Has anyone tried those sludge remover machines? It is the one that they connect to your engine and filter out the sludge. Are they wort it? The shop charges about $100 where I'm from. The reason I'm asking cause I removed my valve cover today and heads are covered with sludge.

Thanks..

 

Save your cash. From what I've seen/heard about those flushes, they won't do a very thorough job since there isn't adequate time allowed to really loosen and clean the deposits. The engine needs to be hot and running to really clean it out.

The answer is more frequent oil and filter changes. The short trips and high humidity are sludging the oil and helping to create deposits. Synthetic engine lubricant will not only help to clean the engine faster and better, but can help prevent the sludge formation in the first place.

The next time you are ready to change oil, instead of just draining the oil, only remove the filter and install a cheap replacement. Top off the crankcase with a quart of automatic transmission oil, then start and run the engine until it is at full temperature. Vary the RPM to pump oil everywhere, or drive the car moderately for several miles to get the engine oil hot and flowing well. While the oil is still hot, drain it and remove the cheapo filter. Install a new quality filter and oil (or synthetic).

Monitor the oil condition frequently (like every time you refuel) and plan on changing it when it is blackened from the sludge it is cleaning away.

Plan on regular oil changes after that. Prevention is a lot better than repair.

 

I have heard this method recomended before. I wouldn't do it. I worked at a shop were it was done & afterward the engine had a serious knock. We ended up replacing the crank & bearings. I believe this occured because of a general lack of maintenance on the vehicle plus a thinning of the oil from the ATF. This is a trick often done by used car dealers to quiet a sticking valve lifter, but can sometimes backfire.

 

I would much rather use ATF which is not only an excellent detergent, but also an excellent lubricant. One qt. is surely not enough to overly thin the oil. The rod/main knock was probably about to occur anyway (coincidence)

It's alot better than paying big bucks for a quart of kerosene, which is exactly what motor flush is. Not to mention it's much poorer lube qualities.

 

Thanks for all the info. The ATF sounds reasonable but would like more opinion from other members.....

 

I have been using th ATF trick for some decades now, never had any problems. Try it. Add a quart next time the engine gets low. You'll be amazed at how thick and black the oil comes out the first time you change it, which should be after about 500 miles the first time. Replace one quart of oil with ATF at each oil change for the next couple of changes, until the oil quits coming out filthy, which it will continue to do until the inside of the engine is clean. Change it at the normal interval unless it gets really dirty, then of course change it as necessary.

 

I'll agree that it isn't always a 100% solution to cleaning an engine, and can have risks. Chances are that the engine that failed likely already had some damage. It is possible, however, that the engine had heavy sludge deposits that were loosened by the ATF flush. If these deposits lodged in an oil passage, a bearing could be starved. It isn't without risk, but the risk is minimal.

A safer, albeit slower solution would be to change to synthetic instead of mineral oil. The synthetic will clean as well or better than the ATF eventually, but will take longer and require more changes along the way. The cost of several synthetic changes at 1,500 miles may be prohibitive, and there is still a risk of dislodging large accumulations of sludge and plugging a passage, but a reduced risk. Even a high detergent mineral oil will present the same risks, but driving an engine with major accumulations of sludge and varnish deposits is a risky business anyway. One good hot run at higher RPM can break loose large chunks and kill the oiling system without warning.

 

If you want to go the synthetic-flush route, put in 1 qt synthetic, rest petroleum for the first change. Run for 1000 miles. Change (w/filter), this time use 2 qts synthetic, balance petroleum, run for 1000-2000 miles. Repeat, using one more quart synethic per change until it's full synthetic.

Should be pretty clean by the time you're at full strength.