Will this work? Unclogging oil pick-up screen.
 

OK, here’s my plan to clean out the oil sludge and un-clog my oil pick-up screen in my 86' 351w. (I don’t have the time or facilities to drop the pan and do it properly). First I’ll change the filter and start the truck to get it up to temp. (I think I can sustain oil pressure long enough for this) Next, I’ll add a quart or two of kerosene to the crankcase and let it idle for a minute or so. Then I’ll drain the oil/kerosene while it’s still warm. Next, I plan to fill the pan with enough straight kerosene to submerge the oil pick-up, and let it soak for a few hours, possibly using the starter to agitate the kerosene in the oil pan. Finally, I’ll drain everything out, replace the filter, and re-fill with oil. My Questions: Am I nuts? How likely is this to work? How much straight kerosene do I need to put in to make sure the oil pick-up screen in completely submerged? Any feedback is appreciated.

kerosene is more flammable than engine oil, you do stand the risk of igniting the kerosene and well..... that would be bad...
what the hell try it and see wat happens lol but i definately wouldent have it running with kerosene in the crankcase

brownie points for a interesting idea though!

I dont think it will work , the kerosene is going to losen up the rest of the sluge in the heads & everwhere else & end up in the pan , It all won't come out through the drain plug . The Kerosene could damage the motor to ..When the scren gets pluged so does the tube ...Lew

No. I tried it several times because my last boss was an idiot. He always made me do that when cars on the lot didn't have oil pressure. It never worked. I always had to pull the pick up screen and clean it and usually clean or replace the lifters too. Newer Fords and chryslers are just a nightmare if sludged up. Might as well overhaul or replace the motor on them.

Is your oil pump pickup screen so clogged that you cannot run the engine? I suppose there is a chance that you may loosen up too much crap and lock up the oil pump which would break the oil pump drive shaft or distributer drive roll pin. I wonder if there is a way to run the oil pump backwards with a drill and feed it the kero from the filter boss?? The “reverse flush” method; just a thought. Keep us posted...

I know someone who did the "reverse flush", So far that engine is still running. I recall he made up some adaptor to the oil filter so the cleaner got through.


Best to pull the pan and scrub it out. You will get all the crud out.

I would not run the engine with kerosene in the crankcase. One time I tried draining the oil and adding about 2 quts of varsol to disolve the buildup, then drained it after a day or so. It didnt work. I wonder if you could pull the distributor and run the oil pump backwards with a drill....feed it oil from where the filter screws on. Doing that after soaking the sceen with Solvent might flush it out if the pump will pump in reverse

Thanks for all of the input! I may re-think my strategy. Perhaps, it is possible that my screen is not clogged after all. I just started my truck for the first time since I had it towed home several weeks ago. I let it run for probably 30 minutes or so at varying speeds, and the oil pressure was fine the entire time. I’m not real sure where to go from here. The reason I had it towed several weeks ago was because of a sudden, complete loss of oil pressure following a fuel stop after an extended (2+ hrs @70 mph) period of highway driving. That was the first real highway trip I’ve taken in this truck since I bought it. Now I don’t trust it so much. I know it has a sludge problem, but, wouldn’t a clogged pick-up stay clogged?

It's pretty hard to get them claen even when they are out of the engine. On cust vehicles I would always replace the pump and pickup if it was cheap enough

been there done that ya gotta pull the pan its a pain but make it a two day plan disconect motor mounts you can let pan drop enough to blindly clean with gas and carb clean and lot and lots of rags buy a new pump and pickup cheap ins.
if i rember the pan wouldnt com out because of front hump in pan then again you im sure u are familar
dont forget to pull both v/c's and check under them may want to run coat hanger thru oil drain back passages from top of head
truck still going now

Even if you clean the screen & tube & replace the oil pump you can still have problems with the oil drains in the heads if they get cloged , you will have op at start up then after a few miles it will go to zero , shut it off for a few , then start it back up & the pressure is back ...

made me think some people keep pooring oil in cause it not showing on stick
its still up top cause everythings so sluged

I had me a dodge one time that was like that. I bought some oil system treatment at autozone, poured it in and let her run for a minute, just like it says on the bottle, drained the oil pan, and left the plug out while I poured about 2 gallons of cheap oil through it and washed it out. Then I put some more treatment in with some good oil, ran it for about 1 hr, drained it again and put my regular brand of oil back in and it seemed to work just fine. I did'nt lose oil pressure anymore after that. Taught me to change the damn oil like Daddy and Grandaddy said do in the first place. That sludge can end up costing ya a purty penny.. Kerosene will, "strip" the insides of your engine, I would think. A friend mentioned diesel to me but I went with the oil treatment stuff

If it's anything like the pickup in my truck you have no chance.
I had the piece in my hands with a flex light,...shaking, blowing w/ 175 Psi, pulling bits out with alligator forceps.
I spent over a half hour before I was reasonably certain it was clear.

I have ran tranny fluid(1qt) in my engine just before a change, the extra detergence in it does help cleaning crap out of the engine. I don't know if it will help out on a really clogged up engine but it may.