Motor flush?

D

dave stragand1

New member
Oct 10, 2017
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Hi All,

I can only imagine the can of worms this might open, but how many of you use a product like ‘5 minute motor flush’, kerosene, or ATF in your crankcase before an oil change? I have had fantastic luck with it on my ‘59’s MoPars and an old Chevy 350 I used to have, but I wondered how many folks might use one of these products on their coach (I have a 403).

-Dave
1978 Transmode near Pittsburgh.
 
Considering the last quart does not drain, I would not dair.

On Sat, Sep 1, 2018 at 3:49 PM Dave Stragand
wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> I can only imagine the can of worms this might open, but how many of you
> use a product like ‘5 minute motor flush’, kerosene, or ATF in your
> crankcase before an oil change? I have had fantastic luck with it on my
> ‘59’s MoPars and an old Chevy 350 I used to have, but I wondered how many
> folks might use one of these products on their coach (I have a 403).
>
> -Dave
> 1978 Transmode near Pittsburgh.
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>

--

*John Phillips*
 
Dave,
Im curious to know what problem you are trying to solve that requires the use of these additives? What results are you obtaining that lead you to believe that you are having good success?

I have always felt that oil change intervals will determine how clean your engine will remain throughout its life. If you are seeing excessive oil contaminates, change the oil more frequently, and/or use a better quality of oil. The factory recommended oil change intervals are a guideline that covers typical use. Operating an engine at the extremes may require an altered oil change interval to compensate for those extremes.

An example would be an engine that does extended idle and low speed service in extreme cold. The oil never gets warm enough to burn off the moisture, resulting in sludge and acid build-up. Changing the oil more frequently will help prolong engine life by removing the contaminates before they become excessive and create bigger problems.

Les Burt
Montreal
'75 Eleganza 26'

>
> Considering the last quart does not drain, I would not dair.
>
> On Sat, Sep 1, 2018 at 3:49 PM Dave Stragand

>
>> Hi All,
>>
>> I can only imagine the can of worms this might open, but how many of you
>> use a product like ‘5 minute motor flush’, kerosene, or ATF in your
>> crankcase before an oil change? I have had fantastic luck with it on my
>> ‘59’s MoPars and an old Chevy 350 I used to have, but I wondered how many
>> folks might use one of these products on their coach (I have a 403).
>>
>> -Dave
>> 1978 Transmode near Pittsburgh.
>> _______________________________________________
>> GMCnet mailing list
>> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
>> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>>
>
>
> --
>
> *John Phillips*
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
 
Nope. Knocking sludge loose is a recipe for problems. And solvent displaces lube oil on walls and bearings. If worried, shorten your interval and wait
till rebuild time for total de sludging and de Carboning, as what is settled out is settled out and not in the fluid circulation.
--
John Lebetski
Woodstock, IL
77 Eleganza II
 
Air Force buddy of mine way back at the beginning of my USAF career had a 1950 Plymouth. One day he put an anti-sludge product that worked as
advertised, it busted all of the sludge out of his engine. Drained the old oil and filled it up with new oil. That was the end of his car since he
couldn't afford an engine rebuild. It seems the sludge was preventing the gaskets and seals from leaking. After the cleaning, he couldn't keep the
oil from leaking out everywhere. Extreme case but beware IMHO.

Jerry
--
Jerry Sitzlar..... 77 Eleganza II, Twin bed, dry bath......
Lenoir City, TN (near Knoxville)
 
Back in the late '70's I had a young captain working for me -- brilliant
PhD with 10 kids at the time (15 later). He had a '65 Ford station wagon
with 275,000 miles, always using Quaker State motor oil.

One day he called me in a panic. He'd put another brand of motor oil
(detergent) in the engine. Now the oil was like black thick molasses. The
best I could suggest was a couple more quick oil changes with the usual
Quaker State. That worked and the car lasted another couple of years, to
my knowledge.

So, it's not just flushing agents one should guard against.

Ken H.

On Sun, Sep 2, 2018 at 9:32 PM Jerry Sitzlar via Gmclist <

> Air Force buddy of mine way back at the beginning of my USAF career had a
> 1950 Plymouth. One day he put an anti-sludge product that worked as
> advertised, it busted all of the sludge out of his engine. Drained the old
> oil and filled it up with new oil. That was the end of his car since he
> couldn't afford an engine rebuild. It seems the sludge was preventing the
> gaskets and seals from leaking. After the cleaning, he couldn't keep the
> oil from leaking out everywhere. Extreme case but beware IMHO.
>
> Jerry
> --
> Jerry Sitzlar.....
> 77 Eleganza II, Twin bed, dry bath......
> Lenoir City, TN (near Knoxville)
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
 
Dave,

Is it possible that your friend only drove the 59 Desoto for very short distances?

