No reason at all to use any motor oil additives/cleaners.
Engine Oil Cleaner flush
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 17
Likes: 2
Engine Oil Cleaner flush
Hi All,
I see GM put out a TSB that they do not recommend engine oil, crankcase flushes on 2011 and older designs due to seals and bearings potentially being damaged.
Does anyone have experience with this and what are your thoughts?
personally, the $50 flush is a wash if it helps, but the potential damages would be a huge loss.
dealership stated the supplier will back it up is any damage occurs and will put a customer on a higher tier if done before 50k miles and every 10k after that…. Very skeptical
Thanks,
Ken
I see GM put out a TSB that they do not recommend engine oil, crankcase flushes on 2011 and older designs due to seals and bearings potentially being damaged.
Does anyone have experience with this and what are your thoughts?
personally, the $50 flush is a wash if it helps, but the potential damages would be a huge loss.
dealership stated the supplier will back it up is any damage occurs and will put a customer on a higher tier if done before 50k miles and every 10k after that…. Very skeptical
Thanks,
Ken
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 7,002
Likes: 1,687
From: Southeast TX
Hi All,
I see GM put out a TSB that they do not recommend engine oil, crankcase flushes on 2011 and older designs due to seals and bearings potentially being damaged.
Does anyone have experience with this and what are your thoughts?
personally, the $50 flush is a wash if it helps, but the potential damages would be a huge loss.
dealership stated the supplier will back it up is any damage occurs and will put a customer on a higher tier if done before 50k miles and every 10k after that…. Very skeptical
Thanks,
Ken
I see GM put out a TSB that they do not recommend engine oil, crankcase flushes on 2011 and older designs due to seals and bearings potentially being damaged.
Does anyone have experience with this and what are your thoughts?
personally, the $50 flush is a wash if it helps, but the potential damages would be a huge loss.
dealership stated the supplier will back it up is any damage occurs and will put a customer on a higher tier if done before 50k miles and every 10k after that…. Very skeptical
Thanks,
Ken
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,493
Likes: 809
From: West coast CA
Hi All,
I see GM put out a TSB that they do not recommend engine oil, crankcase flushes on 2011 and older designs due to seals and bearings potentially being damaged.
Does anyone have experience with this and what are your thoughts?
personally, the $50 flush is a wash if it helps, but the potential damages would be a huge loss.
dealership stated the supplier will back it up is any damage occurs and will put a customer on a higher tier if done before 50k miles and every 10k after that…. Very skeptical
Thanks,
Ken
I see GM put out a TSB that they do not recommend engine oil, crankcase flushes on 2011 and older designs due to seals and bearings potentially being damaged.
Does anyone have experience with this and what are your thoughts?
personally, the $50 flush is a wash if it helps, but the potential damages would be a huge loss.
dealership stated the supplier will back it up is any damage occurs and will put a customer on a higher tier if done before 50k miles and every 10k after that…. Very skeptical
Thanks,
Ken
The oil itself is a cleaner; that's one of its jobs.
At 140K the internals of my LS2 looked essentially brand new. There was no trace of sludge anywhere.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
5 Best & 5 Worst Corvette Daily Drivers
Joe Kucinski
The Headlights of Every Corvette Generation Explained
Joe Kucinski
5 Best & 5 Most Overrated Corvette Track Packages of All Time!
Joe Kucinski
Every 2027 Corvette Engine Explained
Joe Kucinski
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Verdad Gallardo
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 3,197
Likes: 266
From: Virginia
I wouldn’t use one of the engine flush products but if you have some lifter noise it wouldn’t hurt to use a detergent such as Marvel Mystery Oil or Rislone to clean the lifters. Sometimes dirt and debri can get stuck in the oiling holes and cause a lifter to not pump up properly. But unless you have some lifter noise I wouldn’t mess with an engine flush product.
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2022
Posts: 1,520
Likes: 434
From: Ruskin, FL
I can tell you first hand it's a really bad idea. I've done it and picked up a rod knock. I did abuse the engine with lack of maintenence, but flushing out all the garbage that was holding the motor together was it's death.
on the flip side my Buick Century station wagon had 318k miles on it when I sold it and I never did a motor flush. Just changed the conventional motor oil every 3k miles like click work.
I do currently use Sea Foam in my 383, LS2, LS3, and LT2.
on the flip side my Buick Century station wagon had 318k miles on it when I sold it and I never did a motor flush. Just changed the conventional motor oil every 3k miles like click work.
I do currently use Sea Foam in my 383, LS2, LS3, and LT2.
Advanced
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 90
Likes: 25
It’s really sad that a lot of dealers have resorted to these tactics to pad profits! They all seem to be pushing fluid changes sooner than factory recommendations ( except free oil changes). Fuel system and engine flushes are a complete waste of $$.
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,826
Likes: 444
From: Boca Raton Florida
Originally Posted by bwill03z
I wouldn’t use one of the engine flush products but if you have some lifter noise it wouldn’t hurt to use a detergent such as Marvel Mystery Oil or Rislone to clean the lifters. Sometimes dirt and debri can get stuck in the oiling holes and cause a lifter to not pump up properly. But unless you have some lifter noise I wouldn’t mess with an engine flush product.
I did it once to see if it would quite a noisy lifter. The product I used at that time recommended to add to existing oil, drive 100 miles and do a oil change. It worked!! If your motor does not have problems I do not think jus idling 10 minutes with flush added will do much.