The Truth About Engine Flush...DONT DO IT!
The Best Engine Flush is the one you DONT DO! Here are the results and what the car companies have to say.
Should you Flush your Engine?
Is an Engine Flush worth it?
Are Engine Flushes Good or Bad?
What is the Best Engine Flush?
I tested the 2 top engine oil flushes (Liqui Moly and Sea Foam) on my Duramax Diesel, and the results might surprise you. I used engine oil color to decide which engine flush performed the best. Honestly, I don't think either flush did anything. If the engine is properly maintained and operated under normal conditions, I believe and engine flush is a waste of time and money.
Engine flushes may serve a purpose in some applications, but they can also be harmful. Modern engines have small oil passages in the variable valve timing and displacement on demand systems. If the engine flush does displace an engine deposit, after the oil filter, it could clog a solenoid, valve, or spring, and cause engine damage.
My suggestions is to be cautious with engine flushes, and only use them to correct a contamination issue.
References:
Eric the Car Guy Position: • Should You Flush Your ...
Chrysler Position: www.tsbsearch.com/Chrysler/26...
Ford Motor Company Position: • Ford Motor Company Pos...
GM Position: static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/202...
Honda Position: techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/p...
Hyundai Position: www.tsbsearch.com/Hyundai/09-...
Do Not Flush TSBs: forwardassistmechanics.wordpr...
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00:00 Introduction
01:22 Test Method
06:12 Liqui Moly Flush
08:42 Sea Foam Flush
14:44 Cutting Oil Filters
17:14 Results
19:42 Conclusion
I work as a fleet technician for class 8 trucks. We never judge oil by its color (in normal operating use). No matter how new the engine oil is, it will always look black due to the diesel soot. I can replace 42 quarts, literally only crank the engine, and it'll be black. That said, we also do oil samples and send them to Chevron for preventative maintenance testing through their LubeWatch Fluid Analysis Program. The trucks with Sea foam always come back with less contaminates, carbon deposits, copper and phosphorus. I've torn down engines at a million miles that used seafoam BEFORE every oil change and the internal components look brand new. A comparable engine without using seafoam will look significantly worn with excessive carbon deposits. That said, most people who want to use these products are generally the kind of people who actually care for their equipment. They often perform all maintenance as recommended by the manufacturer and usually drive their vehicles with mechanical sympathy. I would highly recommend sending those oil samples to an analysist for a final conclusion, however, I understand the cost and time lost in doing so. I am also curious if the Liqui Moly cleaned most of the carbon buildup before the seafoam did. I personally use seafoam on all my vehicles before every other oil change. I do in fact notice better idling and power restored after every treatment on my smaller engines. The only difference felt on my larger engines is fuel economy.
You make a valid point about the type of people that use engine flushes, and how their mechanical mindset could be affecting the condition of the engine. 👍 I do oil analysis on my trucks, just not for this test. Everyone else judges the need to do a flush, or the efficacy of the flush on color. My objective was to show that it bad no difference in the color on a properly maintained engine.
Great informative and informed comment, thank you. Stay gold.
Diesels run dirty the color of the oil doesn't matter much, I cut my filters and look for particles if I don't see any let er rip, and I think 10,000 miles is too much between oil changes
Bravo man! And-thank you!
@@chevypu4 10,000 may be a lot for a light duty vehicle, however the class 8 trucks I work on go 75,000 miles on a single oil change. That said, they have 45 quarts of 10w30 to cycle.
Leaving a like as the amount of oil you had to buy for this video is eye watering
Many dinosaurs gave their lives for this content 😂
Its expensive. My truck gets oil change every 5k . At over 600k i have over $12k in oil changes.
Nice video-entertaining, condense, honest and no crappy music. 10 out of 10.
Thanks for watching 👍
I agree. Thanks for being the sacrifice for science!
Taking one for the team 🫡
Yeah his wise cracks;)
Yessss👍👍
So if you are thinking about an engine flush, just change the oil more frequently. Your engine will thank you.
More frequent oil changes can help prevent from forming. Sometimes…
Great video and a load of testing you did. Thanks! For me as a mechanic, I did a simple test years ago for my own proof. I dropped my engine pan (300,000km Escape), inspected and took pics of the bottom of crank area. Then did an oil change and ran SeaFoam for a few hundred km’s. Dropped the pan again and inspected. Sure enough the bottom of the engine was significantly cleaner. Rather than a brownish stain on all engine parts they looked like new and shiny. I was surprised to be honest as I always run Mobil1 full synthetic or Pennzoil full synthetic the vehicle’s entire life and never do extended changes. I thought the detergents in the oil would have kept it 100% clean but that wasn’t the case. As such, I run SeaFoam through all my engines once every year or two to keep those rings from ever sticking. Never had an engine burn oil since doing this in 15+ years now! :)
If it's working for you, keep it up. 👍
Nice! I used liquid molly on a bmw engine, the crank case cover before and after was significantly cleaner.
I use marvel mystery oil had to replace a timing chain on my 3.0 ford. engine was spotless after 250 thousand miles
When you say run seafood, you mean pour it unto the oil or pour into the gas tank
@@101dragonsthe- into the oil, obviously.
Regardless of the outcome I do appreciate your effort and you're a hell of a nice guy
Thanks for watching 👍. Don’t be telling everyone I’m nice. I’ve got a reputation to uphold 😉
OMG, what a tremendous work you did! Thank you so much for making this video and for all the efforts and hard work associated. Great content!
I’m glad you enjoyed it 👍
I appreciate the thorough testing and effort put into the video. Nice work my guy.
Glad you enjoyed it 👍
Bought a used Scion with 180k, changed oil several times within a month and used a flush product each time and had the same results you got. My mechanic friend dropped the pan which had a coating of nasty oil on it, so each flush was just cleaning the pan each time. We cleaned the pan till shinny, now each oil change shows the real changes with flush and they do work, Love your 30mm pointer tool and every garage should have a reloader as just another tool.
They do work, if there is something there to work on. It’s like penicillin. It works, but only if you have an infection. 🤓
@@freedomworx And using it too much could lead to the dreaded seafoam-resistant supersludge. The only way to know if you have it is by pressing your ear against the engine and listening for the faint sound of waves crashing on the beach. Then you must place your garage under quarantine, wedge a corn cob in the fill port, put the largest speaker you have under the hood and blast Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth on repeat for at least 24 hours.
