I've got a really solid '54 Chieftain Deluxe, all original 4 on the column Hydramatic and Straight Eight, 76,000 miles with the paper trail to back it up. I've recently started doing basic cleanup, repainting, etc. and I'd really like to do an oil flush to refresh her. My two ideas for it were either just put in some cheapo 10w40, maybe with a splash of marvel mystery oil, drive it for a day and change it out for some Rotella. Either that or some motor medic engine flush, let it idle for 5 minutes as per the bottle, and change the oil as normal. I'm just worried I might remove some deposits that actually sealed up some gaskets or imperfections and start a leak, or clog something by freeing up debris, and I've heard this and that about flushes either being a great idea or a really bad one, and figured nobody would know better than the fine folks of the H.A.M.B. So whaddaya think. yea or nay, or even some other ideas?
I did that but with a quart of tranny fluid in it. Let it run for about 30 mins idling and also drove it around. Then changed it..lifter tick went away, no oil leaks since then.
Bad idea! A better idea is to drop the pan and clean all the sludge out. And there WILL be a lot. Clean the oil pump pickup screen real well too. That will do more to insure extending the life of your engine than loosening, and CIRCULATING, a bunch of abrasives now harmlessly clinging to surfaces inside the engine. Edit: The oil filter, if your engine has one, is a 'partial flow' style in which most of the oil pumped goes through the engine bearings immediately and a small fraction goes through the filter. The practical consequence of that is is the bearings get abrasive filled oil for a long time before they get truly filtered oil. By that time it is too little too late. Numerous engines had their useful lives significantly shortened by ill-advised attempts to 'clean them out' in a manner similar to what you are considering. Ray
The only way an oil flush would be a good idea is if you put a bottle of Rislone in the motor,let it run for about 45 minutes,drain and then add fresh oil Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Whether adding solvents is a good idea or not is up to you, Kerosene was popular back in the day. But the idea was, only at idle for a half hour say. Under no circumstances put the engine (bearings) under load. In other words, don't drive it that way.
CHRYSLERFAN55, That's what I use in all my old cars when I get them and never had a problem with it.Bruce.
The Rotella oil you're thinking of using is already highly loaded with detergents. I would just make the switch and allow the oil to do it's thing. If the engine is loaded with insoluble particles, the filter will get loaded up, so I would change the oil and filter on an aggressive schedule, much more often than normal, and just give the oil & filter the chance to do what they are designed to do. You should see the oil darken rather quickly as it picks up the sludge, but over time the interval from new till darkened should keep extending to where you can get back to a normal change interval. You can do a simple and inexpensive used oil analysis trick by dropping a drop of oil off the end of the dipstick onto the clean back of a business card and allow the drop to spread out, then observe the mark after several hours. Oil that is too heavily loaded with varnish and sludge particles will leave a dark ring around the outer edge, you'll know you've gone too long. You might also see actual particles left behind on the card as the oil spreads out. Though with all that said, Hnstray had a very good recommendation of dropping the pan and cleaning it out. That will give you a great head start. And NO on the additives in the oil, or the homebrew blending. Unless you have a degree in chemistry and know what you're doing, and even then, it's generally a bad idea.
This is exactly why I came here, this is all great advice. As soon as I can I'll drop the pan and give everything a nice scrub down, but until then I'll just give it some good oil changes, I won't be doing much winter driving this season and the fresher oil definitely won't hurt. And in response to ray, It in fact does not have a filter, it has an oil "cleaner" in the pan that is designed to sift the oil, and this is coming from my Pontiac shop manual. At least it has clear illustrated instructions on removing the pan and cleaning the sifter.
I second dropping the pan and cleaning it out, including the oil pump pick up screen. I have a friend who used to have a 51 Pontiac hardtop with a straight 8 and Hydramatic. He used to come into the Standard Chevron where I worked all through high school (66-69), just to drain the oil from the display rack by the pumps (opened cans would be allowed to drain what little oil was left in them into a bucket). He used to use that "mixture" of oils in the engine because it burned oil so bad. Every 6 months or so, he and his Father would drop the pan and clean it out, and pay particular attention to the screen. I don't remember if it had an oil filter or not. He was never happier to finally sell that car so the ritual of dropping the pan/cleanup would end! I would't use any "commercial engine flushes" however, just a good oil. You don't want everything loosened up to find it's way throughout the engine. JMO. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
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