Seafoam for sludge removal?

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Well, after pulling the PVC valve out of the 1.6L Nissan (116k miles) that I bought about a month ago, I think its safe to say that my engine needs a good cleaning. The engine side of the valve was a solid cake of sludge, and the vacuum hose was full of crust. I have yet to remove the valve cover, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't look very good.

I can't find Auto RX at my local parts stores, but Seafoam is pretty easy to find. Will this do the trick? Should I just run it in from a vacuum line, or do I need to try something else?
 
FYI -

You won't find AutoRx in any parts store. I believe Frank said it is too cost prohibitive and then there's the training involved with each store's staff.

My experience with AutoRx has been fantastic! It's done a great job on both of our vehicles (Olds 3.1L with 180k & Suburban 5.7L with 110k). In fact, Frank's running a Father's Day special, so check out http://www.auto-rx.com for more details.
 
I'd just pull the valve cover and just dump some lacquer thinner on the head and swish it around with a parts brush. You'll see the sludge liquify instantly. After that you'll definitely be needing an oil change.
 
We used Seafoam in my son's 2000 Camry. We put 1/3 can in the oil, 1/3 in the gas tank and I still have the other 1/3. When we changed the oil a couple of hundred miles later at 3K on the oil, the oil was very dirty. The dipstick had a new shiny appearance. I don't think his engine had much sludge in it, but it took off the varnish from what I can tell. The oil was Supertech synthetic 5w-30. Yes, we still have some Walmart product around from my unenlightened days.

Don
 
I got talked into putting a bottle in a auto transmission that was having some shifting issues. It knocked all kinds of stuff loose from every nook and cranny. The filter caught most of it but I found junk in the valve body when I cleaned it out. IMO, most the junk I knocked loose was better left hiding in corners.
 
Quote:


I'd just pull the valve cover and just dump some lacquer thinner on the head and swish it around with a parts brush. You'll see the sludge liquify instantly. After that you'll definitely be needing an oil change.




Would this cause the sludge to partly dissolve and drain back down toward the lower parts of the engine and block critical oil passage in the process?
 
Quote:


Quote:


I'd just pull the valve cover and just dump some lacquer thinner on the head and swish it around with a parts brush. You'll see the sludge liquify instantly. After that you'll definitely be needing an oil change.




Would this cause the sludge to partly dissolve and drain back down toward the lower parts of the engine and block critical oil passage in the process?




Not if you follow up with some mineral spirits. The mineral spirits won't evaporate easily like the lacquer thinner will; it'll keep the sludge liquified until you flush it out with a 20 minute OCI.
 
I'd run a few ARX cycles....I'm halfway through the first cycle on the F150 and civic and the second on the galant...love the mileage increase.
 
Don't invest a penny into any OIL additives until you are sure that the engine runs well.
My recommendation is a bunch of 2-3k OCI's with whatever oil you want to use. If after ~10k miles and all sounds well, then consider something.

If you truly have sludge, your timing chain/tensioners are junk already.

Also, since I've seen some failed filter bypasses on older Nissans that use the PH3682-sized filter, consider the bypass-equipped PH3600.
 
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