Engine flush

[Rudders1]

Hi all, I'm after a bit of advice,

I've just removed my Herald 1296 rocker cover and there seems to be quite a bit of oil sludge around,

is it better just to change the oil and leave alone or do i put an engine flush in, what's the  best thing to do.

Advice required

thanks

[Pete Lewis]

hair cream in the coolrocker zone is normal from short drives and poor weather 

give it a wipe and refill will be fine

you get less with an alloy cover as the heat soak is better  the tin cover gets cooled by the fan draft an sludge ,cream starts to accumulate in the cold zones 

old idea was remove fan   or fit a baffle in front of the RC   or lag the cover 

all these can help

its quite normal

whatever oil you use ,

Pete

 

[Nigel Clark]

What kind of sludge are we talking about? Mayonnaise-like emulsified oil and condensation, or black tarry oil sludge.

As Pete says, the mayonnaise comes from too many short runs when the engine doesn't warm up fully. Occasionally a head gasket failure will cause mayo in the engine, when coolant meets oil. Tarry black oil sludge is the result of neglect, oil changes missed.

The action you need to take depends on the type of sludge.

Nigel

[Rudders1]

black tarry oil sludge, I've only just purchased the car. 

[Pete Lewis]

aha   yes i would agree with Nigel   thats lack of servicing 

im not a fan of flushing oils can dislodge firmly stuck old sludge  

certainly a good quality oil change needs to planned and give the car  a good long hot run 

drain out and refill again 

Pete

[Nigel Clark]

14 hours ago, Rudders1 said:

black tarry oil sludge, I've only just purchased the car. 

I would give the car an oil and filter change immediately, drive it, and after a few hundred miles change the oil and filter again. Use a good quality classic 20W50 oil.

Two oil changes in quick succession should help to clean the inside of the engine, and much less aggressive than flushing.

Nigel

[johny]

I would do the same but with the cheapest supermarket 10/40 oil you can find. I wouldnt recommend any sustained high speed runs but when its black change it...

[dougbgt6]

Being a cheap wad I use cheaper oil first then the good stuff. Halfords sell a 20/50, (looks like Duckham's, smells like Duckham's) and they also a have a good offer on Millers (the good stuff)

Doug

 

[Colin Lindsay]

2 hours ago, johny said:

I would do the same but with the cheapest supermarket 10/40 oil you can find. I wouldnt recommend any sustained high speed runs but when its black change it...

+1 for that, in fact the guy behind the counter commented that "I didn't like my car much' when I bought some really nasty stuff for £1. The trick is to use it to wash all the nasties out of the engine, then drain it before it does any damage.

[Pete Lewis]

go back too many years and a fill with a high concentrate of paraffin was commonly used any flushing can cause more trouble if it shifts well stuck 

crap to start it floating around the Lube system and you make more troubles 

a simple flush and refill with something half decent will work Ok  maybe up the oil change frequency for a season or two

and on going Italian Tune up , keep it hot and revy no slow plodding cold runs.

pete

Edited June 24, 2023 by Pete Lewis