Help me plan a strategy for a neglected Kia

[BMWTurboDzl]

a 47yo female shouldn’t be a clueless 19 yr old girl,

Well let me tell ya something.

 

[ChrisD46]

Good oil protocol suggestions above ... If the Forte is a DI engine I would also do a couple of treatments of CRC intake valve cleaner through the intake manifold to remove intake valve carbon deposits . Don't forget to add a bottle or two of Techron to the gas tank as no telling what quality of gas was used previously .

 

[Rinspeed]

I wouldn't put a lot of time or thought into it. The motor will not live a very long life anyways, I would dump it while you can still get something out of it, seriously.

 

[ThatNavyGuy]

It’s a Kia…it can be stolen with a USB stick. Park it on a city street with the doors unlocked.

 

[KrisZ]

It’s a Kia…it can be stolen with a USB stick. Park it on a city street with the doors unlocked.

Yup.
About two weeks ago I was looking at a pretty nice Hyundai Elantra, 6spd manual from an original owner. He bought a new car and was selling the Elantra. He kept it parked on the street during the day.
I didn’t make him an offer, but he texted me two days later that it was broken into and the entire steering column trashed in an attempted theft. I think it wasn’t stolen because of the stick shift. His insurance totaled the car.

 

[GSCJR]

As soon as I saw the ticker during the 11 o'clock news, I told my wife before the segment, I'll bet you it's either a Hyundai or a Kia:

Video shows group of crooks break into SUV before stealing it

Police in Miami-Dade are searching for a group of thieves who broke into a car before jumping in and taking off, and the victim said they did it without her keys.

www.local10.com

 

[2000 MULES]

So my lovely new bride has finally let me take over the maintenance on her Kia Forte. I was horrified to find her oil filter was dated 10/19. I asked her when the last time she had her oil changed, and she gave me a puzzled look. I tried not to get angry, and just took a walk. About 3 quarts came out when I drained it. I’m guessing that oil had 25-30k on it, looking at her title paperwork and when she bought it. I’m sure the thing has more sludge than I know what to do with. So I filled it with Supertech and a Fram synthetic filter. Plan on changing that oil again in about a month. I ordered HPL’s engine clean tonight. I think next month I’ll add that. Obviously I’ll be changing the filter too.

Anyone have any advice on what I should do to try and make the best of this situation? I would assume short intervals on filters is definitely called for. Once I put that HPL in it, I assume it’s best to run it a few thousand miles before replacing it. But filters I ASSume are going to get plugged up pretty quickly. I ordered a filter cutting tool tonight so I can visually inspect the filters to make sure I’m on the right track. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I’m not really in a position to replace her car at this point, because I just bought myself a new car last month. I guess if I absolutely have to, I can but I don’t like the idea of having two car payments.

I used to run LubeControl and that stuff kept the engine clean. Maybe 20 years ago there was a guy on here (maybe from Florida) selling an engine flush and there was great results. Auto-RX. Not sure if it is still available.

 

[bbhero]

Well let me tell ya something.

Hellyeah… you got that right…

 

[Lubener]

Just change the oil and filter. Save the money on chemicals and buy a Club to deter thieves everytime you park it somewhere.

 

[H. Swanson]

Major red flag if she’s not on BITOG

 

[nickaluch]

As a couple what took so long to take over maintenance on her car?

 

[dumkid]

Run super tech or other cheap oil. It'll be fine if it isn't dead already

 

[cptbarkey]

@Elijah1 did you land on trying post #44? Or did you serve papers. Just kidding. The members are so antsy.

 

[Elijah1]

@Elijah1 did you land on trying post #44? Or did you serve papers. Just kidding. The members are so antsy.

No papers have been served. I changed the oil to 3q of NAPA branded full synthetic 5w30 and a quart of HPL engine cleaner. Will change the OEM filter at approximately 1,500mi and see what it looks like. Then likely run the concoction another 1,500mi then change it out. Not sure, might do a 5,000mi run on HPL when I’m done.

 

[TomYoung]

Watching this was a straight up horror show. He has another video where he hand cleans the top and bottom end of an engine. Thank you for sharing. I like horror shows but feel REALLY bad for anyone who goes to him for service.

That is 30,000 mile oil. But, I agree that this mechanic is blowing the slim chance of bringing this car back by using all purpose cleaner internally to the motor. I think he did an okay job mechanically removing the crud. Was a little concerned about how he thinks the problem is material "falling down into the oil pan." It doesn't really matter, this 192,000 mile Nissan is most likely at the end of its road.

 

[notharry]

Dont look for issues where there isnt any is my opinion. DONT add anything to the oil except oil. Do a few few 1000 mile trip spill and fills. do a complete fluid fluch on the entire car and belts and filters , plugs ect. Always change the oil filter (they are cheap). Add M1 ESP oil and change every 3 -5,000 miles. Anything you do to loosen anything quickly will most certainly throw a wrench into the workings. LOOK, people have differant ideas and methods. Go with my method only. its the best one! LOL,

 

[DavidJones]

No doubt, you should run some HPL through it, follow that with a complete engine rebuild and then another round of HPL, just to be sure.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

No papers have been served. I changed the oil to 3q of NAPA branded full synthetic 5w30 and a quart of HPL engine cleaner. Will change the OEM filter at approximately 1,500mi and see what it looks like. Then likely run the concoction another 1,500mi then change it out. Not sure, might do a 5,000mi run on HPL when I’m done.

I'm assuming the engine is quiet..... is that correct?
Change that oil and filter every 3k. Supertech Synthetic and Supertech filters are good enough for the next few oil changes.
Also change the PC Valve.

 

[Merek]

I had an ex that has a Kia Forte and was the first person to change oil in that car... I can't remember the mileage but she bought it new and I'm thinking it had something like 8k-9k on it but I used Valvoline FS 5w20 and bought a case of oem filters off eBay just for warranty purposes. I'll have to doublecheck but I'm sure it's the same that fits the Honda so I could at least reuse the leftover ones.

It was actually surprisingly easy to change the oil, it had these covers underneath in the splash shield that you just popped off to gain access.

 

[yowps3]

Always thought running CRC valve cleaner through the PCV port to be more effective than intake? Not sure about the Theta engine, but the PCV valve is ultra easy to access/replace on the 1.6 Gamma