Oil cleaner

[Jimmy9190]

In the tire store the other day I saw they sell a bottle of "oil system cleaner" with their "better" and "best" oil change packages. On the bottle it says it cleans all the old oil from the internal parts and crevices inside the engine and it is supposed to "help the old oil flow out better and give a more complete drain". The signs at the service counter say "don't put clean oil in a dirty engine". You are supposed to dump a bottle of this stuff in the crankcase, it's about half a quart, and idle the engine for 5 or 6 minutes then change the oil and filter.

Is there any truth to this, does something like this work or is it just another way to make more money? If it is any good, what aftermarket oil additives would be comparable? I am no fan of oil additives and never have used one.

Just wondering about this stuff and this is the place to ask.

 

[BrianWC]

Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
In the tire store the other day I saw they sell a bottle of "oil system cleaner" with their "better" and "best" oil change packages. On the bottle it says it cleans all the old oil from the internal parts and crevices inside the engine and it is supposed to "help the old oil flow out better and give a more complete drain". The signs at the service counter say "don't put clean oil in a dirty engine". You are supposed to dump a bottle of this stuff in the crankcase, it's about half a quart, and idle the engine for 5 or 6 minutes then change the oil and filter.

Is there any truth to this, does something like this work or is it just another way to make more money? If it is any good, what aftermarket oil additives would be comparable? I am no fan of oil additives and never have used one.

Just wondering about this stuff and this is the place to ask.


That sounds like the marketing of AMSOIL engine flush.

 

[Quest]

10-min engine flush? either kero in a can (which you can buy separately for cheep) or stoddard solvent in a can.

Either way: I personally don't give a dime about them for I don't believe in most OTC, 10-min gratification in a can to begin with.

Q.

 

[ZZman]

Do they work? Yes.
Are they safe? That is under debate from both sides.

Will it clean all the dirty oil from the whole engine? No

The engine will always be "dirty" and there will always be some dirty oil in an engine.

The key is to have the oil stay as clean and "active" as possible between oil changes and to change it before the additives are depleted and the contaminates stop being suspended in the oil and start coating the internal parts.

 

[Steve S]

Is you engine dirty? It will clean you wallet pretty good.

 

[oilboy123]

They work some......but better to use Auto-rx and do it slower.

If you have no patience, then good luck with the quick flush.

 

[ewetho]

Got really dirty oil and want it to be clean looking when your done...

Get engine to operating temp. Change oil (use the cheap stuff if you want). Run for 30 minutes and change again. That seems to get most cars pretty good. Helps flush that last quart or so out of the engine and allows for very clean load of oil.

Now if you have a sludge issue... Time for AutoRx

 

[Jimmy9190]

Agreed. I don't have much faith in miracle-cures-in-a-bottle. Was really just wondering if anyone else had heard of this stuff. It must be some proprietary store brand of fluid to upsell their oil change jobs. I've seen things like STP oil treatment and Rislone, Motor-Medic and the like in parts stores but never used any of them.