Extending the Life of Your Car with Every Oil Change
Engine Oil Flush
Now, when you go in for your regularly scheduled oil change you will likely be asked if you'd like to have your engine "flushed" with a brand new product designed specifically to remove the years of grease from the valves, ports and other nooks and crannies of your engine.
On the surface this seems like good advice... and it is. If you have ever taken an engine apart you know that grease can clog up the ducts where the oil must circulate to protect your engine. This is very similar to the arterial disease that can occur in people that have elevated cholesterol levels. Fatty deposits build up around the arterial walls preventing the flow of blood. In the case of your car, the oil heats up as it is protecting your engine, and as it does it chars and hardens inside, creating a layer of carbon that restricts the flow of oil. These oil deposits turn into sludge and grease which clings to the valves of your car, making them "sticky" which can result in that tapping sound one often hears in improperly maintained cars. Another added benefit to flushing the oil is that the new oil will last longer because it will not pick up particles of the caked on grease as it travels through your engine. Cooling will improve, which will extend the life of your motor oil and your engine.
The procedure is simple: They drain your motor oil and replace it with a few quarts of a detergent oil, and when they drain it, out comes the grease in the form of sludge. The cost of this service can be as high as $69.99, but the lowest I have seen it advertized is $49.99. The good news is that you can do this yourself for under $2.00, and you don't even have to get your hands dirty. Here's how.
About 30 minutes to an hour before you take your car in for its regular maintenance, add a quart of automatic transmission fluid to the motor oil in your car, and drive it for about 30 minutes to an hour to make sure that the oil has had a chance to work its ways throughout the entire engine. While it is in there, and as the oil temperature rises in the engine, the transmission fluid will begin to break down all the crease in your valves, valve springs, lifters and retainers, often times quieting the tapping noise made by sticky lifters. Do not run the engine longer than an hour because automatic transmission fluid's detergent action can break down the motor oil viscosity after that, although I have ran it in my car for several hours without any consequences.
Now, take your car to get your oil change. When they offer to degrease the inside of your motor for $50, say "no thanks. I've already done it." And watch the sludge come out of your car when they the pull the drain plug.
Published by Solis
Gerald Enrique del Campo is a poet, musician, song writer, photographer, magician, philosopher, author, and lecturer on occult and religious topics. View profile
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4 Comments
Post a CommentIt is so simple: Oil heats up and then cools off, becoming thicker and stickier as it ages in its regular service cycle. Much of it ends up sticking to your engine block, valves, retainers and springs in the form of tar. Adding automatic transmission fluid to your oil shortly before an oil change will liquefy that tar stuck to your parts so that it can be drained out with the oil change. It isn't rocket science, but if you think that today's new oils are super and that they don't thicken and stick to parts, then simply don't follow the advice. :)
Doing this process at every oil change is unlikely to extend the life of your engine. Modern motor oils work perfectly fine keeping your engine clean and running good unassisted. Follow the oil change guidelines stated in the owners manual and your engine will have a long happy life. These types of tricks should be a one time type of deal. If you find it necessary to do this type of thing at every oil change to keep the engine clean, you should probably see a mechanic.
how much would you use for a ford focus?
Thanks for the tip about cleaning out the engine with tranny fluid. I once blew the engine in my car from not changing the oil, and I have never forgotten that lesson. I now get regular oil changes.