What oil or oil "add in" to clean out dirty, filthy, probably sticky piston rings? This is not something that is ever required with engines that have spent all their miles in my care, but I fear that an Italian Tuneup will not be sufficient by itself in this case.
Exprirences, ideas, out-right knowledge?
I want to say ATF, but I'm not 100% sure.
Get it hot, pour seafoam into the spark plug holes, let sit for a while, crank without plugs by hand to push extra out if it hasn't all run into the oil, put a couple drops of oil or atf in each and fire it up. 300 miles before an oil change dump a little into the oil to clean old oil varnish out too.
I don't know if this works for rings - but it cleans carbon off pistons and removes varnish from the internals pretty well. I imagine it will clean the gunk gumming up the rings if that is really your problem. Easy way to check - does putting some oil in the cylinder greatly improve a compression test? If not the problem is likely valves/seats/buildup.
Back in the day I bought a Camaro that had been neglected and was sitting with really nasty oil in it. An old time mechanic told me to drain oil, remove, drain, reinstall filter. 5 quarts of kerosene. Start car, let it idle a couple of hours. Drain, replace oil (low viscosity) and filter. Go for a long drive. Change oil and filter. Worked for me.
Some interesting ideas. What else does Hive have?
Marvel Mystery Oil
50/50 MMO/diesel restored some compression in an old boat motor (really a Stovebolt Chevy).
Poured it in the cylinders and let it soak for a few days. Cranked it over with no plugs, then changed the oil.
WildScotsRacing wrote: Some interesting ideas. What else does Hive have?
I've heard these remedies too. If you can run a windshield washer injection system (like for a turbo car,) it will definitely clean the tops of your pistons, maybe help with the rings too. Change the oil a lot, feed it lots of Seafoam and drive the piss out of it.
Reality is you might just have to keep it topped off with oil.
Italian tune up worked on my old 1.6 Miata. Started a track weekend with it burning quite a bit of oil per session, to the end of the 2nd day it burning a negligible amount per session.
My 1.6s have been happy getting a quart of ATF and 3 quarts of 5w40 followed by an Italian tune up. It shuts the valves up and drops lots of nasty stuff out of the drain, although I haven't pulled one apart after to see just how clean it made things.
Carbon and gack behind the rings requires a teardown. There is no way to get it out even if you can get it loosened up.
ATF or seafoam has always been a go to for me
outasite wrote: Back in the day I bought a Camaro that had been neglected and was sitting with really nasty oil in it. An old time mechanic told me to drain oil, remove, drain, reinstall filter. 5 quarts of kerosene. Start car, let it idle a couple of hours. Drain, replace oil (low viscosity) and filter. Go for a long drive. Change oil and filter. Worked for me.
Am I reading this wrong? Idle a couple of hours with kerosene as the only crankcase lubricant?!
In reply to Duke:
Yes, just idling. I questioned it as well. Looked like crude oil when I drained it out. Never experienced any ill side affects. Drove it hard (350 4bbl 4 spd). Sold it to a GI headed for Germany and wanted to sell it after his tour.
Yeah, running it that long with just kerosene in there is a bad idea.
add a 1/2 gallon of diesel fuel to the oil. ATF works similarly.
One caution, the diesel will soften rubber
Soon as I get it buttoned up Ima change the oil before I start it. OK, so I've narrowed it down to subbing in a quart of either ATF or MMO for a couple hundred miles, and running a couple tablespoons of it down the gaps all the way around before I drop the head on. That will give it a few hours to soak into the rings by the time It's ready to fire up.
Poll time: which to use, ATF or MMO?
i vote ATF only because i have seen it work, but i have nothing to discredit MMO
If you have the head off I'd be inclined to let them soak in kerosene or diesel.
rslifkin wrote: Yeah, running it that long with just kerosene in there is a bad idea.
Yeah, the bearings and rings probably won't care, but the cam will.
I've always heard more like a single quart of kero or diesel.
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