@@JJFX- you ain't right 😂😂
If your scion burns a little oil you should change the oil to liquid moly (with moligen). It will lessen the oil consumption. It did on mine. I've got a 2009 scion xb with the 2.4L . It would burn about a quart every 3 weeks. Now it's less than half a quart. Just make sure you get the one with Moligen.
@@henrymatthews9365 Yes! I had a car turn oil burner on me, I was like, this never happens to me. I take care of cars. I flushed it and the problems stopped. As a traditionally trained mechanic it took me a long time to understand that flushes do have a place now and again. :) From adding 2 to 4 quarts at one point to a 3.88 quart system just to keep oil in it to NO burning. Wow! Winner winner chicken dinner. LOL
You know regardless if your engine is any cleaner or not your comedy was well worth the time spent watching. May i suggest using a riding mower engine that uses one quart of oil instead of your truck engine lol. Cool video man👌
The riding mower would definitely have been cheaper. Thanks for the complement 👍
Love the video. To the point, honest, and funny. Instantly subscribed. Thanks, man.
Thanks for the support 👍
Thanks for running this test. Very interesting and it's something I've wondered about.
Glad you enjoyed it.
In the mid 1980s i worked with the Superintendent of a large lathe machine shop. He was seriously into lubrication. We commuted a round trip of 85 miles daily. He was driving a Ford Granada, changed oil filters every 1000 miles and full oil change at 3000 miles. That car had no engine issues at 180,000 miles. The body was rusting out. Lol, I should suggested spraying the body with used oil....
Yeah, I think he might have been focusing on the wrong thing 😂
"Seriously into lubrication" - Said every 14 to 19yr old boy 😂
@@MicJaguar Is that the 14 yob asking the 19 yob to use a good lube?
@@MicJaguar , if every 14 to19 Yr old boy new what us 50 year old men know they would not have a problem with lubrication! Slow and steady wins the race!!
sounds like he took care of his heart well but all his legs are fucked up LOL.
Found a new favorite channel. This was AWESOME. thank you!
I appreciate you watching 👍
Very interesting to hear so many opinions about whether to or not to use a flush. I may try one before my next oil change on my 2.0tdi audi. The last change did result in dark oil almost immediately. Great content by the way..
Thanks for watching 👍. Definitely a controversial product 😎
Yeah man, please tell me you had a way to store all that used oil and you're secretly going to use it for the next 60000 miles.@@freedomworx
So as mentioned towards the end the oil is supposed to hold contaminates in suspension, meaning it is dark & opaque - looks bad but is doing it’s job. I think the unknown factor is the condition of the piston rings and the amount of combustion blow-by. I have seen old aircraft engines (used for training in school) which were pretty worn out - disassembled, cleaned, reassembled - they turn the oil black in 10 minutes, they were thoroughly cleaned and new oil used. It was the combustion products getting past the worn rings.
There is nothing wrong with this engine. Runs great and does not burn oil. It’s simply the reality of a diesel with an EGR System.
I've never done an engine flush to improve engine oil color, but to unstick the scrape ring to prevent oil consumption. Some piston rings are prone to clogging up and thus sticking rings and all that comes with it. The LiquiMoly helped tremendously in this regard.
It’ll help neglected engines. I’m just saying it’s not intended to be part of preventative maintenance. 👍
@@freedomworx Sometimes, poorly designed engines (direct injection, etc) or fuel systems will have this problem, even with the most diligent maintenance and care. Outside of that, great video and hats off for the investment for our benefit.
I don’t disagree. Some engines, especially early GDI engines, have some quirks that regular maintenance doesn’t address. 👍
@@freedomworx WAG group TFSI should have been shipped with the seafoam as stock, from the factory. 😂
@RuBiCaNT5X same worked great for oil consumption
Great video … I personally have used Rotella, Delo or Valvoline Blue for my diesels. As for my gasoline vehicles I have always used Valvoline, Castrol or Chevron oil. I don’t mix my oils; I pick my weight and brand and stick with it, changing/ servicing a little sooner then recommended. Filters were PUROLATOR, WIX, NAPA OR BOSCH for gas, and factory Cummins or Motorcraft for diesel….. Never had an oil or filter failure in 35 years… It’s all about how well you maintain your engine. I like my granddaddy said good oil and filter is cheap insurance!!!
My Grandad thought Castrol was the answer for everything 🤷🏻♂️
Wish I could still get the Purolater for my Harley, but they discontinued it. I wouldn't run anything else otherwise.
Absolutely hilarious, entertaining and very informative! Thanks for doing that! I learned a lot. Australia.
Glad you enjoyed it mate 👍
I have not directly run controlled testing on engine flush products like this, and I think this was a great test. Thanks for publishing your work! My perspective based on my experience as an auto mechanic and an engineer working in gasoline engine R&D is that engine flush products have a very narrow application. "Conventional" (distilled petroleum) oils contain paraffins and other long chain hydrocarbons which tend to fall out of suspension as waxy deposits on surfaces. When these wax-coated surfaces get hot enough, the solid deposits tend to oxidize into "varnishes". Detergents help, shorter oil change intervals help, and good operating conditions (avoiding short trips, not overheating, not running the engine under high load and then shutting off immediately) help. But when lubricating an engine with dinosaur juice, at least some amount of waxy deposits and varnish are probably inevitable. Synthetic oils contain little to none of these components and are much more resistant to oxidation, so they're far less prone to leaving deposits. Synthetic oils are also far better solvents, so they do a better job of dissolving deposits and "self-flushing". However, if you have an engine that has been run for a lot of hard miles on conventional oil and is fully of wax and varnish, and you want to switch to synthetic oil, I see two concerns. First, simply draining the dino oil and refilling with synthetic may lead to a lot of deposits dissolving or breaking free and circulating through the engine until the next oil change. Not good. Second, if you really want to clean all the deposits out, the synthetic oil alone may not do the whole job. Engine flush products are basically just strong organic solvents so they are likely to dissolve more wax and varnish than the synthetic oil ever would. So I recommend using oil flush products specifically when switching from conventional to synthetic oil. However, I don't see carbon suspended in the oil (which causes most of that color change) to be related to engine flush products in any way. That comes from combustion blowby and does not stick to surfaces in the crankcase. It's always there when you run the engine and it floats around in the oil no matter what oil you use. It comes out with the oil whether you use the flush or not. You often have to do multiple oil changes (flush or not) to get clear oil because opening the drain and changing the filter never really removes 100% of the oil, and mixing a small amount of sooty oil in a lot of fresh oil is enough to change the color a lot.
