Kreen safe for turbo?

[teambeechstreet]

I just ordered some Kreen for a really sludged up 98 Volvo 2.4 Turbo motor, but was unsure if it is safe to run through a turbo via the oil? Emailed Kano Labs but haven't heard back. Anyone run Kreen through their turbo motor?

Thanks!

 

[229]

Flirting with diaster.

 

[citationxeleven]

You might want to wait a few oil changes before using an aggressive cleaner like Kreen. Doing things slowly would be the safest route to go. Or if you want to use the Kreen right away I would change your oil filter at least once during the run.

 

[sleddriver]

Have never used Kreen before, but I do own a 98 V70 T5, with 177,000mi on her. Wondering how it got so sludged up? Noticed your tag 'the motor is in pieces'. Are you rebuilding?

I've used BG109 before to clean out the motor when a faulty vac line in the PCV system caused the oil to quickly turn black and reak of gas. Did an excellent job. With 109 though, you pour it into a hot engine, open the hood, increase idle to about 1500 rpm and run it for about 20 min. then immediately drain. In other words, you don't drive it with 109 in it as it kills the viscosity. Kreen can be used while driving from what others have posted here.

 

[Astro14]

If the engine is in pieces, clean it out now before you put it back together...

When you've rebuilt it, then run something along the lines of PP or Ultra and it will slowly clean up what you may have missed. The PU in the XC has cleaned that engine up...including some of the varnish...

I wouldn't go with a strong chemical in that engine...and while you've got it apart, replace the entire flame trap system...you'll need to do it sooner or later anyway and it's a lot easier before you put it together...

 

[chubbs1]

I really don't think it would be a problem, change the filter out and cut the first filter of the run open to see what is catching.
If you want to be safer use some Pennzoil ultra and go for the slow clean. I swear it does work as advertized. The Kreen has always worked well for me though.

 

[teambeechstreet]

Originally Posted By: sleddriver
Have never used Kreen before, but I do own a 98 V70 T5, with 177,000mi on her. Wondering how it got so sludged up? Noticed your tag 'the motor is in pieces'. Are you rebuilding?

Yeah, doing a rebuild. Head was re-valved and re-machined. Turbo was cleaned and rebuilt. All new PCV system, radiator, tune-up stuff, timing belt, etc. Reason I wanted to run Kleen is because the place that rebuilt my turbo said the turbo had failed due to sludge in the internals. They also said the short block is probably sludged as well and will eventually cause the turbo to fail again if not replaced/thoroughly flushed. When I drained the oil, it was sludgey. Was debating on Kreen or Auto-RX. Already have the Auto-RX in hand and am told it is safe for turbos. Still unsure what to do.

Here is a pic of what the head looked like before being re-machined:

Thanks for the replies so far!

 

[229]

Disassemble the shortblock and clean it along with the ringlands even if you will be reassembling with the old parts. Why risk ruining the new parts when you are so close?

 

[sleddriver]

Hmm..sounds like the previous owner abused her pretty bad. Dino oil with extended changes is not good, neither is neglect.

To sludge a turbo with a water-cooled bushing takes some very poor maintainence.

With the motor all apart, you have the opportunity to look it over really good. How did the oil pickup screen look? Bottom of the oil pan? Oil pump? Oil cooler? Camshafts? Inside the valve cover? Are the oil passages through the block back to the pan clear?

I use syn. oil. And usually open the hood up at the end of the day during the Summer to let her cool down before putting her in the garage. (Keeps the garage cooler too).

 

[teambeechstreet]

Originally Posted By: 229
Disassemble the shortblock and clean it along with the ringlands even if you will be reassembling with the old parts. Why risk ruining the new parts when you are so close?


Don't have the time or money to disassemble the short block. Plus the car is taking up space at my work, so I have to have it running and out in the next week.

Originally Posted By: sleddriver

With the motor all apart, you have the opportunity to look it over really good. How did the oil pickup screen look? Bottom of the oil pan? Oil pump? Oil cooler? Camshafts? Inside the valve cover? Are the oil passages through the block back to the pan clear?

I haven't dropped the oil pan, but the inside of the valve cover as well as the camshafts are covered in varnish.

 

[sleddriver]

Quote:

I haven't dropped the oil pan, but the inside of the valve cover as well as the camshafts are covered in varnish.
OK so you just have the head off. And you don't want to disassemble the block. I'd suggest making sure the oil passages in the head are clear. Also check those in the block. An inexpensive tool for this is a rifle/shotgun cleaning kit with brash brushes. They come in all sizes. Slide a brush down a passage and scrub around a bit then remove it. If it's coated in black, thick tar you're in trouble. If not, you might be OK.

