Add diesel to oil for change?

Oppie wrote:
> "Richard" > wrote in message
> ...
> Is this okay to do???
>
> I usually use something like rislone engine flush every few oil
changes
> http://www.rislone.com/products.htm
>
> On occasion, I just add a quart of kerosene instead. Run the engine
to get
> it warm, add the kerosene and idle for 5 minutes before draining. Be
sure to
> change the filter. Seems to keep it nicely clean.

A lot of posters over at bobistheoilguy seem to like a product called
Auto-RX, personally I've never tried it, but they rave about it. Their
web site looks mildly snake-oily, but on the other hand I've never seen
a bad review of it. I may try it myself in my '55 as it is fairly
clean inside but I would like it to be cleaner.

nate

David Teichholtz wrote:

> <flush instructions snipped>
>
> This begs the question: "why?"

I agree.

> If regular oil changes are done, modern
> engines go 300,000 miles and more.

And by "modern" you mean 1960 and later. What has really improved are
the oils- you couldn't run a 1966 engine 9000 miles between changes on
1966 motor oil, but you sure can do that with the same engine on modern
oils. And it'll last as long as any 2005 engine given the same care too.

The only thing that should ever be put in the crankcase is OIL, in my
opinion. As a last resort to save a badly sludged engine, I have
carefully flushed the crankcase with kerosene (NOT with the engine
running!), refilled with cheap oil and a new filter, run it for 10
minutes, and then changed the oil and filter and replaced with good oil.
But I'd never do that on an engine that wasn't doomed if I did nothing.

FWIW- the "doomed" engine survived and has run another 30,000 miles or
so and now has 210,000 miles.

Mentioning "on the farm" does remind me of the things we've done in the past
on my dad, grandpa, and uncles farms. Using kerosene or diesel fuel (either
one) was a regular practice. Running it very long at all really wasn't, but
you can flush out quite bit of varnish, particulates, etc. doing just that.
Combined with regular maintenance, it works out quite well. Running
straight 30 weight for a short time afterwards (50 in big engines) provided
for the removal of what was left (flush and waste product alike.) The
technique is old, tried, and true! AND, recommended by companies such as
Cummins, Detroit, and Volvo in their engines for many years. We ran our
turbo diesels with the governors wide open for years; providing regular
maintenance and flushes as part of this.
On a gasoline engine, it may be better recommended to use something like
mineral oil or a drain through of mineral spirits while the engine is still
warm. Possibly let it run for a couple of minutes. But, be warned!
Passenger vehicle engines are flimsy, when compared to big diesels. Don't
overdo it!

I'd personaly be affraid to "wash" out as much oil as I could from my
engine.

It's well known that most engine wear happens durring start up because
the oil has settled at the bottom of the pan and then takes a few
moments to get to where it's needed.

Even after the engine is shut down and the oil has drained, there is
still an oil film on the engine internals. WITH this film wear happens
on start up. Why would anyone want to strip this protective coating
away and then start the car?

Forget the kerosene and the motor flush, ignore the high priced oils
(unless you car was designed to use them) and Slick 50's, turn off the
infomercials pouring sand into engines.

Just change yout oil and filter often.

It's that simple.

Really, I'm not suggesting you start it. Just warm it up a little bit
first, then let the thinner/clearer liquid run through it top to bottom and
out of the pan. The straight weight oil then is used as the clean out,
washing away the unwanted fluids and nasty stuff. Running your engine on
anything that can be used to clean paint brushes....yeah, that's obviously
bad. This process dissolves the sludge build up in the lines, heads, and
pan for the most part. Rings, seals, bearings, and high friction zones are
better left alone. And, as for high priced oils (synthetics They work
well in pretty much any engine, so long as you have cared for it well before
making the change and have let it break in properly. Otherwise, you may
risk opening up places in you engine for oil to seep through that you never
would of discovered otherwise. (Not a high mileage decision)

Even with pouring "something" into a warm engine only to let it drain
right out, I just dont see the point.

If you have a "V" type engine block, unless you have a filler cap on
either valve cover, you're only getting one cyl. bank. Even on an
in-line set up you have no way of getting a fluid dispersed into the
engine. Gravity will take it down the path of least resistance.

With the oil bath you mentioned, ("The straight weight oil then is used
as the clean out, washing away the unwanted fluids and nasty stuff.")
The cleaning fluid should be so diluted by then that any cleaning
properties would be greatly diminished. If not, you're talking about
dangerously decreased lubrication.

All possible damage questions aside, I just dont see the point of all
the extra effort.
Changing your oil like you should seems the only solution.


A side note, from what I've read about synth. oil, there doesnt seem to
be a need for the extra cost of using it. Unless your car sees extreme
driving conditions, ie racing or severe towing, the new dino oils fit
the bill completely. And at a much more reasonable price.
>From what I've found, one of the few cars that the manufacturer
recomends synth oil is the Corvete. Thats because many people WILL race
them. The synth oil can take the high heat.

For your Chevette, the dino oils out now are much better then they were
when your car was new.

Ahhh - the Chevette...How long before Chevy "re-introduces" that name on a
new line? As a teen, we used to have a ball with Chevettes. I had one
friend who changed out the engine mounts and put a Buick V-6 in it, Then,
not to be outdone, his friend modified the whole front end (suspension, and
extended it) to accommodate a 350 V-8. The V-6 won in a race as the 350
was just too difficult to control, but it was fun to play around...the good
ol days....

> For your Chevette, the dino oils out now are much better then they were
> when your car was new.
>

Yeah, I had an 81' Chevette-litte ugly yellow one. Ran the 'living hell'
out of it. Replaced the engine @ 180K miles with a slightly beefed up 2.5
out of a Fiero and an S-10 tranny. Was actually pretty quick. Friend of
mine made use of a 2.8 Fiero GT motor in his and ran some good numbers at
the strip, but I never made it that far.
The good ole days! If only Detroit could make RWD small cars again; how
much fun they would be with an Ecotec!

Yeah, but then we'd have the "hump" again in the middle!! Didn't care up
front, but as a teen in a car full of teens, you never wanted to end up in
the middle in the back...

My sister had a '80 auto and I remember she used to bring it up to school
and back (upstate NY from Long Island) twice a year, and she'd have to get
it up to about 75-80 going down the hills on route 17, so she'd only slow
down to about 45 with it floored making it up the next one...


"hoosier_drifter" > wrote in message
...
> Yeah, I had an 81' Chevette-litte ugly yellow one. Ran the 'living hell'
> out of it. Replaced the engine @ 180K miles with a slightly beefed up 2.5
> out of a Fiero and an S-10 tranny. Was actually pretty quick. Friend of
> mine made use of a 2.8 Fiero GT motor in his and ran some good numbers at
> the strip, but I never made it that far.
> The good ole days! If only Detroit could make RWD small cars again; how
> much fun they would be with an Ecotec!
>
>

"Richard" > wrote in message
...

> Is this okay to do???

It's probably okay, but with today's detergent gasolines it provides no
advantage. It's no better or worse than a commercial oil or gasoline
additive, which are also unnecessary.