Engine Flush

[domtoni]

Guys,

Anyone have experience with this in a 911 engine? Good or bad results.

Dom

[Barry]

Dom: generally the principle of using engine flush is to be very careful.

The thought is that if you are considering using it because there's a build-up of deposits in the engine, suddenly using a flushing agent after 10's of K's of miles may well dislodge actual chunks of muck, which then whizz round until they a) get trapped by the oil filter (all well and good) or b) Bung up an oil drilling somewhere.

Much better to perhaps step up the oil change routine: i.e change the oil as soon as it starts to darken. You should find this will clean up the engine gently, without a sudden dislodging of particles.

Ironically the best time to use flushes is after an engine rebuild, perhaps on every second or third oil change: this would help to keep the engine very clean inside, and obviously if all of the engine has been properly (chemically) cleaned during the rebuild, there should be no nasties to dislodge .

BTW, obviously the makers of flushes will always say that it's safe to use them whenever: quite frankly the detergent action of modern oils is so good there's no reason to get much build-up within the engine anyway. I ran my E21 323i to 330,000 miles (yes, a third of a million), changed the oil as soon as it showed colour (usually 3000 miles or so (three times or year, give or take. The engine even after that mileage had compressions within 3-4% of each other, it used no oil between changes, and was absolutely as-new clean inside.

Oil Industry: can I have my commision now please

[domtoni]

Thanks again Barry for your words of wisdom. Whatever you have said makes so much sense, and helps me to keep learning.

I have been a big believer in oil changes, and now you made it much clearer why it should be done.

Best Regards
Dom

[Barry]

Not sure if I would call them words of wisdom, but glad to put a point of view / suggestion forward anytime .