About to engine flush my 04' M3

[bwco]

Reason I wanna do - is cause I see that new oil gets dark and dirty right away. And I can see that the internal is stained with a brown residue. I'm wishing to return the engine back into it's prime (eventhough i don't feel a lose of power yet). I knew I'm gonna get these kinda response from you guys, but I had very good results previously with my other cars.

I've tried seafoam on my Honda Prelude H22A engine
I've tried seafoam on my Subaru WRX turbo
I've tried lubro moly flush on my Mercedes 4.3 V8
I've tried MMO in my MB 4.3 V8


I've tried so many different things on the cars and yet to experience an ill effect on my cars. I know you'll request a proven results from blackstone or even ask for Oil lab results. Well.... I'll try to take a picture and report back if I'm pouring these things into my engine.

 

[linkman]

Why not run a few changes with redline oil? Since you have already changed over to Mobil 1. I have the M6 variant and we have a dry sump ... so are you sure you will be able to get rid all of the engine flush? You may need to do 2-3 back to back changes to rid of any residues left behind.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: bwco
Reason I wanna do - is cause I see that new oil gets dark and dirty right away.

Oil color is meaningless. This has been thoroughly discussed.


Originally Posted By: bwco
And I can see that the internal is stained with a brown residue.

How? Have you pulled the valvecover?


Originally Posted By: bwco
I'm wishing to return the engine back into it's prime (eventhough i don't feel a lose of power yet).

You've already said there's no consumption, and now you say there's no loss of power. Your engine IS "in its prime."

I don't know about you but if I thought that my car needed a solvent treatment in its crankcase after just 40k miles, I would get rid of it...


Originally Posted By: bwco
I knew I'm gonna get these kinda response from you guys, but I had very good results previously with my other cars.

I've tried seafoam on my Honda Prelude H22A engine
I've tried seafoam on my Subaru WRX turbo
I've tried lubro moly flush on my Mercedes 4.3 V8
I've tried MMO in my MB 4.3 V8


I've tried so many different things on the cars and yet to experience an ill effect on my cars.

Good results, or a lack of bad results? Which is it?


Originally Posted By: bwco
I know you'll request a proven results from blackstone or even ask for Oil lab results. Well.... I'll try to take a picture and report back if I'm pouring these things into my engine.

Blackstone is an oil lab, and they don't prove anything.

If all you're trying to do is to get a slight brown stain out of your engine, you need to pop the valvecover and take before and after pictures.

 

[Trajan]

What doodfood said.

 

[bwco]

yes yes yes ! I understood everything you explained and I've been in browsing the forum long enough that I know it's not a good idea flushing the engine.
But I'm hoping someone would talk me out of it. You know, having your car in the garage and plenty of free time after dinner, I'd always find something to do with the cars in the garage.
Technically, I know what i should do with the cars. But there's always silly or crazy ideas that may pop up !!


Just to reply to some questions

- I saw the brown cooked stain through the oil fill hole
- I know oil color means nothing, but right when i pour the new oil in ?
- I should've explained more of the reason I wanna flush is - I missed one half way change on it and left the oil in there for the full 25K KM OCI last time, so I wanna flush it.
- yes, No power loss and no consumption problem.
- But I would love to have a clean looking engine internal, right ! That's the whole point.
- Blackstone can check if there's any metal shavings or excessive engine wear that may show up on oil test.
- The seafoam freshened up my high mileage Honda prelude and fixed a EGR port problem back then and that's it.

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: bwco
Reason I wanna do - is cause I see that new oil gets dark and dirty right away.

Oil color is meaningless. This has been thoroughly discussed.


Originally Posted By: bwco
And I can see that the internal is stained with a brown residue.

How? Have you pulled the valvecover?


Originally Posted By: bwco
I'm wishing to return the engine back into it's prime (eventhough i don't feel a lose of power yet).

You've already said there's no consumption, and now you say there's no loss of power. Your engine IS "in its prime."

I don't know about you but if I thought that my car needed a solvent treatment in its crankcase after just 40k miles, I would get rid of it...


Originally Posted By: bwco
I knew I'm gonna get these kinda response from you guys, but I had very good results previously with my other cars.

I've tried seafoam on my Honda Prelude H22A engine
I've tried seafoam on my Subaru WRX turbo
I've tried lubro moly flush on my Mercedes 4.3 V8
I've tried MMO in my MB 4.3 V8


I've tried so many different things on the cars and yet to experience an ill effect on my cars.

