Weighing the advantages and disadvantages

1975 Mercury Comet - engine pics

Should you get your car’s engine washed? (Photo Credits)

The practice of Car Engine Flushing remains to be a hotly debated topic among car enthusiasts. While some quarters highlight the immense benefits it brings to a car’s engine, some aficionados meantime claimed it can be detrimental to a car.

The website Bottomlineinc.com says engine flushing is an unnecessary expense and that there is a work around in case a mechanic would suggest to perform such a procedure on one’s vehicle.

“They’ll claim this is the only way to clear years of sludge out of the engine. Trouble is, any sludge that an oil flush does dislodge could clog the oil pump pickup screen, causing more problems than it solves. What to do: Have your oil changed, not flushed. Get oil changes according to your vehicle’s maintenance schedule—that’s likely every 5,000 miles or 7,500 miles, not every 3,000 miles, the old rule of thumb. Lean toward a high-quality synthetic oil, such as AMSOIL or Mobil 1, assuming that synthetic oils are recommended as an option in your vehicle’s owner’s manual. These cost a few dollars more but do a far superior job protecting your engine.”

Read bottomlineinc.com’s full article with regard to other unnecessary vehicle maintenance service that car owners can just disregard.

Skip it

The website Popular Mechanics for instance listed down engine flushing as one of the unnecessary maintenance work that is performed in vehicles. “An engine that’s running too hot or one that’s neglected can sludge up, and if so, a flush is indicated. A quick peek into the oil-filler cap should let you see any deposits. It’s not a normal maintenance item.”

Check out the full article here.

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Bell Performance meanwhile shared a list of vehicle conditions that should call for car engine flushing.

“ (1) Vehicles with unknown maintenance records –  if you don’t know if the oil has been changed regularly (such as if you bought an older used vehicle), an engine flush is probably a good idea. (2) Vehicles with longer times between oil changes – nobody says you have to change oil every 3000 miles. You should be doing it according to the recommendations in the owners’ manual.  But regularly waiting longer intervals before changing the oil greatly increases the change of oil sludge forming. So it’s a good idea to run an engine flush every so often to get rid of that harmful sludge. (3) If the vehicle has had recent engine work – engine flushes can be a good idea here because they can remove leftover particulate that may be hanging around.”

Read more here.

Engine flush indeed has its own share of pros and cons.

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