Amsoil makes a great engine flush. Used it in my 2012 Silverado and the "tick" went away.

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:
If you have maintained the engine and kept up with oil changes, you don’t need an engine flush. It’s snake oil in a can in your situation.

This is 1000% correct. Read what he wrote. Then read it again. And again. And then cancel the idea of an engine flush. It’s just a stupid product and not needed. It won’t accomplish anything but draining money from your pocket.

In an older engine it MIGHT help free stuck oil control rings, sticky lifters, and other parts.

Might also cause seals to swell, gaskets to leak, and other unanticipated problems.

If the engine has been well maintained and just feels sluggish, I'd probably skip the flush and look for more clues.

quote:

Originally posted by dynorat:
In an older engine it MIGHT help free stuck oil control rings, sticky lifters, and other parts.

You MIGHT have these issues only if the engine hasn't been run in a year or more. Or the engine oil has never been changed in years and years.

In the old days, a quart of ATF was used to clean

quote:

Originally posted by oldbill123:
In the old days, a quart of ATF was used to clean

Which was always dumb since ATF has low detergency and no additive package for motor oil.

Check out Scotty Kilmer's YouTube channel as well as Projectfarm's channel. Both have some good vids on the topic.

There are many well-intentioned replies here. As a formulator of lubricant additives, working for a lubricant additive company, I can assure you that chemistry can make a difference in engines.

Your use of Mobil 1 engine oil and Wix filters is wise. There is more solvency in non-synthetic base oils, but Mobil 1 has a full complement of detergent and dispersant components to accommodate the synthetic base stock properties.

All engine oils must pass certain industry standards for maintaining engine cleanliness. Some do this better than others. Mobil 1 is such an oil.

It is possible to use a quart of some "cleaning" solution and remove residual combustion byproducts in the engine. These products usually include a highly polar and low viscosity solvent and some very active detergent. The risks are not zero to various engine systems, as previously opined here. But, chemically, these cleaners can remove "stuff."

I would search elsewhere for the lack of power. Poor combustion leads to less engine torque, and engine oil passage cleanliness does not normally affect combustion.

A dirty mass air flow sensor can create issues, as can dirty fuel injectors. Regarding the loss of power you sense, it is possible and probable that the fuel injectors are not spraying a fine mist of fuel as they once were. This can result in a loss of power and fuel economy.

Thanks Chip. I should have my injectors cleaned in-place at a shop with pressure bottle bolted into the fuel rail. I'm sure that would help given the age of the truck. I already clean my MAF sensor periodically, w/specific MAF spray cleaner.

So, if you put in fresh engine oil, add an engine flush to that fresh oil, idle it for whatnot minutes, then drain it, what exactly is all that darkness coming out ? Are we saying that the resulting dirt in suspension that comes out with the fresh oil just added to circulate the flush cleaner around, doesn't really matter in terms of engine efficiency ? Other factors notwithstanding such as oil seals and gaskets that leak because they were overdue to be replaced etc. ?

When I was a lot younger, driving cars that were a lot older, I used to substitute in a quart of Rislone in with every oil change. It's much more of a detergent than a flush. As others have said, it probably isn't necessary if you are the original owner and have been maintaining it well since new. I did use a flush once in an old Ford truck ('79). It seemed to work alright, however, that engine is ancient technology compared to what we have today. At the time I thought it smelled a lot like kerosene. It probably was. Here is a link to the Rislone: https://shop.advanceautoparts....2-oz-100qr/7081049-P

The flush process as you describe results in deposits on metal parts and in various other places being carried away by detergents and dispersants. That’s the chemistry I spoke of that is real. Both of these components will be attracted to any deposit that is “polar” which means there is at least some partial positive and some partial negative charge. Depending on the tenacity of the deposit, it will become soluble in the flush-laden engine oil, as the detergent or dispersant component has both a polar center and an oil-soluble structure, and come out.

I found no harm in using Liquimoly engine flush in an ancient 5.3L Silverado engine. However, it did not bring the engine to life.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

quote:

Originally posted by dynorat:
In an older engine it MIGHT help free stuck oil control rings, sticky lifters, and other parts.

You MIGHT have these issues only if the engine hasn't been run in a year or more. Or the engine oil has never been changed in years and years.

There MIGHT be two more lines there you could use to add to your post count while still missing the point.