• The site migration is complete! Hopefully everything transferred properly from the multiple decades old software we were using before. If you notice any issues please let me know, thanks! Also, I'm still working on things like chatbox, etc so hopefully those will be working in the next week or two.

Engine Flush Additive. Yay or Nay

midrange

midrange

New member
So I am skeptical of any type of additive going into my engine.
When I purchase a new car, i like to throw at least 3 oil changes into it in a month to give it a super good flush. So far I have done 2. I did it as soon as I got it, and took it for a long good drive.. 2 days later the oil was already black. So I did it again and now its staying relatively clean after a few days of driving. However, i'm still using a cheaper oil as i know it won't be in there long.
I'm going to give it another good drive up to Ottawa, and when I get back, check to see how dirty it is and if its still looking clean, I will give it one more oil change to the better high millage oil.

BUT, I am curious about that engine flush you add to your oil and run for 5 mins before doing the oil change. It makes me nervous about adding stuff like that, so i'm wondering if anyone has used it in the past and would you recommend it. I am thinking of doing it as they say its recommended to clean it all out fora superior flush.

It almost seems wrong adding a bottle of clear liquid to the engine oil. lol

Let me know what you guys think.
 


What is the brand of this "that engine flush you add to your oil and run for 5 mins before doing the oil change" you are referring to? Kinda vauge as there are 100's of engine cleaners on the market. Kinda tough to recommend it w/o knowing which one it is.

Typically GM Techron is good stuff. I have also added Seafoam to the crankcase and driven it 100 mi. or so and then changed the oil with good results. Hasn't blown up any of the motors I've done that on.
 
OK.. So When i was in the parts store, I saw a bunch, but read one and it said to add bottle and run for 5 mins before doing oil change. I didn't read others so I assume thats usually how a flush is done.
So I guess my question is, if its safe to do, which brand would be good to get.. I want something that won't be in there long. I have looked for seafoam before in my area but you can't find it. I have never seen it in Canada.

Edit - I do not recall the brand of it. I guess I just want to know if adding a bottle of clear stiff to the engine is truely safe.
 
Maybe find something made by Lucas then. Never had an issue w/ their products and I would think you could find that up there.
 
Dump a quart of transmission fluid in if you want to flush and clean the engine. ATF is a similar viscosity to engine oil, so you don't have to worry about thinning the oil, and it is also loaded in detergents, so it will clean everything up good.
 


stealthee said:
Dump a quart of transmission fluid in if you want to flush and clean the engine. ATF is a similar viscosity to engine oil, so you don't have to worry about thinning the oil, and it is also loaded in detergents, so it will clean everything up good.
Click to expand...

Word. That's exactly what I use.
 
I have used motor flushes before and never had a problem , and it was one of the 5min flush ( silver can w/red writing ) forgot the name.don't think they would sell it if it was bad for the engine. What ever you use just do yourself a favor and add lucas to the oil ( great stuff )
 
Back in the day my dad was a head mechanic he would run 3 quarts kerosene with 2 quarts oil through the engine he got lots of my frinds and I to do it to never had an issue BUT and this is a BIG BUT ( almost as big as my ex girfriends) these were cars from the 50's, 60's and 70's we were driving then. Don't know how it would affect the newer type of seal materials, gaskets, pcm etc
 
The only things you need to worry about when running additives in crankcase before a fluid change are: viscosity change and fluid level. So long as you don't run the additives much more than a few miles and these two factors are in check, you'll be fine.
 
ok.. sounds promising.

PALMCASTER GT1 - I wish the market was like that but there is a radiator additive to help stop leaks.. When you add it, it also blocks many other things and causes big problems with engines, especially a water pump.

Lucas is great.. I have used Lucas oil stabilizer many of times. Its great, but its also not designed to be an engine flush. I'm talkign about the additive that cleans and releases any sludge in a crankcase.
So another concern I would have, is say I use the additive, and it does release a load of sludge and crap.. is that going to get into things i don't want it too?

I'm curious about the Tranny fluid idea. Detergents is exactly what you need to clean the internals. This is why I was thinking of running Diesel Oil for a for miles. My dads non diesel car from new has been using 15W50 Diesel oil, and his internals still look brand new. Super clean. Our car says to use only 5W40.
 


There is always the chance that you could knock something loose and have it get where you don't want it (an oil passage for example). That is a calculated risk and w/o opening up your motor to see how much junk is currently in there I can only assume. IF it has not been abused and had regular oil changes using a decent oil then I would say you are fine. If that motor has been beat on every day of its life and never had proper oil changes then there may be some extra crud in it.

For example, when I pulled the pan on my 95 Bonneville to change the gasket the bottom end looked great for having 196K on it, not a drop of sludge to be found. This car also has had good maint. The LT1 that I pulled apart from my buddies Firebird looks like it has never seen an oil change in its life, yet only has 140K on it. The sludge buildup is so bad on the upper half of the motor that I cannot even make out the valve springs and the bottom of the LIM has about 1/2 of junk baked to it. Needless to say I didn't bother replacing the blown HG on it and just told him to find a longblock, as I can't even imagine what the rest of that poor motor looked like. This motor was beat on regularly (100+ mph runs quite often) and rarely saw an oil change on time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top