Engine flushing?

[BlueChariot]

I know that flushing oil is just lightweight oil, but I need to clean some bad deposits out of the Vic's engine, (as enplained in a previous thread) it's got a grit like buildup that I'm pretty sure got knocked look and distributed after it was put in as it had been sitting a while.

One friend suggests adding in some automatic transmission fluid and running the engine around town and then draining, another guy says put it on ramps, drain oil and leave drain plug out then pour assloads of parts cleaner through. How viable are these ideas? I haven't had to flush an engine before, and I'd rather not have to drop the oil pan and clean it if theres something I can do that will do a good enough job of disolving this crap and draining it out with the oil.

 

[adsm08]

Fill it with cheap oil and put a cheap filter on it. Run it for 10 minutes, then add a few quarts of diesel fuel. Let it sit overnight, change the oil again and replace 1/2 qt of oil with ATF and do what your buddy said.

 

[Rose2300]

Seafoam maybe??

 

[BlueChariot]

Fill it with cheap oil and put a cheap filter on it. Run it for 10 minutes, then add a few quarts of diesel fuel. Let it sit overnight, change the oil again and replace 1/2 qt of oil with ATF and do what your buddy said.

Thanks man. Does it matter how long I run with the ATF in?

 

[DRanger024]

I'd say bring it up to running temp and drive it for a half hour or so at varied engine speeds.

 

[wayfast73]

Motor vac does a pretty good job on carbon and what not.

 

[adsm08]

Thanks man. Does it matter how long I run with the ATF in?

If you do 4.5 qts oil and and .5 qt ATF then I'd drive around for a week or two like that.

I'd say bring it up to running temp and drive it for a half hour or so at varied engine speeds.

To do this use less oil and more ATF and over fill it by a quart or so.

 

[RustedRanger]

If ya use diesel in the oil,or any other type of "flush" DO NOT rev the engine while it's in there.

 

[modelageek]

some people like Auto-RX, but it is a lot more than 1 quart of ATF

 

[Mirage]

I've always used a quart of ATF. Especially on my older V8's that had hydraulic lifters. Pour in a quart, let it idle for about 30 minutes. Drain it good. Replace the filter, and add new oil. As an added precaution, I'd run about a week or two, then do another oil change. Should be good to go.

 

[fix_or_repair_daily]

Close to 10 years ago, I bought an old plain jane 2.5 iron duke 4spd 2wd s10 at an auction for $125. The oil was really black and it sounded pretty crappy when at idle. So I figured what can I lose by trying something. I added close to a quart of kerosene to the old oil and let idle for about 1/2 an hour. Then I pulled the drain plug and let it drain for several hours. I then filled it with new oil, a bottle of STP and a new filter. I drove it for around 3k after that and the oil still looked like honey and the engine still sounded like a rattling iron duke at idle, but no where near as bad as it was. Not to mention, I averaged 26 mpg. Just my experience.

Josh

 

[Twister]

Just be careful, my brother has an 87 E150 with the 300 I6 in it, he changed the oil one day and put nice oil in it to try to clean it out a little, it starting leaking oil after that oil change. Flushing could make something come loose that is holding something together.

 

[adsm08]

If ya use diesel in the oil,or any other type of "flush" DO NOT rev the engine while it's in there.

The ATF will be ok. My shop foreman had an old 300-6 that he drove for a week on 5.5 qts of ATF to no ill effect.


And after the flush, using diesel oil will help keep the guts cleaner. More detergents.

 

[Captain Ledd]

"GUNK" Brand motor flush is mostly Diesel fuel, a little bit of naphtha, and some kind of proprietary chemical (for all I know it's a colorant).

Really the best way is to pull the pan, clean, and replace. That'll get the big stuff.

BUT, you can still:

Drive the engine around so it's up to operating temp. I use a quart of diesel, I imagine 2 quarts would work too since it'll just idle for a good 5 minutes. Drain.

Never used ATF, but I've heard it works.

Fill with cheap oil, Keep the next oil change interval short, like a few 100 miles, if that (maybe just a tank of gas), and repeat the process. The oil will be clearer so you can see any crap in it, repeat until it looks like clean, lightly used oil.

My friends have complained about quick oil changes before when doing stuff like this, I remind them that oil is cheap, engines aren't.

 

[JFortner5]

And after the flush, using diesel oil will help keep the guts cleaner. More detergents.

Run something like Chevron Delo 400 or Shell Rotella T. They are intended for diesel's but have no ill effects on gasoline engines. They have more detergents to clean the engine and more zinc and phosphorous (a good thing). I ran 15w40 in my Jeep but it was old and worn out. I'd probably go with a 10w30 or maybe even a 10w40 this time of year. It's not expensive either, my Jeep only held 4 quarts, and I think I got the gallon jug for 16 bucks.