EngineFlush.Reasons not to use the full bottle?

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Basic background

My 2001 mitsubiti montero sport recently developed a light ticking noise that sound alot like lifter noise Ive heard in engines with lifters. (BTW it has about 245K odo)It only does it on cold startup when the ambient temp is below 60 F then goes away after 2 min idle. If I place a 75 watt drop light on it a couple hrs before starting it doesnt tick at all.
THE ISSUE
The one part of the directions that makes me question dumping the full quart in as directed is under the cautionary NOTE on the bottle
NOTE: On engines with 75000 miles,remove,drain and clean out the oil pan,to minimize the risk of engine damage.
Really dirty engines full of gunk may require repeat treatment.
The montero requires more labor to R&R the oil pan than the typical pan I have seen and Im not willing to go that far without more hours of thinking about it. Im going to be fairly stubborn on that point until I consider this "Is there another likely way to do accomplish this ticking issue ?"

To minimize the risk of clogging the passages up further or even clogging up the oilpump screen,I think I may just try flushing with 1/4 of the quart bottle( that still might be too much as Im just flying by the seat of my pants on this one so far). My thoughts are that the mild start up ticking of my engine, as described at the beginning of this post,may not require the whole qt to quiet it down, so why increase the risk of additional problems Ive already mentioned.

Ill just repeat this flushing process every 3000+- miles with each oil change.How doeds that conservative approach sound? Really,I welcome any other insight .
If you must know the name of the product: Ive used one or more words in my post that may give you a clue.
 
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I have taken apart a lot of sludger engines with my dad and we have always thrown in a flush product before doing the really hard work. The best we have found is the Amsoil Flush product. Pour it in a warm engine, idle for 10-15 minutes, drain oil and refill.

There are videos online showing clean oil going in with the flush product and disgusting black oil coming out with chunks 10-15 minutes later.

I would probably put in some cheap conventional oil with the flush into a warm engine with a new filter and idle for 10-15 minutes, then shutdown and change again. Just in case there is a lot of junk sitting in there waiting to come out. It will minimize clogging.

Just FWIW.
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I would think a good full synthetic oil would be way less evasive to your engine than that flush you're using. Have you given any thought to a blend like Havoline that is supposed to get rid of things like sludge and vanish?
 
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The Car Talk have mentioned using I think 50% oil and 50% diesel fuel as a flush. They said it had worked for someone they knew. But it trashed the engines they tried it in.
 
For me, doing an oil change with a quality high-detergent oil, and replacing a quart of oil with MMO, then driving for a couple thousand miles with that mix in, has worked very well.

When I had my '03 Sable LS, I ran a 5000 mile OCI like this and it came out DARK at the end. Definitely did some cleaning. To make sure that the oil wasn't too thin from the MMO, I upped the oil weight a tad to offset it - 10w40 plus the MMO, instead of the normal 5w30.
 
I have used the liquimoly engine flush before, it did a good job and i would use it again if necessary. Ive heard and seen alot of dumb stuff done to engines and never once have i learned of an oil passage becoming clogged due to a flush. Pick up screens and improper oil and oci is a totally different subject however.

With the LM engine flush pour it in idle for 10 minutes and then drain.

When i did it i wanted to see what was coming out so i dropped the oil and filter out super cheap stuff back in/on and then did the flush. I took my drain pan to the solvent tank and cometely cleaned it then wiped it dry. The oil that came out and was only 10 minutes d was blackish/brownish and there was a lot of heavier substances that sat and clung to the bottom of the pan. Not surprisingly the oil stayed cleaner looking for much longer. This engine had ~190,000 miles on it at the time of flush and is still going strong
 
That a good one. You just never know..really do ya? And here I am on the internet getting opinions. You know haw that is. Its a calculated risk like most everything else,oh and of course theres your own judgement when it comes to discriminating all claims and advice that could end in a fatal mistake.
 
