Engine flush and oil

[baggimodo]

Chaps

Can anyone recommend a decent engine flush?

Also I'm sure I saw an offer on here last week for oil on offer from a supermarket? Can't think which it was now though!

Cheers

[Kos]

I've used forte & Wynnes flush in the past with fair results.

As for which supermarket had oil on offer, probably Asda or Tescos

[baggimodo]

Cheers Kos, I've seen the wynnes one in GSF. I'll give that a go!

Would 10W/40 Semi synth be right for the M40B18?

[Brianmoooore]

Why do you want to use engine flush?

[baggimodo]

Well I got an engine off pacerpete and thought it might be an idea to flush it seeing as I don't know when it was last run. Is this not a good idea?

[Kos]

If its from pete then it will be a good engine

And there's no harm in flushing an M40, it's probably a good idea.

[Brianmoooore]

Any fine sludge that has collected in the dead ends and blind corners of the oil ways over the years is sitting there, and will continue to sit there for ever, doing harm to no one. Dislodge it suddenly, and it will end up embedded in the bearing surfaces.
The more an engine needs flushing oil, the less safe it is to use it.
If you must 'clean' the inside of your engine, then try running for a few thousand miles on a high detergent oil of an appropriate grade, intended for diseasal cars.

[retroboyo]

I didnt know you could use oil for diesels in a petrol engine, whats the difference

[baggimodo]

I'll take heed of those that know. ;) I'm sure it'll be fine with new oil snd ill leave tge flush as it seems it could be more trouble than its worth. Just got the ancillaries to bolt back on tomorrow and should be ready to turn the key sometime on Sunday afternoon. It's been the worst two weeks in recent memory without my car!

[rich318i]

you can use diesel as an engine flush aswell

[retroboyo]

I used Wynns flush on my last oil change in my m40. Just my opinion but the new oil has stayed clear, on previous oil changes it would be going darker by now

[Brianmoooore]

It's the stuff that the unenlightened put in the fuel tank that makes your oil go dark. Petrol is not a very good choice of fuel to run an engine on - it burns to produce all kinds of corrosive contaminants that end up in the oil.
If you want oil that comes out almost the same colour as it goes in, run your engine exclusively on LPG, and double your engine life.

[retroboyo]

Are there any LPG conversion guides on here please

[Brianmoooore]

Are there any LPG conversion guides on here please

Not as such, but plenty on here with enough knowledge to advise and guide you through.

[Kos]

It's the stuff that the unenlightened put in the fuel tank that makes your oil go dark. Petrol is not a very good choice of fuel to run an engine on - it burns to produce all kinds of corrosive contaminants that end up in the oil.
If you want oil that comes out almost the same colour as it goes in, run your engine exclusively on LPG, and double your engine life.

if petrol was such a poor choice of fuel then why is it still the no1 fuel of choice ?

also, if LPG cost was the same a petrol would you still use it ?

back to OP, i've never had any problems using a flush. personally with any car i buy or engine i've fitted to any car i've put a flush through it and they've been fine for 10's of 1000's of miles

there is nothing at all to back up mr mores opinions. petrol engines can, have and will rack up 100's of 1000's miles problem free

[capri_rob]

back to OP, i've never had any problems using a flush. personally with any car i buy or engine i've fitted to any car i've put a flush through it and they've been fine for 10's of 1000's of miles

+1

Heard loads of horror stories, but used them on every car I have serviced myself over the last 20 Years ( oil changing is something even a spanner numpty like me can do )and never had a problem.

Use a decent established brand of flush ( wynns, STP etc ) , follow the instructions exactly and it'll be reet

[kibble]

personally i wouldnt bother with the engine flush, maybe just run the engine up, get it to temperature, then drop the oil and change the filter, and maybe fit a magnetic sump bung.


the engine flush may do more harm than good, before its happened to me where the flush hhas washed all the crap out the bearings etc and it knocked like hell after.

[baggimodo]

I decided to blank the flush and instead am going to change the oil again with some quality stuff in a couple of months. This should see me sweet. Had some brand new plugs in the lump I've taken out so they'll be going in tomorrow. Thanks for the advice though chaps!

[Silverfang]

I've had to use Comma Flush oil once to clear out the slug after my M20B25 cracked it's head, the amount of gunk that came out was scary
However, since running fresh Castrol Magnatec, the engine had been running this since I brought it 2 years ago, The flush hasn't done any harm as far as I can tell and the engine is running rather sweet, even the oil is still cleanish after a good 8k miles done.

[Brianmoooore]

It's the stuff that the unenlightened put in the fuel tank that makes your oil go dark. Petrol is not a very good choice of fuel to run an engine on - it burns to produce all kinds of corrosive contaminants that end up in the oil.
If you want oil that comes out almost the same colour as it goes in, run your engine exclusively on LPG, and double your engine life.

if petrol was such a poor choice of fuel then why is it still the no1 fuel of choice ?

Inertia, basically. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. There's a lot of money invested in the petrol distribution network.

also, if LPG cost was the same a petrol would you still use it ?

Undoubtedly, if an equal supply infrastructure was in place, and I could fit an LPG tank in place of the petrol tank, instead of losing space to it.

back to OP, i've never had any problems using a flush. personally with any car i buy or engine i've fitted to any car i've put a flush through it and they've been fine for 10's of 1000's of miles

there is nothing at all to back up mr mores opinions. petrol engines can, have and will rack up 100's of 1000's miles problem free

You have no evidence either as to whether all the flush you have bought was a complete waste of money, extended the life of the engines or shortened their life. Unless you start with a large number of brand new engines and run some on petrol and some on LPG under controlled conditions for hundreds of thousands of miles, nothing can be proven.
There's plenty of evidence as regards oil contamination by petrol, both as a liquid and by its combustion products however, when compared to engines run on LPG.

