flushing engine oil

bigtimegearhead · Apr 18, 2012

When it comes to cleaning the oil system in my other cars I normally add a quart of trans fluid to the oil and run the car for about a day or two. I have also been using seafoam cause that stuff works awesome. I'm a little worried about doing this same thing on the talon becasue of the turbo. Do I have anything to really worry about or can I add a can of seafoam and drive the car real easy for a day then do the oil change??? What do you guys think??? :confused:

1990AWD · Apr 18, 2012

I wouldn't be running a day with seafoam in the oil, just add, run for a few minutes and change the oil again. I guess you could run with ATF for a day if your not getting into boost. I'm not sure how the turbo would like the ATF under load.

moronthr33 · Apr 18, 2012

I would never run a motor with atf in it. That's just asking for trouble.

sciondan · Apr 19, 2012

moronthr33 said:
I would never run a motor with atf in it. That's just asking for trouble.

It's not unheard of, its actually an old school trick to clean the gunk out of the motor. Only thing is I wouldn't drive with it in. Back when I use to do it I would add a quart to a hot engine and let it idle for 15minutes. Then change your oil like normal.

And_44 · Apr 19, 2012

Why wouldn't you use Seafoam? Put in a half a quart 100-200 miles before an oil change drive it regulary and normal DD type of way and drain and fill with fresh.

bryanwheat · Apr 19, 2012

And_44 said:
Why wouldn't you use Seafoam? Put in a half a quart 100-200 miles before an oil change drive it regulary and normal DD type of way and drain and fill with fresh.

Because if you run the engine for a small time with diluted oil it can damage the bearings. It is only made to be poured in, idled and drained out.

red_devil · Apr 19, 2012

Well if you change your oil regularly and have a good crankcase ventilation setup you do not need to flush your motor. Adding a little oil while you are draining it can help get rid of some left over sludge in the oil pan, but other than that just change the oil.

And_44 · Apr 19, 2012

Huh, thats the first I've heard of not using seafoam in oil. Only no, no's I could find where no longer then 100-200 miles, not to exceed .5 quarts, and no hard driving.

Another possible side effect was if it's the first few times using it on a old dirty engine could break up some of the sludge that had gathered and some leaks could appear and some tolerances could get bigger.

Bud92gsx · Apr 19, 2012

I have heard of using atf before in an engine.I about shit my pants, but apparently it works.This was on a n/t motor though.

dallasadkins90 · Apr 19, 2012

bigtimegearhead said:
When it comes to cleaning the oil system in my other cars I normally add a quart of trans fluid to the oil and run the car for about a day or two. I have also been using seafoam cause that stuff works awesome. I'm a little worried about doing this same thing on the talon becasue of the turbo. Do I have anything to really worry about or can I add a can of seafoam and drive the car real easy for a day then do the oil change??? What do you guys think???

i wouldnt add this every oil change it isnt recommended i would stick with atf and not use seafoam and only do it every 15xxxx miles or once a year. atf is oil based with heavy detergents added to it.

Chrispy0530 · Apr 19, 2012

I've added seafoam in the crank case once on a previous motor I had. Was the exact amount they specified and everything on the bottle. Let it idle for only 10 min or so with it in the crank case and then changed the oil.

About 50 miles later;

Knock Knock.

Who's there?

Rod knock.

Needless to say, I'll only use seafoam through vacuum from now on.

Leonthefaded · Apr 19, 2012

Chrispy0530 said:
I've added seafoam in the crank case once on a previous motor I had. Was the exact amount they specified and everything on the bottle. Let it idle for only 10 min or so with it in the crank case and then changed the oil.

About 50 miles later;

Knock Knock.

Who's there?

Rod knock.

Needless to say, I'll only use seafoam through vacuum from now on.

I tried blaming seafoam for my mistakes before. Seafoam didn't give you rod knock. It was user error

TSI_93 · Apr 19, 2012

It was either user error, or your running on borrowed time anyways, I always sea foam my vehicles annually. Usually sometime in early spring. Especially if its a vehicle I don't drive much in winter.

