cleaning the engine

[LanceDa]

hello,

 

Back in the day my dad used to own a service station, and used to be a car guy. So, with all that knowledge I thought I would ask him a question. My question was; how would you clean out the inside of the engine, without taking it apart and rebuilding it? Well, my dad told me, he would drain his oil and fill it back up with kerosene. He would then tighten everything back up and run it for a few minutes, drain the kerosene and put the oil back in. Well, to me this just sounds wrong. I was wondering what you guys might think about this.

 

-Lance

[davebugs]

Kind of dangerous.

 

That said in the past I've used ATF (high detergent oil really), some folks used to use rislone.

 

I believe some folks here use MMO shortly before an oil change.

[tkaste]

I used Diesel to clean out a 1999 Dodge Durango 5.2 that was prone to sludge problems. Cleaned it out pretty good but would have to do it least 1 a year to keep sludge under control. Not sure if it was a safe/good idea but seemed like one at the time

 

Was running Mobil 1 full synthetic and it still sludged up. Gotta love Dodge.

[GeneralDisorder]

Personally I use ATF for this. Kero is awful thin.

 

GD

[Fairtax4me]

Kerosene is too thin to protect the bearings and such. Mix it with a couple quarts of non detergent oil and it works great. But don't smoke around it.

 

Diesel works good too.

 

But with all the new oil mixes available today, all you really have to do is change your oil. Most of the "High mileage" mixes on the shelf at you local parts store contain cleaners that will remove and prevent sludge and varnish buildup. Combine with a quality filter such as Wix or Mann, and in a few changes (which you would have to do anyway) you have a squeaky clean crankcase.

 

It won't get out everything, but neither will any of the other home brew or store bought mixes to clean engines. Short a complete tear down, its the next best thing.

[LanceDa]

Alright, a bunch of good information.

 

on that note, another question. On my 2000 Forester, I have 200,000+ miles and I run synthetic, should I be running the high mileage oil, if so which one? I always thought it was a sham, but after reading this it sounds like it might work.

 

-Lance

[Fairtax4me]

Full synthetic is far and away better than any of the high mileage synthetic blends. It has all the same detergents and conditioners, but lasts longer between changes.

Just stick with the full syn.

 

edit: You can find out anything and everything you ever wanted to know about oil, and then everything you don't know about it, at

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/cms/

Edited December 15, 2010 by Fairtax4me

[GeneralDisorder]

Just keep running the synthetic. The EJ251 you have is a great engine - running synthetic it should go 300k+ without any trouble at all. My '99 has 243k on it - runs like a champ.

 

GD

[bstone]

GD, so you suggest doing an oil change with 5qt of ATF instead of engine oil and running it for how long? Just on the drive way or drive it around? My engine has over 200k on it and probably can afford to do this. Of course it's winter now so this'll wait until spring. I just changed the oil a few weeks ago and don't drive more than 10 miles a week.

[Fairtax4me]

I don't think he meant to use just ATF.

Just replace one quart of oil with a quart of ATF.

 

There are other additives that work as well. Seafoam, MMO, Gunk motor flush, I think Lucas makes a cleaner now as well.

 

See post #5.

[bstone]

Oh thanks for clearing that up. I always add a qt of the Lucas Oil Stabilizer and every few thousand miles I add a 1/3 of the Seafoam to the crank case about 100 miles before I do an oil change.

 

For adding a qt of AFT, my question is the same- how long to run it? Driveway or road driving?

[Rooster2]

Oh thanks for clearing that up. I always add a qt of the Lucas Oil Stabilizer and every few thousand miles I add a 1/3 of the Seafoam to the crank case about 100 miles before I do an oil change.

 

For adding a qt of AFT, my question is the same- how long to run it? Driveway or road driving?

 

I wouldn't drive around, maybe just let it idle in your drive way for about 15 minutes, then drain, and add fresh oil.

[davebugs]

After sucking a little out I add a quart of ATF and usually try and drive it less than 5 miles, then drain it, change filter, etc. You want the car up to operating temp but I wouldn't run it for days or much of a trip.

 

If the car is overfilled and you don't have a sucky toy I'd consider cheap oil and one quart of ATF. Just don't change the filter until you drain this flush batch.

[Manarius]

I feel like cleaning out an 'older' engine is a bad move. I wouldn't want to do anything that could potentially disrupt things that have already worn into the engine. I wouldn't want to disturb some of the dirt that has surrounded the rubber seals and makes them seal better. If you stick in some "cleaning" solution, you might end up finding a small leak of oil for yourself post cleaning.

[efseiler]

The problem with Seafoam in the crankcase it is that I does cause oil seal failure and possibly gasket seepage. However, this may depend strongly on which formulation you are using (see below).

 

My strategy is to use about a 1/3 in the crankcase, run the engine for a few miles...then let it sit overnight. Start the engine...let the mixture circulate again and then immediately change the oil.

 

 

One thing about Seafoam in the tank is that it honestly seemed to cause the oil to get far more viscous and even a bit jelly when cold. I would wager that the heat/pressure in the combustion chamber probably causes certain unintended chemical reactions even with the thin film of oil coating the inside of the cylinder on each stroke.

 

Given the composition of oil these days there may be such an unintended consequence given the older (apparently) formulation of Seafoam.

 

I noticed that there are two separate and distinct formulations of Seafoam. One has a greenish tint (and a more acrid smell) and the apparently newer formulation is clean and not so offensive to the nose.

 

--Damien