I want to know if I could clean out the engine gunk by removing the valve covers and flushing the engine with a cleaner? What cleaner would work? Also, would I have to remove the oil pan? Or am I just better off changing the oil every 500miles to clean the engine?
Ok....use at your own risk. I know there are some products out there that are supposed to clean out engines but I am not sure what they are. What my Grandpa swore by was using a quart of diesel added to the oil to help clean out a motor. He would usually do this just before he changed the oil. He would add one quart and run it for a few minutes and then drain out the oil and add the new. He was a mechanic all his life and used this all the time. He never had a problem doing this. My Dad has also used this a couple of time. Diesel is a lubricant. I dont know if this is recommended (probably not) but like I said...grand-dad did this since the 40s. Disclaimer: I never said to do this!!!
Yeh, most auto parts houses sell the stuff, its used to clean your engine. I did it once in an old truck, the stuff smelled like diesel fuel. I won't do it again......it did not hurt anything, but also I do not think it cleaned it either. But that truck had about 130,000 miles on it and I think the owner changed the oil 2 or 3 times! ***I second jpollards disclaimer***
I’ve been cleaning it frequently with oil… it seams to be clearing up… but then it gets black really fast… like 100-200 miles its pretty dark… and I would probably only have to do it once… If I remove my valve covers will I be able to clean them out and flush the system that way?
One thing I will say....diesel is a lubricant so you can use it in your rocker arm area to clean things up. Just change oil when you are done.
Some garages have an oil flush machine. Being an ASE master Tech I was a little skeptical at first but After seeing before and after it really does work. I know at my garage it runs 79.99. I puleed a valve cover on my car first and then did and it was a major improvement. Good Luck
I used a quart of crankcase flush in my daily driver last year when I did an oil change, couldn't believe how much thick gunk came out! You just pour it in, idle the engine for a few minutes, then drain everything out.
When I worked in the shop, I put some of that engine flush stuff in a customers 96 Camry. It had 29K miles on it and had not had an oil change yet. The oil was like tar and crusty. We changed oil, then added the engine flush, then ran the motor for 10 mins. Then changed oil again. Cleaned up real nice. Just my experience. I have also used Diesel fuel, works well, and old timers used to put in a qt of ATF on older engines. Zillions of remedies I guess. Dan
Anybody heard of dumping a little atf down the carb to clear up carbon buildup in the combustion chambers? I heard that somwhere but never knew if it worked or not.
Something similar, we used to run the engine at a fast idle and slowly pour water in. It steam cleans the chambers and pistons, but it can ruin the spark plugs if you dump too much in.
at work when we have an ATV that comes in with water in the engine, we drain the crankcase and re-fill it with diesel, run the engine for 10-15 seconds, then drain. We usually do it about 4 or 5 times and then it all comes out clean. I also did this with a used ATV that was traded in to clean out the insides (oil was extremely dirty!!) and it worked like a charm. If the engine calls for 2 1/2 quarts, I usually put about 4 qts of diesel in it...that way it gets churned about nicely and cleans well (especially in the crankshaft area). I have actually ridden them around in the parking lot (my own ATV of course) with diesel in teh engine, and have not had one problem, nor has any of them come back for anything. I do, however, change the oil a couple times after flushing, that way any excess diesel is also flushed and can't thin the oil's viscosity. Don't know if I'd try it with Automotive engines or not as the bearings are different. ATV's use needle bearings on EVERYTHING, including crank, cam and transmission. I would suspect that diesel wouldn't be thick enough to provide protection against metal-metal contact in a normal rod or main bearing. Maybe I'm wrong....wish I had an old 302 laying around to try it with.
I have never heard of ATF or Diesel oil to clean the engine out...so i can't say much there. Sounds like something to keep in mind though. What i did want to say is that everyone should be careful about the cars they use these on (and especially the engine cleaners they sell at auto stores). I have talked to several people who have blown their engine up using them. It's not that they're bad products, but if you use them on a high mileage engine that's never seen a cleaner before, you run the risk of removing all the gunk that keeps the engine together (if you have a lot of gunk in your bearings, and you take it out, suddenly you have incredibly loose tolerances, and you run the risk of throwing a rod or loosing a lot of oil pressure). So, it's not a bad idea, but be careful what you use it on.
i did the diesel thing. i would stop on the way home and put it in. it was about 1/2 mile from home. i put 2.5 tenths (1 quart). j .m.o...frank...:bananaman :bananaman
On my boss' boat, we would winterize the inboard 454 by running it then dumping ATF down the quadrajet till she choked. I only enjoyed the IMMENSE cloud of white smoke. I think it would put some smokey burnouts to shame. Good times...
