Is it possible to flush/clean an engine, not radiator? My sister has an approx. 10-15 yr old 4x4 Ranger, probably 4.0L. The oil hasn't been changed in years and now the engine is "tapping"(rod?, lifter?, I don't know). "Someone"(mechanic?, doubtful) told them the oil pump needs replacing. If it is full of sludge will a new oil pump do any good? I think a complete engine overhaul is the best-- but their budget is SEVERLY limited. Would 4-5 oil & filter changes, in 1 day, with a good warm up in between each change, do any good?

 

i have heard to run a little transmission fluid in the motor oil to clean it out some. the trans. fluid acts as a cleaner.

 

You can try running those engine flush fluids through to try to clean it out. You can try doing a few iterations and check the oil you drain out after each cleaning. You should also listen to the tapping to see if it changes as you flush.

 

Thanks for replying. I am scared that no matter what we do some sludge will clog the oil pump and really screw up the motor. But then I quess it can't get much worse, can it?

 

A re-ring job (overhaul) on a 4.0 cannot be too expensive, that would be the way I would go if I was wanting to keep the truck.

Flushes will just move the sludge down into the pan where it will plug up the oil pump screen...... then REAL trouble will start......avoid

 

Just a suggestion, you could use sea foam cleaner to help with this. One ounce per quart of oil. I would still think you would need to remove the oil pan and clean it out as well as the pick up screen. From there you could also determine if the oil pump should need replacement.

 

I've used a couple different "flush in a can" products over the years. I'd say 90% of the time they dont clog the pickup screen but you need to keep an eye on the oil pressure. I dont really know if it "fixed" any of them or not though. A couple times when I suspected a clogged screen, I drained the oil and added 2-3 quarts of solvent, enough to submerge the pickup screen. IIRC the first time I used varsol from the parts washer, didnt work. Second time I got a little more aggressive and used fluid that you dip carbs in soked overnight, drained it and filled with oil. It didnt work either. The chunks that suck up in the screen are hard to disolve. I've thought about rigging up something to backflush it by removing the oil filter and running oil into the hole that goes to the pump then running the pump backwards with a drill (remove distributor)

 

I should mention that I did at one time open up an engine to find some amazing crud collected in a couple of places. The obvious place is the oil pan, and the other place was on the part of the one-piece intake gasket that spanned the lifter valley. It looked like someone dumped a cup of kitty litter into the engine. I was amazed that all the parts were still working; like how could so much solids make their way around the engine and not crunch things up. In this case, I did run a couple cans of engine flush through, and got out oil that looked clean.

 

4-5 oil changes in a row sounds excessive.

When I get old vehicles with vintage oil in them I just drain the (hot) oil, add two quarts of diesel fuel or kerosene, run it for a few minutes and drain again.

Then I add the new oil and filter and don't worry about it. I've even driven a couple of miles on the diesel fuel flush with no apparent damage, although I don't recommend doing that.

Your noise is another issue. If it is a lifter, it might quiet down eventually, if it is a rod then obviously flushing the engine won't help.

How did the mechanic diagnose the faulty oil pump?

To check for sludge, remove a valve cover and see what it's like inside. This will tell you what the oil pan is like. I recently replaced the valve stem seals (with head in place) on a 200 six cylinder, and there was copious quantities of that "coffee grounds" kind of crud. I cleaned that off as well as the partially restricted drain back holes and the vehicle has been running fine since. Actually it was running fine before, but burning and leaking large amounts of oil.

So if you see a lot of crud under the valve covers it might be wise to remove the oil pan too to clean it and the pickup screen. You could also then check the crankshaft bearings and journals. It would only cost the gaskets. Plus you will fix leaks at these joints, if present.

 

hi i am new in this forums but i got some nice tips for all of you how to clean the engine inside and get bettter results from it

but get attention now do as i tell you you must do it this way i hawe done it in all my trucks and it works fine

first you got to hawe one complete set of oil to change later and one small set to use in cleaning purpose use well now you warm up the engine then you take up the front a little bit so you can change the oil but !!!! all oil out now then you put the plug back truck down again and NOW !!!! use one litres of oil and 3LITRES OF DIESEL but you hawe to put trhe oil to in the engine then turn on the engine DO NOT MOWE THE GASPEDAL just let it go in 2-3 minutes then take out all clugged **** inside let it ran out put plug back NOW put new nice oil in engine let it go for a moment check dipstick now the engige is happy i now i do it ewerytime i bying an used car or truck the colour says a lot of how the engine is inside GOOD LUCK

 

Risky method. There are safer ways to clean. You really don't want to break all that crud loose at one time.

 

no but i got tried for many times and it works but as you say you dont vant all crap out and then drop down (hurt) the engine thats why i got oil in engine in the same time you binding it together when it comes out safely..

and you got all the crap out safely in one time well it works .. do you tried some ways thats works wery good to?? tell me would be nice to now more ways to go..

 

A good quality detergent motor oil will slowly clean it up. Personally, Valvoline is my own favorite. Every engine I've torn down using it was nice and clean. On the old junk I normally work on, a pint of Marvel Mystery oil mixed in at oil change and changed at 500miles works well.