Oil pickup screen cleaning, any tips?

[akhristov]

Hi guys,

I'm trying to find a way to clean my oil pickup screen without pulling the oil pan. It's a Volkswagen 1.8T AEB engine, and pulling the pan is something I simply can't do with the tools I have.

What I'm thinking of doing is dumping some kind of cleaning solution and letting it soak overnight. Is there anything that can dissolve sludge easily without harming the engine?

Thanks in advance!

 

[dgee]

dumping cleaning solution will further clog the screen because it will loosen the crud EVERYWHERE.

 

[akhristov]

What I'm thinking of doing is dumping it backwards, if that makes any sense. That way, the crud will drop into the oil pan (if my plan works).

 

[Bluestream]

How do you know the screen is dirty?

Here is mine after 220,000KM

 

[c3po]

Originally Posted By: akhristov
Hi guys,

I'm trying to find a way to clean my oil pickup screen without pulling the oil pan. It's a Volkswagen 1.8T AEB engine, and pulling the pan is something I simply can't do with the tools I have.

What I'm thinking of doing is dumping some kind of cleaning solution and letting it soak overnight. Is there anything that can dissolve sludge easily without harming the engine?

Thanks in advance!


1) Berryman's B-12
2) Seafoam

 

[akhristov]

Originally Posted By: Bluestream
How do you know the screen is dirty?


I've been having some problems that look a lot like low oil pressure... I've only owned the car since October, so I can only guess at how it's been treated. And so far, everything I can think of is screwed up on the car.

 

[Bluestream]

rent/borrow one of those video probes and go in through the drain hole and have a look. If dirty you could clean it with a coat hanger. If its clean, you may need a new oil pump...

 

[EricF]

MMO?

 

[akhristov]

Originally Posted By: Bluestream
rent/borrow one of those video probes and go in through the drain hole and have a look. If dirty you could clean it with a coat hanger. If its clean, you may need a new oil pump...


Any ideas on where I could rent one?

Originally Posted By: EricF
MMO?


What's MMO?

 

[Bluestream]

You can buy the at Home Depot for $99, so any rental shop should have them

 

[tomcat27]

Marvel Mystery Oil

 

[tomcat27]

Auto Rx used to be popular here - if not expensive

 

[punisher]

I had this oddball idea a decade ago when I was still in the shop. We ran into a fair amount of clogged pickups on 4.6L modulars due to idiot customers.

What if....you drain oil, replace plug and pour in a quart of solvent. Get an ultrasonic transducer, with some good magnets and attach it to the bottom of the oil pan under the pickup and turn it on for half an hour. You would have a big ultrasonic cleaner that would hopefully knock some of the crud out of the pickup. Afterward, drain the solution, pour another quart of solvent through to rinse the pan and reassemble. It would only work on stamped steel pans for the most part.

I sometimes had a lot of time in the winter to think of silly stuff like this.

 

[akhristov]

@punisher--that actually sounds like a very good idea... except my car's oil pan is aluminum.

I wonder if there's another way to make it work.

 

[DieselTech]

whats the mainatnce history look like? You may have another issue?

I'm not an additive guy, but MMO might be an option. I'm more interested in the history

 

[akhristov]

Originally Posted By: DieselTech
whats the mainatnce history look like? You may have another issue?

I'm not an additive guy, but MMO might be an option. I'm more interested in the history


I don't have a clue. Frankly, the guy that owned the car before me was an idiot. He even put a hole through the fuel tank.

 

[DieselTech]

MMO might be a good way to go. it's inexpensive and fairly effective. You also may consider a synthetic with high cleaning abilities such as Pennzoil Platinum.

Most solvent based product like Seafoam or gunk engine cleaner is too harsh and will only hurt the situation. Likely it will take a couple of OCI reguardless to help this issue. Lastly I don't trust OE guages at all. Are you sure there is truely an issue or are you having a guage.

 

[mechtech2]

Sludge can be cleaned by any number of means. Solvents abound.
Particulate matter has to be cleaned manually.

 

[Vizzy]

You're asking for serious trouble if you run solvents through your engine with high mileage!

At least the car runs now, after the solvent flush it probably won't.

 

[andyd]

If you knowingly bought an abused car, then I hope you didnt pay much. In days gone by, Auto Rx would be avidly recommended.
I never felt the need, but going on some accounts of the day, this particular car situation was a prime candidate for Auto RX. Check it out, it is as close as you can get for a gentle de sludge. Good luck, you'll need it