Is there something I can poor into my engine before changing the oil?

[orangeblast22]

I have a 2006 V6 and I need to change the oil soon. I was wondering if there was some kind of cleaner solution or something that I can pour into my engine first before I poor in fresh oil. Some kind of internal engine cleaner or something.

Any ideas?

EDIT: Quick google search shows that most people think doing such a thing is a negative to the engine. What are T4R owner thoughts?

 

[hearno]

Sea foam is popular. I just put half a can in my crankcase and changed the oil 100 miles later. The other half went in the tank. It had around 3k on it and it was synthetic. It came out nasty and it was the oil from the first time I changed it since I bought it. I only did it because I wasn't the original owner and don't know much about the maintenance history of the truck. I have noticed that everything I've done, trans, diff, coolant fluids etc, came out really clean so I'm guessing the PO took good care of it. If you've owned since new and stayed on top of your oil changes, I wouldn't really worry about it tho.

 

[92-SR5]

X2 on seafoam. Great product.

 

[orangeblast22]

Seafoam eh? So how does it work? Do I just put it into where the oil goes? Do I add it to new oil?

Sounds intimidating. Maybe someone can explain it to me like I'm five, haha.

 

[BaseRunner]

Seafoam eh? So how does it work? Do I just put it into where the oil goes? Do I add it to new oil?

Sounds intimidating. Maybe someone can explain it to me like I'm five, haha.

Don't pour it into new oil. Do it when you need a oil change, say you got 300 miles to go before you need a oil change. Get a can of seafoam and pour half of it where the oil goes (crank case). Then pour the rest of it straight into the gas tank. Drive it for 100 miles and then go change your oil. What the seafoam does is it liquefies everything in there and cleans it up really good. Good luck!

 

[brocktice]

I've heard you can put in some ATF and run it for a minute before draining. No idea whether it's a good idea. I've never done it. It was recommended to me by a mechanic at an off-road garage to clean an old poorly maintained engine.

I put in new rod bearings and full synthetic instead.

 

[<<<<]

Don't put ATF in engine. ATF is hydraulic fluid, not oil. Why do you need to pour anything in there? Just new high quality oil will do fine.

 

[brocktice]

Yeah it seemed like voodoo to me.

 

[nevada]

I've heard you can put in some ATF and run it for a minute before draining. No idea whether it's a good idea. I've never done it. It was recommended to me by a mechanic at an off-road garage to clean an old poorly maintained engine.

I put in new rod bearings and full synthetic instead.

ive heard this as well. I don't think it would hurt anything, and its supposed to clean very well.


OP, why do you think you need to clean it?

in the past, for whatever reason if the oil was really dirty, and I wanted to clean it I just used a motor flush. it works well. add it prior to changing the oil, run the engine for 5-10 minutes, then change it.

 

[Top Shelf Synthetics]

I used the Amsoil Engine Cleaner before I swapped to synthetic at 75K. Similar to seafoam and others, pour in before oil change, run for 15-20 min and change oil. I changed the filter out beforehand too, just to have a fresh filter to catch anything that might be removed from the flush.

 

[huntsonora]

Just use a high quality oil and filter and keep in changed. If you have to try something there is a product called Kreen that gets high praise on BITOG.

 

[thzpcs]

It's not 100% necessary to put anything into the oil before a change. If you really want to, Seafoam, Marvel Mystery Oil, and BG 44K are always the most reccomended options. Put them in about 100 miles before the change, and then go about it as normal. Definitely helps a bit in getting some extra carbon out.

 

[huntsonora]

It's not 100% necessary to put anything into the oil before a change. If you really want to, Seafoam, Marvel Mystery Oil, and BG 44K are always the most reccomended options. Put them in about 100 miles before the change, and then go about it as normal. Definitely helps a bit in getting some extra carbon out.

BG44k is a fuel injector cleaner that goes into the gas tank