Did a 20 mile flush

[himemsys]

So this isn't something I plan on doing often, but the circumstances all came together to make it doable. I had just enough leftover oil of various brands and grades (3 qts) that I didn't have a use for (I don't normally like mixing oils for a full OCI) and the time to drain my oil, add the 3 qts, go on a 20 mile 70MPH highway drive, and dump that oil prior to putting in my "real" oil.

A couple of things I found interesting:
-the 20 mile oil drained out looking far dirtier than I expected (though it still looked pretty clean on the dipstick). It was not at all translucent in the drain pan.
-the "real" oil I put in afterward was the cleanest looking oil I've ever seen on my dipstick since the car was new. Could not even see it on the dipstick and when I wiped the dipstick with a paper towel, there was not even a hint of dirt left on the towel. It just looked like I squeezed a little bit of sewing machine oil on the paper towel.

I will probably only do this when this situation arises again, where I have just enough leftovers and plenty of time to do two drain and fills. Why not? Even if it doesn't really help anything, it's not hurting anything either.

For the record, the car was an 03 Civic with a 3.5qt capacity. 3 qts gets it to about the midpoint between the high and low marks on the dipstick. The leftover flush consisted of Castrol 0W40, M1 EP 0W20, ST HM FS 0W20/5W20, and a little bit of Pennzoil conventional 5W30. The "real" oil I ended with was M1 AFE 0W30.

 

[atikovi]

-the "real" oil I put in afterward was the cleanest looking oil I've ever seen on my dipstick since the car was new.

Something like this?

 

[Slow Car Sport Mode]

What flush product did you use?

(They say DO NOT DRIVE with flush in)

 

[himemsys]

What flush product did you use?

(They say DO NOT DRIVE with flush in)

Motor oil.

 

[Tman220]

If it makes you feel better... It's your money... But, what a waste!

Why not just knock a 1000 miles off your OCI?

 

[himemsys]

If it makes you feel better... It's your money... But, what a waste!

Why not just knock a 1000 miles off your OCI?

LOL, I figured I'd get replies like this. Like I said, I had leftovers that weren't going to add up to a full oil change without mixing different brands and grades together.

 

[AZjeff]

Don't understand what running a brew for 20 miles then dumping does for you? Besides using up your orphan oil. What's your thinking on this?

Nevermind, just read:

Why not? Even if it doesn't really help anything, it's not hurting anything either.

Did you put in a fresh filter with the new good oil?

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Well let us know what it looks like after your next OCI!

 

[atikovi]

Don't understand what running a brew for 20 miles then dumping does for you? Besides using up your orphan oil. What's your thinking on this?

Nevermind, just read:


Did you put in a fresh filter with the new good oil?

What's hard to understand? Same principle on transmission fluid change drain and refill. Only easier with oil since most of it does come out in each drain.

 

[Slow Car Sport Mode]

Motor oil.

I don't understand how that is a flush then, sir. Maybe 1000 miles.. ?

 

[aquariuscsm]

Castrol 0W40, M1 EP 0W20, ST HM FS 0W20/5W20, and a little bit of Pennzoil conventional 5W30. The "real" oil I ended with was M1 AFE 0W30.

Frankenbrew!!

 

[double vanos]

You threw away a frankenbrew? . And with that lot I’d have 3000 miles.

 

[JavierH19]

Now i understand why kids say "bruh moment" in times like there.

How is that gonna clean anything in all pure honesty.

 

[tedsweet]

total waste

 

[himemsys]

Don't understand what running a brew for 20 miles then dumping does for you? Besides using up your orphan oil. What's your thinking on this?

Nevermind, just read:


Did you put in a fresh filter with the new good oil?

Yes.

Consider it a rinse cycle. Get some of the dregs out while getting some use out of oil I wouldn't have otherwise used.

 

[himemsys]

I don't have to justify anything here, guys. Just sharing an experience. Next time I'll just keep it to myself. LOL.

