Seafoam foul up? Flooded? Newbie in trouble?

[StrikeJollyRoger]

Hi Folks,

I believe this is my first post in Tech.  I'm new to working on the bike.  I have a limited knowledge but am mechanically inclined.  My bike is a carb'd 1998 Monster 750.

After hearing great things about Seafoam, watching and reading what I could find on the net, I decided to try myself.

Into the oil went 6 ounces of Seafoam.

Into the gas tank (which was running on the lower side) went 4 ounces of Seafoam.

Into each nozzle on the carb went 5 ounces of Seafoam.

I waited 15 minutes and then tried to start her up.  She won't turn over.  She's apparently flooded?  After reading more I tried holding the throttle open and starting her up.  Tried with choke open, split and closed.  It's been about an hour now.  Still nothing.

Am I jumping the gun posting here?  Do I just need to wait longer or something?  Or have I really flooded her badly???     

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated.  I'm hoping for "haha newbie, just have patience" but I fear it's "take it to a repair shop" or worse...

[ducpainter]

That sounds like a lot of liquid to put into each carb mouth.

It sounds like you hydraulic locked the motor. Hopefully you didn't bend a rod.

Pull the plugs and try cranking.

You may need to replace the plugs

[StrikeJollyRoger]

Thanks a ton, duck soup, for the quick response.

I'll try that now and post back.

[ducpainter]

Thanks a ton, duck soup, for the quick response.

I'll try that now and post back.

Stand back when you crank it over.

You're gonna have seafoam everywhere.

[StrikeJollyRoger]

Stand back when you crank it over.

You're gonna have seafoam everywhere.

I wish I knew that before I had started!  At least nothing on the left side of my shed will ever rust.

It totally evacuated the chambers!  I put the plugs back in and it started up and was going nicely! =)

Thanks so much!  I totally thought I was hosed.

So about the possible bent rod I'm a little concerned...  what precautions if any should I take? (Other than not repeating my mistake)

Other than disassembling the engine, is there a way I would know about it?

Again, thanks a ton for helping me get out of that fix.

[ducpainter]

I wish I knew that before I had started!  At least nothing on the left side of my shed will ever rust.

It totally evacuated the chambers!  I put the plugs back in and it started up and was going nicely! =)

Thanks so much!  I totally thought I was hosed.

So about the possible bent rod I'm a little concerned...  what precautions if any should I take? (Other than not repeating my mistake)

Other than disassembling the engine, is there a way I would know about it?

Again, thanks a ton for helping me get out of that fix.

Not worth pulling it apart to measure/check.

If it was bent badly you'd already know.

Ride it. 

[Howie]

Change your oil too.  Yeah, Seafoam does recommend this if you have excess moisture or sludge.  Chance are you have neither, and if you did I would recommend more frequent oil changes.

[StrikeJollyRoger]

Thanks.  The originally planned work was an oil change and then I remembered that you're supposed to change oil after Seafoaming so I figured I'd get some and try that first.

I also read that it's recommended to change the fuel filter too.  Although I'm a little confused as to when.  I was figuring I'd let the existing fuel burn down to fumes, fill the tank, replace the filter.

And the ride was great.  Acceleration felt smoother, exhaust sounded smoother, engine sounded nicer and it almost seemed most noticeably improved when shifting to higher gear.  Not sure if this was just in my head or if it's for real.  I'll toss some into my car tomorrow and we'll see if it makes me a believer.

I was also very surprised at how much carbon in the form of smoke came out my exhaust for a bike.  I really didn't think it would be that much on a bike with only 13k on the odometer.

[ducpainter]

was that carbon or just the residual seafoam?

[Dellikose]

Most of the white smoke is the Seafoam. I think burning carbon has a purplish tint to it.

Hopefully you did it in a well ventilated area, that smoke is some nasty stuff.

[StrikeJollyRoger]

I suppose that makes more sense and fits more with the expected amount of buildup.  Thanks for the correction.

Yup, it was well ventilated.  Originally I did it in my shed and had it spitting out into the tiny side yard between houses but upon seeing more than I was expecting, shut it down and brought it to the street where a small breeze floated it along.

Gonna have to bring the car to the parents place where the houses aren't so densely packed.  If I do it around my place, I have a feeling the neighbors are gonna want to lynch me.

[Dellikose]

Gonna have to bring the car to the parents place where the houses aren't so densely packed.  If I do it around my place, I have a feeling the neighbors are gonna want to lynch me.

I just did my car which smoked like crazy. I did it at night 

[Langanobob]

Thanks.  The originally planned work was an oil change and then I remembered that you're supposed to change oil after Seafoaming so I figured I'd get some and try that first.

I also read that it's recommended to change the fuel filter too.  Although I'm a little confused as to when.  I was figuring I'd let the existing fuel burn down to fumes, fill the tank, replace the filter.

And the ride was great.  Acceleration felt smoother, exhaust sounded smoother, engine sounded nicer and it almost seemed most noticeably improved when shifting to higher gear.  Not sure if this was just in my head or if it's for real.  I'll toss some into my car tomorrow and we'll see if it makes me a believer.

I was also very surprised at how much carbon in the form of smoke came out my exhaust for a bike.  I really didn't think it would be that much on a bike with only 13k on the odometer.

That black stuff was nothing more than all the money you spent on Seafoam going up in smoke!
Along with Lucas products, nothing more than snake oil designed to lighten our wallets. 

Bob, always ready with a dissenting opinion

[bond0087]

In response to Bob, I'd have to say that while I mostly agree, things like Seafoam aren't without merit for certain applications.  Up until recently, GM sold and advocated the use of a product that they called "GM Top Engine Cleaner," that basically worked like Seafoam to clean up carbon deposits by introducing it through a vacuum line, stopping the engine, then restarting and blowing all of the smoke out.  Having briefly worked in the service engineering dept. of GM, I can tell you that they are very strongly against 99% of additives, so for them to stand behind that says something. (I'm guessing they don't sell it anymore due to environmental rules, not because they changed their mind.)

That said, I sincerely doubt that Seafoam does anything good when put in the oil, and people that I trust in these matters have said that Chevron Techron is one of the only legitimate fuel additives for putting in the fuel. 

In addition, the only helpful thing that I would expect it to do is dissolve carbon deposits in the combustion chamber.  I'd say that the vast majority of running problems on a carbureted bike are unrelated to carbon deposits. When your bike is running poorly, it's probably time to disassemble/clean your carbs.  It's no where near as difficult to do as it is intimidating to do the first time.

Oh, and Lucas makes good oils, in addition to gimmicky additives, so they're not all bad.  They also sponsor my favorite team's stadium, so I need to vouch for them.

[StrikeJollyRoger]

You may need to replace the plugs

Just thought to go back and check the plugs but I have no idea what good or bad plugs look like.  Any comments?

If they need to be replaced, is there a recommended plug to use on an M750 other than OEM?