leojharris Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 here's what's happened: a week ago i ran completely out of gas; after filling up the truck ran like hell, wouldn't idle without stalling; rps dipping up and down to 0; ran fine at high accelerations and when flooring it. a friend suggested i change the fuel filter in case junk got sucked up into the line and clogged it. i did this and the truck ran like a new one; i also added a can of seafoam additive to help clean things up. today, not a week after putting in the new filter, the truck is running freaky again, stalling at idle, sputtering, and noticeable *black* smoke during the sputtering points. smoke smells sort of like that additive burning or some other sort of slight chemical smell (not oil, to be sure). the black smoke is what's different about a week ago ... anybody have any suggestions on where to start digging? i'm going to check the plugs today. also, another mechanic i know said the additive i put in might be knocking carbon loose from within the fuel system and this could be passing out of the system. does this sound possible? thanks for any assistance, joel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 yeah, sounds like the seafoam is working it's way through... did you read the instructions on it? you may need another filter after the treatment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdhicks99 Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 Yup, Seafoam is pretty potent and it'll break up alot of junk and send it through your filter and out your tailpipe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leojharris Posted June 14, 2006 Author Share Posted June 14, 2006 (edited) check out the plug i just pulled; what's up with that wierd notch down the middle of the contact? Edited June 14, 2006 by leojharris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 are all the plugs this way? maybe that's their design.. otherwise the plug looks ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leojharris Posted June 14, 2006 Author Share Posted June 14, 2006 (edited) Yup, Seafoam is pretty potent and it'll break up alot of junk and send it through your filter and out your tailpipe. i'm not the most savy of mechanics, but is the above quoted text correct? by my reckoning, which is oft times way off btw, it seems like the additives affects would not impact the fuel filter. i thought the flow through the gas through the filter would be something like this: [tank] ----> [filter] ----> [engine/combust] ----> (exhausted) if this is correct, how could the junk loosed by the additive affect the filter? want to make sure before i replace the filter again. thanks, joel. Edited June 14, 2006 by leojharris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 since it's in the [tank] it could effect the [filter] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leojharris Posted June 14, 2006 Author Share Posted June 14, 2006 since it's in the [tank] it could effect the [filter] ooohh, like busting stuff loose from inside the tank itself? right ... i was stuck on thinking about the additives functions within the post-filter system, valves, etc. .. will probably change the filter again just to be sure . joel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 i have never used that stuff so i don't know exactly but that is my thought.. maybe venge can chime in since it sounds like he has used it in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vengeful Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 I've never had a problem with it mucking up my fuel filter. The effectiveness of the SeaFoam in the gas tank is to clean out the fuel lines and the injectors. It doesn't do anything for the valves running it through the fuel system. To clean out the valves, you have to run it through the brake booster hose which will suck it straight into the intake. Your engine will run like crap for a few minutes, and you have to hold the RPMs above 2,000 for a while until the smoke subsides, and then it runs fine. Don't forget to reattach the brake booster. Another way to run it is to put it in your crank case, directly into the oil. Helps to keep the seals healthy and what not. Especially good to do if you've gone over on an oil change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leojharris Posted June 14, 2006 Author Share Posted June 14, 2006 i'm not going to do it today, but may this weekend; can you tell me where the brake booster line is? i read about this on the seafoam bottle. i've also got a repair manual that might tell me .. it's a 95 XE that i'm working on ... thanks for the input. joel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 ther is a big vac hose just behind the master cylinder.. i think that's what he is talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vengeful Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 Yup...that big rubber hose that connects between the master cylinder and the intake manifold is the brake booster hose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 check out the plug i just pulled; what's up with that wierd notch down the middle of the contact? I forget the brand but that is how they were made, just another attempt at a split spark path plug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5523Pathfinder Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 I am pretty sure the spark plugs are NGK V-power plugs. they are good plugs, nothing really gimmicky about them. The notch in them is noremal. They are not a Splitfire plug, I know that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leojharris Posted June 14, 2006 Author Share Posted June 14, 2006 yep. the plugs say ngk on them ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leojharris Posted June 14, 2006 Author Share Posted June 14, 2006 anyway, after checking the plugs and running the truck for another 20 or so miles, things seem to be clearing out of the system; i also put in more gas as it was running around a 1/4 tank, just to cut whatever remained of the additive. it's running back to mostly normal now ... idle and overall running seems to be way 'smoother' than before ... another thing i did was remove the cap from the cap/rotor assembly, the contacts in the cap had this wierd white flaky build up on them ... pretty thick and so i just sanded each contact till i saw silver. same thing for the arm contact on the rotor ... don't know if that contributed to anything or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 another thing i did was remove the cap from the cap/rotor assembly, the contacts in the cap had this wierd white flaky build up on them ... pretty thick and so i just sanded each contact till i saw silver. same thing for the arm contact on the rotor ... don't know if that contributed to anything or not. yeah it will. it clears the path much more. i do that periodically too.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 mechanic i know said the additive i put in might be knocking carbon loose from within the fuel system and this could be passing out of the system. does this sound possible? Basically... A strong additive will do wierd stuff. Everything from plugging the new fuel filter (your tank has 10 years of residual crap in the bottom) to running rough (injectors and cylinders cleaning, different emissions which may confuse the computer which tries to adjust...) Did you add the 'correct' amount ?? Maybe dilute with some more gas ?? Sorry, I see you did that... Cleaning the distributor contacts will help, but you probably want to replace cap, rotor, wires and plugs all at once some time soon. It will run better and you will have a maintenence clock point... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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