How to Seafoam an Eighth Gen F150 (1987-1991)
09-12-2009, 02:01 AM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
How to Seafoam an Eighth Gen F150 (1987-1991)
Hello everyone, this guide covers the eighth generation F150. So it should work for everything manufactured from 1987 through 1991. I hope it helps clear up some confusion.
Things You'll Need:
- A funnel. Not really necessary per se, it's just really nice to have.
- Rags. You're bound to spill a bit so something to wipe your hands is nice.
Before You Begin:
- The truck needs to be properly warmed up before you start. I usually just take a few laps around my neighborhood.
- You need to be in a spacious, well ventilated area before you start. Trust me, even with the door open, your garage is no place to be doing this.
Step One:
- With the truck stopped and off, raise the hood and locate the brake booster and the vacuum line. They are on the firewall of the truck on the drivers side. Please refer to pics one and two.
Pic One: Overview of the Engine Bay
Pic Two: Closer View of Brake Booster and Vacuum Line
Step Two:
- Detach the vacuum line from the brake booster. This can be accomplished by pulling gently but firmly on the little plastic head that you saw in pic two.
Pic Three: Brake Booster with Vacuum Line Detached
Step Three:
- Put a thumb over the now detached vacuum line and start the truck up. You can release the vacuum hose now, it will just start sucking in air. Turn the end of the vacuum line up, and begin gently pouring in the Seafoam. The truck is going to struggle, and this is normal. Pour slowly, so the truck doesn't stall out. Once you have gotten close to pouring 1/3rd of the can in, begin pouring it more quickly. The idea is to pour it in so quickly that you stall out the truck. Again this is OK because what it's doing is pulling the Seafoam on top of the pistons so it can work on the gunk that's up there.
Pic Four: Pouring in Seafoam
Step Four:
- Once the truck has died; stop pouring and insert the vacuum line back into the brake booster. This part of the procedure is done. Now take the lid off the oil and pour another 1/3 of the can of seafoam into the oil.
Pic Five: Adding Seafoam to the Oil
- Next, pour any remaining Seafoam into the gas tank. Now mine has dual fuel tanks, but I didn't worry about dividing evenly between them. I just put it all in the front tank since thats what I fill up regularly. You can divide the remaining Seafoam between the two tanks or just put in the tank of your choice.
Step Five:
- This is an easy one. Wait twenty minutes. The directions on the can say wait five minutes, but in my experience, that's not enough time for the product to work. Fifteen to twenty minutes is much better.
Step Six:
- Once the time has passed, go ahead and make sure that the vacuum line is firmly attached in the brake booster, your oil lid is back on as is your gas lid. Now start the truck up. It may take a few tries, but it will fire back up. Now when it does, it is going to POUR smoke. Rev your engine and let it go back down to idle. Repeat this until the smoke has either stopped coming out completely or is barely coming out at all. What I like to do at this point is go for a drive. It is good to drive different speeds and vary those to help work out all the crap from your engine. Once you see no more smoke, you are basically done. The next step is completely optional.
Optional Step Seven:
- Change the oil as normal. Now some people recommend changing the oil right after you Seafoam the truck, however if you think about it, that doesn't make sense. Seafoam is a pure petroleum product, it's not going to do any harm by being in your oil. Also changing it right after doesn't really give it time to work. Other people say you can wait a little while. Still others say change the oil every three thousand, like normal. I'm inclined to agree with these people. The makers of Seafoam advocate changing the oil only when it's dirty. However, to each his own on this.
That is the procedure in a nutshell. The benefits of Seafoaming your truck should be a smoother idle and better fuel economy. Thanks for reading -TheDude1982
Things You'll Need:
- A funnel. Not really necessary per se, it's just really nice to have.
- Rags. You're bound to spill a bit so something to wipe your hands is nice.
Before You Begin:
- The truck needs to be properly warmed up before you start. I usually just take a few laps around my neighborhood.
- You need to be in a spacious, well ventilated area before you start. Trust me, even with the door open, your garage is no place to be doing this.
Step One:
- With the truck stopped and off, raise the hood and locate the brake booster and the vacuum line. They are on the firewall of the truck on the drivers side. Please refer to pics one and two.
Pic One: Overview of the Engine Bay
Pic Two: Closer View of Brake Booster and Vacuum Line
Step Two:
- Detach the vacuum line from the brake booster. This can be accomplished by pulling gently but firmly on the little plastic head that you saw in pic two.
Pic Three: Brake Booster with Vacuum Line Detached
Step Three:
- Put a thumb over the now detached vacuum line and start the truck up. You can release the vacuum hose now, it will just start sucking in air. Turn the end of the vacuum line up, and begin gently pouring in the Seafoam. The truck is going to struggle, and this is normal. Pour slowly, so the truck doesn't stall out. Once you have gotten close to pouring 1/3rd of the can in, begin pouring it more quickly. The idea is to pour it in so quickly that you stall out the truck. Again this is OK because what it's doing is pulling the Seafoam on top of the pistons so it can work on the gunk that's up there.
