Stupidly used motor flush and now I have a problem...(Help!) (1 Viewer)

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Dec 24, 2013
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Maui, Hi.
I have a 1997 Lexus lx450 with 140,00 miles. I'm using Mobil one 5w-30 extended mileage. It's always used regular oil and switched to synthetic oil six months ago. I just used motor medic engine flush and the oil pressure is high and I hear a light ticking from the throttle body area. I had previously used an oil flush chemical before last change.
No problems after I used that time and I had removed and cleaned oil pan and oil uptake tube (There was an oil pan leak.)
I did not clean pan after this last flush as I did not believe the deposits were that heavy.
The oil with the flush chemical came out very dark. I drove it after change for a 2 mile round trip and now I'm not going to start it until I know what's going on and what to do. Any suggestions on how to handle this?
Mahalo in advance from Maui.

P.S. Can we establish I screwed up and move beyond that to what to do now. I don't need to be chastised any more, thank you.

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Don't know if you'd done damage or not but I run 15w40 which my '97 seems to like and which I think was specified in most non-us markets. A thicker oil may help quieten things down and increase the pressure a bit, if it indeed is low. Another oil change could help clear out any contamination in there currently as well.

I assume one possible scenario is that you've dislodged some gunk which is causing a blockage and oil starving downstream of that point. If the noises are really concerning I'd not run it (beyond short periods for troubleshooting) until you figure out what's going on to avoid damage. I'd also hook up an oil pressure gauge to find out what your oil pressures really are.

If you aren't familiar with them look up "mechanics stethoscope". You can basically use a long screwdriver with the handle pressed against your ear in many cases to help you pinpoint the noise but there are other tricks as well.

Good luck!
 
Don't know if you'd done damage or not but I run 15w40 which my '97 seems to like and which I think was specified in most non-us markets. A thicker oil may help quieten things down and increase the pressure a bit, if it indeed is low. Another oil change could help clear out any contamination in there currently as well.

I assume one possible scenario is that you've dislodged some gunk which is causing a blockage and oil starving downstream of that point. If the noises are really concerning I'd not run it (beyond short periods for troubleshooting) until you figure out what's going on to avoid damage. I'd also hook up an oil pressure gauge to find out what your oil pressures really are.

If you aren't familiar with them look up "mechanics stethoscope". You can basically use a long screwdriver with the handle pressed against your ear in many cases to help you pinpoint the noise but there are other tricks as well.

Good luck!
Thank you jpoole. I think changing the oil is first order of business.
 
@Astralcat Can you explain what was going on that lead up to the flush? Conventional oil and synthetic oil changed on regular intervals generally keeps the engine pretty clean so I am guessing something was amiss somewhere right? Are you thinking that the oil changes were few and far between?
 
Yeah I never recommend an engine "flush" treatment for maintenance. When I was an ops manager for an auto auction, I've seen the engine flush actually lock motors up in the shop with the engine idling for only a couple minutes and there was no evidence of sludge but was a requested service by the accounts that we had. The tech would immediately drain the oil/flush mix, then do an oil change with filter and it took a couple attempts with the starter to pop the crank free and the engine would come back to life.

Do not ever use engine flush unless you are trying to get rid of heavy sludge. Which if you are doing this, you know that your probably SOL anyways...
 
Yeah I never recommend an engine "flush" treatment for maintenance. When I was an ops manager for an auto auction, I've seen the engine flush actually lock motors up in the shop with the engine idling for only a couple minutes and there was no evidence of sludge but was a requested service by the accounts that we had. The tech would immediately drain the oil/flush mix, then do an oil change with filter and it took a couple attempts with the starter to pop the crank free and the engine would come back to life.

Do not ever use engine flush unless you are trying to get rid of heavy sludge. Which if you are doing this, you know that your probably SOL anyways...
I changed conventional oil every 3 months for the 13 years I've owned it. Not Mileage as I only drive less than 4K a year. I fix all leaks. Very well maintained. I have maintenance records from previous owner who took it to Lexus dealership for all services.
 
Yeah I never recommend an engine "flush" treatment for maintenance. When I was an ops manager for an auto auction, I've seen the engine flush actually lock motors up in the shop with the engine idling for only a couple minutes and there was no evidence of sludge but was a requested service by the accounts that we had. The tech would immediately drain the oil/flush mix, then do an oil change with filter and it took a couple attempts with the starter to pop the crank free and the engine would come back to life.

Do not ever use engine flush unless you are trying to get rid of heavy sludge. Which if you are doing this, you know that your probably SOL anyways...
 
I changed conventional oil every 3 months for the 13 years I've owned it. Not Mileage as I only drive less than 4K a year. I fix all leaks. Very well maintained. I have maintenance records from previous owner who took it to Lexus dealership for all services.
Then WHY would you do an engine flush?

