Engine flush...

[172Ben]

Have searched, and im getting mixed results.

http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=448528&highlight=forte+engine

Gray says he used it with no problems. Others say dont bother.

Am i best just to run it hot and drain as normal, buy some cheap oil just to run through, or use flush?

Last service was about 4-5 months ago, it generally gets done every 6, but top of head was a little bit brown when we changed the lifters.

Its never been used before, and car is now on 83k...

Comments and suggestions welcome

 

[Russ_16v]

In my own opinion, using a decent oil does the job of engine flush, thus not needing it.

My engine has been given death most its life, 45k odd by me, and now on 134k and has never seen oil flush, only frequent oil changes and is now on itb's and its still spot on.

They can be good if you have noisey or stuck tappets, as they can loosen the crap making it tick, but imo using decent oil is better as thats what oil should do

 

[Fletcher]

I've had my engine flushed now twice (Rentech)

not sure if it makes any difference, the car pulls very well mind.

 

[Dave..]

My Dad used to be a Forte rep, and swears by all the products. Part of the old routine was to use rolling road tests to try and convince sceptical garages.

He remembers an old calibra they did that was a good 30 bhp down on book figure, after some treatment or other that they gave it, restored it to the book power figure.

 

[Russ_16v]

Iv got faith in most Forte products, I use their power steering treatment which does wonders and their gearbox oil treatment, but iv been dealing with Forte products for years (We had a deal with them) i still dont see the advantage of the oil flush, unless you have a car that hasnt been serviced in 40 or 50k and the oil wont run out by itself lol

 

[kevin.s]

very hit and miss. if you flush it then you can get all the crap out of the engine. but you risk loosening any grime thats in there (if any) which you dont want loating around your engine. but like said, its good for things like stick tappets. but if you give it the beans every now and then, that should keep things clean in there anyway.

 

[172Ben]

Well my lifters did fail, so cant help but wonder why...

So thinking it might need a good clean out you see

 

[Russ_16v]

It all depends how the car was looked after, if any oil changes were skipped matey, but then again they could have just failed for no apparednt reason, like the chap on here with the 197, 48k odd, never thrashed from cold, fully serviced and the engine just... failed.

 

[172Ben]

Dont think it was as well looked after before i had it, certanly not every 6k.

 

[Russ_16v]

That could have been partly why matey, id just give it 6k oil changes and thrash the nuts off it (thats what i do)

 

[Tom@JMS]

I wouldn't touch the stuff. It's an aftermarket sales opportunity that ignores the fact modern engines are designed to function perfectly well with the correct servicing procedures without the need to be 'flushed'. IMO of course.

 

[172Ben]

Better to maybe run some cheap stuff through, or just get it hot?

I sometimes get a slight burning smell every now and again, very rarely get to thrash it anymore

 

[172Ben]

 

[sideways danny]

If you're changing oil every 6k, you're far exceeding what the engine needs. Get the oil fully warm before draining and you're sorted. FYI, oil is meant to get dirty, if it doesn't, its not doing its job, so blackened oil shouldn't automatically be regarded as bad

 

[172Ben]

Makes sense to me, ill just keep doing what im doing then

 

[Tigger]

I used the Forte stuff on my 36k service

 

[BRUN]

I wouldn't touch the stuff. It's an aftermarket sales opportunity that ignores the fact modern engines are designed to function perfectly well with the correct servicing procedures without the need to be 'flushed'. IMO of course.

IMO, modern service intervals are FAR too long on some vehicles

my dad has a Megane III coupe, its service intervals are 18k/2yrs, its a turbo diesel car, a K9K variant engine which Renault know has had problems which is why they produce specifically a bottle of engine flush for them

and thats why my dads car being a year old has already had 2 oil changes, he wants it to last

18k/2yrs is far too long on a diesel car, i do mine every 6 months on the Furby

i realise your not talking about diesel cars, but we are talking about an engine which usually see's high revs quite a bit

 

[Jay Payne]

I wouldn't use it. Regular (RED HOT) oil changes are the way

 

[Alexjfinch]

What's your opinion of Slick 50 engine treatment? My old man swears by the stuff, but I'm not so convinced.

 

[Fred@BTM]

^uber s**t, the shittest stuff you can use

 

[Alexjfinch]

I thought as much.

 

[172Ben]

According to this guy at halfords its a miracle worker

"i have used slick 50 for many years and we put some in my sons mini, 2 weeks later he accidentally put at least 2 pints of water into the oil filler by mistake ( not a mechanic!) he needed to go, so i said well just drive. he did and the engine was fine, all we had to do was clean gunk from inside the rocker cover for several weeks until all the water had steamed off. I always recommend using SLICK"

 

[Spongebob 172]

bullshit in a can.....i hate having to use it on cars at work,but if the customer wants it they get it unfortunatly,most of the times i just try to get away with the oil being really hot and then dropping it out of the car..

 

[Fred@BTM]

or do the sensible thing and drian the oil out, r****d!

 

[Addz]

I've always used flush, might do feck all but can't hurt imo... wouldnt bother on something old though as the carbon and crap inside the engine might be holding it together!

 

[Pritch]

I've always used flush, might do feck all but can't hurt imo... wouldnt bother on something old though as the carbon and crap inside the engine might be holding it together!

Excellent point, the machines we use at work for moulding bread and baps are over-worked on a consistent basis, they tend to fail pretty quickly after they are given the deep clean treatment.

Obviously this is a different case to a car engine but is applicable to machinery in general.

If a machine has had years of over work with a lot of gunk floating about inside it, then the likelyhood is that all those moving parts have adapted themselves to cope (or perhaps rely) on all the shite clogging it up and any sudden change will likely lead to breakages.

That said my 182 arrived having been well cared for and as such every 6 months it get the engine flush treatment as part of its oil change.

 

[jack_davey]

When you use decent fully synthetic oils you shouldnt get a great deal (if any) sludge build up really. An engine flush once in a while just to clean the internals cant do any harm.

However, if you have an high mileage engine that has had shite oil all it's life and is packed with sludge and grime, using an engine flush can loosen all the debris and block oil galleries on the engine causing oil starvation and moving parts to seize.
That's why on more severe cases, you really need to take the thing apart and get it in a parts washer.

 

[stuart1989]

So basically, using it on a 5 year old 1*2 engine can only do it good?

 

[jack_davey]

providing it isnt crammed with gunk and has had oil changes with good quality oils in the past

 

[172Ben]

Mine is done pretty much every 6 months, so it should be allright to use one really?

 

[Fletcher]

Mine is done pretty much every 6 months, so it should be allright to use one really?

Yeah it should be fine. I've had no problems with it, my car-engine is now 123,000 miles.

 

[172Ben]

Best of buying the 500ml cans, or this -

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280400951911&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

[sideways danny]

What's your opinion of Slick 50 engine treatment? My old man swears by the stuff, but I'm not so convinced.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! full of PTFE powder that settles, blocks oil gallaries, clogs oil filters and ruins journal clearances. Worse than using water