j_mezz Posted December 7, 2012 Report Share Posted December 7, 2012 This isn't about the process of changing the LIM, I've found a Ton of walk-throughs and threads about that (thanks to all who've contributed!). This is about the elephant in the room - all the mess that's still left after the LIM is replaced. My primary concern is the oil. I'll do an oil and filter change after it's back together, and I've already cleaned up the valve covers and top of the heads but it seems to me that that still leaves a lot of places for more of that Dex/Oil mix to hide - like the sides and bottom of the oil pan, the oil cooler, and all of the channels that the oil travels in. Assuming that I am able to successfully re-assemble everything (if I don't it'll be the prettiest engine bay in the junk yard!), and I do a second oil change after a couple of days\miles, isn't there still a pretty good likelihood that my lifters will get clogged again within the first few hours of operation? Could I clean out the oil pan a little better by flooding\draining it with WD-40 (or something) a couple of times? Should I clean the oil cooler out? I'm also concerned about the coolant, will it Ever run clean again? I guess a good flush will get rid of most of it so I won't worry about that at this point. So am I just being paranoid or are there other steps that I can\should take to clean things out a little better? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted December 7, 2012 Report Share Posted December 7, 2012 not that i suggest running it for a very long time, but kerosene is a decent lubricating agent with excellent cleaning capabilities. right before i needed an oil change, i dumped a quart of kerosene into the crankcase, drove 25 miles to town, let the engine sit for a few hours, drive 25 miles back and changed the oil. noticable change in the color of the oil in those 50 miles, so it dissolved something quite dark(probably ancient sludge from some neglected oil changes) and got it into the rest of the oil where it left the pan after the oil change. oil was significantly thinner after this as well. do NOT go anywhere near full throttle with kerosene in the crankcase, you'll likely eat main bearings if you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted December 7, 2012 Report Share Posted December 7, 2012 Once the motor is put back together, put 3qts of oil in it and 1qt of dexron trans fluid. Start it, let it warm up, then change the oil and your done. Anything in the coolant will eventually work its way to the resiviour, so just that that out, clean it, then fill with fresh coolant. Over the course of 100miles, then youll have fresh coolant again if anything did happen to get trapped in the coolant. I would rather use trans fluid rather than kerosene... just less of a chance for something to go wrong. Especially if you dont know exactly what your doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted December 7, 2012 Report Share Posted December 7, 2012 i've used trans fluid before as well... thinned the oil considerably, but it didn't change the color of the oil other than tinting it slightly red, so i assume it's capability as a solvent isn't that great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted December 7, 2012 Report Share Posted December 7, 2012 Only reason i suggested that was because atf is a cleaning agent. But I guess it depends on how much coolant mixed with oil and how long its been driven like that for. Honestly, I didnt even do that when I did the LIM on my car way back in the day. I just put oil in it, warmed it up, and changed the fluid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_mezz Posted December 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2012 (edited) I think the stuff got mixed up pretty good, every lifter was stuck and there was some pretty big deposits of that brown 'dirt'. I suspect most people just do the double oil change and let it go at that, I just feel like cleaning only what I can see isn't doing enough. I think the kerosine concept is doing more of a flush which closer to what I thought I needed. The coolant isn't as much of an issue because I can have some floaters in there and it won't get me in too much trouble. Gasket set should be arriving within the next day or two, thanks for the info! Would love to hear other comments\suggestions! Edited December 7, 2012 by j_mezz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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