Thanks for the comment. I used to be a diesel mechanic myself, but I've been an engineer in the nuclear field for the last 15 years now. Just do this social media stuff because nuclear is boring, as it should be. While I don't disagree that dissolved varnish might not have much effect on color change, there are plenty of other dark deposits and sludge that would. Used oil analysis would have been the most scientific way to prove this out, but my point was to show folks that their theory that their used oil is coming out super dark, due to using engine flush...really doesn't always hold water. It's generally just a placebo affect. That oil was already dark before they added the flush in most cases. I do agree that most people with engine deposits are likely using dino oil, or just pushing the oil beyond its limits. I always use synthetic in every engine, and I've never had one that wasn't squeaky clean when I opened it up.
@@freedomworx That makes sense. Really I think the most effective way to test out an engine flush product (qualitative, not quantitative) would be to pull the valve covers and oil pan, inspect the valvetrain and pan baffle, then reassemble, flush, and pull them again to compare before/after. Probably not worth the effort, though. Maybe just do it with a fiber optic scope. But I think that experiment would make more sense with an engine running on dinosaur oil for 100,000+ miles. I suspect any engine run in non-abusive conditions with synthetic oil will just be clean in the before-flush inspection, so there's nothing to see getting flushed out and removed.
@@elektro3000 I’ve got a Swamp Buggy engine that’s begging to participate. 😎
@@freedomworx Would love to see a follow-up video on that! At a minimum, a before/after visual comparison of any deposits in the oil pan baffles and on the valvetrain would tell us a lot (but you have to resist the urge to clear away the junk you find before the flush!) but even more interesting would be to take a small sample of each and get them analyzed with FTIR or a mass spectrometer.
Absolutely. I did this when changing to synthetic. When I rebuilt the top end, everything looked brand new on a gasoline engine with 100k miles on it. Synthetic has stayed clean after 3000 miles. Some of the gunk settles in the oil pan. I tested Mobil 1. Idled for 2 hours. Drained. It was black. Let it settle overnight or two nights. Looked clear as new with a layer of black sludge on the bottom. It breaks down all the sludge and suspends it in the oil. I decanted the clear stuff from the black and poured it back in the engine. The flush made cleaning my valvetrain easier. All my hydraulic lifters were cleaner inside with hardly any varnish. That flush reduced my rebuild time.
I am a new subscriber and I can say you are the funniest creator that provides helpful information. On a side note, did anybody else realize that he spent over 600 on oil? Dedication that drove me to subscribe. 😂❤
I appreciate the complements. I’m a gearhead, engineer, compulsive learner, and wanna be comedian. I feel like this type of content in my niche. So thanks for subbing. I’m doing a video on Oil Bypass Filtration right now, that should be pretty insightful. 🤓
They caught a severe case of gravity!?!?! Had me in stitches. As a union ironworker that one hit home hard. Lmao. Good shit. Definitely earned a sub with this one.
I appreciate it. I’ve got one on bypass filtration that I’m working on currently. Should be insightful 🤓
Great video. Thanks for the time and the money you spent to get this video done.
Thank you for watching 👍😎
I have to say, you are the funniest car scientist I have ever watched. Great content and helped me before doing an oil flush for my car
Thanks for watching. I keep it scientifical 🤓
Years ago Popular Science had an article about oil and oil filters. Their point was that very fine particals pass through the engine without damage. Very large particals will not fit through the clearances. The particals sizes that cause damage are the ones slightly larger than half the clearances because two particles can get caught together and scrape and cause engine wear. Oil filters are designed to catch larger particals and let the small particals pass because they do no damage. If the filter caught all the particles then there would not be enough oil flow. Oil filter use the depth filtering method where particals get entangled in fibers. This method allows higher flow rates and the particals eventually get captured with enough passes. With all that said, your oil should look dark because it is full of fine particals that are not trapped by the oil filter. Send the samples to the lab to determine the partical size analysis. This test will determine if there are large particals in your oil.
I’m very familiar with particle size effects on engine wear. There are a couple of very good SAE papers I’m going to discuss in my upcoming bypass filtration video 👍
Had a '97 GMC Sonoma, with a 2.2 motor. It was beat, not well maintained, when I got it. It became my daily driver, and after a time- tic tic tic- sticky lifter. Tried Seafoam, and in 50 to 100 miles, all ticking was gone. Changed oil and drove the wheels off for another 5yrs. Also has worked well as fuel stabilizer in my- parked for winter- street rod.
Yeah, it can help a neglected engine. 👍
Thank you for taking the time to do this!
Thanks for watching 👍
Good onya dude, interesting & funny, kept me watching to the end, I'd be interested in future evaluation tests, thanks.
I’m glad you enjoyed it 👍
I’ve done two flushes on two different trucks with fresh oil and a cheap filter like this. I let them run for 20 minutes or so and can’t believe the color of the new oil! Amsoil flushes. Love Amsoil!
Maybe my motor is just to clean inside for a flush to do any good 🤓
Love everything about this video. Top comments have already said most of what I came to say. I just wanted to type more than 8 words for you to get the algorithm kudos. Keep up the honesty, humbleness, and the way you address the haters. Thanks for serving. Stay frosty.
I appreciate you watching and commenting 👍
You are 100% correct about the reasons not to flush. Prior to the mid 80's we used to see so much sludge that the oil drain back holes in the head would stop up and cause oil to flood over the valve guides and into the combustion and into the exhaust especially on Chevy small blocks. They didn't have stem seals on the guides and most other engines just had umbrella seals. WE had to physically clean out the crud without dropping it into the pan. Flush would plug up the pick up screen and destroy the engine. A lot of our customers drove to the store and to church each week only a few blocks. We didn't want to cost them an engine because most couldn't afford it. If that black in the diesel engine oil was going to hurt the engines, we wouldn't see semi tractors with a million miles and more on the engines depending on the service and abuse.
