A properly maintained engine that is using quality lubricants does not need these "miracle" cures. Additives to quality engine oil should only be considered when there is a specific issue that an additive may help, such as lifters that may be varnished up. If you have an engine that due to lack of care, has a build up of sludge, I don't think I would want to knock it all loose and have that garbage flowing through all the bearings and other machined surfaces in my engine. Buy quality oil and maintain it properly based on your driving habits and your engine will stay clean and run a long, long time.
Kind of interesting that my SA also does not subscribe to the once a year oil change promoted by MINI! His is still under warranty and he pays for one and the next under maint warranty.
For other posts commenting regarding my suggestion pertaining to using ATF may I suggest research as to how an oil system works on an internal combustion 4 cycle air cooled gasoline engine and also how the filter system functions on these engines. May I also suggest reading about the properties and many usages of ATF. Some may find it interesting to see that nowhere does the information give warning to the use of ATF as a temporary crankcase cleanser in a gasoline engine ? If someone where to find information contrary to my recommendation please post it so that I may correct myself in the future.
There is nothing chemically in ATF that would make it a better cleaner than engine oil. Most ATF's are 0w-20 or 5w-20 grades, so by thinning out the old oil it may drain more completely. This may be where using ATF as an engine flush got started.
There may have been a time, back when Motor Oil was made from the dead plants and not in a lab and we all used heavier weights like 20w50, that adding some ATF to the crankcase before a change made sense. Being a lighter weight lubricant it would thin down the contents of the crankcase allowing for a more thorough drain. However, in these time of 5w20 and even thinner 0 weight oils the thinning of the cranckcase contents is not needed.
The second portion is incomplete but sound enough. atf has more **detergents and anti foaming properties then refined oil used primarily in the crankcase.
The federal Government requires a chemical formulation and EPA breakdown annually on all petroleum products refined and/or sold in the US. You can fine some very useful information like wear factor and ash contents to find the truth to which oils are really the best for a specific application.
** simple test if you have an oil stain in your driveway use atf and rinse with water. Then come back and tell me "There is nothing chemically in ATF that would make it a better cleaner than engine oil" :lol:
That's kind of what I was thinking.......so why get one of these to only capture what is in the pan and not really causing any harm to anything? The metal should stay in the pan or get caught in the filter.............. right?
It should. Some of the material will probably make it past the filter and just settle in the bottom of the pan. If there is any sludge on the bottom, it will probably become embedded in that.
That garbage has a habit of finding its way into all kinds of little nooks and crannys, so over a couple of oil changes with a magnet, you should get just about all that material out of the crankcase.
It couldn't hurt to have to help you know of an impending failure though.
I'll be doing another change of both engine and gear oil at our next MetroplexMINI DIY day Oct 31. Neither really needs it but I'm doing it to document what the magnets pickup.
Regarding the oil temp sensor on cars (where it's threaded into the drain plug) where do the later cars with the Chrono package have their temp sensor? I thought it was possibly near the filter housing but can't confirm this, maybe swapping to that setup for a sending unit would be ideal rather than tapping the pan somewhere else.
As for ATF in the oil as a flush, I'm skeptical since one would think if ATF made a good cleaning agent it would be marketed as such. I'd feel much better about using something like the Seafoam system for cleaning and even that I'm not 100% sold on (although I may try it soon since I plan to replace the plugs and O2 sensor before too long)
opcorn:
