Has anybody flushed the motor with anything (in the oil)

[TC535i]

I've used some Berryman B12 Chemtool in the crankcase idling for a couple minutes before an oil change, but I was wondering if anybody's actually run any of these mixures in the oil while driving around for any period of time.

The idea seems reasonable, but at the same time, will the oil be able to coat the walls sufficiently with the cleaner added? Makes me nervous to think about driving around with this stuff in the motor... is it safe?

The "ticking" thread reminded me I have a ticking that can come and go sometimes, I was wondering if some sort of cleaner would help. What about that cleaner/oil additive stuff from STP or whoever? Input on those oil additives while driving around vs running B12/octane booster/etc in the crankcase for a few minutes?

[repenttokyo]

I am glad my ticking thread is doing some good!

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

I don't like running cleaners and flushes for more than a day.

If its just for a fairly clean motor, just run something just before an oil change.

I've done some real pigs with a kerosene soak to break up sludge and varnish.

[ryan roopnarine]

they make leave-in products that would probably be innocuous enough if you are already doing the b12 flush with your oil change. safest seems to be auto-rx. though it supposedly works well (money's worth well possibly), you have to do several oil changes at their suggested schedule and buy two doses for the initial treatment. it is also relatively expensive. off the shelf, seafoam is designed to be left in, if you want to try that. I don't know if they still sell this in california or not (bad stuff for the environment and people too when it comes out of your tailpipe) but marvel mystery oil is supposedly a 1 quart drop in replacement for oil. i've used both the seafoam and mmo in stuff, it seems to make the oil black within a thousand miles. they don't sell it on this continent, but wynns sells a specialised "tappet cleaner" in the uk and europe to deal with the kind of stuff you are talking about.

the moral of my post (i guess) is that they do make stuff that won't necessarily blow up your motor if you leave it in the oil (you probably wouldn't want to drive spirited with it in there, though). b12 is not one of these. i doubt your motor would be able to hold any oil inside of itself after a few days of driving with berryman's in your crankcase.

[TC535i]

they make leave-in products that would probably be innocuous enough if you are already doing the b12 flush with your oil change. safest seems to be auto-rx. though it supposedly works well (money's worth well possibly), you have to do several oil changes at their suggested schedule and buy two doses for the initial treatment. it is also relatively expensive. off the shelf, seafoam is designed to be left in, if you want to try that. I don't know if they still sell this in california or not (bad stuff for the environment and people too when it comes out of your tailpipe) but marvel mystery oil is supposedly a 1 quart drop in replacement for oil. i've used both the seafoam and mmo in stuff, it seems to make the oil black within a thousand miles. they don't sell it on this continent, but wynns sells a specialised "tappet cleaner" in the uk and europe to deal with the kind of stuff you are talking about.

the moral of my post (i guess) is that they do make stuff that won't necessarily blow up your motor if you leave it in the oil (you probably wouldn't want to drive spirited with it in there, though). b12 is not one of these. i doubt your motor would be able to hold any oil inside of itself after a few days of driving with berryman's in your crankcase.

I saw it on the seafoam can and I thought I saw it on the Berryman's too, I'll check again... is there much difference between the two? Either way, they're what, toulene blends or something? Still gonna cut the oil something nasty...

I dunno about black, could just be the additives burning or whatever, guess it makes you feel better tho.

[ryan roopnarine]

nooooo

b12 is toluene
seafoam is crap wrapped up in a napathenic carrier (or maybe napatha is what does the cleaning, i don't know. if you've ever poured the b12 into the engine on a hot day, you might notice the hissing and popping and generally disturbing sounds that that stuff makes when it gets hot. b12's cousin, chem dip, is the real life analogue of toon dip from roger rabbit. i wouldn't want to put that stuff into my crankcase for more than a couple of minutes.

[Jehu]

Lubromoly makes some ceramic stuff that people said was great.

[ryan roopnarine]

bill would be the guy to ask about this, but I'm told/gathered that all of the oil flushing products work by cutting the grade of the oil down enough that it can get into tighter spaces than it could before, cleaning out krud that might not normally get too affected by the detergent in motor oil.

[TC535i]

bill would be the guy to ask about this, but I'm told/gathered that all of the oil flushing products work by cutting the grade of the oil down enough that it can get into tighter spaces than it could before, cleaning out krud that might not normally get too affected by the detergent in motor oil.

Exactly. I want something that does that, that I can still drive on for a while. I don't feel like the engine oil mixes/circulates much in a couple minutes at idle to clean sufficiently, I'd rather use something less agressive for a longer period... something I could run at higher oil pressures than idle, maybe change the filter halfway thru to get out the first bit of crud that gets flushed out...

[Ross]

I once used Rislone in a '63 Cadillac with sticky hydraulic lifters that made an occassional clacking. Quieted things up right away.
Tried it again recently in a 4.0 Jeep with the same issue, no dice.
I would certainly keep the load and revs down with any of these snake oils in the crankcase.
Some old timers swear by ATF in the crankcase to flush things out.
On an expensive engine I would try a series of frequent oil changes with high detergeny oil.