Yeah, the soot particles that cause that color are too small to cause wear. But trying to tell people that is pretty much a lost cause. 😂
With all short trips driving, the correct oil change interval back in the era of cast iron engine probably was 1800 miles. A friend of mine who was performance car guy back then said his friends with small block Chevys changed their oil that often. The small blocks were the most vulnerable, but all of the engines would go bad quickly without proper maintenance. Maintenance was difficult back then also. No oil change shops. No easy way to recycle drain oil. The cooling systems got a lot of rust and scale in them and the coolant was not as good as it is today either. When I speak of the bad old days, I am thinking of the cars particularly.
Diesel engines last longer than gasoline engine because diesel fuel is a mild lubricant, the engines that last the longest are those that run on natural gas or propane as those fuels do not contaminate the oil much. The engines with the shortest service lifespan are Ethanol gasoline engines (E70, E30, E15, E10), as that fuel contaminates the oil very much so.
Hey man, great video, yes, entertaining and a bit funny, Informative for sure, be looking for the next.
I appreciate the kind words 👍
I love that you have a fumoto valve for your rig!! People have no idea how nice it is to have one of those for oil changes, especially with diesel engines. Makes the process much cleaner and smoother 👍🏼
Helps me take samples to 🤓
Fumotos are dumb. It looks like leftover trash from a plumbing project. Stahlbus is the valve to use.
So you want me to install a valve that needs a special adapter to open and use? The entire selling point is ease of operation without any tools. Hard Pass.
@@freedomworx doesn’t need special tools…. And, can’t open without intent instead of some stupid valve…. Can’t have a work truck with a fumoto…. I guess you don’t need to worry about that though with a GM…. Can’t use those for work 😂 😂 😂
I’ve got a Duramax, a Cummins, and a Powerstroke. They all have Fumotos, and I promise you that Powerstroke Excursion has gone places no work truck will ever go 🤷🏻♂️. They aren’t suitable for every application, but that doesn’t make them stupid. They work fine for me.
You had good conclusions. I am a little older than dirt and have been working on cars foreever. In the 60's and 70's we only flushed the engine because of lifter noise or extream buildup of crap when we had the top of the engine apart and could not clean it all manually. It might be OK but I would say that you lose a large amount of lubrication when the flush is is the engine and a small amount of damage may result. With the new oils (I only run synthetic) I never see anything in the top of the engine as far as buildup. The oils are so much better than the old days. If you really want to clean the engine I would just change the oil more frequently. It is really hard to see the effects with a diesel because of the quick contamination from the combustion process. Great Video!
You said it. New oils are so much better than they used to be. 👍
Great video. I have had lots of questions of my own answerd. Thank you. 👍
Glad you got something out of it 👍
Great video thanks, also, I love your clock where did you get it?🤣
It was a gift from Flavor Flav. 😎
I have used a small amount of marvel mystery oil in the oil about 500 miles before my oil change on vehicles I bought used and wasn’t sure the previous oil maintenance. After doing this on 2-3 oil changes, I can easily tell a difference in the buildup in the top of the engine as well as the oil that comes out when draining it. To me, this is a safer and slower method isn’t as harsh and potentially break loose large particles that can cause even bigger problems. Just my opinion
It tastes better than Sea Foam also 😎
The safest method is to use synthetic or semisynthetic (if permitted) and accelerate the oil change interval. The solvent properties of the synthetic oil will clean out the engine over time. If anything, the dirtier an engine is, the more dangerous it is to use a flush or solvent. If you are going to accelerate the oil change interval, then you can use low end synthetic and a cheap filter too. Low end synthetic (Group III) barely costs more than dino or semi these days. I bought a used car once which I found out had synthetic oil crystallization under the valve cover. Alarming to discover, but I didn't try to clean it all out and with regular oil changes it did start to dissolve away. Synthetic oil crystallization occurs when the vehicle is driven only on short trips and the same oil is left in the engine for a long period of time.
Back in 1969, I had a 61 Chevy BelAir 283 that started ticking. No money or education to fix it so added one quart of MMO to each valvoline 10-50W racing oil. it eliminated the tick, so understand your method.
I knew instantly that I should smash the subscribe icon. This guy is impressive.
Thanks for watching my friend. More to come 👍
Excellent test! Thanks for your work 👍
Thanks for watching 👍
Best video ever for testing engine flush products that was awesome thanks man 👍🏼👌🏼
Thanks for watching 👍
I will never use those snake oils 😂. All you have to do is change your oil more often than the manufacturer suggests. I go 5k and it's out.
I’ll just keep doing the recommended 10k mile oil change and get the same result as you for half the time and money 😉 The oil change interval is a function of the operating conditions of the vehicle. You can’t just assign an arbitrary number of miles and apply it to every vehicle. My oil has plenty of life left at 10k miles. Somebody that tows continuously would need to change the oil more frequently. That’s why these trucks have oil life estimators/calculators in them.
The reason the oil stays dark after an oil change is the shape of the oem oil pan. It is shaped such that you can't drain 100% of the oil without dropping the pan.
It definitely didn’t help.
Ummmm the reason it stayed dark after the first change was probably the absurd 10k miles change intervals using a 15w-40 oil duhh 😂
@aboodmki3 well GM thinks it’s the appropriate interval and the used oil analyses that I get on that absurd 10k mile oil seems to support it. You do realize that Semis go 10s of thousands of miles between oils changes….
@@freedomworxу грузовиков объем масла Намного больше, поэтому они используют его дольше.На легковых автомобилях нужно менять масло каждые 5-7000 километров!
I agree plus the EGR still being there doesn’t help!!!!
Thanks for sharing your videos and keep them coming please.
Thanks. Should have a new one out next weekend 👍
Hi bro.. I'm from Malaysia. Appreciate you doing these videos. All the best.
