Engine oil flush. Yes or No?

[metester]

I am about to change my oil in my '07 E1 Clubby that has 75K on the clock. My question is whether it is worth performing an oil flush prior to draining and replacing the oil? Does it really remove the old combustion deposits, oil impurities etc., and improve engine efficiency and wear and tear as is claimed? Or is it just marketing guff and daily driving and regular oil changes are enough?

If Yes, what is a good product to use?

Cheers

"E1 Clubby R8 when only an 8 will do!"

 

[kuzman89]

It is worth it. All I usually do is drain the oil, put in 5l of cheap oil with some of that flushing stuff from supercheap, let it spin for 15 minutes, dump the oil again and fill up with the new oil.

Here's a good guide

How to Flush your Motor, Gearbox and Diff when changing Oil.

 

[robbo59]

yep do it 100%...I do with all my oil changes.

 

[FATMOE]

There is no point in doing oil flushes, provided you change your oil every 5000kms or so.

 

[UFO]

It wouldnt hurt but its a waste of money.
You should be keeping an eye on your oil between changes, and more regular changes means less crap in oil sump (to a point of course).
If you're using a decent oil filter, decent oil, and changing oil before you 'need' to, there's no need to oil flush because the oil filter should be catching all the gunk anyway.

Regular short trips where engine doesnt get a chance to warm up properly, and long trips on dirt roads all the time will require earlier intervals. But if you're just driving suburban, not flogging it every chance you get, and it's at least 30min each trip, then there is no reason why you cant go 10-12k between changes. I think 15k is stretching it, but then I'm not a Holden mechanical engineer who's designed the engine ground up. If they think 15k is ok, then who am I to argue? They are the ones that get their balls in a sling if customer cars keep coming back with dead engines. And since that aint happening, and there's a lot of cars out there being serviced EXACTLY according to log book schedule, then maybe 15k is ok.... and certainly no oil flush required.

So in a nutshell, I reckon oil flushes are a waste in all but the most extreme circumstances (abnormal use, or a neglected engine etc). But every time as part of a regular oil change? No way.
If you have such little faith in your oil filter and oil you are using, maybe its time to open the wallet and get better product. I'd rather spend extra on decent oil and oil filters, than middle of the range but buy 2 lots of it.

Also, buying cheap oil to flush through will mean that when you put your 'good oil' in, you'll still be leaving some of that cheap crap in there once you're done.
I'd rather one type of super dooper awesome oil in there being changed at suitable time frames, than mixing oils on every change (which I dont reckon you should be doing anyway).

 

[kuzman89]

I agree, no point doing it every oil flush if you are using good quality oil. If you haven't done one since hitting 75,000km's I would certainly give it a go. It won't hurt the engine.

 

[boostin01]

it has the same affect as adding diesel to your oil before an oil change

 

[metester]

Thanks for the replies guys. I have had the car for just on a year now and have only done about 7K's in it. I had it serviced last Jan and was thinking that I would change the oil every 5K or so. I will give it a flush this time around and then keep an eye on it rather than flushing it every time.

Adding diesel to the oil before the change is interesting. I have never heard of that one.

Cheers

"E1 Clubby R8 when only an 8 will do!"

 

[XANDER]

If you wanna clean your engine, just use some Duel Rated Diesel Engine oil until your next change. It has a stronger detergent package and because petrol engines don't produce as many by products as Diesel's do it will do wonders.

Something like Caltex Delo LE 15w-40 its SM Rated (So it can be used in petrol engines), its cheap and a great oil.

Better than any oil flush on the market.

If your engine is quite dirty (have a look at through the fill cap or take one of the rocker covers off) I would run it for 1000km and change it again with filter. Otherwise Run it till your next oil change and your engine will be nice and clean.

Most oil flush additives are just kerosene with added detergents. But 70-90% is kerosene.

All the engine flush does is thins your oil out, 15mins is not enough for any detergent package thats get diluted with the existing oil clean your engine. Diesel/Kero it can all be used as well with similar effect but it does not cost $15 a pop.

At least with Delo or any other dual rated Diesel Engine Oil it has time to work over a period of months, at operating temperature. This will allow the detergent package to penetrate over time to clean all of your oil galleries and any crud thats been there for years.

This is the best method if you wanna clean your engine. And who knows you might like it and never look back. Dual Rated HDEO are awesome oils.

I've used HDEO's quite a few times for the for this reason. Recently my brother got him self a turbo rice burner. From looks of the oil the previous owner didn't know that an engine needs oil. It was shocking. Changed it out with Delo and after 1000km changed it out again. My brother loves it. Very quite engine now and the turbo spool a lot faster.

Think of it this way. At the mines in North Queensland where temp is 40+ in summer and harsh, dry, dusty conditions all vehicles are serviced with HDEO thats dual rated. And some of these engines are worth a lot more than a any HSV on the market excluding how much loss of production costs if they ever break down.

Anyways let us know how you go.

BTW Check out Repco they have a sale on.

 

[The1]

oil is there to protect and film everything including gasket and rubber surfaces, putting in any cleaner will just strip that film, use good oil and you'l be fine for 100,000's km's