Les Burt
Montreal
'75 Eleganza 26'

>
> Back in the late '70's I had a young captain working for me -- brilliant
> PhD with 10 kids at the time (15 later). He had a '65 Ford station wagon
> with 275,000 miles, always using Quaker State motor oil.
>
> One day he called me in a panic. He'd put another brand of motor oil
> (detergent) in the engine. Now the oil was like black thick molasses. The
> best I could suggest was a couple more quick oil changes with the usual
> Quaker State. That worked and the car lasted another couple of years, to
> my knowledge.
>
> So, it's not just flushing agents one should guard against.
>
> Ken H.
>
> On Sun, Sep 2, 2018 at 9:32 PM Jerry Sitzlar via Gmclist <

>
>> Air Force buddy of mine way back at the beginning of my USAF career had a
>> 1950 Plymouth. One day he put an anti-sludge product that worked as
>> advertised, it busted all of the sludge out of his engine. Drained the old
>> oil and filled it up with new oil. That was the end of his car since he
>> couldn't afford an engine rebuild. It seems the sludge was preventing the
>> gaskets and seals from leaking. After the cleaning, he couldn't keep the
>> oil from leaking out everywhere. Extreme case but beware IMHO.
>>
>> Jerry
>> --
>> Jerry Sitzlar.....
>> 77 Eleganza II, Twin bed, dry bath......
>> Lenoir City, TN (near Knoxville)
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> GMCnet mailing list
>> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
>> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
 
Possibly. I think he mostly just drove it in and around Pittsburgh.

When I first pulled the valve covers, it looked like there was a shiny
plastic liner on top of the rockers. When I went to lift it off, I
found it was a huge shell of sludge. It had the consistency of Noxzema
or a heavy buttercream cake frosting. Pretty amazing considering that
he documented 4 oil changes per year. Those were the days before
detergent oils though.

I believe a '78 403 would have lived its whole life with detergent oils,
so I wouldn't imagine anywhere near that amount of sludge would be
inside.

-----Original Message-----
From: Gmclist [mailto:gmclist-bounces] On Behalf Of Les
Burt
Sent: Monday, September 03, 2018 9:45 AM
To: gmclist
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Motor flush?

Dave,

Is it possible that your friend only drove the 59 Desoto for very short
distances?

Les Burt
Montreal
'75 Eleganza 26'
 
Just for calibration of this discussion:

I recently had my 455 (461) apart. It had been rebuilt in at about 95K, the odo now showed 70+K. Since about 101K, it has been run with M1-15W50 at
about 3K (more or less) (at least annual) oil changes. The inside was very clean and there was very little coking on the turkey pan. But, there was
still enough carbon loose in the system to plug the to oil jets at the timing chain and the distributor gear. There was nothing inside the lash
adjusters (yes, I looked). Apart from the missing lands and rings on #7 and a very loose timing chain, there was very little else to get any concern.

She has lots of new parts now and I am planning on lots of good miles.

Matt
--
Matt & Mary Colie - '73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan
OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Twixt A2 and Detroit
 
Dave,
Sludge is usually caused by moisture in the oil. The moisture can accumulate during short run periods where the oil temp doesn’t reach near 212°F.

On our coaches, the typical use is several hours at highway speeds, where oil temps get high enough to boil off the moisture. This means that sludge is rarely found in our coach engines, unless we do lots of short idle time, or a coolant leak develops.

Les Burt
Montreal
'75 Eleganza 26'

>
> Possibly. I think he mostly just drove it in and around Pittsburgh.
>
> When I first pulled the valve covers, it looked like there was a shiny
> plastic liner on top of the rockers. When I went to lift it off, I
> found it was a huge shell of sludge. It had the consistency of Noxzema
> or a heavy buttercream cake frosting. Pretty amazing considering that
> he documented 4 oil changes per year. Those were the days before
> detergent oils though.
>
> I believe a '78 403 would have lived its whole life with detergent oils,
> so I wouldn't imagine anywhere near that amount of sludge would be
> inside.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gmclist [mailto:gmclist-bounces] On Behalf Of Les
> Burt
> Sent: Monday, September 03, 2018 9:45 AM
> To: gmclist
> Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Motor flush?
>
> Dave,
>
> Is it possible that your friend only drove the 59 Desoto for very short
> distances?
>
> Les Burt
> Montreal
> '75 Eleganza 26'
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
 
I've never seen an engine from a GMC have much build up inside. Except for the turkey tray. But not saying that there not out there. Short trips are great for sludge buildup. As most GMC's aren't used for short trips. I'm not saying that they don't clean your engine. I just don't like the idea of all that garbage going out the drain plug by way of the main/rod bearings. I think the flushes are great for the person that wants to feel better that they did something good for their engine. Want to do something that's truly great for that engine. Shorten your oil/filter cycle. Replace the PCV valve. Bob Dunahugh
 
A short trip in a GMC is to the engine, like a normal length pass car trip, due to the high GVW. That is a good thing in that respect.
--
John Lebetski
Woodstock, IL
77 Eleganza II
 
As far as what GM has to say about it, they recommend adding EOS in certain abnormal driving conditions. I do not recall them advocating flush.
--
John Lebetski
Woodstock, IL
77 Eleganza II
 
As far as what GM has to say about it, they recommend adding EOS in certain abnormal driving conditions. I do not recall them advocating flush.
--
John Lebetski
Woodstock, IL
77 Eleganza II

================
 
John. I think that the GM Engine Oil Supplement EOS. Was basically STP with a little zinc added. Then there was the GM Engine Cam lube for new cams. Bob Dunahugh
 
A GMC Jimmy with a 455 in it. Cool - how did it get there?

--johnny
--
76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods and add - ons.
Braselton, Ga.
"I forgive them all, save those who hurt the dogs. They must answer to me in hell" - ol Andy, paraphrased
 
Bob I know they reformulated EOS years back, but to my knowledge it was a detergency booster. Never had the STP honey like consistency.
--
John Lebetski
Woodstock, IL
77 Eleganza II
 
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