Thank you for watching 👍
Great video. I have another scenario you may consider. It's said that "direct injection" engines clog up significantly and sometimes lead to early graves for engine heads. I just wonder if seafoam or engine flush would do anything significant in this area for de-coaking valves ? i.e maybe depending on the type of engine, an engine flush would give different results
They make specific foam products now, that are intended to clean the intact tracts on GDI engines. 👍
Intake valve and turbo cleaner , spray it in ur vacuum line on your intake manifold while having someone or something holding the gas pedal at 3k rpm for 120 seconds it drastically helps the flow and make sure to clean ur throttle body with some gum out or crc if you can afford it
Answered a question I've been wondering about, doing an engine flush on my diesel. So for saving me $55 on a can of EPR and giving me a few laughs, I'm going to like and subscribe!
Glad I could help. Thanks for the sub 👍
Omg your dedication is something i cant explain how much patience you have 😁. Thanks for this video. Helps a lot.
Glad you got something out of it 👍
Thanks man! Appreciate the effort! This info is gold!
Thanks for watching 👍😎
Good video. After over 50 years of driving, I can say that 99.5% of "additives" are a waste of money, especially if your engine has normal wear and tear.
Yeah, modern oils don’t need anything except in special circumstances. I’ve used additive to help sticky injectors in a 7.3L Powerstroke. But that’s a special circumstances.
For me, who is not a mechanic ! It was helpful information because I was thinking about doing an oil flush Thank you for your time to do all the work testing
I’m glad you benefited from it 👍
Good information, liked your video and the honest mistakes and or fails like ,driving 1000 vs 100 ,dropping oil etc. Thanks for not over editing ,and sparing us from music. Im giving you a like and subscribe. For keeping it real!
I appreciate the support 👍
You lost a lot of oil But you deserve more than I like, and comment and subscribe I really appreciate what you do This is a lot of work we thank you so much for this video Thanks. ✌️👍
Thanks for the support 👍 I’m glad you enjoyed it 😎
Personally i think engine flushes work best on engines that produce high heat ie Turbo charged petrol engines that tend to cook the oil, and the oil goes from extreme to extreme, very cold to very hot conditions. I use Liqui Molly on my twin turbo 4.4L V8 BMW X5 that puts out 550hp as it really heats the oil, and it does a great job of cleaning out any varnish and sludge that may occur - so once a year for me.
Yeah, that's a lot of power density, and thus, a lot of heat in the oil.
So like my lawnmower that gets up to 350?
great video and very helpful , I give you an A for effort and an A for cost of oil and it seems to point to possible seafoam but definitely good to change your oil frequently .Plus I give you an A+ for entertaining and laughs .😁👍👍👍
Thanks for the kind words. And thanks for watching 👍
Great Respect for your hard work and spending $ to educate us. Thanks I learned a lot from ur experience
I’m glad you got something out of it 👍
You don’t need any flushes, just oil changes earlier than required! Great video!!!👍👍👍
The reality of it is, the factory specified service interval is earlier than needed. There is a factor of safety built into their recommendations 😉. Thanks for watching 👍
He doesn't need either. Every diesel makes oil black fast. Looks bad, lubricates just fine.
😂 Ha! BMW says that the ZF transmissions are "sealed for life" and do not need the trans fluid changed. ZF however, recommends changing fluid every 50K miles. Any kind of Zero tolerance engineered machinery REQUIRES frequent lubrication changes. I always change my Bimmer's oil with Molygen every 5K miles!
@@freedomworx ..sorry that's the wrong way round ..the biggest customers for cars are the fleet buyers..the bean counters take the cost of servicing into account when buying new cars ..the marketing department asks the engineering department what the longest service interval we can have so we don't get many warranty claims ....if you intend to keep an engine for a very long time 1/2 the services interval at least.. the price of oil is literally nothing compared the fuel you put in
There are plenty of SAE Technical Documents that prove otherwise. As well as my own experience and many of my own personal used oil analysis. 🤷🏻♂️
Ran Seafoam in our Chev Diesel before every oil change. Did you send those samples to the lab?
I didn't send them to the lab, but I still have them.
Good one For liqui Molly-- when did you put on the NEW OIL filter ?? Was it Before draining the old 10k milesDone Oil? Or was it after?
It got a new filter every time the oil was drained.
Great video, many years ago when a l/r 300tdi had engine flush in they used to leak really badly, the gunk in it stopped it from leaking lol.
Yep. Sometimes it’s best to just leave them be. 👍
I think in part, a diesel is more likely to create dark oil on its own. My gasser doesn't do that. But I can attest that seafoam seems to strip deposits from my engine. My oil doesn't change as much over the first few hundred miles. But if I run seafoam, it not only runs better, I can drain it after 1000 miles, and it looks like it went 10;000 miles. And mind you, Seafoam is a treatment rather than a flush.
Yeah, I saw “Motor Treatment” when I was filming. Caught me off gaurd.
My gas trucks have all turned oil dark fast. But thay also all have 250k+ miles on them lol
@slaydonk if you run seafoam Through them for 5 or so changes you'll see they start coming out cleaner my buck when I got it the oil would be black within 100 miles 5 changes later at 3k miles each it came out clean now I'll start extending the interval
@Wesleystewart78 i ran liquidmoly through with a long idle last time. All kinds of crap came out. It's looking new after 2000 miles now. But in the shop for a tranny rebuild. Sadly lost the tranny at 250k only because one of the coolant lines cracked and dumped wll my fluid while going 80 down the interstate. I stopped as soon as it slipped once and repaired and refilled, but two weeks later, I lost all gears past 2nd.
Sludge doesn't form in well maintained engines. Seafoam thins out the oil way too much for my liking.
Another way to test engine flush would be a before and after compression test. The low tension rings used in modern gas engines routinely become stuck in the piston groove. We have used BG 109 engine performance restoration for over 20 years. After using flush before and after compression tests always show improvement. We recommend BG109 to every dexos gm product we service. Many many dexos era gm vehicles suffer from extreme oil consumption.
Yes, if you have stuck rings, there are flush toe products that might help. BG makes good stuff.