Tell us what product and how so we can understand what took place.

There are a few possibilities here.

What other recent maintenance has been done?
 
Then WHY would you do an engine flush?

Tell us what product and how so we can understand what took place.

There are a few possibilities here.

What other recent maintenance has been done?
Can we establish it was the wrong thing to do. I made a mistake. The issue is what to do now. I used motor medic. The oil level was less than 1/2 quart low. I added One quart of the evil additive. I ran it at idle for 5 minutes with A/C off. Drained, filled, replaced filter. Drove 5 minutes. One hour later I drove 5 minutes back. The Oil pressure was at 3/4 position, That's high at low speed. I checked level when I returned which was fine and heard the lite ticking audible from Throttle Body area. The valve cover gaskets were replaced maybe 9 months ago. I hand cleaned and polished the Butterfly valve and throttle body at that time. New iridium plugs, wires, cap, rotor. New radiator about a year ago. Correct coolant used. Within last two years egr and other emission parts were replaced after I got check engine light. All heater and radiator hoses were replaced recently including pesky one. Fuel filter changed within last year. Belts and Fan clutch are new. I cleaned oil pan and oil return tube as I had pan gasket leak 6 mo. ago.
 
@Astralcat we get the mistake. We all make them. I think you are misinterpreting the tone here. We want to know was it "i just wanted to do something nice for my engine" or was there a concern or thing happening that made you try to flush. We are asking to see if it has any relation to what you are experiencing now. It is hard to postulate while we have the pending question.

I think everyone is likely thinking one of two possible things...some buildup came loose all at once and clogged something resulting in oil starvation somewhere or there was something else happening that we don't know about which resulted in you trying to fix with a flush.
 
Can we establish it was the wrong thing to do. I made a mistake. The issue is what to do now. I used motor medic. The oil level was less than 1/2 quart low. I added One quart of the evil additive. I ran it at idle for 5 minutes with A/C off. Drained, filled, replaced filter. Drove 5 minutes. One hour later I drove 5 minutes back. The Oil pressure was at 3/4 position, That's high at low speed. I checked level when I returned which was fine and heard the lite ticking audible from Throttle Body area. The valve cover gaskets were replaced maybe 9 months ago. I hand cleaned and polished the Butterfly valve and throttle body at that time. New iridium plugs, wires, cap, rotor. New radiator about a year ago. Correct coolant used. Within last two years egr and other emission parts were replaced after I got check engine light. All heater and radiator hoses were replaced recently including pesky one. Fuel filter changed within last year. Belts and Fan clutch are new. I cleaned oil pan and oil return tube as I had pan gasket leak 6 mo. ago.
What @clx16 said is exactly why I'm asking.

What oil filter did you install or have you been using?

This could be the real cause.
 
Perhaps no damage was done by using the engine flush but expecting an improvement or some difference in how the engine operates pre- and post-flush you've picked up on the oil pressure reading and ticking in the TB area. Refill with oil, drive it more and watch and listen for a change.
 
the oil pressure is high
How high? You say 3/4 mark, which sounds about right for fresh oil in an engine that's not yet thoroughly warmed up.
and I hear a light ticking from the throttle body area.
I bet you're imagining it.

I've never used that product, but I've used Seafoam in several engines, including my 1FZ-FE. I ran it from, say, five minutes of idling up to several days of normal in-town driving.

I seriously doubt that you had enough sludge buildup that something broke free and plugged an oil passage. That happens when you try it on a neglected junk yard Buick with oil so ancient that it's like chunky tar.

We're all assuming that you didn't use a WIX filter, by the way. If you did, then you have to say five hail Dans as penance.
 
You think you did something wrong, so you're interpreting everything on your truck as damage indicators. Oil pressure and noise are likely fine. Mine sounds a little like a sewing machine and it's fine.
 
Hey mate, so firstly I wouldn’t say using engine cleaner is “wrong”. In fact it can be a really good idea, however the problem is timing. If the engine is relatively clean then using cleaning products regularly can keep the motor clean and prevent build up that can cause problems down the track. The issue is if the motor is really dirty the cleaning can result in sludge blocking up the oil pickup potentially causing problems.


So first things first, get a mechanical oil gauge and check pressures. If you have oil pressure at the gauge location it means the pickup isn’t blocked which is a good thing. Any crap should have been picked up by the oil filter so it’s unlikely to have blocked something further along.

It is possible that your tapper/lifters are out of adjustment but the buildup of gunk was damping the sound, by cleaning you’ve allowed the problem to be heard. This is potentially a good thing...

If it was me personally, I would doing another engine flush using some liquid moly engine clearer as in my experience they are the one product that really works. A few clean cycles with cheap fresh oil between cleans and a new filter. Then refill with quality thicker oil and see what happens...
 

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