I'm debating on trying kerosene, or diesel, or a branded motor flush of some sort.

Its a new-to-me engine from a salvage yard and the new oil n filter??.. already black like it was never changed. Along with too low oil flow .

Would an acid work ? Ive thought about trying it and circulating via distributor and drill.

 

what’s it look like under the valve covers? How bad is it? What’s the assessment?I’m guessing engine isn’t in the car yet.idling the car with a quart of Transmission oil with the engine oil before an oil change is probably the best of a bad idea. Because at least it’s oil.Not a fan of motor flushing. Any pictures? You get enough chunks to block the pickup and then it’s time for a rebuild.

 

I understand that logic since it will thin the fluid.
But if i can, i dont want to start the motor at all and prefer to cycle what ever chemical i try via distributor shaft.

It takes waaaaay too long for the oil to reach the gauge (more than 3 minutes) and the turbo drain barely flows . Might as well just hand pump oil .
Tempted to try a diesel flush. And I heard it could help. Or hydrochloric acid with some oil mixed .

But heres an oil sample. Hasnt even ran for 35 minutes yet. Or moved 100ft .

Valve cover was sludgy for sure .
#ad


#ad

 

New oil looked like that after 35 min? Wow. HCL can react to some metals. The diesel flush would be a lot less aggressive.

 

Hard to beat Seafoam for this. Costs way more than diesel, but it does work really well.

 

I would try high quality light weight synthetic oil along with 20-25% ATF content and see what that pulls out of the engine.

Usually this is done with an engine being run at idle/light load for 100-300 miles and a massive amount of buildup can often be removed, to the point chunks can clog orifices from what I've read. I'm not sure how well it will work in a cold engine but it wouldn't hurt anything if you aren't even going to run the engine during the test. You may want to turn the crankshaft 90 degrees every once in a while to help it circulate fully. As long as the fluid is mostly engine oil and the engine isn't heavily loaded it should not cause any increased wear.

Once you see how well it works, you might repeat the treatment a few times. Then move on to the higher quality solvents such as seafoam. Seafoam will work great but its very expensive considering the quantity required for this sort of thing and the ATF may remove a large amount of buildup cheaply, several times in a row.

If there are chunks large enough to clog orifices it wont matter how they are removed- atf, seafoam, kerosene, marvel, etc... it will still cause clogs and ruin the engine anyways. Synthetic motor oil contains detergents and would technically work but over a very long period of time, it could take months at the rate engine oil works especially without heating from being run.

 

Diesel/kerosene is very good at dissolving goo. If the engine isn't going to be ran while flashing, I would definitely use diesel.

Even better, biodiesel. That stuff is known for cleaning stock diesel fuel systems.

 

Bases are going to be better for cutting that oil than acids. Caustic lye in water works pretty good for general clean up just don't get it on you. Running through the galleys I'm not sure about. You need to run it through, then fully neutralize (by dilution probably). Flash rust is a thing.

Think your better of with diesel or acetone/naptha/bulk carb/brake clean/insert favorite light petroleum distillate.

 

The reason I don't like light hydrocarbon chains (e.g. brake cleaner) for this is it can cause rust where the eyes can't see

I wouldn't want to remove the oil film or disrupt the protection of oil in the process of cleaning

I guess if you are fast enough with it would be fine, but I've seen cylinders rust in a matter of seconds so

 

My newfound wisdom says diesel DEFINITELY works .
Cant not notice it.

 

If it actually has that little oil flow it's time for a tear down, re bearing, and thorough cleaning. Maybe that's why it was in the yard.

 

I mixed diesel in with the old oil of my dads truck several times over the years.
After 400k+ miles there was still a cross hatch on the bores.

 

Got the engine hot then drained of course....

 

I think i have to do that. It wont flow now . Maybe some sludge blocked an oil galley.
But it was flowing decent when flushing.
Ugh.
I was hoping not to teardown until i got a cam so i can install dual valvesprings .

Is sludge relatively simple and able to be done at home ? I honestly dont know what to look forward to. Never had this problem .

 

I used a sludge motor in the green car build. It looked like a solid block of grease with a rotating assembly inside it. Pressure washer, gasoline, and degreaser did the trick in a short amount of time. OF course with the current gas prices it might be cheaper to just buy an engine from Steve Morris Racing Engines than to clean a block with gas.

 

Once disassembled you can get to most every oil galley. Pull the plugs, and run a brush, or just something as simple as a wood dowel, or all thread through the galleys. Follow that with a good pressure washing, and assemble. You may pull the pan to find the pickup plugged. In that case I may just check the bearings, throw in a new pump, and go.

 

Sorry about the delay, its been a week and i'm fixing the tractor aka my engine hoist . When i do i will update . I wonder if just the rod bearing replacement would be okay.
This is the first time replacing bearings and search results are extremely bad most times although i tend to ask what most people dont.

My next question .. undersized, oversized, or standard rod bearings ?

RockAuto has some for 84 pennies a pair !
Or a different one for $15/whole rod bearing set.

 

Okay, i will take the hint to get standard size since i havent machined anything beyond the cylinders.

On a 5-600hp performance build .. Do the rod bearings need a hole and galley ?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3538218498...d_GfYA0TL-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
This one doesnt but i can always drill holes . Less than 20$ shipped .

 

Rod bearings typically don't have grooves or holes. You should pull main caps and check the mains as well. You can roll new bearings in if needed.

 

Does it help if i say the oil pumps out of the oil pan drain when i use the drill on the distributor shaft ? The oil just doesnt make its way out of the Tee .

The tee is clear of debris, i double checked. Even unscrewed the lines to see .

It has a dual sump oil pan. Wgen i unacrew the front sump and i use the drill it will move the oil.
Does that explanation help any diagnoses ?
Partial oil blockage some where but not every where ? I'm going to search for oil passageway diagrams .
" 5.8l f250 oil passage way " are some key words i will try.