Also realize the difference between varnish and stained aluminum. The later your likely to never get off. It's oil vapor that's lodged into the pores of the aluminum over time. Much like an iron skillet turns black over time as the fat cooked in it seasons the iron.

My motor has some stained aluminum. Even some varnish on the non-wearing surfaces. BUT I don't let it bother me anymore. There's no way to clean it all up (that I know of) without ruining all the seals in the motor & your turbo. Brown-stained aluminum and hard varnish amber colored metal aren't a problem. Thick, black tar & jelly encrusted surfaces are.

I saw a SAAB motor at my indy's shop with the black tar. I grabbed a chunk and tried to pull it off. It was adheared to the metal. There wasn't anything soft about it. No wonder it seized up. That motor was not only toast, it was burnt, black toast.

I've only used BG109 once and it cleaned out the black oil well enough that the syn I put in afterwards went 10,000 mi (with a 5000 mi filter change & top-up) with me still able to clearly see the marks on the dipstick.

Don't have any experience with Kreen or Auto-Rx. Perhaps a mechanic with more experience will chime in here.

Keep us posted!

 

[Skid]

You should probably change the oil lines to/from the turbo if you haven't done so already. In particular, the return line can get full of crud.

 

[Trav]

I probably wouldn't use 16oz in it but 8oz wont hurt anything, i ran it a few turbo engines with no apparent ill effects at that dosage.
Another alternative would be to run a qt in the oil for an hour at idle only, turn off, let sit overnight and run it for another half hour at idle the next day. Change the oil hot.
The sitting over night gives the stuff time to dissolve some varnish and the second running washes it away, because the turbo speed is very low the product can actually do some cleaning of the oil passages without the risk of lubrication failure.

 

[demarpaint]

I'm liking Trav's idea! I'd pass on the A-Rx, it would take two clean and rinse phases over a period of close to 10,000 miles or more. They've changed directions a few times so I'm not 100% sure on the current directions. Based on my use of the product and thousands of posts here results are hit or miss at best. I'd want something to clean it in short order, not over a period of possibly a year or more.

Lubegard and Amsoil make good engine cleaning products too, I'd check into them as well! Good luck with the project!

 

[Boss302fan]

Originally Posted By: Trav
I probably wouldn't use 16oz in it but 8oz wont hurt anything, i ran it a few turbo engines with no apparent ill effects at that dosage.
Another alternative would be to run a qt in the oil for an hour at idle only, turn off, let sit overnight and run it for another half hour at idle the next day. Change the oil hot.
The sitting over night gives the stuff time to dissolve some varnish and the second running washes it away, because the turbo speed is very low the product can actually do some cleaning of the oil passages without the risk of lubrication failure.


I would ditto on this and then go with a few short OCI's of PYB with 8 oz of Kreen... Could use PP because it is so cheap now at Walmart.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Another Kreen vote here. It's nearly miraculous in precisely this type of application. Cleans RIGHT NOW, no waiting.

Might want to do it twice with that engine.

 

[teambeechstreet]

Originally Posted By: sleddriver
Quote:

I haven't dropped the oil pan, but the inside of the valve cover as well as the camshafts are covered in varnish.
OK so you just have the head off. And you don't want to disassemble the block. I'd suggest making sure the oil passages in the head are clear. Also check those in the block. An inexpensive tool for this is a rifle/shotgun cleaning kit with brash brushes. They come in all sizes. Slide a brush down a passage and scrub around a bit then remove it. If it's coated in black, thick tar you're in trouble. If not, you might be OK.

I'm going to try this out tomorrow. Thanks for the tip and the info on varnish on aluminum!

Originally Posted By: Trav
I probably wouldn't use 16oz in it but 8oz wont hurt anything, i ran it a few turbo engines with no apparent ill effects at that dosage.
Another alternative would be to run a qt in the oil for an hour at idle only, turn off, let sit overnight and run it for another half hour at idle the next day. Change the oil hot.
The sitting over night gives the stuff time to dissolve some varnish and the second running washes it away, because the turbo speed is very low the product can actually do some cleaning of the oil passages without the risk of lubrication failure.


I think I'm going to try this method. Thanks!

And thanks everyone else for the tips and info!

 

[LeakySeals]

I ordered Kreen yesterday afternoon, or I think I did....When I pressed submit i got... "Thank you for your order. We have the order for your Kano Products". No shipping costs, no confirmation email, no activity on my credit card so far today. Was that the experience for others? did I do something wrong?

 

[Trav]

All normal with Kano no worries. They are not as quick as most, i have had it on my door before the card was charged.

 

[zyxelenator]

I would also run LM Pro line flush before drains and make it a habit. As heard and seen from several people it does really good job in cleaning and dissolve sludge and make it runny so it doesn't clog anything.