Engine oil is an integral part of the engine, like other parts. As the vehicle is operated, engine oil loses its properties over time, and accordingly, it needs to be replaced. There are also a number of reasons why replacing a lubricant is a must. You can change the oil both at home and in service centers.
In an operating engine, a standard process of developing the properties of a lubricant, as well as its contamination by wear products of mechanisms and engine parts, occurs. There is a possibility of ingress of antifreeze, fuel and soot during the combustion of the fuel mixture.
The service book of the car indicates the recommended engine life without adding new fluid. In order to change the oil, it is necessary to take into account the frequency of replacement, which may depend on the hours of operation, the amount of fuel used or the kilometers traveled by the vehicle.
Units lubricated by using seasonal oils need to be replaced twice a year. The properties of seasonal fluids depend on the outside temperature. As a rule, in the spring and autumn periods, the engine is flushed when changing the oil. Driver reviews suggest that lubricants have different viscosities and effects on engine parts. Therefore, if it is not changed according to the season of operation, the engine life is significantly reduced.
Safety Precautions
Car maintenance (and in particular, oil filling operation) must be carried out in accordance with all safety requirements. As a rule, just before replacing it is necessary to let the engine cool down a bit so as not to result in injury in the form of a thermal burn. All work must be carried out with gloves and a respirator.
The main reasons for flushing the engine
- A common reason can be attributed to a change in the type of lubricant to be poured (synthetic-semi-synthetic-mineral, seasonal-demi-season).
- Change brand oil manufacturer.
- If you suspect that water or fuel could get into it.
- After acquiring a car from hand (to reduce the risk factor for premature wear of parts).
- After engine repair, and in particular after dismantling the cylinder head.
- Upon visual inspection and the detection of a large amount of soot on the parts and more sediment at the bottom of the pallet.
Methods and rules for flushing
There are currently several ways to flush the engine oil system :
- Chemical.
- Soft.
- Full volume.
- With forced movement of flushing fluid.
The choice of the method of how to flush the engine depends on the degree of wear of engine parts, used oil and operating conditions.
There is also a manual way to clean the motor from various blockages. In this case, the engine must be disassembled and, using rags, various brushes and detergents, manually clean the motor parts and mechanisms, as well as the unit. This cleaning method allows you to visually determine the presence of possible damage, more thoroughly diagnose parts and replace them, thereby preventing the possibility of more serious malfunctions.
Chemical
This is the most common engine flushing when changing oil. Reviews: an inexpensive way and is carried out in a short period of time with minimal financial costs. It is carried out quite simply.
Flush the old oil and let the engine idle for about fifteen minutes. Then mining is drained from the crankcase along with washing. The use of this method is quite effective, but at the same time it is not intended for cleaning motors with heavy deposits and pollution. As experts advise, this method serves as an excellent prevention against small soot and other deposits. It is recommended to use the chemical method every time a lubricant is replaced.
The main component of flushing preparations are solvents, which, in turn, contribute to the partial dissolution of mud deposits and give them mobility, and also raise the mud sediment from the sump.
In the event that the chemical cleaning of the power unit is carried out regularly, then the possibility of a dense burning layer on the crankcase walls is minimized, which, in turn, affects the wear of moving and adjacent parts of the motor.
Soft
This method is carried out by adding the drug to the motor lubricant approximately 250-500 kilometers before replacement. Means for washing the engine contains a lower concentration of solvents, which does not affect the viscosity and density of the oil. When using this method, mud deposits dissolve in oil gradually and at the same time acquire a finely dispersed structure, further mixed with an old agent. The disadvantage of soft flushing is the unpredictability of consequences for a heavily soiled unit. Therefore, this cleaning method should be carried out with caution and periodically checking the condition of the liquid.
Full volume
This is a more thorough and better flushing of the engine when changing the oil. Reviews about this method are positive due to the excellent performance at the end of washing operations. It is carried out as follows: the used oil is drained from the crankcase, the drain plug on the pan is twisted. Then flushing is poured into the engine and the engine is started for twenty minutes.
After that, the engine oil is drained. And its residues are removed by vacuum installation. Change the oil filter and fill in new oil.
With forced flushing movement
With this method, mining is completely drained from the motor, and the filter element is dismantled. Then, a hose from the forced circulation device is fixed to the filter fittings. The second hose is attached to the filler neck, and the third to the drain hole in the block pan. The device for cleaning the motor is equipped with a tank into which liquid for washing the engine is poured, and a filter. Under the influence of air pressure, the detergent enters the lubrication system of the motor, and the liquid is cleaned through the filter of the device. Thus, all dirt deposits of the engine are retained in the capacity of the filter element. Forced flushing is carried out on an idle unit.
At the end of the flushing, a filter is mounted on the engine, a full-volume flushing process is carried out with the engine starting for 20 minutes.
