[Rockster]

The only cleaner I use is Techron. Either I use it by buying Chevron gasoline with Techron. Or if Chevron gasoline is not available I'll buy a bottle of the stuff at the autoparts store and add the proper amount to the fuel tank then fill the tank with gasoline.

Techron can help direct injected engines because it does not burn in the combustion chamber. It turns to vapor then when this vapor comes in contact with the cooler surfaces of the combustion chamber, piston top, and valves, including the back of the intake valves which gets exposed to combustion gases as some of these flow into the intake on purpose to contaminate the incoming air to lower combustion temperature and reduce the production of No2, it reverts to a liquid and in doing so works to remove deposits.

Engine oil provides engine cleansing if given half a chance. Really all it takes is to use the right oil -- my advice is use the oil the factory recommends -- and change the oil based on the type of usage the vehicle is subjected to. A vehicle used for short trips might need the oil changed every 3K miles. A mixed use vehicle 5K or 6K miles. I have driven different cars 5K miles on a long road trip -- starting out with fresh oil -- then when I get home and as is my habit change the oi and it comes out looking pretty fresh. It is clear if the car spent its time running down the freeway at 65mph or thereabouts it could easily go 10K miles on the oil. But that is not my typical usage.

It is important to when changing the oil to have the engine up to operating temperature so when the old oil is drained it brings with it the bulk of the sludge causing contamination (water and other combustion byproducts).

I'm reluctant to put any liquid in the cylinders. There is not a lot of room when the piston is at top dead center and the valves are closed. You risk hydraulic locking of the engine.

For cleaning out the engine I have found like I mentioned above Techron works. But what has also worked for me is just give the car a long drive. In my experience about 50 miles at freeway speed has an engine that has not been subjected to that amount of freeway driving in some months running noticably better. Just gasoline, like just oil, has some rather good detergent capabilities.

 

[Rockster]

reason i use seafoam is multi pointed,, first off years a go had a diesel with knock injector related , I plugged in live data could see fuel corrections of one injector was miles out and other 3 were out less,, stuck a can in fuel filter housing ran engine for 30 minutes at 3000 revs after all corrections baselined where should be, well proved it works in my mind,, then another car had misfire intermittent compression was petrol can spray inlet spray on when engine was cold left over night came back out turned key running no misfire's cleaned valve seats,, had a honda diesel done 230k and the fumes out the oil filler cap was like a train , stuck a full can in oil kill or cure nothing to loose as it already failed mot, 2 days later totally clean rings had resealed to bore deglazed and unstuck rings ,,
but the best bit is I rebuild loads of these engines and i soak the parts over night with seafoam and next day they clean up easy, on petrol cars it also stays as a no combustible cleaner and will clean injectors as get wispy exhaust when not hot,, also and o have done this a lot soaked a cat over night and then next day start engine and take for a rip around the block take to mot for it to pass but before was a very big fail, for me in real time and world conditions its done the above and works,

When I worked on car and car engines Sea Foam wasn't around. For the larger parts, like heads, block, etc., I would send these out to an automotive machine shop to be cleaned then any necessary machine work done.

For smaller parts, I had a can of parts cleaner with a metal basket. I'd put parts (ferrous only!) to be cleaned in the basket and let them soak. After not much time they would be clean or the grime loose enough to be removed with a soft (brass) scrub brush and then a shot of brake clean followed by a shot of shop air.

For aluminum parts I think I had a can of carb cleaner with a metal basket. The stuff was good at removing dirt but didn't damage the aluminum.

Never had any issues with injectors in my gasoline or one diesel cars. Like I said for my gasoline engine cars if I thought the fuel system/engine needed "cleaning" I'd use Techron. I never had any reason to look into a cleaner for my diesel. I used good low sulfur diesel fuel. Keep the water trap drained and changed the fuel filter on schedule. And as was my habit with my gasoline engine cars I'd use a good oil (Mobil 1 0w-40 which was an approved oil for a number of car engines in my garage over the years) and change it every 5K miles.

 

[Rockster]

work on a lot of vag engine s PD engines run the injectors in crankcase and have seals that form a barrier to the fueling system on them ,, very common for engine oil to end up in fuel tank and fuel becomes contaminated with oil engine oil as do the crankcase and engine oil with diesel is common , hence why can get bad build up of carbon in fuel and then injectors, and that seafoam i found works well to deal with it ,, can see the corrections changing when run it when its dirt carbon related and not wear , EU engines are more prone to crud due to the emissions based rubbish added to them, a lot of new cars now use 0.10w or 05w oil and long life crap that does more damage than good, 8k oil anf ilter changes and max 12 months better way forward , as most of the captured carbon designs put that in the oil hnce why run thin oil that by time needs changing could be as think as a 10/40w oil,, just think of were running a 10/40w oil from fresh how thick that would be by time 24 months and 20k miles had gone by on a engine designed to collect crud in oil

That's all well and good, but the OP doesn't (AFAIK) have a vag engine.

While there are exceptions I'm sure in the OP's case I don't believe there's any reason to use SeaFoam in the oil, spray it into the intake, or put some in each cylinder.

Given reasonable use and servicing the engine will remain relatively deposit free and sludge free.

It is hard to believe Seafoam, with these ingredients:

can work the miracles some believe it capable of and just 1 ounce per gallon of fuel or one ounce per quart of oil. I note it contains alcohol. A number of car owners are reluctant to use gasoline with ethanol and yet would I guess use Seafoam with some alcohol content not only in gasoline but in engine oil.

My SOP is to avoid any additive in the fuel, oil, or putting directly into the engine, unless the auto maker recommends it.

The exception -- as I have noted -- is Techron. This comes in some (I think at least two) brands of gasoline. Chevron and one other. My info is Porsche (at least used to) ran Chevron gasoline in its engines for emissions certification. We are not talking about Porsche engines though. But still if one is truly concerned about engine deposits, dirty fuel system, use Techron. Or better yet contact the car maker and ask what it would recommend using.

 

[Rockster]

really so breaking down the carbon that builds up in crankcase from a engine that is prone to such issues is not anything to do with anything in your world then,

Or better yet contact the car maker and ask what it would recommend using.,, yep better not listen to you or me then great idea lol , i've spent way to much going nowhere time on this thread playing ,

My auto tech buddies told me if a engine is sludged up to not use any cleaner. All that would likely happen is if the cleaner had any effect would be the oiling sludge would likely cause more problems being loosened.

Back the all that was available was ATF. This was the goto for engine cleaning.

Hard to imagine what additional benefit from alcohol and light petroleum distillates could provide. Ummm let's see: Light petroleum distillates. That's gasoline, naptha, kerosene, I think diesel fuel. I have found MSDS for other engine cleansers and kerosene seems to be the favorite light distillate.

Not a fan of putting something in the oil that will reduce its viscosity for the sake of doing what the recommended oil will do if used right. And that is keep the engine from sludging up. It is clear from engine tear downs which engines have received proper oil changes and which ones have not.