Chrispy0530 · Apr 19, 2012

The fact that the bearings were in great shape prior to the seafoam treatment says otherwise.

Doesn't take rocket science on doing an oil change. So exactly what user error do you speak of?

I use seafoam every 2 oil changes. Except this time, it's no longer added in with my oil. As said before, adding it dilutes your engine oil, therefor reducing the friction protection for your bearings.

1990talonawdtsi · Apr 19, 2012

I just use seafoam thru a vacuum line only... it does say about being able to add to your oil... i just dont trust it in the area... but it works great otherwise

DSM1G90 · Apr 19, 2012

We use to, drain the pan but keep the oil filter on, then dump one quart of kerosene (or diesel fuel), one quart of ATF, and two quarts of non-detergent 30w and let this mix run for 15 minutes on idle only, then do the change.

Amazing the junk that this mix can get out of a dirty motor full of varnish and sludge.

You just DONT run a motor on super thinned oil..definitely asking for trouble.

blkwidow · Apr 19, 2012

Seafoam every 2 oil changers? Sounds a bit much to me

DSM1G90 · Apr 19, 2012

WHY?
(... definitely a bit of a major overkill...)

If you were using (dino) Pennz on one change, then Castrol on the other, then I almost can see it, or using non-detergent for a few months, then I could see it as well.

Leonthefaded · Apr 19, 2012

Chrispy0530 said:
The fact that the bearings were in great shape prior to the seafoam treatment says otherwise.

Doesn't take rocket science on doing an oil change. So exactly what user error do you speak of?

I use seafoam every 2 oil changes. Except this time, it's no longer added in with my oil. As said before, adding it dilutes your engine oil, therefor reducing the friction protection for your bearings.

Why do you use seafoam every 2 oil changes?

The user error I speak of can only be ideas I may have about the situation. Just my 2 cents really. But I doubt seafoam caused your rod knock. If you had a logger running maybe you should examine it and what your engine was doing before the rod knock occured.

1990AWD · Apr 19, 2012

Chrispy0530 said:
The fact that the bearings were in great shape prior to the seafoam treatment says otherwise.

Doesn't take rocket science on doing an oil change. So exactly what user error do you speak of?

I use seafoam every 2 oil changes. Except this time, it's no longer added in with my oil. As said before, adding it dilutes your engine oil, therefor reducing the friction protection for your bearings.

Maybe you used the seafoam too often and that's what did your engine in?

tkelly27 · Apr 19, 2012

What's so bad about regular oil changes that they need to be augmented with something else? Buy good oil and filters and you shouldn't have to worry about any of that stuff.

bryanwheat · Apr 19, 2012

tkelly27 said:
What's so bad about regular oil changes that they need to be augmented with something else? Buy good oil and filters and you shouldn't have to worry about any of that stuff.

This is the way i look at it. Change the oil at normal intervals and use decent oil. There is no need to flush all the oil out. You will likely cause more issues instead of fixing anything.

ed1380 · Apr 19, 2012

bryanwheat said:
Because if you run the engine for a small time with diluted oil it can damage the bearings. It is only made to be poured in, idled and drained out.

If you normally run 15-40, diluting it will just bring it down to 10-30 region. I use diesel instead of atf, and I've gone as far as 50-50 diesel and oil while idling.

bryanwheat · Apr 19, 2012

ed1380 said:
If you normally run 15-40, diluting it will just bring it down to 10-30 region. I use diesel instead of atf, and I've gone as far as 50-50 diesel and oil while idling.

I don't think that the math works like that. 10-30 isn't just 15-40 that is diluted with a solvent. There are alot of other things at work in the oil that determine it's ability to be pressurized and lubricate. You guys can go ahead and flush your engines. I will just keep changing the oil and filters in my 180k mile vehicle. The first and last time that i ran a product like this i spun a bearing the very next day.

TSIturbo91 · Apr 19, 2012

It's asking for trouble. If it runs fine, chances are its fine. Don't go fixing stuff that ain't broke.

If an engine is old and neglected maybe it will help. But otherwise it could mix improperly and cause a point of failure. It's a summer product. "summer the time it works, summer the time it doesn't." LOL

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