300-Six Engine Flush
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300-Six Engine Flush
OK experts, I need some advice. My engine is awful cruddy inside. I know this because I just replaced a leaking valve cover gasket. I noticed the head and inside the valve cover were both sludgy and there was caked on crud on everything on the top end of the head. I can only imagine what the rest of the engine looks like inside. Despite the nastiness, the engine runs great, returns 15 MPG to me and doesn't burn oil other than what is normal. Anyway, I've heard all kinds of ways to clean out the engine during an oil change from adding a quart of ATF to adding a quart of kerosene. In the immense experience of this forum, what is the most preferred way to flush an engine prior to an oil change. Please tell me if there should be any "sooner than normal" follow on oil changes to flush out chemicals used during the initial flush. TIA
Henry
Henry
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300-Six Engine Flush
Henry ,
Ive heard of the kerosene and oil mixing to flush out an engine . There are commercial products available that supposedly do the same . My experience with severly caked up engines is ...If its running fine , leave it . Ive seen people try to flush the engines only in a lot of cases they ended up plugging the pickup screen to the oil pump and thats the end of the engine in a matter of minutes . Most of the junk is going to be under the valve cover and possibly the lifter galley . If you can scoop out the sludge without dropping it down the oil galleys , thats one possibility ...tedious work too . The main goal in all of it is not to have an excessive amount of sludge in the oil pan to get sucked up into the screen and plug it . Only other way to clean it up is tear it down and rebuild it . Good luck .
Ps: Your idea on the axle pivot bushings was great that you posted the other day ... I had never thought of doing it that way .
Paul
Ive heard of the kerosene and oil mixing to flush out an engine . There are commercial products available that supposedly do the same . My experience with severly caked up engines is ...If its running fine , leave it . Ive seen people try to flush the engines only in a lot of cases they ended up plugging the pickup screen to the oil pump and thats the end of the engine in a matter of minutes . Most of the junk is going to be under the valve cover and possibly the lifter galley . If you can scoop out the sludge without dropping it down the oil galleys , thats one possibility ...tedious work too . The main goal in all of it is not to have an excessive amount of sludge in the oil pan to get sucked up into the screen and plug it . Only other way to clean it up is tear it down and rebuild it . Good luck .
Ps: Your idea on the axle pivot bushings was great that you posted the other day ... I had never thought of doing it that way .
Paul
Mountain Pass
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 139
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From: Chicagoland
300-Six Engine Flush
ATF does work great to de-sludge an engine. It will also sometimes quiet noisey lifters. I do an oil change and substitute 2 qts of Dextron for oil. I drive the car 200 miles and change the oil/filter. The high detergent content of trans fluid will remove the waxy deposits you have. I don't really like the idea of using kerosene. I feel that it does't offer much in the way of lubrication. ATF offer excellent luberication and cleans with detergent. Kerosene cleans by acting as a solvent which actually causes the oil to loose some of its lubricity.
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300-Six Engine Flush
>If you
>can scoop out the sludge without
>dropping it down the oil galleys
>, thats one possibility ...tedious work
>too .
I did this during the gasket replacement--I invented a few new cuss words in the process too.
Got a pretty good lot of crud outta there. So what do you think about the "ATF" suggestion below, or what about removing the oil pan after a flush, or changing the oil within, say, 100 miles of the chemical flush? Am I diggin' a hole I may regret?
>Ps: Your idea on the axle pivot
>bushings was great that you posted
>the other day ... I had
>never thought of doing it that
>way .
Thanks! Got that idea a few years ago from looking at the tool we use to change "pitch change link" bearings on helicopter main rotor heads.
Henry
>can scoop out the sludge without
>dropping it down the oil galleys
>, thats one possibility ...tedious work
>too .
I did this during the gasket replacement--I invented a few new cuss words in the process too.
Got a pretty good lot of crud outta there. So what do you think about the "ATF" suggestion below, or what about removing the oil pan after a flush, or changing the oil within, say, 100 miles of the chemical flush? Am I diggin' a hole I may regret? >Ps: Your idea on the axle pivot
>bushings was great that you posted
>the other day ... I had
>never thought of doing it that
>way .
Thanks! Got that idea a few years ago from looking at the tool we use to change "pitch change link" bearings on helicopter main rotor heads.