[e30mtech]

i reckon there is a chance of making your engine looser and noisier by using a flush by dislodging all the crud that keeps everything going and together, i used it on my old xr2i and it went from a nice engine to a right old ford cvh chapper.

[Kos]

Your posts about a flush causing damage is scare mongering, similar to the whole fuse thread started after santapod

You have a wealth of knowledge but at times I think you preach your own bais opinions as fact.

[Brianmoooore]

Your posts about a flush causing damage is scare mongering, similar to the whole fuse thread started after santapod

You have a wealth of knowledge but at times I think you preach your own bais opinions as fact.

It is an undeniable fact that petrol as a fuel contaminates engine oil far more than LPG.
It is also an undeniable fact that engine bore/ring wear occurs mainly as a result of the oil film being washed away by liquid petrol condensing on the bore walls of a cold engine. This does not happen with LPG.
Several people have posted on this thread claiming that their engines ran worse after using an engine flush. No one has made any substantial claim to date that their engines ran better after using a flush. I do not claim either of these statements to be evidence in any way.
A 15A fuse fitted in position 11 in any E30 with a single fuel pump is bad practice.
A 15A fuse will not blow under locked rotor conditions of the fuel pump, which does not cause any great problem on a standard E30, since the engine will stop a few seconds later, removing the power to the pump when the pump relay switches off, but is bad practice when a 7.5A fuse is well within the rating required for normal pump running current.
If a 15A fuse is fitted, and someone links out the pump relay as part of the fault finding process, the current flowing will be enough to heat, and possibly cause permanent damage, to the pump wire and surrounding loom.
There is also those of us who do run on LPG to consider. A locked rotor fuel pump will go unnoticed on a car running on LPG, since the engine will not stop, until such time as an attempt is made to run it on petrol.
Preaching your own bais(sic) opinions as fact is what the engineering and scientific community do, until such time as someone provides evidence to the contrary. That's how fact is differentiated from fiction.

[Kos]

i am no expert on LPG, but i have used a flush on several cars over the years with benefits. M40's included.

a friend who's also a very experience mechanic ( has run his own garage for 26 years ) has used engine flush on cars with out any come backs for years. in more than a few cases the benefits of a flush have been very evident. the prictice he goes by is flush new oil and filter and after 3000 miles or so new oil and filter and maintain it with regular oil changes

this is the practice on cars that may have sticking hydraulic lifters and cars with a patch service history

on the subject of petrol contamination oil, if you use a decent oil which like your self i do recommend to all, namely a fully synthetic oil even for these "old cars" there is going to be more protection for the engine then a cheaper semi synth oil

as for the XR2i......... a rattling CVH doesnt surprise me

[HJG-E30]

A friend of mine used engine flush in his F-reg Polo. Had no leaks beforehand. Afterwards it was leaking all over the place. Engine flush is probably okay if very frequent oil changes have been carried out, but then this eliminates the neccesity of using it anyway! I have never and never will use an engine flush product in any engine.

[adit]

but what is the head cracked/head gasket blew and the oil/water sludge was everywhere?
you still wouldn't use a flush?

[mcbonio]

Well I've been reading this tread as I'm looking at doing a flush myself, my M20 has a fairly loud tap when cold and lessens but doesn't go when hot. I've adjusted the valve clearances to spec with no joy. I'll run a can of Wynn's through it and change the oil, see what happens.!

I'm going to do a before and after video of the engine sound and some photos of the oil after so we can all have a good luck to see if this is beneficial or not..!

[pony]

Is engine flush suitable for the E46 M3s or E92 M3s ?
How often do u recommend changing the oil between official services according to the computer ?

I read in BMW Car / Total BMW should change the oil every 4000 miles rather than every 12000 miles ?

Do BMW Dealers ever flush engines nowadays ?

I think engine tolerances r a lot tighter nowadays .... ?

[Demlotcrew]

i am no expert on LPG, but i have used a flush on several cars over the years with benefits. M40's included.

a friend who's also a very experience mechanic ( has run his own garage for 26 years ) has used engine flush on cars with out any come backs for years. in more than a few cases the benefits of a flush have been very evident. the prictice he goes by is flush new oil and filter and after 3000 miles or so new oil and filter and maintain it with regular oil changes

this is the practice on cars that may have sticking hydraulic lifters and cars with a patch service history

on the subject of petrol contamination oil, if you use a decent oil which like your self i do recommend to all, namely a fully synthetic oil even for these "old cars" there is going to be more protection for the engine then a cheaper semi synth oil

as for the XR2i......... a rattling CVH doesnt surprise me

Sorry Kos but Brian is absolutely on the money, everything hes said is correct, and as for cleaning out tappets, if you knew how M40 tappets work you wouldn't say that, a flush will do bugger all.

Like Brian said, if you want to flush your engine, use a good quality fully synthetic Diesel oil.

PS Kos, what ever you do, do NOT put flushing agent in your 6 series, you will most certainly do irreparable damage!

[mcbonio]

Ok so just ran in Wynn's engine flush for 15 mins and then changed the oil for 10w40 and a new filter. The oil contained loads of coagulated blobs...!

Engine is much quieter and smoother, more than it normally is with an normal oil change, and that noisy tapped I had is now very quiet.

I think this is works in my opinion.! Try it.!