Engine flush / switching to synthetic

[Sodium Duck]

On all the websites selling Amsoil engine flush, they say you should only bother with it if your car has a ton of miles on it, or is more than 10 years old. For those that switched to full synthetic, did you flush before you did your oil change?

I'm going to be switching to Amsoil 5W-20, with a Wix filter when 5K miles comes up.

[CompanyXPaladin]

I didn't flush... my buddy is an AMSOil dealer, and I've been following his recommendations. A flush shouldn't be necessary unless your motor has a LOT of wear and tear on it. What I did do was pour about half a quart of new oil through to kind of help clear out the old oil.. don't know if it helped at all or was necessary, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

You'll love the AMSOil in your car.. I know I do anyway. You may consider the SSO series instead of the 5W-20, though.

[jkuchta]

When I made the switch I ran the new oil for 100 miles and then did another oil/filter change. A little overkill, but I think it was worth it.

[Klink10]

No I haven't on any of my cars or cycles. Adequate drain and then refilled with in my case Amsoil.

[Reddog99]

No flush necessary. Your new Yaris is still pristine inside. The flush would be to clean out deposits (sludge) from dino oil that might accumulate if someone were to use supermarket oil for 10 years.

[Sodium Duck]

Cool-i-o. I had read before the hack someone was recommending you do it when you switch, but now I think I'll save my money. Thanks for the help guys.

[PetersRedYaris]

When you drain your oil, only a small amount remains in the pan. Since synthetic and conventional oils are fully compatible, I wouldn't worry about it.

What I do is drain the pan, then pull your oil filter with the drain plug still out. This way any oil (between the pump and filter) that drains back to the pan will still drain. And as mentioned earlier, you can put a 1/2 quart in with the drain plug still out to displace the old oil in the pan. Not nessasary, but if it makes you feel better...

[gid]

no need to flush this early , you could always go to a synthetic blend and then to a full synthetic if it would make you feel more at ease . MOTORCRAFT , TROP-ARCTIC syn-blend is 30 > 40% synthetic and is less than $2.70 a quart at WALLY MART . Then go to the full syn at about 1,500 > 3,000 miles later or whatever you're satisfied with . GOOD LUCK

[k2vitz]

Check the site; for details about different engine oils.

http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html

[Sodium Duck]

wow, very cool website -- im gonna go through it later. rigth now im off to save the world!

[TheSilkySmooth]

You can easily have your engine varnished over in one OCI using typical SM Mineral oil; the detergency of you oil is minimal at the end of life (5Kmi). A Real synthetic ( Di-Ester) will clean off this varnish and really load up the filter and maybe plug the tensioner and other small orifices. I would add 1/2 bottle of CD oil detergent (available at most auto parts stores) for 500 mil then change the oil. The CD oil detergent is low viscosity and will really get around the engine - I would not overrev the motor whilst this fluid is in place.

Now tell me which AmsOil is REAL synthetic and what is the base oil a blend or Just PAO + additives. You know PAO does NOT stick to metal like Di-Esters do. They are not a preferred High temperature High Shear margin lubricant. You may wish to investigate Motul 300V as a REAL synthetic. As a disclaimer, I Dont represent Motul.

Thank you for your time,

- Sonja's Dad

[anexrx7]

If you're 20k miles or so you shouldn't really need a flush unless you have alot of traffic driving in city and your oil is consistently dirty. I recommend using the amsoil filter as its designed to work with the oil when you make the switch and help string out contaminants. If you dont want to spend the money on the filter then get a good WIX filter or K&N. Stay away from wal-mart unless you're looking for simple stuff. I switched to amsoil for my first change, then I got the full synthetic for the second and switched everything I own to it. The RX-7 is a very tough and dirty engine, and I rate it just bellow a diesel engine when it comes to dirty ass oil. I've had the AMSOIL in for 4 months now and its still clean like a new change, though I have to run a K&N filter. That engine has 130k miles on it from 1988. Motul is a great oil too, alot of racers use it. Its harder to get and a little more expensive though, so Its up to you. If you're serious about your car, then use a serious oil, you wont regret it.

[Sodium Duck]

Motul, never heard of it. What does everyone think -- Motul or AMSoil?

[Klink10]

Whatever 5w-30 full synthetic you can get cheap.....at 5.30 a qt. I choose Amsoil XL
5W-30.

[jkuchta]

I run Motul 300V 5W-30 and love it! It's a little expensive, but worth it in my opinion.

[cali yaris]

I only flush for Number 2.

[Sodium Duck]

If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down.

[Sodium Duck]

Originally Posted by k2vitz

Check the site; for details about different engine oils.

http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html

"Taking all these into consideration, my philosophy would be to totally ignore the distance and change the oil three times a year - about November, February and May. Move these dates a bit according to the severity of the winter. An average family car will do around 14,000 miles per year and about 2/3 of that will fall in the May - November period. At the end of that period, the car will have just about touched on the recommended oil change distance - but all done at reasonable temperatures and including long distance runs during vacations and good weather. During the Nov - Feb. period it may accumulate only 2 or 3 thousand miles, all low temperature starts and mostly short runs. The Feb. to May period is likely to be about the same."

I really like that. This website is great.