2.5l Cherokee, kreen and lifters.

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I bought a 93 2 door Cherokee with 58k miles on it. The oil was so bad, it was tar. It was indescribably bad. I changed it and let it drip for hours. I put valvoline 10-30 in it, and the lifters don't sound too healthy. (They weren't perfect before, I'm thinking the terrible oil masked this.

My question is, if I use Kreen and try and clean the engine as much as possible, is there a chance that this could solve my problem? Or do I need to just suck it up and replace the lifters? 58k is not very many miles.
 
Jeep engines of that era pretty much all have clattery lifters.
I'd run what you have in it for 2K-3K, drop the oil, cut open the filter and inspect it and decide from there.
If your oil filter is full of sludge/tar after this oil change, I wouldn't throw in any kind of a flush, but instead change the oil more frequent for a few services. My $.02.
 
I would suggest running this oil change for only about 500 miles to get anything that's still loose flushed out. I have heard Pennzoil Conventional is a good oil for Jeeps and it should keep it quiet.
 
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It's too bad you didn't run some used oil from another oil change through it.
A 10 minute idle with any old oil would be a good initial "chaser flush" given the tar your vehicle came with.

From my experience Formula Shell (white bottle, bought cheaply at a Costco) is a "quiet oil". I bought cases of the stuff and it made 4 different cars and 2 pieces of OPE run more quietly in the opinion of their owners.
That's not to say it's the only "quiet oil" out there.

Good luck with your new ride.
 
Originally Posted By: Kira
It's too bad you didn't run some used oil from another oil change through it.
A 10 minute idle with any old oil would be a good initial "chaser flush".....



I would do that or just run some cheap oil for a few short oci. I would also want to open up the valve cover and have a look at the condition underneath it.
 
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I wouldnt kreen it just yet. Keep the oil you have in it and run it about 50 miles then drop it while its warm. Go get a gallon of Rotella 5w40 and a quart of MMO. Substitute a pint of oil for the MMO and run it 500 miles. Use a cheap filter like Supertech or Carquest Red.

If all is well after this oil change keep using the 5w40 and same filters for 2500 mile oil changes and that should clean you up inside.

I would definately be wondering about the gums and varnishes in the gas..this vehicle has sat awhile! Probably need to change your fuel filter a few times til you see whats up.
 
Originally Posted By: Kruse
Jeep engines of that era pretty much all have clattery lifters.
I'd run what you have in it for 2K-3K, drop the oil, cut open the filter and inspect it and decide from there.
If your oil filter is full of sludge/tar after this oil change, I wouldn't throw in any kind of a flush, but instead change the oil more frequent for a few services. My $.02.


I would do the above. But I'd try some Rislone the second change with about 500 miles left in the OCI...
 
Use cheap oil and change it frequently. I would not do a flush in something that dirty. You risk clogging the oil pump pickup screen and you will have a much bigger problem. In this case, slow gradual cleaning is the safest bet.
 
In your place with the tar that came out, it would be valve cover off for inspection and cleaning. If full of sludge up top, then pan drop and cleaning.

Several short OCIs are in order whatever else you decide on. 1000 miles of highway IMO is not too short; if it is really bad you don't want to load the filter and go into bypass.

edit:
welcome2.gif
, good luck and show some pics if you remove the valve cover.
 
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Been there, done that. The pump was spotless so I kept it, but I put a new tank and fuel filter in it. The tank had a leak at the seam. From what most people were saying, I should just keep changing with good oil and clean it slowly. I am a big fan of mmo, although I've never tried it in the crankcase. I will definitely pull the valve cover and check it out. I also might pull the pan and do a new pickup screen. The oil pan is rusty, scaly, and at this point very thin. It would be a good idea to replace it regardless, so while I'm under there I might as well clean everything up.

Thank you all for your input so far. The lifter closest to cylinder 2 makes a decently loud intermittent rapping. I'm hoping if it's all sludged up, doing this will clean it out, I will probably use kreen as a last ditch attempt if need be. Does anyone have any direct experience with kreen? Kroil is magical, is it safe to assume kreen is too?
 