Henry
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Joined: Jul 1999
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300-Six Engine Flush
Henry ,
Yes , Id much rather go with the Atf to flush the engine rather than the kerosene ...Like was suggested , it provides better lubrication . Id keep an eye on the oil pressure during and after the flush . If its not too hard to remove the oil pan , Id say it wouldnt hurt to make sure the bottom end was free of sludge , esp the oil pickup screen .Its a tough call depending on how bad the engine is sludged ? I saw a Jeep 245 Cu in engine sludged so bad when you took the valve cover off , there was a sludge imprint of the cover ...The whole top of the head was full of it . Oh by the way Henry , Im a pilot ... Glad you all do a great job keeping us in the air trouble free , Good Luck with your truck .
Paul
Yes , Id much rather go with the Atf to flush the engine rather than the kerosene ...Like was suggested , it provides better lubrication . Id keep an eye on the oil pressure during and after the flush . If its not too hard to remove the oil pan , Id say it wouldnt hurt to make sure the bottom end was free of sludge , esp the oil pickup screen .Its a tough call depending on how bad the engine is sludged ? I saw a Jeep 245 Cu in engine sludged so bad when you took the valve cover off , there was a sludge imprint of the cover ...The whole top of the head was full of it . Oh by the way Henry , Im a pilot ... Glad you all do a great job keeping us in the air trouble free , Good Luck with your truck .
Paul
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From: Gustavus Township, Ohio
300-Six Engine Flush
I would reccomend buying a can of B-12 from your local parts shop. B-12 dissolves all that crud and keeps it from clogging your screen. I don't know if you've ever seen the tiny "port" in the bottom of an oil pump pick-up in a 300----but it is dang small for the size of the pick-up. Not alot of exposed screen. Get a can of B-12, follow the instructions on the can.
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300-Six Engine Flush
Once you get all that sludge out, I would run a quart of Rislone every oil change. I did that for 135,000 miles on my '77 300 inch and for 176,000 miles on my '84 300 inch and never experienced a sludge problem. My trucks have always had a lot of highway miles and, I think, heavy short-trip use where the engine never gets a good run may be more conducive to sludge.
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300-Six Engine Flush
Well folks, thanks for all the great advice. I much appreciate and value everyone's input. In the end, this is what I did:
This morning I drained off two quarts of oil and added 2 quarts of ATF. Then I went for a ride lasting better than 50 miles. When I got back, I drained the crankcase and pulled off the FL-1A and refilled it with 4 quarts of Valvoline 10-W30, two quarts of ATF and installed a new FL-1A. Then I went up into the next county to look at a couple of houses my wife and I have had our eyes on--roughly a 100 mile round trip. When I got back home, I drained the crankcase again (the oil/ATF mixture was rather dark yet still transparent but definitly dirtier than it was before I put the 100 miles on it) and pulled off the FL-1A. I then poured in six quarts of Valvoline DuraBlend 10-W30 and installed a new FL-1A. The engine is running great, oil pressure is a tad higher than it was before, and the "come and go" noisy lifter has gone away. I know this didn't get it completely clean, but it is better than it was before.
Once again, thanks for all the great input.
Henry
This morning I drained off two quarts of oil and added 2 quarts of ATF. Then I went for a ride lasting better than 50 miles. When I got back, I drained the crankcase and pulled off the FL-1A and refilled it with 4 quarts of Valvoline 10-W30, two quarts of ATF and installed a new FL-1A. Then I went up into the next county to look at a couple of houses my wife and I have had our eyes on--roughly a 100 mile round trip. When I got back home, I drained the crankcase again (the oil/ATF mixture was rather dark yet still transparent but definitly dirtier than it was before I put the 100 miles on it) and pulled off the FL-1A. I then poured in six quarts of Valvoline DuraBlend 10-W30 and installed a new FL-1A. The engine is running great, oil pressure is a tad higher than it was before, and the "come and go" noisy lifter has gone away. I know this didn't get it completely clean, but it is better than it was before.
Once again, thanks for all the great input.
Henry
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300-Six Engine Flush
I've never heard of using ATF, but I regularly use diesel. Once the engine is up to temp I stop at a fuel stop about 5 miles from the house and put a quart straight into the engine and drive home then immediately change the oil. I got this idea when I bought a can of commercial engine flush and it looked and smelled exactly like kerosene. I have found that since doing this the oil stays honey colored until it's time to do the next oil change (2-3,000 miles).
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