Engine flush - a little extreme?
02-21-08, 06:32 AM
#18
02-21-08, 05:12 PM
#19
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I googled Bilstein flush and I found this Q&A:
Dear Tom and Ray:
While having my 1996 Toyota Camry (45,000 miles) serviced recently, the service technician handed me a brochure and told me it was time to have my engine flushed (to the tune of $129) by something called the Bilstein R-2000 Engine Flush System. I politely declined, saying I would consider it next time. The brochure says it should be done every 12,000 miles. In my 30 years (and my husband's 30-plus years) of driving, neither of us has ever heard of such a recommendation. Is this the latest attempt by dealers to "extort" more money from we unsuspecting drivers? Is such an engine cleansing REALLY necessary? I would appreciate your comments, please. -- Marilyn
Tom: I suspect this device is known around the dealership as the Bilstein R-2000 Wallet Flush System. And, in fact, my brother has already called Bilstein about leasing one.
Ray: What this thing does is pump a heated solvent through your engine, presumably to wash away any sludge that's built up on the valves, rings or other engine components.
Tom: And it's really quite unnecessary. Particularly for a car with only 45,000 miles on it. Changing the oil serves the same purpose -- de-sludgification, if you will -- and if you change the oil every 5,000 or 7,500 miles, you shouldn't HAVE any significant sludge that needs to be washed out.
Ray: While it's possible that such cleaning may help the engine last longer, the engine on a Toyota Camry should easily last 150,000 miles without flushing. And if you followed the advice in the brochure and flushed the engine every 12,000 miles, you'd spend $1,600 on engine flushes in 150,000 miles. That's almost enough to buy a rebuilt engine!
Tom: This is what's known in the business as a "profit center." Something the garage can use to beef up the amount each person spends per visit. So unless you've got a very old car, and are trying to solve a specific, sludge- or carbon-related-problem, I'd skip the R-2000.
Dear Tom and Ray:
While having my 1996 Toyota Camry (45,000 miles) serviced recently, the service technician handed me a brochure and told me it was time to have my engine flushed (to the tune of $129) by something called the Bilstein R-2000 Engine Flush System. I politely declined, saying I would consider it next time. The brochure says it should be done every 12,000 miles. In my 30 years (and my husband's 30-plus years) of driving, neither of us has ever heard of such a recommendation. Is this the latest attempt by dealers to "extort" more money from we unsuspecting drivers? Is such an engine cleansing REALLY necessary? I would appreciate your comments, please. -- Marilyn
Tom: I suspect this device is known around the dealership as the Bilstein R-2000 Wallet Flush System. And, in fact, my brother has already called Bilstein about leasing one.
Ray: What this thing does is pump a heated solvent through your engine, presumably to wash away any sludge that's built up on the valves, rings or other engine components.
Tom: And it's really quite unnecessary. Particularly for a car with only 45,000 miles on it. Changing the oil serves the same purpose -- de-sludgification, if you will -- and if you change the oil every 5,000 or 7,500 miles, you shouldn't HAVE any significant sludge that needs to be washed out.
Ray: While it's possible that such cleaning may help the engine last longer, the engine on a Toyota Camry should easily last 150,000 miles without flushing. And if you followed the advice in the brochure and flushed the engine every 12,000 miles, you'd spend $1,600 on engine flushes in 150,000 miles. That's almost enough to buy a rebuilt engine!
Tom: This is what's known in the business as a "profit center." Something the garage can use to beef up the amount each person spends per visit. So unless you've got a very old car, and are trying to solve a specific, sludge- or carbon-related-problem, I'd skip the R-2000.
02-22-08, 06:59 AM
#20
Instructor
Ha, Oil flush... Maybe it's more harmful to your engine to put in a solvent into your engine, than to chane your oil every 3k. At my dealership last night, i performed an oil changed on a 6 cylinder 98' Camry, had 228k miles on the original motor, with the factory grey silicone just starting to show some leaks. Oil was drained, a little dirty, but no worse for the wear. Customer changed oil every 3k miles (not religiously), and the only major service was a timing belt at 120k. Also a 93' Camry 4 cyl, 274k factory serviced since it was bought, still running all original internals, 2 timing belt/water pumps, thermostat, heater core, plugs and wires, and that's it! 93 Tacoma 4x4, 3.4 v6, 332k miles he said he switched over to mobil 1 syn around 200k and never had any problems. The reason why you oil turns black is because carbon is a bi-product of combustion of fuel/air, the reason why you change your oil is to remove that waste. Is it more harmful to not get ALL the oil out your engine, or if it more harmful to have a some residual solvent which is desgin to break down oil, left over after you flush, wouldn't you have some left over, since you can't drain ALL the fluids out of your engine?
I've been doing this to my GS for years and no problems, knock on wood. Other members that had the service done ( GS's in pics) can chime in to give their feedback..
02-22-08, 10:16 AM
#23
I agree with DASHOCKER, I've seen motors running off the shelf synthetic brands and the motors deinitely develope gunk. 100% synthetic oils dont break down nearly as easily under the temps and pressure our motors are put through as off shelf synthetic brands. I've been a fan of Mobil 1 for the longest time till I've actually used 100% 'Synthetic' Oil. So I think a good flush to get rid of some/most of the gunk build up in the motor at intervals is a good thing. This followed by actually putting 100% Synthetic oil would definitely ensure a cleaner motor, therefore a longer lasting motor.
02-22-08, 11:23 AM
#25
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