@@freedomworx also watched Eric's flush video. Can't remember if you or he commented on detergent oil. I agree detergent oil does a great job cleaning engines. What I'm not sure is where the saturation cutoff is for milage. After the detergent oil is saturated deposits begin to form. What I do know is engines before the 90s usually burned some oil. Engines from the 90s till 05ish recieving 3000mile oil changes didn't burn oil. Engines from the extended interval era burn oil. Extended oil intervals into the 7500mile range were spoken about in the continuing education classes we attended. At the time we acclimated to the new recommendations. Now with years of first hand witnessing engines burn oil. Many to the point the sump sucks air resulting in the timing tensioner going slack, the chain jumping and the engine meeting an early death. I never recommended extending the oil intervals beyond 3000 unless the customer communicates at least an hour 1 way to work daily. Then 5000 seems safe. Oil changes are just too cheep to justify rising engine destruction.
Well you have to consider that newer engines use lighter oils. Most trucks from the early 2000s used 5W-40. Most things now use 0W-20. Even some diesels are running 0W oils now. Lighter oils are consumed more easily. And it’s not just burning, much of it is evaporating. Lighter oils evaporate at lower temps. That’s just the reality of using lighter oils. You burn a quart of oil to save many gallons of fuel. We also use thinner piston rings with less tension now. That’s likely another contributor. I don’t correlate an increase in oil consumption on newer cars to wear caused by extended oil change intervals. It’s simply a function of the engine and oil design choices that were made to meet emissions and fuel economy standards. another thing to consider, is that few cars from the early 2000s require synthetic oils. Every 0W oil is synthetic. And synthetics can survive longer in service. That’s just a fact. They oxidize less and experience much less breakdown in service. So with the requirement to run a synthetic now being the norm, it makes sense for the consumer to take advantage of being able to run an oil longer.
Its diesel, it will always have darker oil than gasoline engine. It doesnt mean oil is not lubricating properly@@freedomworx
@@freedomworx I can tell you from experience over the past 27years working in the repair industry and now owning my own shop: The exact same make/model/engine will burn oil or not depending on the oil change intervals. I've changed a lot of oil. The gas engine vehicles that get it changed 3-5000miles don't burn oil. The ones beyond that range do. The BG109 cleaner lessens the consumption and in some cases eliminates it. It also helps restore compression. Regarding synthetics. Most people who use it try and extend their oil change intervals. And I don't agree with that. I feel an oil meeting the engines standard is all that's required.
Really enjoyed watching your vid, it was very funny and informative, After awhile I realized why I was laughing, you reminded me of Billy Bob in sling blade. ❤️
It aint got no gas in it.
Thanks Love your content! question: is it helpful to use an "intake valve cleaner" on a GDI type engine?
I don't have any experience with GDI's but I am familiar with the intake valve issues that come along with using GDI alone and no sequential injection. I believe the intake valve cleaners are like beneficial, but I've never done the actual research.
Your egr is making your oil black I think. After I deleted my ram the oil stayed clean longer.
It definitely isn’t helping. I’ve got a fix for that 😉
@@freedomworx shhhhhh
You’ve officially been elevated to my favorite science teacher. Your scientifical methods inspire me to not do tests on diesel engines. And my failure to own one, further reinforces that decision. Thanks for all the time spent and making Amy laugh from across the room.
Glad she enjoyed it 😎👍
@@freedomworx glad she did too, some of my friends on a forum have enjoyed sharing your videos and talking about them. I probably haven't but a 1/10th of your effort in based on subs, but I've done some testing and posted it up. It's weird, I actually did some additives of value. 20 years ago additives, they all failed and were useless. I think they're not all junk today if you know what you're doing with them. It's funny really that those vids get most of my views versus real repairs that teach something beyond testing the part of industry which has been part snake oil for most of it's history.
Videos that cause arguments/discussions do the best. Everybody in the internet is an oil expert 😉
@@freedomworx arm chair quarterbacks have all the right calls and plays no matter how thorough you are. Gets the clicks tho! Keep it up!
Thank you, for this video. you did a great job.
Thank you for watching 👍
Nice video great edits thought this was a bigger channel
Thanks! Hopefully I'll get there. I'm really just getting started with long format content.👍
We have a bmw driving long distances in Europe. The diesel over here is mixed with biodiesel, which just makes everything clog up. Ran some cleaner and we felt a noticeable difference almost immediately, so they do work in my experience, but the main factor of its efficiency is based on fuel quality, which makes a lot of sense.
They do work in the right situation. Just saying that if the vehicle is properly maintained, it's likely clean internally. And the flush won't make ant difference. Biodiesel is not something we deal with much on this side of the pond. 👍
The amount of work you put into this test is amazing! The only time I've ever done an engine flush was when my brother bought a used car, thought it was a good practice just in case.
Thanks for watching. They make sense to do sometimes. If there is an issue with the engine, or if it’s contaminated. But they shouldn’t bd used regularly as preventive maintenance. They just aren’t needed for that. 👍
@@jumbomh7377 try again… seafoamworks.com/knowledge-base/how-to-use-sea-foam-in-oil/
@@jumbomh7377 you can do both. Don't be a jerk just because you aren't fully informed.
You wasting drive with the flush for ever never use oil
Great video. Thank you. I like the humor as well
I’m glad you enjoyed it 👍
THANK YOU! You, and Eric the Car Guy just saved me from likely making a huge mi$take. After recently finding some built up sludge reside under the valve cover of my 2009 Honda Accord while replacing a valve cover gasket, I also changed both the VVT and VTC gaskets and was also considering doing an engine flush. Thankfully, I found both of your videos explaining the reasons why NOT to flush out the engine. Even though I only put about 7k miles per year on the car, I will start doing 3k mile oil change intervals instead of the 5k ones Ive been doing.
I’m glad you got something out of it. Thanks for watching 👍
OIL COLOR WILL CHANGE NO MATTER FLUSH OR NOT, IF OIL WAS HEATED. IT WILL BE DARK EVEN IN STERILE ENGINE.
Well this oil is dark from soot. This engine still has a functional EGR on it…for now. It is always reintroducing a little soot back into the engine, which just adds to the amount of soot making it past the rings.
