Decided yesterday to give my MK2 an engine flush with some of the Wynn’s stuff at frauds. Popped it into the engine and ran her up for 15 mins as suggested, I went between 2k RPM and letting it idle a few times for 30 seconds to a minute at a time (got bored of having my foot on the throttle xD). Dropped the oil and the first thing I noticed was how thin the oil seemed compared to normal, so it definitely did something! It also enticed a some sludge out of sump at the end = that wasn’t so encouraging.
Anyway, I’ve popped some Castrol GTX in (got some for 50% on offer and ECP recently!) and wow! The car feels transformed. Loads more mid range punch and much smoother revving. Genuinely feel like I have gained about 10 BHP! I am going to drop the cheapy GTX and do another flush before my next track day in October and replace with some magnatec (which I also got at half price, teehee) just to finish it off and get it super clean. Couldn’t believe the colour difference of the new oil as well, rather than going a honey / dark ish colour after initial run up, it kept its nice “fresh out the can” colour
I have a pot of this stuff waiting to use :), I just need a day when its dry and i’m fit enuff to get under my car and do it lol (I have a disabilty) chances of both on the same day are slim wish i’d done it a few weeks ago
I must admit I have not used a engine cleaner before as I had a bad experiance once when some injector cleaner disolved all the rubber seals in the fuel injection system in my Capri 2.8i, it turned the rubber to a black sticky mess and its taken all this time to try anything untill last year I tryed some BG244 diesel cleaner in my JTD and If I had not used it myself i’d never have belived the differance it made so I decided to use a engine cleaner and everyone always likes the wynn’s stuff
I’ve always just used synthetic oil, changed about twice as often as required. That keeps everything clean. The problem with engine flush is that, in a really dirty engine (which is probably why you want it) it might shift a big enough lump of gunk to block an oil gallery.
I agree 100%. I have never flushed the engine or radiator in any car I have owned. Both clean as a whistle, but then, I have renewed the oil/antifreeze well before the due date. Much cheaper in the long run!
The only reason i’m doing it is because I have no way of knowing how often the oil has been changed in the past, the car has been serviced on time but when its only done 5000 miles in 5 years Its a long time for oil in the engine, and on starting I get a tappy tapet somtimes that last for a min before going nice and quiet… well its done it a couple of times anyway ;)
I know the guy replaced the oil in june when I got the car but its always better to start from scratch, I have changed brake/clutch fluid diff and gear oil ect simply because I dont know when or if its been done in the last 17 years and I do go a little OCD on my cars
I agree with this, but with a caveat. If there is a “glob” of oil in the system large enough to do damage, at some point, it’s going to to the damage any way. The best way imo is to thin the oil with flushing agent in a controlled enviroment, drop it and replace cw filter. then start car and monitor for a while before driving too hard. I have flushed every engine that I have owned when changing the oil and filter and I have never had an issue. BTW I have owned over 50 cars in my time. This is only my experience.
BTW I have owned over 50 cars in my time. Goodness me! I do not change my socks as often as that!! Just counted, I have owned eight cars in over fifty years. I must get attached to them.
Are you sure about that? Oil isn’t all that cheap. If you keep a car for a decade and do typical mileage you can expect the engine to be absolutely fine by just following the manufacturer’s service schedule. How many extra oil changes do you reckon you’d do in that time, and for what benefit?
Update to all - the flush hasn’t caused any grief with my engine even after a week or so. I was going to drop the oil again and reflush, but it’s running so nicely and is such a good colour I cant bring myself to do it.
The car is definitely pulling harder and top end speed has increased moderately too… May be placebo, but my dad drove it without knowing and asked what I had done because it felt quicker!
Might not be placebo. Have a look at Fifth Gear see my post http://www.mx5oc.co.uk/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=69387, as they test an old car with runs on a dyno before and after a service & flush fuel injectors to measure any power gain.
George
Are you sure about that? Most definitely. The first car I owned was an 850cc. Mini. I bought it new, changed the oil every 3000 miles, in the days of Castrol GTX early/mid sixties The car covered 276,000 miles, I then sold it to a friend who covered another 70,000 miles before he sold it. One engine, one gearbox in all that time. I replaced the antifreeze each year still the original radiator when I sold it. Oil, filters, antifreeze and many other items are very cheap when compared with mechanical and or chemical failure. Today I use 5 year antifreeze and replace every two - three years. Oil every year, although my annual mileage is now aroud 2,500. Regular changes of oil, antifeeze etc. save a lot of trouble, and expense.
Well this was rather what I was driving at - they aren’t negligibly cheap. I’m sure it depends on the individual circumstances, but I changed my original engine at 190,000 miles when oil topups were doubling my oil use. By doing it DIY that engine will take maybe 8 years to pay for itself in oil savings. There’s no guarantee I could have preserved my original engine by doubling my oil changes but, even if I could, all that extra oil would actually have cost me more than standard oil changes plus a replacement engine over the 16 years I’ve had the car so far.
Well this was rather what I was driving at - they aren’t negligibly cheap. I’m sure it depends on the individual circumstances, but I changed my original engine at 190,000 miles when oil topups were doubling my oil use. By doing it DIY that engine will take maybe 8 years to pay for itself in oil savings. There’s no guarantee I could have preserved my original engine by doubling my oil changes but, even if I could, all that extra oil would actually have cost me more than standard oil changes plus a replacement engine over the 16 years I’ve had the car so far.
Imagine the labour costs for the tasks you have undertaken! No expense is negligible but it may well be cost effective. The case I quoted, i.e. a Mini in the sixties, in my opinion proves the point. Oil technology has come a long way since then, as has anti freeze technology. To me it is not simply a matter of cost in terms of £.s.d. It is the nuisance of problems occurring at inconvenient times when I have plenty of other things to do other than working on the car. For example I use 5 year antifreeze and change it every 2-3 years. The reason, not that it will freeze, but the corrosion inhibitors become depleted. Also antifreeze acts as a lubricant for the water pump. I have changed a water pump once in my life on my own cars, or rather it was my wife’s Metro which had only done around 5,000 miles but two years old, so out of warranty. A faulty pump, methinks. As to cost, I have just bought 5 litres fully synthetic oil £18. oil filter £4. Over my lifetime my policy has paid off, or at least I think so, and now that I am entering my twentieth year of retirement anything which reduces my time spent working on my car is most welcome. Just my opinion, you understand. Prevention is better than cure! I have spent too long under cars, in the past, I hasten to add, in the freezing cold, late hours etc. Convenience is worth a few pence, again, in my opinion.
