993inNC

I was reading Rob Kwate's post on cleaning the SAI ports and have a question for which the more opinions the merrier!
Could you not simply pour...say ....what's it called....Sea foam (I think) chemical into that sensor port and allow it to soak down into the head for really any given lenth of time. It would then exhaust out itself upon startup. If I am correct on the name of the stuff, its a marine motor chemical that eats carbon. I used it years ago once and from memory (for whatever thats worth) the best way to use it is to pour it into the intake while the motor is running. It bogs the motor but attacks the carbon at the most vulnerable time (hot).
Am I way out in left field? My CEL light has come on and its the SAI so just trying to come up with ways to address it....especially without having to remove the exchangers. The car came from the north east and anything not galvanized is rusted tight! Whats everyone think?

solsrch

Chris,
Saw your post on the valve covers leaking and now this SAI. Hope this isn't souring you on your new addition. Did you know about this ahead of time and/or get a great deal?

993inNC

Joe:

Lets see....new about the leak. having said that, I was told it was a little seep...WRONG. Was just under the car and the tray was so caked with oil soked dirt (may have been oil dry?) it was at least 1/4" thick...no lie and a closer inspection of the lower v. covers showed oil dripping out of the pass.side cover. That was a little off on the representation by Mr.seller. I did ask if the car threw any codes, of course I was told no and that a PPI by another buyer turned up no codes. What I failed to realize is that it as simple as going to autozone to have the CEL turned off...how convenient!
Now considering I only paid 27K for it, I was expecting something, and these little problems are everything you guys are going through so I know I'm not alone and have already learned so much from a great group of guys....how could I possibly be sour? Its a PORSCHE

But as always, I appriciate you asking! and I hope to "see" from alot more of the regulars here.

Thanks

TheOtherEric

WOW! You only paid $27k for a '97 C4S?? That's amazingly cheap. I'd say that if the CEL is the worst of your problems, you got an amazing deal.

solsrch

Chris,
I have to agree with Eric, unless you find a lot of other "hidden" items, it sure sounds like you got a great deal!! Welcome to the club.

993inNC

Yeah I thought it was a damn decent deal.....course to be fair it has 94K on the clock. Interior is immaculate, the paint is scuffed up a bit all around but I am in the process of bringing it back to life now. Don't think it ever saw a wash or wax, other than strait line scuffs, it hasn't even one swirl mark! some of the panels i've waxed look brand new (after getting through the oxidation). The brakes in the front are shot, the rears are okay at best, but really need pads and rotors all around. Figure it was a good deal in light of all the maintenance issues. As long as nothing major goes wrong, I can handle these items, and so for that.....it'll cost me what a grand and some time to put it right? Good deal I think! Just need everyones help to get through these issues, then maybe I'll post some pics.

993inNC

P.S. thanks for the welcome Joe.

So getting back to the original post, anyone have any comments or ideas?

solsrch

Sorry to run off topic so long. You'd think that being a Navy guy I'd be all over this marine chemical stuff, but I don't really know about it. I'd wait until I got some feedback from someone like Steve W. before giving it a whirl. Not trying to be overly conservative but there is a lot at stake.
One thing for sure - if you try it and it works, you'll be everyone's newest friend 'cause this is just too easy and inexpensive to believe.

993inNC

I know, it would be easy. "Why make it harder than it needs to be" is my moto. I used it years ago on my.......oh dare I say it here...C4 Vette and instantly it took the carbon out of the intake runners, I can only imagine what it did inside a nice hot motor. I have seen the can around the "man building" a.k.a. back garage from time to time. Need to see if I still have some, and infact what the correct name is. If I find it, I'll post, but not being intimately knowledgeable about these cars yet, I really would love feedback, as well as if there is a better way to get it down to the ports without having to extract the sensor.

993inNC

Okay, guys, found the stuff, take a look, see what you think. Is there a way we could get this directly into the SAI ports in short order after having run the car? I assume the that sensor is in a direct path to the SAI ports only and nothing else?

http://www.seafoamsales.com/motorTuneUpTechGas.htm

solsrch

Fortunately I haven't been bitten by the SAI bug - yet. I'd love to use something like this in a preventative manner, if it would get the job done. Do any of you experts out there have some thoughts?

mborkow

i was bitten. it hurt. it would be great if this worked.

Lorenfb

Some of my Porsche customers, independent repair shops, have begun using this
procedure to clean out the SAI ports. Others, because of the excessive oil consumption,
have done complete valve jobs. Thus, in some cases the cleaning may only be an interim solution.

You can gain additional insights into the SAI problem here ( www.systemsc.com/pictures.htm ).