Car maintenance in this way can take up to one hour. But at the same time, the efficiency of the process is quite large. According to motorists' reviews, even strong soot and burning deposits can be cleaned, the intake grid of the oil receiver and all the oil channels of the unit are cleaned. The disadvantages of forced circulation circulation washing include the moment of complete removal of a film of lubricant from the surfaces of engine parts. This factor suggests that at the time of starting and in the first seconds of engine operation, the mechanisms and components of the motor operate without lubrication.
Depending on how the engine will be flushed, the price of the service will also be appropriate (from 3 to 5 thousand rubles).
Some practical tips
If you decide to carry out the process of changing the oil and flushing the engine yourself, then you should first decide on the choice of flushing fluid. It must correspond to the type of oil that is poured into the engine, as there are various types of cleaning fluids for synthetic and mineral oils. You should also consider the type of engine - gasoline or diesel.
On the detergent container are usually indicated: method of use, oil and engine compliance, detailed instructions.
For better cleaning, it is also recommended to purchase an additional oil filter directly for the washing process, after which it is dismantled and not used. To do this, it is quite enough to purchase a cheap filter element, which is not a pity to throw out later. This is necessary for cleaning flushing material and trapping debris fractions.
If it is not possible to clean the engine yourself, then you should contact the professionals. The service station has the necessary set of equipment and tools for this event. At the same time, experts will suggest carrying out any flushing method when changing the oil, as well as a large selection of cleaning products.
Domestic motors
As a rule, washing a VAZ engine does not differ in complexity of the process from washing power units of other manufacturers. The entire cleaning procedure should be carried out according to the instructions, using a high-quality cleaning material and a correctly selected brand of engine oil corresponding to the engine.
Flushing the fuel system of a gasoline engine
Many parts, components and mechanisms of the car have their own specific resource of working capacity and suitability, after which the parts must be changed or cleaned.
So, during the period of use of the car, regardless of the quality of the fuel, the elements of the fuel system become contaminated, which affects the operating modes of the power plant. New generation engines equipped with a fuel injection system have a low tolerance threshold for fuel quality. Especially motors with distribution and direct injection of the working mixture. At the same time, small nozzle cross-sections are often clogged with various foreign particles that are in the fuel. To prevent this type of malfunction, various coarse and fine filters are used in the system, which easily change when clogged.
Since the nozzles have an upper position corresponding to the engine, they are subject to high temperatures.
Therefore, the likelihood of resinous deposits in the nozzle passages is very high. An excessive percentage of heavy substances and sulfur is present in low-quality fuels, which affects this factor. In the process of clogging, the sizes of the channels of the nozzles change, thereby affecting the amount of fuel passed, up to the complete overlap and the moment of supply of the fuel mixture.
The fuel injector of the gasoline engine injection system is a complex electromechanical device consisting of high-precision parts that need constant maintenance. The engine nozzles are flushed in the order of scheduled maintenance and if the following problems occur: the unit starts up poorly, increased fuel consumption, microexplosions in the exhaust system, misfires in the cylinders, reduced dynamic characteristics of the power unit, frequent failure of the oxygen sensor. At the same time, washing the fuel system of a gasoline engine should be carried out on specially equipped stands, using high-quality flushing material of the appropriate types and standards. Only with the use of high-precision equipment can you achieve high-quality repairs and excellent engine technical performance.
What is flushing fluid?
The cleaning agent is made from not very expensive motor oil (mineral oil), which contains highly alkaline and other active additives that dissolve various negative deposits in the motor. All flushing can be divided into two categories of exposure: a long cleaning period and the so-called “fifteen minutes”.
Long-acting drugs were widespread about fifteen years ago. Cleaning the motor with such liquids was carried out in a certain period of time. At the same time, the car was operated only with flushing oil, after which it was removed, and ordinary motor oil was poured instead of it.
At the moment, this method of flushing is used very rarely, which is associated with financial costs for the process. Another disadvantage is the limitation of the speed mode of the car.
Oil for cleaning the unit does not fully protect the contacting parts of the mechanism, which can lead to their failure. The disadvantages include the impact on rubber seals and gaskets of various chemical reactions occurring in the crankcase. With prolonged use of this flushing, rubber parts lose their properties and begin to deteriorate, which subsequently leads to more expensive repairs.
More gentle is the quick flushing of the engine when changing the oil.
The feedback of motorists who regularly carry out this method is approximately the same: with the use of quick-action washes, the harmful effect of alkalis on the plastic parts of the motor has significantly decreased, since the procedure time itself has significantly decreased. It is important to note that high-speed flushing materials are divided into two types (by the method of their use).
The first type is a highly concentrated liquid that is packaged up to about 300 milliliters and used by pouring into old oil. The second cleanings are packed up to five liters in cans and are poured into the motor after draining the working out. In cases of using any of the two types of the drug, the unit should work for up to twenty minutes. Then the product is removed, and ordinary engine oil is poured.
However, how to carry out the washing process of the block and the engine or not to do this at all is a purely personal matter of every motorist. It all depends on the preferences of the owner and the degree of contamination of the power plant. But it must be remembered that the good condition of the engine lubrication system significantly extends its service life. And it doesn’t matter who gets to work - the service station or the car owner himself.