Is this good advice?

[Deltona_Dave]

Two mechanics that are friends and Ford wrenches gave me a suggestion for my daughter's mustang.

Vehicle: 1998 mustang, 3.8 v-6 automatic. 100K, questionable service history.

Both my buds told me to change the oil and filter. PYB and a MC400s filter. Engine has a slight lifter tap and a questionable history.

I just changed to PYB 5w30 and a MC400s filter today. Both wrenches told me to run for 1K, then change and run 1k more. After that, try M-1 or any 5w30 syn.

When I bought the car a month ago, I found the latest "quick lube" sheet under the driver seat. In the comments section said "engine sludged, flush promptly"

Here are pics.

I am just going to run PYB for a few short runs, then go with PP.

Dave

Everything looks good. A little bit of build up on filler neck and on hold downs.

Dave

 

[EricG]

Ha, that's not sludged. I would run PYB and not think twice!

 

[SLCraig]

It looks great inside for a 98.

 

[demarpaint]

Did they see it? Or did they comment based on you telling them how many miles and that it had an unknown history? Looks good to me.

 

[Cristobal]

I think the lube devils were trying to make easy money off the previous owner.

 

[MrRPM]

but if money is no problem, theres no reason not to do what your friends said. I have done similar OCIs when buying a used car with an unknown history.

when i bought my jeep from a dealer they did a oil/filter change.
well 1000 miles later i changed the oil (VWB) and left the filter on. then i went 1500 miles and changed to Mobil 1 and a fram xtended guard.

if you are super anal and want to be sure its clean then i dont think it would be wrong to do a few flushes with PYB. I don't think its needed either though

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: MrRPM
but if money is no problem, theres no reason not to do what your friends said. I have done similar OCIs when buying a used car with an unknown history.

when i bought my jeep from a dealer they did a oil/filter change.
well 1000 miles later i changed the oil (VWB) and left the filter on. then i went 1500 miles and changed to Mobil 1 and a fram xtended guard.

if you are super anal and want to be sure its clean then i dont think it would be wrong to do a few flushes with PYB. I don't think its needed either though


PYB is an oil, a very good oil. It is not an engine cleaner or flush. All 1000 mile OCI is going to do is waste oil. Leave it in at least 3000 miles, then dump it, at least that way you'll give the oil a chance to do something. Or add Kreen to the mix and run that a 1000 miles and dump it, at least then I'd be pretty sure some cleaning was done. JMO

 

[RamFan]

Coming from a poster with almost 600 posts, I'm hoping this thread has a sarcastic tone intended.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: RamFan
Coming from a poster with almost 600 posts, I'm hoping this thread has a sarcastic tone intended.

Maybe?

 

[fdcg27]

If that's sludge, many of us would wish our cars had more of it.
That valve train looks really clean.
The previous owner apparently took the car to the quick lube on a regular basis.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Man whoever told the previous owners that it was sludged and needed to be flushed was just trying to sucker them/upsell them on something they totally didn`t need. That engine is spotless!

 

[Trav]

Looks clean to me, definitely not a sludge engine. Half a qt of MMO in the oil may get rid of the lifter tick and clean any stray deposits.

 

[crazyoildude]

there is no reason you haveto change the oil sooner than 4000 miles unless you want to waste money

 

[AdRock]

Just for good measure I'd pull one or both of the valve covers off. I've seen engines on used cars that looked like that through the fill hole. People had cleaned that one area up before they sold the car, but the rest of the inside was horrible with sludge.

In the pics I see some stuff that makes me think of the above situation.

In the first pic: Look whats caked on the inside rim and tube of the fill tube itself.

In the second pic: The heal has black spots on it and on the left edge you can see black particles and such.

It just looks like the area that you can see may have been cleaned before sale.

 

[Astro14]

That's a clean looking engine...no need for a flush...

But, what's causing the lifter tap? Does this have an adjustable valve train? Is it time to check/set the lifter pre-load/adjustment?

 

[ethangsmith]

Looks good for a 3.8L. Be sure to use Motorcraft filters. For some reason, I've always had the best performance and least lifter noise with Motorcraft parts.

As a side note, keep the cooling system flushed and in good condition. The 3.8L has a history of failed head gaskets if the oil and cooling systems aren't maintained properly. Overheating often results in blown head gaskets on those.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: Astro14
But, what's causing the lifter tap?


Every one of those I`ve seen always sounds "ticky" for some reason. Maybe it`s just the nature of the engine?

 

[Smokefan1977]

As a fellow ford tech I can say get used to the slight lifter tick in the 3.8. It's not harming anything at all. PYB 5k OCI and sleep well. That engine looks fine

 

[4x4chevydude]

you can do the 1k OCI like your buddys reccomended but you definitely arent in danger you have a good motor there.

 

[daves87rs]

Sounds like a sound plan....just don't do the PYB twice, that's all.


Easy guys, it's his kid's car here.....