Cleaning Sludge out of your motor

I hope not. Don't use diesel fuel in your crankcase unless you want to really mess up your engine. Diesel fuel does not have sufficient lubricity.

The best advice is to forget the chemicals and simply use a good detergent oil and change it often.

If you insist on a chemical cleaning, try Seafoam, available at NAPA (and many marine supply stores). Put it in your crankcase, go run your engine until the oil is good and hot, then change your oil. It is not as caustic as the typical auto parts store "de-sludging" detergents so is less likely to dislodge chunks of crud that can clog your oil galleys and wreak havoc on your motor.

Robert Bills KG6LMV Orange County CA

Approximately 11/15/03 06:52, snipped-for-privacy@columbus.rr.com uttered for posterity:

I sure wouldn't do this to any engine designed since the 1920's.

If you want to desludge, the safest route is to add a very high detergent oil, run the engine till it is good and hot, then drain and change, plus filter. Then do this again. And maybe swap the oil at something like 1000 to 1500 miles for a coupla changes, always with new filters. Optional extras would be to add a can of add-in oil detergent or Marvel Mystery. I wouldn't run a full can of either of those more than long enough to get the engine good and hot.

I usually run about a quart of kerosene thru any used car I buy when I'm ready to change the oil the first time. I make sure it's a quart down, add the kerosene and let it IDLE - note IDLE - for about 10 minutes then immediately drain it while it's still warm and let it drain good while sitting for maybe an hour. I'm also one of the old fashioned ones that pulls the coil wire and cranks until I get oil pressure after an oil change instead of letting it fire up. Seems to clean things up nicely but again note: IDLE! A buddy tried that with a Chevy V-8 and took off across town without draining it. Got about

If you really have sludge it is worth taking off the oil pan.

Earle

I think that's about the same as Gunk Engine Cleaner.

Cheers, Jim

Any used car/engine that I buy, I drain the old oil, fill the crankcase with Marvel Mystery OIl, run to warm and at NO LOAD ... several times, flush/drain and replace with regular oil ..... to free up stuck rings, sticking valve stems, etc. Especially if the engine hasnt been run for a spell the MMO 'spa' frees up all the stickies for improved compression, etc. I usually run with 1+ pint MMO in the crancase oil and use it to 'top oil' the valves, etc. I do the MMO 'spa' routine every year on my marine (wet exhaust) engines.

On or about Sat, 15 Nov 2003, snipped-for-privacy@columbus.rr.com of snipped-for-privacy@columbus.r...:

You do understand doing anything to clean the sludge out will also clean out the sludge that is stopping up a lot of oil leaks, right?