Thoughts on flushing engine oil (1 Viewer)

[sailingcruiser]

hi every one.
It appears that the inside of my engine is very dirty.

The back story.
When purchasing my fzj80 I was told by the PO that he used mobile 1 oil. I changed the oil shortly after purchasing 0-40 M1, M1 filter. And it was filthy. Burgundy in color. And lots of deposit chunks.

I cut open the filter and the bottom was pretty gritty.

Now 1200 miles in I added some oil and I'm back to burgundy and saw a deposit chunk on the dipstick.

I am hesitant to use a engine flush as I have 233k on the clock. And don't need to make more problems.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Bill F]

I recall seeing a lot of threads on the utility of Seafoam as an engine flush, you may want to look into that. Also, many suggest using a diesel engine oil, eg Rotella or Delo, due to its higher detergent properties. Sounds like you would also benefit from sending a sample to Blackstone to see what's really going on. And given the failure rate (as noted on this forum) of many popular oil filters, just use the Toyota ones. I noted an increase in oil pressure across the board when switching from a generic aftermarket filter.

 

[mikedamageinc]

I've used seafoam and berryman b12 on several engines no problem. Did it do anything? The oil looked darker draining and the metal looked less stained on the inside but no real scientific evidence. They say only run it about 100 miles before changing oil and I probably wouldn't run it hard while it's in there. I also use Blackstone like it was said and they can give you a lot of inside to the condition of your engine, as well as trans, diff, etc if you send that fluid too. I wouldn't send the sample with the cleaner though, it would be contaminated

 

[BILT4ME]

What color coolant do you have in the truck?

What is the status of your power steering fluid?

Burgundy in color is NOT normal for any engine.

Look at the CAUSE of the issue, not just rinsing it out.

You have a distinct possibility of a failed O-Ring in the PS pump or a failure of an oil cooler seal. Burgundy with chunks is contamination.

Also, what year. You state FZJ80, but no year reference.

Seafoam is EVIL.

 

[Red Merle]

What color coolant do you have in the truck?

What is the status of your power steering fluid?

Burgundy in color is NOT normal for any engine.

Look at the CAUSE of the issue, not just rinsing it out.

You have a distinct possibility of a failed O-Ring in the PS pump or a failure of an oil cooler seal. Burgundy with chunks is contamination.

Also, what year. You state FZJ80, but no year reference.

Seafoam is EVIL.

I agree. Once you determine that everything is functioning properly, if your cats are willing to take the load of crud that will get knocked loose, I would run some Rotella through it for a couple of quick oil changes, say twice or three times every 1000 miles or so. That should get the bulk of the crud out and you should see a cleaner dipstick afterwards. I would switch back to regular 10W30 after that, but others will have different opinions on that. The general consensus at the moment is the Toyota filters are the way to go.

 

[gummycarbs]

I saw more sludge than I like when I got mine at 253k. I've been doing short oil change intervals (1k or so) with Seafoam in the crankcase and a high idle for ten minutes or so just before each drain. It's certainly coming out black, and it seems to be getting less gross when I peer into the oil cap hole. I've never experienced any of the horror stories with Seafoam.

 

[Proven]

I switched to diesel engine oil because it has additive packages are usually meant to contend with sludging and heavy soot.

 

[sailingcruiser]

When I say chunks I am referring to stuff the size of sand granules. Which are the Color of the build up you can see. When you open the oil cap. Same color for the oil. All fluids have been changed power steering is oem toyota so it's not ATF colored. Toyota red coolant.

It's a 97 basically I don't want to run hundreds of dollars worth of oil through it our use something that will be hard on my 20 year old seals.

I'm thinking some cheap diesel oil with a few changes at short intervals. Although OCD I'm realistic that there is 233k on it and things aren't new. It just surprises me how much gunk is moving around

 

[Red Merle]

I switched to diesel engine oil because it has additive packages are usually meant to contend with sludging and heavy soot.

That is the most compelling reason to run Delo or Rotella in my mind. The down side according to some of the oil dorks out there is that the higher levels of detergent blow a lot more crud over your cats, which can be an expensive fix. I have new cats on my truck and I have rebuilt the top end of the motor so it's 10w30 for me now, but the diesel oil will clean up your junk if it needs it.

 

[Red Merle]

When I say chunks I am referring to stuff the size of sand granules. Which are the Color of the build up you can see. When you open the oil cap. Same color for the oil. All fluids have been changed power steering is oem toyota so it's not ATF colored. Toyota red coolant.