I had an LLY with 200k and it was ALWAYS clean. Changed it after 5k and it looked amber, so a little darker but not like this. My old CUCV with the 6.2 on the other hand, the oil gets dark instantly. Lol my LLY was deleted and tuned though. So maybe that's the difference?!
Idk my tdi jetta oil stays like the greenish clear color the first 1500 miles after an oil change before it starts turning to soot. Engines at shy 500k now and it still seems unrealistically clean. Even when i crack the valve cover. Vw did something right with them little 1.9s
My ALH TDI oil was black as night as soon as the engine turned over for the first time after an oil change 🤷🏻♂️
@freedomworx trust me I think it's odd for me also. Plenty of other people with alh's immediately turn black as infinite darkness after an oil change. I do keep my fuel mixture on the lean side.
@@quyle9483 I had bigger injectors 😎
Thank you for this experiment, I think we all learned from you taking the time and the cost of educating us. I have a little 1987 4 cylinder Mazda truck that I'd be willing to let you change the oil in as often as needed to conduct more tests, all in the name of science, of course. Thank you! 😅
The smart ones learned something. The dumb ones already know everything 😉. Thanks for watching 👍
Great video, great testing and a lot of time spend testing and making this video… well done and thank you for sharing. As you mentioned in the video, a Petrol car might have different results as the oils doesn’t turn black straight away. Do you plan to do another test on a petrol car?
Yeah. My buddy has a swamp buggy with a gummed up small block Chevy that we going to flush 👍
It will be interesting to see what results you and your mate get with the flush. Are you going to film this flush and post to KZhead as well? I also forgot to mention, doesn't matter what way is the correct way to pour new oil... as long as the method used suits the one pouring and with minimal mess :) @@freedomworx
@lukaszbebnowski7633 yes I plan to film it. 👍
Thank you so much, that is great to hear and I can’t wait till you post it. No rush, I know lots of time goes into the testing and making the videos.
It takes time to make them enjoyable 👍
I must say well done on that test a lot of work and money, also how you keep the underside of your car in such pristine condition is amazing. Ive done a bit of research on engine oil flushes and I wanted to try it out. Do an experiment. I'm Irish and have a 2007 Skoda Octavia 1.4 petrol that was well looked after when I bought it. It now has 180,000 miles, so I decided to do an engine flush just to see what happened. So with 5000 miles on the oil i added the engine flush, ran it for about 12 mins on idle don't drive it... Drained the oil, it was very black. now the oil after the 5000 miles was NOT as black as after adding the flush. The flush was liqui moly same as yours. I left the same oil filter in (probably should have changed it - funds) and filled with new oil, I drove the the car around 50 miles. I then drained the oil again to flush out more, the oil came out black not jet black after the 50 miles, i was amazed at the residual carbon that was left in the oil, but not as black as the original 5000 mile oil i dropped with the flush. So then I filled with new oil again and changed the filter aswell Amazingly the oil is still absolutely spotless after 1000 miles. I also added liqui Moly Mos2 oil additive its an anti friction additive. The difference in the engine was significant. The engine after approx 300 miles is running a lot smoother, it also has more power and is zippier, it seems to be free-er if you know what I mean. The oil would have a slight grey tinge to it after adding the Mos2 but its not dirty still after well over 1000 miles. I don;'t see how it has harmed the engine I think it has actually improved the engine. Ive read lots of comments on the DANGERS so to speak of doing a flush but they wouldn't be selling it if damaged your engine, Ive read lots of people using it for years evrey so often with 2 and 300,000 miles on the clock with no burning of oil etc on their engines. So I think that it's really up to the owner themselves and see what results you get. My conclusion is, well it hasn't harmed my engine so far, also with the additive the car runs smoother and better with less of a ticking noise. I will use the additive and flush maybe once every third oil change. But for anybody out there thinking about doing it, I haven't had any problems at all only improvements and am really happy with the results. Cheers....
The biggest problem is that if you use it I. A severely contaminated engine with lots of sludge and deposits, it can clog the oil pump pickup and starve the engine of oil, or it can plug the oil filter to the point that the bypass valve opens and you run all that crap through your engine bearings.
Thank you man!We need your expereance!
@@freedomworx Yes but that's with an engine that's in bad condition. I'm not a mechanic but it worked well for me. If that's the case then don't do it at all.
Hey man You should have used BG 109 engine flush. Supposedly that's the best of what's on the market. I'd be very curious to see a comparison between sea foam and BG. Congratulations to a great video and a super clean engine! :D
I've gotten a lot of recommendations for the BG products. I know they make good stuff. Maybe I'll buy a clunker to use it on 😎
No, the best on the market just became available to consumers, it's the BG Dynamic Engine Clean system, around $300, but it works even on super sludged engines. Several YT videos on it, check em out
Should have bought super Tech oil and save $$, it good, especially for this.
@@davidcaprio8919 Delvac was cheaper than Supertech when I bought it 🤷🏻♂️
One of the orangest filters money can buy 😂 Subbed! You put a LOT of time and effort into this. Not to mention time spent editing. Why didn't you use a scope tho??? I have always been skeptical about using Seafoam in a vehicle outside of anything with a carbeurator. Dug into some info after I heard about it and a lot of people were saying it was developed for use in marine vehicles. Hence the name "SeaFoam." I am going to try it in a lawnmower though. I'll leave intake cleaning to the pros. Because that, I am not lol.
It was developed for the fuel systems of 2-stroke outboards, but it's been useful in many applications since then. Kinda like Viagra wasn't invented to make your soldier stand at attention. I didn't use a borescope because there really aren't any good points on this engine to insert one. But I've got some firture tests coming up that I will utilize one.
I gave a like for the discussions you opened in the comments with people sharing valuable info
I appreciate the support 👍
3:52 when you're a cop and they asked why you arrested someone.
Ok…that’s a good one 😂😂😂
I hear a lot of people talking about junk staying at the bottom of the pan after you drain the oil. Put the plug back in, throw a quart of cheap sacrificial oil in take the bolt out. And proceeded on word
Great Idea 👍
@@freedomworx I have an old postal jeep with a Cummins 4B non turbo diesel in it and the oil doesn’t ever turn dark black. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
@bluegrasskid well are you talking about that color as it appears on the dipstick, or in a jar or pan? The older diesels, especially non-turbo, are much easier on oil. They have lower cylinder pressures, so they have less blow-by, and they do t have an EGR System dumping soot back into the intake stream.
