is an oil flush necessary?
 

i usually do my own oil changes, but come winter time, i bring in my own oil and filter and get someone else to do the work while i just pay for the services.

went to get a oil change done yesterday, was about 8000k since the last one, the guy comes up to me, asks me how long ago it was, told him its been around 8000k, then he's like "you see how dark that oil is? it's beacuse it's been a while since it's been changed, we recommend we do an oil flush so we can get all that gunk out of your engine"

lights went off in my head and i was thinking to myself: "gimmick"? i change my oil every 7500k so why would i need to flush it out? but...ignorance is bliss. i just wanted to confirm with you guys if this was necessary at all, that way i can just refuse it next time and save the extra $45.

If I recall correctly, Honda does not recommend flushing of any kind. Under normal driving conditions, oil changes every 10K is recommended; under severe driving conditions every 5K. Oil turns dark as it's broken down.

Yup. Honda does not recommend any type of chemical flush. If I have some internal gunk to clean out, I just do the ATF trick. 4 qts of el cheap-o oil 1 qt of el cheap-o ATF. Drain out old oil. Put cheap oil and atf in. Idle car for 15-20 min. Proceed with oil change as normal.

might be a stupid question, but wouldn't that be the same thing as flushing? you're draining old oil, running car until old oil is out, then refill with the new oil? unless there is a misunderstanding on the terminology?

Nope. A flush is a chemical agent or detergent that essentially "degreases" the internals of the engine. The it's mixed with fresh oil and ran so the engine continually has lubrication. The issue with most flush chemicals is that they're hard on the cylinder linings where the piston rings contact the lining and accelerated wear can be caused at that point because the flush chemicals is not an oil, but rather a solvent of sorts. What I was proposing was before one performs the standard oil change, you drain out the old oil, put in fresh new oil, substituting 1 qt for ATF. Since ATF is detergent rich, the detergents clean up the internals of the engine while keeping everything lubed up because you did not use a solvent. Then after allowing the 4:1 oil/atf to run at idle for 15-20 min, you drain that out, put on a new filter and your normal choice of oil.

i always assumed that flushing entailed draining the oil, putting new oil for a bit, running it until the old runs completely out, then put in your new oil and you're good to go. i had no idea flushing was adding solvents into the engine itself. i don't remember them putting any solvents into my engine but then again, they had a line of gas pump lookalike thingys that could of been the solvent tools...oh well. first and last time i agree to it.

i always put a flush into the endine oil for bout 10/15 mins before a oil change wont do any harm, wynns is the make of flush or bardhall is fine contains kerosene etc, there cheap to buy usually less then half a liter

I agree with most of the above, save your money. 8K miles should be OK for an interval, but if you want to spend that $45, send a sample to Blackstone (it actually costs about half that) for analysis. That's really the only way to tell what's going on with your engine. I think you'll find you're alright at that mileage. Just make sure your air filter element is good, change the oil filter too, and you should be all set. Oil turns dark in color due to the chemicals added to the oil for viscosity management and energy conserving purposes, it has little to do with how old or dirty the oil is. And the over the counter "flushes" are little more than diesel fuel with color and a few chemicals added. All they really do is thin your oil so save your money there too (I used to sell Wynn's products).

101,000 miles now, and I follow the service light on the dash. For the past two years, though, fresh oil is black after 500 - 1,000 miles. If I vtec alot, I use oil - but nobody knows where it goes - but if I don't vetc, I don't use oil.

I'll try the AFT trick, and see if it makes a difference.

Burning oil is usual with VTEC engine. Typical fix with that is start going on a motor oil hunt to find one that your engine likes and doesn't burn or go up in weight. The ATF trick is more-so to clean out the gunk within the engine. What kind of oil and weight are you running?

Found this on the acura site. Short answer is 'no'.

No Oil System Flushing

Acura strongly recommends against this process, which is sometimes called "engine flushing." Any engine damage resulting from this procedure will not be covered under

http://owners.acura.com/Maintenance/...riodicflushing

No Oil System Flushing

Acura strongly recommends against this process, which is sometimes called "engine flushing." Any engine damage resulting from this procedure will not be covered under

http://owners.acura.com/Maintenance/...riodicflushing[/QUOTE]

Correct link:
http://owners.acura.com/Maintenance/...riodicflushing

How many miles before the first wallet flush?