It's a 97 basically I don't want to run hundreds of dollars worth of oil through it our use something that will be hard on my 20 year old seals.

I'm thinking some cheap diesel oil with a few changes at short intervals. Although OCD I'm realistic that there is 233k on it and things aren't new. It just surprises me how much gunk is moving around

There is really no reason to use expensive oil. I run 10w30 of whatever dino oil is on sale that will meet ANSI standards and I change it every 3K with a new Toyota filter. I picked up 15 quarts of Citgo oil at Fleet Farm a few weeks ago that were $3 per five quart jug after mail in rebate. I have zero qualms about running that stuff, especially because I am a believer in short change intervals. I don't care about all the talk about how long the new oils are meant to last before they start to break down. I want to get that out of there along with all of the gunk that gets built up and soots the oil more than I want to squeeze another couple of months out of the oil.

 

[Dave 2000]

I no longer use flushing oil, I am more for a couple of sacrificial changes.

So, new filter, cheap basic engine oil run for about 20 minutes, drain and refill with your chosen brand and change the filter.

Use for 6 months and repeat the process, after that yearly changes regardless of miles.

My oil is very clean as I follow the above process....and mines a diesel, you will often here that diesels turn the oil black immediately after a change, that is complete rubbish, the new oil is picking up the old oil resting in the head and oil passages.

Regards

Dave

 

[Qball]

My first oil change right after the purchased was really really dark. Second oil change at 3k was also really really dark. So I did a few quick or short interval changes and finnally got a little better but still pretty dark at every oil change. Now I just change every 3-5k(don’t drive it much) with mobile 1 and not losing sleep over how dark the oil is.

 

[gummycarbs]

The down side according to some of the oil dorks out there is that the higher levels of detergent blow a lot more crud over your cats, which can be an expensive fix.

I've never heard that, and I don't know how a detergent oil could carry any significant amount of contaminant past the rings. What I have heard, though, is that the higher zinc levels will damage the catalytic converter. That's definitely possible, but the zinc level of modern diesel oils is pretty low, so it's unlikely.

That said, I'm switching to Mobil 0W-40 soon. Because of this:

Used Oil Analysis-Mobil 1 0w-40 Unreal!!!

 

[Red Merle]

I've never heard that, and I don't know how a detergent oil could carry any significant amount of contaminant past the rings. What I have heard, though, is that the higher zinc levels will damage the catalytic converter. That's definitely possible, but the zinc level of modern diesel oils is pretty low, so it's unlikely.

That said, I'm switching to Mobil 0W-40 soon. Because of this:

Used Oil Analysis-Mobil 1 0w-40 Unreal!!!

It's speculation. The higher levels of ZDDP in diesel oil has been shown to damage cats, but some of us have noted that the diesel oils do seem to soot the oil and make the exhaust seem more "smoggy". @LINUS and I were having this discussion a few moths ago, but again, I think we were both spitballing. I just switched to regular old 10w30 about a year ago and my start up rattle is gone, my oil looks bright even after 3K miles and the exhaust seems cleaner.

 

[Qball]

Another option is to add a quart of transmission oil for a few hundred miles. Very high detergent.

 

[BILT4ME]

Another option is to add a quart of transmission oil for a few hundred miles. Very high detergent.

Also lower viscosity........

 

[Qball]

Also lower viscosity........

yes but don't think our tractor engine that supposed to run on just about any thing that would light with a match would care.

 

[inkpot]

Do a couple of short run oil changes and see if that cleans it up. 500 miles on Supertech from Wallyworld @ $15 per 5 qt jug. They have decent filters too for cheap. IF it doesn’t clear it up snuff then go to dame diesel oil and try that. I do not like added any kind of solvents into the oil, especially on older rigs.

 

[Red Merle]

Also lower viscosity........

Maybe I am weird, but I am pretty sure dumping a quart of ATF into my motor might give me a stroke. Even if it does work, my dimwitted brain would not be able to overcome all of the stuff that has been pounded into it about checking, changing and maintaining proper oil levels over the course of the last 40 years.

 

[inkpot]

Maybe I am weird, but I am pretty sure dumping a quart of ATF into my motor might give me a stroke. Even if it does work, my dimwitted brain would not be able to overcome all of the stuff that has been pounded into it about checking, changing and maintaining proper oil levels over the course of the last 40 years.

Pretty common technique in the old days when oils had less cleaning agents, but not my favorite nowdaus