Engine oil flush

[Mickhar]

Hi everyone I’ve just been reading about engine oil flushing additives on the internet has anyone done this and what is your opinion.

 

[Badjamin]

Thread 'Change engine oil and flush with more oil, useful or useless?'

5 Mar 2025

Hi everyone, I plan to change the engine oil myself, so I looked for more information and videos on the subject to do it in the best way. The idea was to try to clean the engine a bit from debris (I bought the van that already had 200k km) but I don't trust using additives like flush, because I'm afraid of possible damage. I saw the video that I'll link below where the guy who does the oil change suggests doing one or more washes with half oil to clean the engine, but this also scares me a bit, so I ask you experts for an opinion, could it be useful? Or do you have your own method? Or do...

• Mala23
• Replies: 2
• Forum: Engine, Gearbox, Exhaust, Drivetrain

 

[Wieczor]

using an oil flush every time I change (max 10.000km) the oil in my other (CR) cars for years (transporter is still too new, so no oil service so far yet).
Number of times talked to professionalists to get theirs opinion. The most of them recommends as it helps to keep engine clean.
In the worst scenario it's just cleaning / helps to keep clean (heard once that kind of opinion as well) my pocket
Anyway engine looks fine. Question is if it's result of using additive or relatively frequent oil change.

And the most important - your car, your money, your responsibility and consequences.

 

[Sasquatch]

Lubes and fuels my technical speciality.

Unless a seriously wrong grade of oil has been used, the engine allowed to go well beyond the interval between services, or there is fuel/coolant/excessive moisture contamination of the old oil it's a pointless exercise.

On the other hand, if you use an appropriate ungent of suitable quality it does no harm, and if it helps you sleep at night then its done some positive, so why not?

So I don't recommend against it at all, I just don't actually recommend it unless there is some defined technical justification.

Personally I don't imbibe.

 

[Mickhar]

Hi Sasquatch thank you for your message I have never used engine flush myself my van has only done 47000 in ten years and due to driving some short journeys I change the engine oil every 3000 miles as a precaution. I always use Castro edge 5-30 fully synthetic or Mobil 1 , I know engine flush used to be a thing years ago but I guess oils have improved over the years making it unnecessary.

 

[Sasquatch]

I change the engine oil every 3000 miles as a precaution.

You most definitely don't need a flush then!