Good results, or a lack of bad results? Which is it?


Originally Posted By: bwco
I know you'll request a proven results from blackstone or even ask for Oil lab results. Well.... I'll try to take a picture and report back if I'm pouring these things into my engine.

Blackstone is an oil lab, and they don't prove anything.

If all you're trying to do is to get a slight brown stain out of your engine, you need to pop the valvecover and take before and after pictures.

 

[d00df00d]

"Why shouldn't I do this" is the wrong question. You should be asking, "why SHOULD I do this?" If you can't find a good reason to do something, don't do it.

Similarly, "I've never had a problem" is a terrible reason to try something. It should be "I've seen a clear benefit that I'm pretty sure I will get again." If you can't come up with a benefit, being trouble-free doesn't matter because you don't stand to gain anything.

Now, if all you want to do is to experiment, then by all means, go ahead. Again, I can't imagine doing that with an E46 M3, but it's your time and money. Just do us two favors: call it what it is (i.e. experimenting rather than trying to fix a problem), and keep us updated with pictures and, ideally, used oil analysis.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: bwco
- I saw the brown cooked stain through the oil fill hole

The area underneath my oil fill hole has thick brown gunk that would make you think I had a blown head gasket. My used oil analysis are clean and my valvetrain area was almost spotless last I checked -- even after around 150,000 miles, a few near-overheating incidents, a long history of using the factory oil, and at least one improperly extended OCI.

Again, you have to pull the valvecover before jumping to conclusions.


Originally Posted By: bwco
- I know oil color means nothing, but right when i pour the new oil in ?

Meaningless means meaningless.

Originally Posted By: bwco
- I missed one half way change on it and left the oil in there for the full 25K KM OCI last time, so I wanna flush it.

So do 1-2 oil changes with the regular oil at 5k-7k KM and call it good. There is nothing that a solvent would add to that.


Originally Posted By: bwco
- But I would love to have a clean looking engine internal, right ! That's the whole point.

If you have no problems, then any staining you see in your engine -- which, as we established, may not even exist -- is, by definition... not causing any problems.

Now, if you're planning to enter some kind of engine internal beauty contest that you're not telling us about, that's a different story...


Originally Posted By: bwco
- Blackstone can check if there's any metal shavings or excessive engine wear that may show up on oil test.

Only with a narrow range of particle sizes and with a wide margin of error. Their used oil analysis are good for rough guestimates on the condition of the oil IF you get a TBN with them; otherwise they are pretty much useless unless the numbers are extreme.

 

[casper]

yet another reason NOT to follow BMW OLM. The S54 as with any S-spec engine from BMW should see 7500 mile OCI's MAX, regardless of TWS 10/60 or BMW 5w30.

More than likely the discoloration you are seeing is from running the TWS a long time per the OLM.

S-spec engines should be treated with extra care.

 

[JMJNet]

Somebody suggested LC20, it is not Over the Counter product like ARX. Another suggested Schaeffer's oil additive which are not over the counter, either like ARX.

Wonder why the good stuff are NOT over the counter? May be because they work. LOL.

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: JMJNet
Somebody suggested LC20, it is not Over the Counter product like ARX. Another suggested Schaeffer's oil additive which are not over the counter, either like ARX.

Wonder why the good stuff are NOT over the counter? May be because they work. LOL.


WHERE exactly is ARX sold "over the counter"?!?! (Certainly NOT in my area!)

 

[JMJNet]

Note: not over the counter????

NONE of those suggested are over the counter.

May be my english is not that good, sorry, I grow up learning indonesian so what do you expect.

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: JMJNet
Note: not over the counter????

NONE of those suggested are over the counter.

May be my english is not that good, sorry, I grow up learning indonesian so what do you expect.



OK, got it. NO need to apologize! (You type/speak english a heck of a lot better than I could ever type/speak indonesian!!

)

 

[ET16]

Do do the cocktail, or the ATF. There's no real argument for them given alternatives.

 

[sprintman]

Just drained Shell Helix Ultra 5W40 that had 2 2/3rd bottles RX added at fill after 13,000+ kms. Shop owner said it's the best running BMW of age/mileage he's seen, wants to know what i've done. Sure wasn't like that when I bought it.