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Thanks for the helpful suggestions. A few comments:
--The label on Gunk motor flush specifically says DO NOT DRIVE THE VEHICLE (all caps) after you've poured in the stuff -- you're supposed to add it to a COLD engine and idle only for five minutes.
--After noticing the lifter noise, I used some other brand of oil flush, added it when the engine oil was truly HOT (ie about 20 miles on the freeway, plus stop and go driving) and the engine idle for about 15 minutes. Then I drained the oil while still warm. Actually, very LITTLE sludge came out with that batch. No difference in noise levels.
--re lifter noise, I talked to a guy at the local Saab dealer's service department, and he said that if I'm hearing lifter noise, the damage has already been done. True or BS? (Also, to put this discussion in more perspective, the dealer's labor cost to clean the screen would be $760. And I CANNOT do it myself because I'm moving to Hong Kong the day after Christmas, and have to do annoying things like packing -- and replace the Saab's drive belt pulleys and tensioner and my free time).
--I could do a "routine" engine-oil flush again with Gunk (probably better stuff than what I used), but my problem (I think) is that any more sludge that is released still has to get through the screen before the oil filter can catch it -- possibly making matters worse.
--another idea (related to one of the previous suggestions).
1) get the engine oil hot, then add mineral spirits or Gunk engine flush
2) do some sloshing so the solvent mixes with the hot oil.
3) remove the oil filter and send some bursts of compressed air down the filter's supply line, toward the oil pump and pan. In theory, this would create a mini-flushing action for the intake screen by pushing a "slug" of hot oil/solvent BACKWARD (down) through the screen, followed by air bubbles that would help move any expelled sludge away from the screen. (it would be kind of like running water over a mesh-type coffee filter from the outside to remove coffee grounds from the inside).
2) after air pressure is removed, the hot oil/solvent would then flow naturally FORWARD through the screen as the fluid finds its level.
3) then repeat the process as many times as I want.
4) when I'm done, drain solvent and add new oil/filter. If this procedure is correct, I should see quite a bit of sludge debris in the solvent that I have drained (currently, the pan is quite clean from my recent oil flush).
I wouldn't use huge air pressures -- certainly no higher than typical internal oil pressures. And the Bilstein oil flush machine used by some service places does the same thing -- only continuously and through the entire oil system. That machine also creates a reverse flush (and is hooked up at the filter connection).
--Speaking of that, has anyone here obtained a Bilstein oil flush, and were they satisfied? It costs about $130 (if I can find somebody who can do it on a Saab). Here are a couple of links describing the process:
http://www.oilchangeguys.com/Bilstein%20R-2000%20Engine%20Flush%20System.pdf
http://www.engineflush.com/pages/why.html
--and finally, while I think the noise is caused by oil semi-starvation, could it be something else? It's NOT the belt tension and pulleys, even though I'm replacing them.
Any more comments, feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.
Graham
posted by 24.250.118...
, Fri, 16 Dec 2005 15:33:16
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