Oil Treatments
 

I've gota 92 se......and i think the lifter are geting a bit sticky....i read jesse's link about oil flushes.....and i was wondering.....which oil flush is the best...and should i do it my self...i really want to get rid of the problem...b/c i'm saving up for shocks...or paint...havn't decided yet.....and i don't want to have to do and overhaul.....or it may not be worth doing anything to my car.....its got 240k on it...but the tranny has 90 k on it..and new water pump....timing belt and fornt dirve axels.....so ......the less to the engine the better.... any input wouild be great...thanx

well this is really generalizing,but pretty much all oil TREATMENTS are crap!!!just use regular old 10W-30 or maybe 20W-50 in a higher mileage engine...or better yet go full synthetic...but all those add ins are pretty much some form of kerosene,or worse yet PTFE which are solids and can plug your filter...flushes are BAD,it lowers viscosity in the old oil which is bad to begin with so you get MORE metal on metal....the only way to remove the gouges in cylinder walls is to to a rebuild,which to mew is WAY to expensive on a 4 banger...cheaper to replace the engine

What about oil grunge build up ......the crap in the oil that builds up.....isn't that what a flush gets rid of...???

it's supposed to yes....but more often than not it makes no difference or actually harms the engine...ive tried this before on past cars and actually ended up with MORE lifter noise...try a heavier weight oil...that should help

Here's my thoughts - a good flush is a good thing, but oil additives aren't. I've used an AMSOIL engine flush several times in older cars and it does a great job of cleaning out the crap, but you have to follow it up with a quick oil change, then another. Here are the steps:

Get the engine nice and warm
Pour in flush and let the car run for 20-30 minutes at a fast idle
Drain everything out
Add some good petroleum oil and a new filter
Drive for about 1,000 miles, this will clean more crud from your engine
Drain the oil and change the filter
If you aren't burning oil, install a GOOD synthetic (Mobil 1, AMSOIL, Redline - not Quaker State/Penisoil/etc., they're not worth the money)
It it's using oil, put in a quality petroleum oil

If this doesn't clean the engine and quiet things down, you need to start saving money to replace parts.

tom

I am currently in the middles of the oil flush procedure on this page: http://www.mazdamaniac.com/v6/hla.htm
I've finished step 2 .... and I think I can notice a slight difference in the HLA's being quieter... step 3 will be the big one.
I'll post back and let you know how it goes.

thanx all...
 

I think that i will flush it and do the follow up ....i have some $ saved up so if i need it ...it's there...

How is valvilene.....the max life for high milage engines.....last time i added oil i used that ..and it seems a little better......it's been in for three days....is that stuff ok for these cars??

I have used that max life for my past three oil changes. I put in the 5w-30 and the pro likes it. I have also gone away from the oil additives. She also burns oil a little, do to bad valve seals and has some noise coming from the HLA's but not worth fixing yet.