 

[frankbee3]

I did recently discover that High Performance Lubricants has an engine cleaner product. Apparently it is a 30 weight oil with lots of detergent/dispersants.
I am considering that as a flush for a dirty partially sludged engine that I have come across recently. I am not sure how many miles/hours it should remain in the engine. There is a suggestion to keep up with oil filter changes if needed, so I am guessing that a couple of thousand miles is in order.

I have done the same thing when buying cars/trucks of unknown maintenance history and would do a very short oil change interval including the oil filter.

 

[1uz_4me]

Now i understand why kids say "bruh moment" in times like there.

How is that gonna clean anything in all pure honesty.

The frankenbrew 20mi oil mixed with & diluted the leftover oil that was just drained. 20mi of driving & then drained leaving a lil bit of the 20mi oil that's mixed with the old leftovers. Pretty simple. Equate it to rinsing soapy water out/off of dishes before adding new food.

 

[JavierH19]

The frankenbrew 20mi oil mixed with & diluted the leftover oil that was just drained. 20mi of driving & then drained leaving a lil bit of the 20mi oil that's mixed with the old leftovers. Pretty simple. Equate it to rinsing soapy water out/off of dishes before adding new food.

There is always some leftover amount of oil left in the engine and people think that whatever is in their pan and filter is 99% of it when there could be a half quart give or take left in the pump, lines, galleys and elsewhere that won't ever come out. I think someone made a post about his Toyota having a difference in dry fill and oil change capacity since some is left over and gets taken into account.

Sounds like he just diluted the leftover black 1/2 quart or so in it and drained it but by the next time the clean oil turns dark after less than a thousand miles it will go back to doing the exact same thing all over again.

That's not a flush. It's just diluting a little bit of dark oil that would have never come out with a lot of clean oil so the dark oil is replaced with slightly dark oil after that then that slightly dark oil interacts with clean oil so the mix is thus less dark because of it. That's what's going on here.

 

[92saturnsl2]

So this isn't something I plan on doing often, but the circumstances all came together to make it doable. I had just enough leftover oil of various brands and grades (3 qts) that I didn't have a use for (I don't normally like mixing oils for a full OCI) and the time to drain my oil, add the 3 qts, go on a 20 mile 70MPH highway drive, and dump that oil prior to putting in my "real" oil.

A couple of things I found interesting:
-the 20 mile oil drained out looking far dirtier than I expected (though it still looked pretty clean on the dipstick). It was not at all translucent in the drain pan.
-the "real" oil I put in afterward was the cleanest looking oil I've ever seen on my dipstick since the car was new. Could not even see it on the dipstick and when I wiped the dipstick with a paper towel, there was not even a hint of dirt left on the towel. It just looked like I squeezed a little bit of sewing machine oil on the paper towel.

I will probably only do this when this situation arises again, where I have just enough leftovers and plenty of time to do two drain and fills. Why not? Even if it doesn't really help anything, it's not hurting anything either.

For the record, the car was an 03 Civic with a 3.5qt capacity. 3 qts gets it to about the midpoint between the high and low marks on the dipstick. The leftover flush consisted of Castrol 0W40, M1 EP 0W20, ST HM FS 0W20/5W20, and a little bit of Pennzoil conventional 5W30. The "real" oil I ended with was M1 AFE 0W30.

If I was ever going to do an engine "flush" that is how I'd do it-- maybe for a few more miles, but I'd certainly rather run a few orphan quarts of oil through the engine than some magic snake oil / kerosene mixture.

I'm also not a fan of mixing oils and if I had a few oddball quarts of oil I wasn't going to use (I have lawnmowers / OPE, so that almost never happens) I'd certainly do it. Better the oil get some use out of it and then go to the recycler, than to throw full or half-full bottles in the trash, which is what I imagine most non-BITOG folks do with oil they can't or don't want to use.