Engine flush question
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 232
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From: Henrietta New York
Engine flush question
My engine has 140,000 miles on it. Runs good. Just changed plugs. No evidence of oil burn etc. I would like to use one of those de-sludge adds before I drain my oil. Has anyone used these and could you suggest a brand as well as pro's and con's? Thanks
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2001
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From: Wellington, FL
St. Jude Donor '11 thru '25
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
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From: Crossville TN
Unless you are planning to do a rebuild soon and just want to clean it out first, don't 'press your luck'. If you tried it and a lot of sludge broke loose, it could plug up the filter and cause it to go to bypass mode...dumping all the gunk through the bearings, bushings, rings, etc. If you really feel that you need to de-gunk the heads and pan, but don't want to do a rebuild, just pull the valve covers and use degreaser on the valve train and casting (letting junk flow into the pan via the drain holes) then flush same with cleaner and clear drain holes. Then drop the pan, clean it out and put on new pan and valve cover gaskets, fresh oil and filter. Run for 200-300 miles and change oil and filter again. That's a lot of trouble to get an "as is" engine cleaned up. Alternative is to use a good brand of detergent oil, do 3000 mile oil changes and wait for the next rebuild.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 7,739
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From: Unreconstructed, South Carolina
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,713
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From: Shreveport LA
LA Events Coordinator
When I was in college I made the mistake on "flushing" my engine in a 1965 6 cyl Ford Falcon with 185,000 miles on her...of which I put 100,000 miles myself....want to "make the engine better" Prior to the flush, she ran perfectly...no oil burning, smooth idle, and good torque (as well as a 6 cyl can do)...anyway, after the flush....the engine ran terrible...could not get it to idle properly and THEN she started to leak from the rear seal and from the front!
Then the final straw....the engine started to burn oil out the PCV tube (it was not the PCV we know today but just a tube that came out of the engine and ran down the side). Had to get rid of the car and go with something else dependable. SO...DON'T DO IT! The ole' saying...."If it ain't broke....don't fix it!" is appropriate here!
Good Luck!
Then the final straw....the engine started to burn oil out the PCV tube (it was not the PCV we know today but just a tube that came out of the engine and ran down the side). Had to get rid of the car and go with something else dependable. SO...DON'T DO IT! The ole' saying...."If it ain't broke....don't fix it!" is appropriate here!Good Luck!
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 4,043
Likes: 342
From: Central NJ
When I was in college I made the mistake on "flushing" my engine in a 1965 6 cyl Ford Falcon with 185,000 miles on her...of which I put 100,000 miles myself....want to "make the engine better" Prior to the flush, she ran perfectly...no oil burning, smooth idle, and good torque (as well as a 6 cyl can do)...anyway, after the flush....the engine ran terrible...could not get it to idle properly and THEN she started to leak from the rear seal and from the front! Then the final straw....the engine started to burn oil out the PCV tube (it was not the PCV we know today but just a tube that came out of the engine and ran down the side). Had to get rid of the car and go with something else dependable. SO...DON'T DO IT! The ole' saying...."If it ain't broke....don't fix it!" is appropriate here!
Good Luck!
Then the final straw....the engine started to burn oil out the PCV tube (it was not the PCV we know today but just a tube that came out of the engine and ran down the side). Had to get rid of the car and go with something else dependable. SO...DON'T DO IT! The ole' saying...."If it ain't broke....don't fix it!" is appropriate here!Good Luck!
Things have changed for sure and you should not have any issues. A lot of dealerships use this brand which happens to be a relative of mine...
http://www.envirolution.com/
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Race Director
Joined: Jul 2001
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Things have changed for sure and you should not have any issues. A lot of dealerships use this brand which happens to be a relative of mine...
http://www.envirolution.com/
http://www.envirolution.com/
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,970
Likes: 45
From: Cameron Park CA
After I removed the original 132,000 mile engine in my '69 I took the tin off to see how the internals looked. It was so clean you could see the white paint dabs on the parts like the rods, valve springs, etc. How did it stay so clean? Regular oil and filter changes every 3,000 miles. Now they say that is too often, maybe so, but frequent oil and filter changes will keep the engine happy for many thousands of miles. Skip the snake oil, just use motor oil!
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,224
Likes: 1
From: Clarksville Indiana
If you have a lot of crud build up in your engine, under the valve covers is where most of it is going to be. Dig, scrape, pick all that out first and then run cleaner to get it all cleaned out. The cleaner wont dissolve all that stuff and it sure aint gonna go through the oil returns.