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Kreen is very good stuff but find out what you are dealing with first as others have said by at least removing the valve cover.
Some engines require a thorough manual cleaning of the top and bottom of the engine before finishing off with a product llke Kreen to get at the oil passages.
 
Sounds like a sweet ride. I always liked the 2 door XJs. Welcome to the forum.

As said, these engines are noisy. I have no experience with the 2.5, but the 4.0 (same engine basically, but 2 more cylinders) in my Jeep is pretty vocal.

I also vote to just leave the engine alone. Assuming you have room for a larger oil filter, go to Walmart and buy yourself a couple Motorcraft FL-1A sized filters. (Fram PH8A, Supertech ST8A , or even the Motorcraft the FL-1A) and some Pennzoil conventional 10w30 (commonly referred to as Pennzoil Yellow Bottle :pYB here). This family of Jeep engine loves Pennzoil conventional.

Go ahead and keep the Valvoline you have in there right now, but start out by just running 3000 miles OCI's, but change the filter ever 500-1000 miles for a while and top off the oil as needed. If you have the tools/ capability to cut the filters open, do so in order to inspect how much crud they are filling up with. Over time, they shouldnt fill up as fast to where you'll be able to keep the filter on as long as the oil.
 
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Sounds like a sweet ride. I always liked the 2 door XJs. Welcome to the forum.

As said, these engines are noisy. I have no experience with the 2.5, but the 4.0 (same engine basically, but 2 more cylinders) in my Jeep is pretty vocal.

I also vote to just leave the engine alone. Assuming you have room for a larger oil filter, go to Walmart and buy yourself a couple Motorcraft FL-1A sized filters. (Fram PH8A, Supertech ST8A , or even the Motorcraft the FL-1A) and some Pennzoil conventional 10w30 (commonly referred to as Pennzoil Yellow Bottle :pYB here). This family of Jeep engine loves Pennzoil conventional.

Go ahead and keep the Valvoline you have in there right now, but start out by just running 3000 miles OCI's, but change the filter ever 500-1000 miles for a while and top off the oil as needed. If you have the tools/ capability to cut the filters open, do so in order to inspect how much crud they are filling up with. Over time, they shouldnt fill up as fast to where you'll be able to keep the filter on as long as the oil.


Sounds like a good plan. In the 2.5 I owned, and the 4.0s afterward I ran Valvoline, and did a UOA at 5k and it was as good as any other oil I tested (Amsoil and ST Syn) so VWB is a good choice for this motor also. Not disparaging PYB.
 
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I would run a couple short OCI's with cheap stuff like Wal Mart Supertech. Then you can do something like the MMO or Rislone substitution to clean a little more aggressively.

I did this with a few sludged up 305 chevys from the 80's that had been run too long with the mediocre quaker state and pennzoil oils of the era.
 
Almost exactly 3 months later, I pulled the valve cover. I spent all day cleaning up the massive amounts of sludge that were on the top end and valve cover. Afterwards I changed the oil and filter (Purolator and valvoline 10-30 synthetic blend) and the results were good and bad. All that sludge must have muffled the noise because the lifters sound worse and im replacing them in 2 weeks. Everything else on the top end though, sounds much better.
Im afraid of what the oil pan looks like...
Once I figure out how to post pictures Ill have a couple up.
 
Don't change the lifters yet. Pull that pan off and clean it, god knows whats in there that could plug the screen. I know its a PITA but do it, the risk is too great.
After doing that use a pint of Kreen in the oil and run it for 1K then dump it, repeat then use PP for 3K OCI. I am optimistic it will quieten down.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Don't change the lifters yet. Pull that pan off and clean it, god knows whats in there that could plug the screen. I know its a PITA but do it, the risk is too great.
After doing that use a pint of Kreen in the oil and run it for 1K then dump it, repeat then use PP for 3K OCI. I am optimistic it will quieten down clean up.


Agreed with everything but your last couple of words. This is a Jeep we are talking about....
 
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