Pic Four: Pouring in Seafoam
Step Four:
- Once the truck has died; stop pouring and insert the vacuum line back into the brake booster. This part of the procedure is done. Now take the lid off the oil and pour another 1/3 of the can of seafoam into the oil.
Pic Five: Adding Seafoam to the Oil
- Next, pour any remaining Seafoam into the gas tank. Now mine has dual fuel tanks, but I didn't worry about dividing evenly between them. I just put it all in the front tank since thats what I fill up regularly. You can divide the remaining Seafoam between the two tanks or just put in the tank of your choice.
Step Five:
- This is an easy one. Wait twenty minutes. The directions on the can say wait five minutes, but in my experience, that's not enough time for the product to work. Fifteen to twenty minutes is much better.
Step Six:
- Once the time has passed, go ahead and make sure that the vacuum line is firmly attached in the brake booster, your oil lid is back on as is your gas lid. Now start the truck up. It may take a few tries, but it will fire back up. Now when it does, it is going to POUR smoke. Rev your engine and let it go back down to idle. Repeat this until the smoke has either stopped coming out completely or is barely coming out at all. What I like to do at this point is go for a drive. It is good to drive different speeds and vary those to help work out all the crap from your engine. Once you see no more smoke, you are basically done. The next step is completely optional.
Optional Step Seven:
- Change the oil as normal. Now some people recommend changing the oil right after you Seafoam the truck, however if you think about it, that doesn't make sense. Seafoam is a pure petroleum product, it's not going to do any harm by being in your oil. Also changing it right after doesn't really give it time to work. Other people say you can wait a little while. Still others say change the oil every three thousand, like normal. I'm inclined to agree with these people. The makers of Seafoam advocate changing the oil only when it's dirty. However, to each his own on this.
That is the procedure in a nutshell. The benefits of Seafoaming your truck should be a smoother idle and better fuel economy. Thanks for reading -TheDude1982
The following 4 users liked this post by TheDude1982:
11-09-2009, 08:51 PM
#2
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Hello everyone, this guide covers the eighth generation F150. So it should work for everything manufactured from 1987 through 1991. I hope it helps clear up some confusion.
Things You'll Need:
- A funnel. Not really necessary per se, it's just really nice to have.
- Rags. You're bound to spill a bit so something to wipe your hands is nice.
Before You Begin:
- The truck needs to be properly warmed up before you start. I usually just take a few laps around my neighborhood.
- You need to be in a spacious, well ventilated area before you start. Trust me, even with the door open, your garage is no place to be doing this.
Step One:
- With the truck stopped and off, raise the hood and locate the brake booster and the vacuum line. They are on the firewall of the truck on the drivers side. Please refer to pics one and two.
Pic One: Overview of the Engine Bay
Pic Two: Closer View of Brake Booster and Vacuum Line
Step Two:
- Detach the vacuum line from the brake booster. This can be accomplished by pulling gently but firmly on the little plastic head that you saw in pic two.
Pic Three: Brake Booster with Vacuum Line Detached
Step Three:
- Put a thumb over the now detached vacuum line and start the truck up. You can release the vacuum hose now, it will just start sucking in air. Turn the end of the vacuum line up, and begin gently pouring in the Seafoam. The truck is going to struggle, and this is normal. Pour slowly, so the truck doesn't stall out. Once you have gotten close to pouring 1/3rd of the can in, begin pouring it more quickly. The idea is to pour it in so quickly that you stall out the truck. Again this is OK because what it's doing is pulling the Seafoam on top of the pistons so it can work on the gunk that's up there.
Pic Four: Pouring in Seafoam
Step Four:
- Once the truck has died; stop pouring and insert the vacuum line back into the brake booster. This part of the procedure is done. Now take the lid off the oil and pour another 1/3 of the can of seafoam into the oil.
Pic Five: Adding Seafoam to the Oil
- Next, pour any remaining Seafoam into the gas tank. Now mine has dual fuel tanks, but I didn't worry about dividing evenly between them. I just put it all in the front tank since thats what I fill up regularly. You can divide the remaining Seafoam between the two tanks or just put in the tank of your choice.
Step Five:
- This is an easy one. Wait twenty minutes. The directions on the can say wait five minutes, but in my experience, that's not enough time for the product to work. Fifteen to twenty minutes is much better.
Step Six:
- Once the time has passed, go ahead and make sure that the vacuum line is firmly attached in the brake booster, your oil lid is back on as is your gas lid. Now start the truck up. It may take a few tries, but it will fire back up. Now when it does, it is going to POUR smoke. Rev your engine and let it go back down to idle. Repeat this until the smoke has either stopped coming out completely or is barely coming out at all. What I like to do at this point is go for a drive. It is good to drive different speeds and vary those to help work out all the crap from your engine. Once you see no more smoke, you are basically done. The next step is completely optional.
