Posted: 10/16/2013 10:50:57 AM EDT
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So I was looking at oil additives today, and noticed something called engine flush that promised to rid the engine of carbon in 5 minutes of idling just prior to an oil change, but the parts guy cautioned against it as it may loosen to much carbon, and plug up the oil screen, and pump, what do you think?
Junk? Works, but not worth the risk? Works fine, no risk? How hard is it to clean the oil screen? Parts guy said the engine would have to be hoisted out to get at it, is that right? Would this stuff work to clean a sticky valve if all else fails? |
| It works fine in my experience (6 years as a oil change/tire tech), but only to a point. It is sort of like a transmission flush in that if it is too far gone, trying to flush it will only make things worse. So if the car has over 100k and rarely gets an oil change, it may be dangerous. If it is under that and the oil is changed regularly, its gtg. |
I flushed my BMW twice before a change. One of the products suggested changing the filter then running the flush for 15 minutes before draining. My car was off lease with 15k oil changes.  The top end had a decent about of sludge and when I changed the oil after the flush it looked like molasses. It wasn't nearly as bad when I did it the next change so I've quit doing any kind of flushing.
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I would NOT use an engine flush chemical. It probably will plug your oil pickup screen and that alone is a big job to clean out.
It would be easier to take off the valve covers to see if everything is good or full of sludge, valve covers are a lot easier than the oil pickup so if you are suspicious, start with an investigation. If I had a concern, I would probably do more frequent oil changes first because who knows much much stuff will be loosened with a flush chemical. |
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A mechanic told me once the stuff was basically kerosene and all it did was thin the sludge build up.
More of a gimmick than anything. That said, the manual for my worm drive saw says to do a kerosene flush yearly and replace with fresh gear oil, so maybe there is something to it. |
I wouldn't do it again.|
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A can of seafoam, 1/3 down the intake, 1/3 in the fuel tank and 1/3 in the oil really smoothed out my XJ. In all fairness though, the 4.0 would have smoothed right out just the same if you took it offroad, got it stuck and romped on it for 2 hours trying to get out..... 
I never used Seafoam in the crankcase, but did dump it down the carb (4.2) once and feathered the throttle until half the bottle was in, then let it sit for 10 minutes and fired it up to a huge black cloud. Cleaned it out good, but it ran just the same. |
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What year? How long did you let the sf run in your 4.0 before the oil change Quoted:
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A can of seafoam, 1/3 down the intake, 1/3 in the fuel tank and 1/3 in the oil really smoothed out my XJ. What year? How long did you let the sf run in your 4.0 before the oil change '96. Ran it for two weeks. I did the oil pan gasket and rear main seal when I changed the oil. Sludge in the bottom of the pan but the crank and underside of the pistons were nice and clean. |
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'96. Ran it for two weeks. I did the oil pan gasket and rear main seal when I changed the oil. Sludge in the bottom of the pan but the crank and underside of the pistons were nice and clean. Quoted:
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A can of seafoam, 1/3 down the intake, 1/3 in the fuel tank and 1/3 in the oil really smoothed out my XJ. What year? How long did you let the sf run in your 4.0 before the oil change '96. Ran it for two weeks. I did the oil pan gasket and rear main seal when I changed the oil. Sludge in the bottom of the pan but the crank and underside of the pistons were nice and clean. Thanks, have a 01 with 190k and modded. Was going to drop the trans and engine pans this winter as well as a 4wheel disc conversion and update the ujoints up front. Debating on the seafoam in the oil as i already use Lucas and it's quite clean but never know. I used seafoam in my tractor and all but don't care for it as much as I once did. |
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A mechanic told me once the stuff was basically kerosene and all it did was thin the sludge build up. More of a gimmick than anything. That said, the manual for my worm drive saw says to do a kerosene flush yearly and replace with fresh gear oil, so maybe there is something to it. A little of both. First, you need to actually have a problem, like sludging. Some cars do, like the Audi 1.8T engines. Contaminants causes the oil to turn to sludge which can clog various parts of the engine. In these cases, the correct chemicals can breakdown the sludge so that it will drain out. The problem is you can also cause the sludge to move and clog things. So its best to do multiple changes and flushes to help get it all out. Or open up the the top of the motor to clean out what wont drain. The scam is that most cars don't have this problem, and even if they do, one flush of treatment is probably not enough. |