? 100? I could just link you to the Google search that has 842,000 results. Here's one for starters:

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/the...ter-1487358722

 

Flushing the system would likely help, however I'd take a look at the pump and belt first. Make sure you have the right level of fluid and that the belt is on there snug.

If you do end up flushing the system, make sure you pick up the Honda only power steering fluid - stores have it and it does say 'Honda' on it even for aftermarket stuff. The procedure for doing it is on here somewhere - pretty much elevate the front of the car and remove the return line from the reservoir. Move the steering wheel from lock to lock while dumping old fluid from the pump into your waste bucket and continually fill the reservoir with new fluid. After you see the new stuff from pump, reconnect the return hose and do it a few more times to release any bubbles.

You definitely do not want to run the pump dry.

 

well the link YOU posted shows a) normal combustion and b) premature combustion and clearly states

"The main question people ask in regards to this explanation of octane is "Why wouldn't I want the fuel to ignite in an easier fashion? "The answer for that is that, higher octane provides for less of a chance of pre-ignition of fuel which causes knock. In a normal scenario, fuel is sprayed into an engine and only ignites when the spark plug lights up and therefore causes proper movement for the engine. In a pre-ignition or knock condition, the fuel ignites before a spark plug lights up and causes the engine to run less efficiently or to get damaged."

*ahem* sorry premature detonation in my air passage *cough**cough*

do what u wanna do

 

Guess you looked over the following?

Your vehicle is low compression and was designed to operate with 87 octane. Higher compression = greater chance of pre-ignition = you run higher octane. Your vehicle also does not make those adjustments for higher octane fuel. There's debate as to whether the ~'03+ V6 Accord does, GeorgeKnighton seems to believe it does and is generally on top of all things Honda so I take his word on it.

I'm not sure why you feel what you've quoted strengthens your argument.

 

Octane is the anti-knock rating.
If your car is knocking/pinging/detonating, there is something wrong with the engine.
F22s run fine on 87. If yours doesn't find out why.

 

 

sorry guys i gotta go to my back alley X-ray guy can get some Cancer screening done. when im finished ill be going to the botox guy for a few injections. i hope my body makes the proper adjustments

 

Given that two months ago you didn't even know what motor was in your car, I'm sure you know exactly what you're talking about.

Just in case you forgot -

 

Hopefully you dont have to adjust your valves, but its really not a hard job to do.. Also run a compression test as others have suggested. AN JUST GIVE THE CAR AN OIL CHANGE, make sure you drain the oil out good.. Your suppose to change the oil as soon as your done sea foaming anyway.

An your exhaust leak most likely has alot to do with low power.. is the leak before the cat?