Ok, when I did my intake gaskets i noticed that the intake and the lifter valley are full of crud, as well as under the valve covers. All the parts are coated in crud and it feels really abrasive. I was wondering if I could use a high detergent oil to help clean it out a bit. If I do so for how long should I use it for? and what brand would be the best?

Thanks

 

If you dislodge it from where it is its going to places you don't want it. I would leave it alone if I were you. I know one guy had a 300K mile engine that ran perfect and after adding something to clean the gunk the motor went right after that.

 

Dang are you serious. That really sucks. I was just wanting to clean everything out at least a little bit. It's like nothing but carbon deposits.

 

This stuff is supposed to be pretty good, thoug I have never used it- I sometimes put some ATF into my oil, and run it lightly for 20 or 30 minutes before changing the oil- ATF is basically 30W oil with lots of detergents in it- but have a look at this site- like I said, I have no first-hand experience, but lots of guys swear by it:
http://www.auto-rx.com/

 

This is why you want to change oil regularly, and use a decent oil. I would leave it alone and change every 3k, but that is just me. If you dislodge stuff, your asking for trouble with oil passages and pump pickup. I have heard good things about auto rx, seafoam, and ATF, but wouldnt use them in your situation. Reg oil has way more detergent in it, than it used to. You might want to try one of the high mileage oils, that are geared towards cleaning. If your going to clean it, you want it to be slow.

 

I do change my oil every 3 thousand miles spot on. I use royal purple for every change. The reason it is like this is because of the previous owner I would assume. He told me he used penzoil and other cheaper oils. I haven't neglected changing the oil the whole time I've owned the car.

 

All brand oils, including penzoil, work well. If you like Royal Purple it's a personal choice. Perhaps the former owner just didn't change the oil and filter often enough. No matter how long a synthetic may last, it still gets dirty just like non syns.

You can always clean the crud off without running stuff through the engine. JMHO.

 

The stock high temp settings and conventional oil adds to the carbon buildup in the engine. It would be tough to get that junk out of there and not cause some kind of problem.

 

No problem man, not saying you dont, but it seems like your correct in assuming that the previous owner probably did not change on time.

 

ATF is NOT high detergent.
Diesel oils are high detergent.
AutoRX is good stuff that SLOWELY cleans so it is not dislodging particles.

 

So would it be safe to use Autorx or would I be better off just not worrying about it? I don't want to mess up anything.
Thanks everyone for the feedback.

 

Use a high quality synthetic oil... it will clean it out quickly, but not quickly enough to cause serious problems (it may expose a leak or something, but thats about it).

 

I've always heard it was.

 

Me, too. Something about holding particles in suspension rather than letting them settle out- Old hot-rodder's trick, been around for a long time-

 

bs!!!!!