Amazing work! Subscribed!
Thanks for the support 👍
Very entertaining and informative video, thanks! And keep it up
I’m glad you enjoyed it 👍
I swapped my LBZ factory oil pan for a PPE oil pan and the difference of oil color immediately after oil change was night and day. Been using Amsoil on her since I bought her new and at 210,000 miles never done a flush (BS) and she still runs like a clock. Your science is good ole American made🇺🇸🇺🇸COMMON SENSE🇺🇸🇺🇸. (Love the 30 mm go brrrrrtt).
Thanks. I speak Brrrrrt 🛩️🔫
Sea foam does clean to a point. It can also clean your front and rear main seal surface to a point where you would develop a leak with synthetic. As far as diesel oils. I tested Delvac, Rotella and Delo in my semi trucks one summer. I ran the same route and I always do 10K mile oil changes. The Delvac always held oil pressure for 1500 miles longer than Delo and 2000 miles longer than Rotella on the same hills, same outside temp before it would drop 5 psi. Delvac would make the full 10K before breaking down and dropping 5 psi on the gauge.
Interesting 🧐
Is a 5 psi drop a huge factor? What's the normal running oil psi in a tractor engine? What's the engine your runnig?im a new diesel mechanic. Trying to learn a bit.
Good job, thanks. Do you know what is Volvo's position on Engine Oil flushes on 2002 V70's ??
Thanks for watching 👍. I don’t know Volvo’s position. Sorry.
Good Job !!! Thanks. You did what i could never afford to do. Glad you're a "high earner". I don't mind learning from someone else's labor and $. Dang i hate changing oil myself.
I'm glad you enjoyed it 👍
You should hook up with Vice Grip Garage, he'll set you straight 😅
I’ve met a fella a couple times 😉
Been a mechanic since 1986 , an engine flushing fluid can be deadly for a Diesel engine that’s not been serviced regularly. Regular oil changes, (ie .. change oil and filter every 7000 miles), will be enough to prolong the engine life.. On a worn engine, as soon as you wash out all of the ash and carbon you can develop knocking and tapping in the bearings. Also, the muck ends up in the sump and filter thus restricting the oil flow. To be honest, your experiment was pretty good, it proved how quickly Diesel oils get contaminated. Even modern Diesels are no better, the more they do to reduce emissions the worse it’s got.. I’ve been converting my low mileage customers into petrol vehicles to reduce blocked DPF issues and expensive, unnecessary repair bills. My theory is, if you don’t do any more than 10,000 miles a year, don’t run a diesel. If that engine light comes on, it’s hell! 🙏🏼
Yeah, the emissions standards have really crippled the light duty diesel owners. With 10 Speed transmission, the gas engines can hold their own.
This happened on my 1991 Jeep Cherokee with the 4.0 L @ only 190,000 miles. It was obviously a well used engine with a bit of neglect but being the 4.0 it ran just fine. I literally put Seafoam into crankcase, checked the dipstick and turned it on to idle for 10 minutes before a test drive, but within 5 minutes at idle the engine developed all kinds of knocking, clunking and it started idling like crap. Basically it lost all of its tolerances and died. Sure cleaned the engine out but that engine would still be running today if I didn’t put that Seafoam in. Awesome video by the way!
Thank you for your great advice. Great video.
Thanks for watching. 👍
I normally use an Amsoil engine flush before every oil change, whixh is once a year or longer. I run amsoil singature series and a matching amsoil filter. The concensus seems to be that seafoam works the best. Any thoughts on the effectiveness of the amsoil flsuh versus the seafoam?
I’m sure it works the same as any other. I just don’t see the need to use it as regular maintenance. But I don’t know what vehicle or operating conditions you have.
“Science is expensive”😂😂😂😂
🤓
You blinded me with science.
I’ll do it with my shirt off next time. That’ll blind you also 😂
Not looking like Thomas Dolby
Thanks man. I appreciate your costly science test.
Thank you for watching 👍
I loved your explanation, thank you. Greetings from Denmark 🇩🇰
Thank you for watching 👍
Seafoam works good for me. Use it in everything, I just throw it in the oil about 1000 miles before each oil change and 2 cans in a full tank of fuel. Did valve cover gaskets my 300k mile Tacoma and it looks almost new inside 🤙🏽 I will say I can tell a difference in response and starts easier after the seafoam
Well the counterpoint to that is, I never used or any flush in my oil, my engines have 180k, 212k, and 257k. And they have all been absolutely spotless anytime I've opened them up.
@@freedomworx seafoam works for me
@@freedomisntfree_44 not using Sea Foam works for me 😉. I do use it in fuel periodically though.
@@freedomworx makes a difference for sure. It’s not meant to be a flush just more of a maintenance thing.
@@freedomworx and I’ve put in in the oil in a few older engines that clatter and make a little noise. Made it quieten up a lot
You hit the nail on the head with causing more harm than good, sometimes carbon is happy where it is and moving it can end up causing bad things to happen. Having overhauled quite a few diesels i can confirm they dont stay clean inside for long!
Yep. Once they go Black…well, you know the rest 😂
Thank you for your video, I’m thinking someone has me this but you definitely need to use ramps w/a Duramax because of the baffles in the pan. I use them and let the pile run and there’s still a lil old oil pan…
Yeah the Duramax oil pan definitely retains oil.
This was a great video! Very impressed.
I’m glad you enjoyed it 👍
A good way to tell if an engine flush is doing anything good. Take off valve covers & see how dirty it is. After you do the flush, pull them back off & I bet it looks a lot better. Draining it after a flush, will barely tell you anything, because you never get all the oil out during an oil change.
Sounds like work. 😉
Too much effort to show factual content.
u are right no pain no gain for car😁
I did that exactly on an old sludged up engine. Yes, it was noticeably cleaner.
@@freedomworx use a bore scope though the oil cap to look at the top.. My BMW X3 used had 110k miles on it. I looked with bore scope. Ran the liquid Moly over time of 3 oil changes (15k miles) then looked again and man what a difference.