Optional Step Seven:
- Change the oil as normal. Now some people recommend changing the oil right after you Seafoam the truck, however if you think about it, that doesn't make sense. Seafoam is a pure petroleum product, it's not going to do any harm by being in your oil. Also changing it right after doesn't really give it time to work. Other people say you can wait a little while. Still others say change the oil every three thousand, like normal. I'm inclined to agree with these people. The makers of Seafoam advocate changing the oil only when it's dirty. However, to each his own on this.
That is the procedure in a nutshell. The benefits of Seafoaming your truck should be a smoother idle and better fuel economy. Thanks for reading -TheDude1982
Things You'll Need:
- A funnel. Not really necessary per se, it's just really nice to have.
- Rags. You're bound to spill a bit so something to wipe your hands is nice.
Before You Begin:
- The truck needs to be properly warmed up before you start. I usually just take a few laps around my neighborhood.
- You need to be in a spacious, well ventilated area before you start. Trust me, even with the door open, your garage is no place to be doing this.
Step One:
- With the truck stopped and off, raise the hood and locate the brake booster and the vacuum line. They are on the firewall of the truck on the drivers side. Please refer to pics one and two.
Pic One: Overview of the Engine Bay
Pic Two: Closer View of Brake Booster and Vacuum Line
Step Two:
- Detach the vacuum line from the brake booster. This can be accomplished by pulling gently but firmly on the little plastic head that you saw in pic two.
Pic Three: Brake Booster with Vacuum Line Detached
Step Three:
- Put a thumb over the now detached vacuum line and start the truck up. You can release the vacuum hose now, it will just start sucking in air. Turn the end of the vacuum line up, and begin gently pouring in the Seafoam. The truck is going to struggle, and this is normal. Pour slowly, so the truck doesn't stall out. Once you have gotten close to pouring 1/3rd of the can in, begin pouring it more quickly. The idea is to pour it in so quickly that you stall out the truck. Again this is OK because what it's doing is pulling the Seafoam on top of the pistons so it can work on the gunk that's up there.
Pic Four: Pouring in Seafoam
Step Four:
- Once the truck has died; stop pouring and insert the vacuum line back into the brake booster. This part of the procedure is done. Now take the lid off the oil and pour another 1/3 of the can of seafoam into the oil.
Pic Five: Adding Seafoam to the Oil
- Next, pour any remaining Seafoam into the gas tank. Now mine has dual fuel tanks, but I didn't worry about dividing evenly between them. I just put it all in the front tank since thats what I fill up regularly. You can divide the remaining Seafoam between the two tanks or just put in the tank of your choice.
Step Five:
- This is an easy one. Wait twenty minutes. The directions on the can say wait five minutes, but in my experience, that's not enough time for the product to work. Fifteen to twenty minutes is much better.
Step Six:
- Once the time has passed, go ahead and make sure that the vacuum line is firmly attached in the brake booster, your oil lid is back on as is your gas lid. Now start the truck up. It may take a few tries, but it will fire back up. Now when it does, it is going to POUR smoke. Rev your engine and let it go back down to idle. Repeat this until the smoke has either stopped coming out completely or is barely coming out at all. What I like to do at this point is go for a drive. It is good to drive different speeds and vary those to help work out all the crap from your engine. Once you see no more smoke, you are basically done. The next step is completely optional.
Optional Step Seven:
- Change the oil as normal. Now some people recommend changing the oil right after you Seafoam the truck, however if you think about it, that doesn't make sense. Seafoam is a pure petroleum product, it's not going to do any harm by being in your oil. Also changing it right after doesn't really give it time to work. Other people say you can wait a little while. Still others say change the oil every three thousand, like normal. I'm inclined to agree with these people. The makers of Seafoam advocate changing the oil only when it's dirty. However, to each his own on this.
That is the procedure in a nutshell. The benefits of Seafoaming your truck should be a smoother idle and better fuel economy. Thanks for reading -TheDude1982
11-16-2009, 03:51 PM
#3
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just brought home my 86 300 4x4 and knew it needed sea foaming. I have a 74 bug that had been sittin for about 5 years, would barley run bad varnished fuel system. did the steps, replaced fuel filter runs like a champ. my f150 sea foamed I can tell a diffence already.. sea foam is great, leave it in the oil for the next oil change, you will be amazed. this product also works great on deisel engines..
11-22-2009, 01:30 PM
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^^^how long did you let it sit? you hav to pour it into the brake booster but you have to do it quick and shut the engine off(some will, mine keeps running until I shut it off) It WILL smoke if you let it sit long enough
