Engine flush

[window_lee]

My car just passed 50K, is it a good time for a engine flush??

if it really need a flush, I would like to do it myself. the question is do I need to remove the oil pan and give it a nice clean after I do the flush??

Thanks for help

[Keith Tinari]

Depends on the product you are using. Some are additives to the oil and others are a complete system you run for a few minutes and drain back out.

Where I work we use a gumout system. Pour the gallon into the engine cycle it with a new filter and drain back out and replace the filter again. You can do it, it wont hurt anything. Just don't expect it to change the car all that much.

[RedRide]

Actually, if you change the oil regularly, there shouldn't be anything that needs to be flushed.

The so-callled "power engine flushes" performed by dealers is a complete scam and can actually be harmfull to an engine.

[window_lee]

thanks for the input. I think what i need to do now

[severous01]

use rislone. at autozone with the oil addatives, usually higher, in a yellow bottle. stuff is amazing.

i'll tell you this, my jeep had 135k miles on it when i got it...i ran rislone through after an oil change. it says to replace and just change oil at next interval but i didnt want to wait that long. so i changed it at 1k miles. the oil filter weighed almost twice as much when i changed the rislone filter. the thing weighed a ton...and if you looked in it you could see all kinds of stuff in there...chunks of carbon the oil was much more black than normal. even after a 5k mile interval the rislone oil was way darker.

[Keith Tinari]

Originally Posted by RedRide

Actually, if you change the oil regularly, there shouldn't be anything that needs to be flushed.

The so-callled "power engine flushes" performed by dealers is a complete scam and can actually be harmfull to an engine.

It really depends on what product they are using.

A well maintained yaris at 50k should have a fairly clean engine. You can do this if you want but its not going to change much. Your deposits are going to be minimal at best.

[window_lee]

I change my oil every 7k and I use Motul 5100 fully synth. is that mean I am ok without doing a engine flush? cause I am really worry about the engine flush clean too much of my engine

[06silveryaris]

Originally Posted by window_lee

I change my oil every 7k and I use Motul 5100 fully synth. is that mean I am ok without doing a engine flush? cause I am really worry about the engine flush clean too much of my engine

your fine

[Keith Tinari]

7k is a loooong time to have used oil in your motor synthetic or not. I feel 5k is too long. I do mine very 3k give or take a few. I have 6800 on mine and its had 3 changes since I bought it. 1500, 3000, 6000.

[Yaris Hilton]

Originally Posted by Keith Tinari

7k is a loooong time to have used oil in your motor synthetic or not. I feel 5k is too long. I do mine very 3k give or take a few. I have 6800 on mine and its had 3 changes since I bought it. 1500, 3000, 6000.

That's excessive, but won't hurt anything other than your pocketbook.

[RacerFreakXXX]

I'm also one for doing it every 3k... I even asked my service manager about flushes and they said it was a waste is you properly maintain your vehicle. You are better off changing your oil and adding additives and then changing it again after 1-1.5k miles or after a month or two.

[talnlnky]

Originally Posted by Yaris Hilton

That's excessive, but won't hurt anything other than your pocketbook.

and the environment... and US dependence on foreign oil.... which are two big reasons why the yaris was a smart/cool car in the first place.

The yaris isn't a truck/suv... its not a heavy duty vehicle that has to work hard. buildup should not be a problem unless the driver uses only the worst gas possible, never revs the engine past 3k, and goes longer than 5k with dino oil before changes. Even then... it'd probably take longer than 50k miles for significant buildup to occur. Treatment before 75,000 miles is ridiculous I think.

[TheSilkySmooth]

Little know or believed factoid:
Used oil lubricates better than new, as proven in many white papers out there from auto industry studies (sorry no links at hand). So, over-changing your oil can actually cause more wear than doing the 5K interval. The mechanism of increased wear is that the high level of detergent additives in the NEW oil (usually a Ca metal organo-metallic) compete with the antiwear agents for surface area attachment. Until the detergent level has retreated(~ 1.5K mi) the loss of excess wear protection occurs. CAVEAT: If you do only short trips <5miles in cooler climates and rarely do highway driving, you may deplete your oil base reserve before 5K and have acid (PH) buildup, though.

[RedRide]

Originally Posted by TheSilkySmooth

Little know or believed factoid:
Used oil lubricates better than new, as proven in many white papers out there from auto industry studies (sorry no links at hand). So, over-changing your oil can actually cause more wear than doing the 5K interval. The mechanism of increased wear is that the high level of detergent additives in the NEW oil (usually a Ca metal organo-metallic) compete with the antiwear agents for surface area attachment. Until the detergent level has retreated(~ 1.5K mi) the loss of excess wear protection occurs. CAVEAT: If you do only short trips <5miles in cooler climates and rarely do highway driving, you may deplete your oil base reserve before 5K and have acid (PH) buildup, though.

Where did you get this info from?
I seached the net and could not find anything at all to back that up.

I have a suspission that the theory that used oil is better was taken out of contex.

[TheSilkySmooth]

Originally Posted by RedRide

I have a suspission that the theory that used oil is better was taken out of contex.

No, I explaned the suspected mechanism. This is not theory, it has been validated by rigorous industry tests. IIRC, it was a GM paper. Think I read the paper synopsis through a link on BITOG but was not able to save it. And its not "used oil is better" it is that over changing oil may lead to more wear due to the fresh detergent action and other factors.

[Keith Tinari]

Originally Posted by talnlnky

and the environment... and US dependence on foreign oil.... which are two big reasons why the yaris was a smart/cool car in the first place.

The yaris isn't a truck/suv... its not a heavy duty vehicle that has to work hard. buildup should not be a problem unless the driver uses only the worst gas possible, never revs the engine past 3k, and goes longer than 5k with dino oil before changes. Even then... it'd probably take longer than 50k miles for significant buildup to occur. Treatment before 75,000 miles is ridiculous I think.

Im not going to lie. I'm known for being fairly hard on my cars. I like to have fun. But I also take care in that aspect and keep up with my maint. Toyota suggests 5k. In 5k my car could see 2-3 autoX and various types of cruises. Plus, ive been told that my wheels are tough on the motor. I've already seen them sabotage my MPGs. I tested it with a 2 week span of no more than 45mph and slow revs and shifts. I netted at best 32mpg instead of the 41 stock.

Thats not the argument though. I have always changed my oil at 3k. Even with synthetics. But they were all turbo cars and high hp ones. My legacy also gets 3k oil changes every 3-4 months with regular old 5-30. I just dont see how a 3k service is a bad thing.

[1stToyota]

Originally Posted by window_lee

My car just passed 50K, is it a good time for a engine flush??

if it really need a flush, I would like to do it myself. the question is do I need to remove the oil pan and give it a nice clean after I do the flush??

Thanks for help

Only if you use something too strong, like chemtool's B-12. I did that once on a GM car and had to pull the pan because the oil pickup got plugged up. I've used Amsoil's flush a lot with no problems.

[Yaris Hilton]

I've used Chemtool B12 exactly the way Seafoam is used, as a top end carbon remover. Works.