Originally Posted By: PalmSpringsSCal

My 2001 mitsubiti montero sport recently developed a light ticking ....(BTW it has about 245K odo)


Can you take a picture through the oil fill hole and post it here?
 
Originally Posted By: PalmSpringsSCal

Ive heard of putting a quart of diesel in the oil,you or anyone else done that?


It is EXACTLY what you buy when you buy the silver quart cans of Gunk Engine Flush.
 
My 1990 truck was sludged bad when I got it. I did 2000 mile oil changes and right before changing the oil, I'd pour in 1 quart of kerosene and and let the truck run for 10-20 minutes. Then change the oil. I did this for my first three oil changes. But it wasn't doing the job.

Here's what I did:

A.) Drained oil and replaced with fresh filter.
B.) DISCONNECT THE IGNITION SYSTEM: For me, I just removed the connection between the coil and the distributor cap
C.) In this 6 quart sump, I poured in 6 quarts of Kerosene and 2 quarts of Mineral Spirits
D.) I cranked over the engine for approximately seconds to get the solvents to begin to pump through the engine. I let the starter rest for 10 seconds, and cranked it over again for another 10 seconds. And then I did it one more time.
E.) I repeated this 2-3 times a day for 3 days.
F.) I drained out the nasty cruddy solvent mess, installed a new filter and fresh oil. I ran it for 200-300 miles, and then changed the oil and filter again.

This should have really cleaned up the oil pan, the oil pick-up screen, and some of the engine's internals.

This really seemed to make a big improvement.
 
Originally Posted By: PalmSpringsSCal
Interestin...I just read about using MMO on YT, The name in itself is suspicious enough,but good to hear you appear to have not suffered any known dmg. Im not eliminating it from possible use yet


Nothing really "suspicious" about MMO... it's been around for ages. Many people on BITOG question its effectiveness when used with modern engines, oils, and fuels, but you'll find a lot of people on here who use it and swear by it. I use it myself, occasionally mixed in with my gasoline, and once in a blue moon in my oil when I feel that the engine needs a bit of a cleaning. Hasn't been needed in my daily-driver Fusion, as the oils I've been using seem to do the trick just fine, but as I mentioned earlier, I did use it in my Sable many years ago.

For what it's worth, MMO stands for Marvel Mystery Oil. Chemical makeup (as per multiple previous postings here on BITOG):

Quote:

70% Light Aromatic Oil (Pale Oil)
- It is a Naphthenic Oil, so while it oxidizes faster than a Paraffinic oil, it does clean and dissolve sludge and carbon well and cleans up after itself from any oxidation. serves as base oil as well. [Naphthenic oils have more solvency and are more polar (they are attracted to metal more), but oxidize faster.

29% Mineral Spirits
- Cleans Varnish very well. General cleaner. Also acts as an antioxidant.

38 parts per million (ppm) Boron
- AW/EP agent, friction reducer, antioxidant

900 ppm Phosporous
- AW/EP agent

1/2% 1, 2 ortho-Dichlorobenzene
- EP agent as it interacts with Iron to form an Iron chloride barrier under any ZDDP or other AW additives. Also very good cleaner/solvent, and friction reducer

1/4% 1, 4 para-Dichlorobenzene
- EP agent as it interacts with Iron to form an Iron chloride barrier under any ZDDP or other AW additives. Also very good cleaner/solvent, and friction reducer

Oil of wintergreen - for the scent
- Not just for the scent, is also a cleaner. May aid lubricity.

Red Dye - for the color
- Well this one just colors the stuff


Bottom line, as an oil additive for cleaning purposes, it's pretty effective, and it seems to do a good job of keeping wear down in the process.
 
The goal is to emulsify, not have chunks falling off so use full strength. I've done the 5 min flush to speed up the cleaning process. Driven around with MMO in the sump for entire oil changes. Would do it again if needed. No harm I noticed. In one case the fast flush did cut oil consumption, engine felt (butt dyno) peppier and smoother. But like others say, modern oils, especially syns are probably good enough if used regularly. Just takes a little longer.
 
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