My dealer recommened a “seafoam treatment for the top half of the engine” on my 96 Toyota Camry for $135 plus a throttle body cleaning for another $110. I’ve seen seafoam for a couple of bucks a can. Is this treatment worth it from the dealer? Can they do a better job than I can if I buy the can myself?
They’re recommending the “wallet cleaning”. Unless you’re having an operating problem eith the vehicle. Are you? If so, describe the symptoms.
And you know what they do for that “Seafoam treatment”? They pull a vacuum line and put the end in to the bottle, and let the engine draw it in through the intake. It makes a huge cloud of smoke and crap, they hook back up the vacuum line, and take your 135 bucks for a 5 dollar can of additive and 30 minutes of standing around.
I guess it’s better just to git-yer-own and learn how easy it is to save $235. Talk about foaming for dollars.
It’s services like that, that give dealers a bad rep. What a rip off.
Rather expensive. Frankly unless you are having a problem, you likely don’t need it at all. Most cars will go their entire life without it at all and never suffer for the lack of it.
If you don’t have a problem, don’t fix it.
I don’t like to hear a dealer try to sell me something like that when he is delivering the car back to me. It kind of sounds like they have done something to make run a little worse, convining me that I do need the seafoam in the end. Been there and I have caught them with that BS.
I don’t know what seafoam is, so I would avoid it. You can pour some fuel additive into your gas tank every fill-up at a buck a can. The throttle body can be cleaned with a generous squirt of Gunk-brand carb/injector cleaner and a good wipe-down.
“I don’t know what seafoam is…”
Seafoam is a well respected brand of fuel system cleaner. While I don’t recommend cleaners for a system that does not need them and few do, Seafoam is what I would recommend if one is needed. It is no where close to the cost indicated by the dealer, but the dealer is going to include labor time.
The throttle bodies on some cars (some Ford/Lincoln/Mercury at least) can be damaged by Gunk and other cleaners. They have a coating that the cleaners remove. Once that coating is gone, you will have to clean the throttle body, and often. If it says don’t clean on the throttle body, then don’t!
It is no where close to the cost indicated by the dealer, but the dealer is going to include labor time.
How much labor is involved in pouring a can of Seafoam into the gas tank???
It is no where close to the cost indicated by the dealer, but the dealer is going to include labor time.
As I recall there is a procedure of delivering the straight Seafoam into the fuel system. I understand you get some impressive clouds of smoke when you do this.