Motor flush

What are your feelings on motor flush additives? If you do use them what do you recommend for the 5.3?

If you follow good maintenance and use good synthetic oil and a good filter, WIX, you should be ok, BUT, if you want to do it for s*h*i*t*s and giggles, I would use Sea Foam.

tekfire07 said:

1. What are your feelings on motor flush additives?
2. If you do use them what do you recommend for the 5.3L?

Click to expand...

1. There are precious few things I'd ever add to any motor oil.
Of those, they'd all get added at the beginning of the oil change, and stay for at least 500 miles before I change the oil and filter again.
Anything that MUST leave the crankcase in 30min or less, makes me nervous enough to think I shouldn't leave it in there for 10min.

This is the only thing I've ever added to ANY engine / motor oil:

2. How would that recommendation change for the 5.3L?
If the additive is safe for use in a GM 5.3L, then it'd be safe in a 4.8L, 5.3L, 5.7L, 6.0L, 6.2L, 6.6L, 7.0L ...
If the additive is safe for use in a GM Gen3 or Gen4 V8, why would it not be safe in any other engine regardless of displacement or make?

3. I'd put that LubeGard BioTech Engine Protectant in ANY motor oil / engine.

I use marvel mystery oil personally with 10w40 oil
I run mine the full cycle until I change the oil again
I also put some in the gas tank when I run out of B12

Trey Hardy said:

I use marvel mystery oil personally with 10w40 oil
I run mine the full cycle until I change the oil again
I also put some in the gas tank when I run out of B12

Click to expand...

Although I've never tried it myself - it's MYSTERY OIL, damnit! How am I supposed to trust it if you won't tell me what's in it?! - I cannot argue with the fact that it's been around longer than I've been alive and I've heard ZERO negative comments about it in that time.

if I was going to put any snake oil in my engine I would use something reputable like Liqui Moly, Amsoil
then follow it up with a couple 15-20 minute oil changes back to back.
you couldn't pay to me to use sea foam unless that was a last ditch effort before replacing the engine.
the local dealer used to offer a engine flush service with a machine but they stopped doing it a number of years back because it's really not effective.

All the above are good suggestions. I've found that using ATF or MMO for the last 500-1000 miles of the oil change works well. The oil will come out dark, showing carbon and deposits being dissolved. But, if it's an engine that's been neglected forever in the oil change department, be cautious and do a few short interval changes. That crud breaks loose and can plug shit up if left in too long.

I should have included that, like has been said, change the oil very soon after.

tekfire07 said:

What are your feelings on motor flush additives? If you do use them what do you recommend for the 5.3?

Click to expand...

If you've been running good quality synthetic, you shouldn't need anything. They're too easy to use improperly and can do more harm than good. Diluting and thinning out the oil doesn't set right with me. Adding a harsh chemical to abruptly break away chunks of sludge can cause problems worse than the sludge might be causing.

Take an hour of a weekend day to pop off a valve cover. This will tell you just how clean your engine is on the inside and if you need to take any actions. It'll cost you nothing but time but can save you thousands.


Here's mine around 190K after my ownership since 146K and running Pennzoil Platinum with maybe one or two cycles of Mobil1:




No sludge. Just some oil staining on the rockers and springs. An engine flush additive would only dilute and water-down the oil. Not necessary and not worth the risk!

I like to use Valvemedic the Gray bottle every 2nd oil change. Worked great for for lifter noise, fixed a couple DOD lifters on this product.