Crankcase cleaning - just started up a junkyard engine

Post by **erikv11** » 01 Jul 2011, 17:04

Backstory: just finished installing a 100k engine. NA. It was at the yard about a year so it was pretty crusty inside. I cleaned the bottom end best as I could when I had the pan off for the o-rings. When it started up, it was noisy on the top for about 15 minutes until the lifters got going, now it just sounds like a (weak NA) Volvo inline 5. The crud on the cam lobes is mostly worn off now, from idling in the driveway. But rings and maybe lifters etc are still sticky.

I will start driving it around after dinner, I intend to run a short-term, fairly aggressive cleaning cycle.
Seafoam?
ATF?
Something else?
What is your recommendation, how much would you put in, how long would you leave it in before changing oil/filter?

Or you can tell me not to do and aggressive cleaning cycle, I might listen. After this short-term treatment I will run a longer-term Auto-Rx treatment, that is my personal favorite snake-oil.

gilhuly · Post by **gilhuly** » 01 Jul 2011, 17:32

How's compression?

You really can't beat ATF for detergent quality. Seafoam seems to be excellent at getting to sludge and varnish type stuff. If I were running something through a motor I'd be alot more likely to use ATF or an Auto RX for its consistency. Seafoam is good for an overnight soak if you have a stuck set of rings or you want to run it through the intake to clean the combustion chamber IMO.

SimLyons · Post by **SimLyons** » 01 Jul 2011, 17:42

Re: running Seafoam through the inlet manifold....from my recent experience, Seafoam also is great (or good) at cleaning out the crud in the piston ring grooves, tops of pistons/combustion chambers, valve seat areas and most stuff between the intake manifols at exhaust. Like JBlackburn said in an earlier post be sure to get out of your neighborhood and as far from visibility as possible. Mine was like a house fire for about 20 minutes!

Post by **erikv11** » 01 Jul 2011, 17:45

Gilhuly, how much ATF? Leave it in how long?

I'll go check compression now, good idea. I wanted to have that info so badly before I bought the engine, but couldn't get it, now I forgot all about it ...

Post by **FlyingVolvo** » 01 Jul 2011, 19:20

I would do a couple short oil change intervals with some cheap, quality oil. The Pennzoil in the yellow bottle is known for it's good cleaning properties. Did I mention it's cheap?

Do 2 or 3 short intervals (3000-4000 miles) with that, then you can jump to a good synthetic for some longer intervals. I think gradual cleaning through the use of shorter OCIs is best here.

Sent from my Droid Incredible using Tapatalk.

bguzz · Post by **bguzz** » 01 Jul 2011, 19:33

forget the ATF...there's no detergent in ATF. It used to be a popular way to clean (a long time ago) as it is a very thin weight oil. So the thin oil would seem like it was cleaning...it was, but not because of detergents, but rather thin oil. I would use a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil--this is exactly what it is meant for. It will slowly clean the engine over a shorter OCI, like 2,500 miles. You want to clean your engine slowly, so that nothing big or chunky comes off and plugs up an alley or passage.

I would also try putting a couple tablespoons of MMO in the cylinders and let it sit for a day. This can help free up any stuck/coked up rings.

Post by **brandonbeach14** » 01 Jul 2011, 19:38

I found a recommendation on the site for Amsoil earlier in the spring. I had about 115k miles on my V70 2.4T and it had sat for about 2 years before I bought it. The dealer did several maintenance items that was needed for the mileage, but the engine had a ton of build up. It cost about the same as Seafoam and about $5 for shipping. You put in in the crankcase for about 15 mins. then change the oil. It literally removed so much build up and sludge I had to scrape the bottom of the oil filter housing. I changed the oil right afterwards. At 500 miles I did another treatment and it removed about 25% of the first treatment. You can see the difference under the oil cap and the engine runs much smoother. The 2nd oil change I used PZ Ultra. It's been about 3k miles and the oil is still relatively clean. I'll probably give it another 1k miles and change it. You might check it out.

Post by **bigdaddylee82** » 01 Jul 2011, 22:23

AMSOIL Engine Flush

bigdaddylee82 wrote:So a little up date.

I did my first oil change on the "new" engine last night. I had been running O'reilly brand Dino 10w-30 with a Wix filter since I put the motor in and first filled it up with oil. Seeing as I didn't know anything about this engine other than what the auto recyclers told me, I went with a fairly short oil change interval on my first oil change. With that same train of thought I decided to run some AMSOIL engine flush through it as well before changing the oil.

I put a new Wix filter on filled with the same O'reilly 10w-30 conventional oil, then poured the AMSOIL engine flush in. The directions said to let it idle for 10-15 minutes, but I had read about several other people running it longer for "better" results, and not knowing any service history on this engine I decided to go longer, I let it idle for ~30 minutes, and then did the oil change. The oil was thin, in part to being hot still, and the added solvent of the engine flush, but that was the blackest oil I have ever seen, picture the darkest Colombian roast you've ever seen, it was probably darker than that, and it only had about 1300 miles on it, that engine flush really cleaned some junk out....

- Lee

Quoted myself there

- Lee

dbm123 · Post by **dbm123** » 01 Jul 2011, 22:40

SimLyons wrote:Re: running Seafoam through the inlet manifold....

Exactly where and how did you add this?

Post by **erikv11** » 01 Jul 2011, 23:33

Seafoam in the intake is posted about a lot on car forums. You hook a vacuum hose to an open spot on the vacuum tree, and suck the Seafoam directly into the intake. Suck steadily but let off just enough (by lifting the tube out of the solution) and work the throttle to keep the engine running. When you are down to the last bit (do 8 ounces or half of a large can), let the engine stumble and die, that will leave some Seafoam in the combustion chambers (on the pistons). Wait awhile, 15 minutes or even overnight if you like. Then start it up, it smokes an unbelievable amount.

Proceed at your own risk, many people love this treatment but there are a very few reports of it supposedly ruining the engine. If you are going to do it, read some of the many many posts about it, don't just go on my recollection.