Took off the intake manifold for my Oldsmobile Delta 88 with the 307[/URL]. In the valley I found one frozen lifter, one broken lifter and a lot of sludge. Some of the sludge clogs the [URL="http://www.oldsmobileforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4095#"]oil (http://www.oldsmobileforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4095#) holes. An older neighbor of mine, a former mechanic, said to scoop out as much sludge as I can with a putty knife. The next part sounds a little crazy.

He said to drain the oil out of the pan and filter then to fill the engine (http://www.oldsmobileforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4095#) up to to the top with Kerosine. Then let it set for a few days and drain it out. He said the sludge and dirt will drain out. He said he has done this with two cars (http://www.oldsmobileforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4095#) and it works well.

Is this crazy or not?

I'm no expert.........But that sounds good to me. If he has done it twice.......go for it.

Your neighbour is correct and most likely a Jedi. That in fact is a good way to clean out the old oil and sludge from your system. Many of "engine flush" products are essentially coloured kerosene and do the same thing.

When I want to change my oil, I often add a little bit of kerosene, idle the engine for a few minutes while it's warm and then drain it. The oil will come out easier and you may notice sludge coming out as well.


You could even technically replace the oil completely with kerosene and drive it, as kerosene is a very good lubricant for the engine and it would make it as clean as a whistle. The problem? After a two blocks of driving, the kerosene would evaporate.

I'd do what your neighbour suggested, and even repeat the process once more just to make it extra clean.

Once you've cleaned it with kerosene, you may notice that you will leak oil a little, as the seals that the oil has will be gone. So after the procedure check the level and keep a quart or two just to top it up frequently. In no time it will be back to normal and running much nicer.


Disclaimer: I personally wouldn't recommend this procedure for the newer cars, with a ton of electronic gadgets as they're just too darn fussy. If you want to add very *little* to the oil when you want to change it, that should be fine though.

Thank you for the logical advise Mr. Spock. Wise the Jedi is.

Live long and prosper.