Hi all, while doing some engine work on my 97 EX I decided to take the valve cover off and take a look at the inside of the engine.. While it is not the worst sludge I have ever seen, it was definitely worse than I expected.. Since I got the car (hand me down) 2 years ago I have taken excellent care of it, but I suspect my family members before me would have been doing 10,000+ mile oil changes on synth blend oil, never changing pcv valve etc.. I can only assume that this is the reason for the sludging.. Now, I have to deal with DE-sludging the engine..
In my mind, it is not bad enough to justify something as extreme as seafoam, I would prefer a slower and less risky method. Do any of you believe that simply accelerating my oil change schedule will help to slowly break down the sludge? I know this can protect it from extra being formed, but I am not sure about removing what is already there.
If so, which of the popular oil brands do you consider to have the most and best detergent and composition for this purpose?

Another option I was considering in addition to that mentioned above, was using Auto-RX. I have done a lot of research on this using reputable sites such as www.bobistheoilguy.com but I cannot really get a conclusive oppinion about 1. If it works
2. the risks attached to using it..

Do any of you have any recommendations on the use of the product and its effectiveness? I am not expecting to make my 13 yr old 160+k mile engine back to squeaky clean, but I would like to make some sort of difference to its condition...

Thanks in advance

 

Most auto stores carry motor flush I used it in my cars, it's a gray bottle drive the car around for 30 minutes and after drain and refill with new fluids.

 

i would change it like every 1000 miles like 2-3 times. also when you drain it, leave the filter on, drain it then put the bolt back on and put like 1 quart in there then start it for a minute or so to let it circulate so it can mix with some of the sludge then drain that and remove the filter too.

 

A good synthetic like Pennzoil Platinum can remove sludge. Why not use 1/6 of a Seafoam can in the oil instead of the 1/3?

 

I would never run my engine with only 1 quart in it

 

x2

 

dont think he meant it like that.. I assume he meant take the filter off and put a new one on, and put a qt to make up for the oil lost from the filter... I think..

The thing that worries me about seafoam is how quickly it works.. maybe so quickly I can possibly even lose compression? Am I just paranoid or is my fear justified?

 

Just seafoam it.

Read the instructions on the can and you will be fine. It's the idiots that just wing it that mess things up.

 

X1000

OP - Just run a good oil with a lot of detergents in it on a short drain interval.

 

well what oil would say say has a lot of detergents that is a fairly affordable option..
i began using mobil1 but not sure if I can afford to run it on a short intervals as it is very very expensive outside the US where the car is.. about $11 a qt..

 

x3

 

and well its not just m1, all synthetic is very expesnive where I will have to be purchasing for the car.

 

Just seafoam it follow directions per usage... I swear by this stuff. Actually did this to my moms kia sportage... and you guys wont believe this but she did not change her oil for 3 years...YES! You read right 3 years and this was her DD she went over 100k without changing oil just kept adding it!

I just changed it and when I did it actually looked like the drain plug was pooping some dog **** out... it was all in the vc's and the oil filter, pan, etc... did a quick change refilled with Quaker State Sludge Formula and 1/3rd can seafoam... pumped some NASTY **** out of that car... drained again after 30 miles and refilled with the QS sludge again popped the cap and clean as a whistle... and believe me that is the worst I have ever seen a motor, scratching my head to how it was even running...

Moral of this story, SEAFOAM!

 

I haven't done the sea foam
(accually I didn't know you could add it to motor oil to clean sludge...)

But I have done 1 qt GM ATF, Automatic trans fluid, (dextron III) with good results.

oil pressure light would flicker on and off at idle (5A-FE Toyota Corola Engine) did ATF for 500 miles before changing the oil and it cleared it up.

ATF is motor oil with friction additives and LOTS of detergent.

good luck with it.

 

use it it cleaned out my da somethin spectacular with a automatic change of feeling under the pedal

you will like it

 

Dude I would just use seafoam.

 

for the seafoam, how effective is it if put into the gas tank as opposed to adding directly to the oil..

 

Not very effective at cleaning oil sludge in your block and head. It will clean your fuel system and combustion chamber though.

There is a reason that seafoam is used in 3 different manners. (Mostly)

1. Directly mixed in with oil. To clean sludge from inside the head and block.
2. Directly mixed with fuel. To clean fuel system and combustion chamber.
3. Direct vacuum port injection. To clean the intake plenum and combustion chamber.

Used as directed it shouldn't do any harm. if your scared then cut the mixture down. It just won't clean as effectively, and you will more than likely be wasting your money.

 

To bring this back from the dead.. 2 years ago I put the car on a strictly synthetic diet using Total Quartz 9000 Group3 synthetic...usually 2500-3000mile oil changes...
Also been using purolator pureone filters and a new purolator pcv valve

Within 2 years I would say about 75% of the sludge is gone, and it could have been more if I changed oil more frequently, but each oil change costs me about $35 total..

The point im trying to make is, if you change your oil frequently and use one with a good detergent pack (usually synthetic) then it will de-sludge your engine quite effectively... Will just take significantly longer than if you used something like seafoam..

 

My 20 years of import car repair tells me that if it's running good, the engine is sounding good and there are no malfunction symptoms present.....DON'T try to de-sludge the engine AT ALL.

Why? Simple.....the sludge that doesnt get filtered out by the screen on the oil pick-up stays in the pan where it blocks the oil pick-up and starves your engine of oil. If this doesn't happen minute pieces of debris can get in to the oil pump and can prematurely wear the pump. If just a few pieces of carbon/sludge make it into the oil journals there goes your bearings!

If you feel you have to clean it, the only sure-fire safe way to go is to pull the engine, tear it down and clean it. At least this way you have access to the entire oiling system and can get it really clean with minimal risk.

In my humble opinion.....if it's not broke......or causing a problem......it might be better to leave it alone.

 

i might be picking up a chevy 454, how much seafom should i put in the oil in a BBC

 

READ

THE

CAN

 

Seafoam is thin as water. If you're going to put that in your engine I would make sure I got most, if not all, of it out within 10 miles by way of multiple oil changes in consecutive order.

 

Easiest engine flush evar...

At your next oil change...
Warm up engine, turn off engine, drain oil, leave old filter on, refill crankcase with ATF(no it does not need to be Honda ATF) start engine and let idle for ~5-10mins(DO NOT DRIVE), turn off engine, drain atf. Note awesome sludgyness, clumping out of the drain hole. Remove old filter, install new filter, refill crankcase with oil. Listen to that new silky smoothness from the engine.

But if your engine leaks oil like its going out of style, make sure that any atf doesnt leak onto the hot exhaust, it can flash fire.