Thread: ENGINE FLUSH - 1999 Grand Prix

So i'm doing a gasket replacement...i'm a total novice but i'm down to the engine block finally after a couple days...had all the tools including shop-vac and breaker bar. Now here's my problem...

The shop vac cleaned up most of the sludge that came from a motor oil/coolant mix because the gaskets failed. I'm past that...what i want to know is...how can i flush the engine while its open because i still have sludge and brown milky fluid in small crevices and such...

My idea was, i wanted to flush it all out while i have it open before i go putting everything back, lubricating, thread locking, sealing and the list goes on...i would like to know how i can go about it on my own. To flush out the remaining sludge...the radiator is already flushed but the engine is sitting there with headers exposed and i can clearly see sludge and some areas where liquid still is that i cannot reach.

I have everything i need to rebuild everything back up...just have no clue how to flush the remaining sludge out of engine...the engine oil has already been removed via the drain plug...the oil filter has been removed, drained the area and wiped clean. i just need to flush the rest out and the drain plug and oil filter areas are no longer releasing any fluid. It must be stopped up somewhere. People have mentioned remedies but i want to go with the most logical one. i have heard of diesel fuel, acetone all types of stuff...but logically i dont think those are the answers.

so if you read this much so far...you should know where i'm at:

How do i flush sludge, coolant/oil mix, debris from an open and exposed engine block?

How do i clean the engine block to allow for easy draining through the drain plug again?

and please don't go off topic on this...i really need help...i'm driving a damn truck around thats costing me 100 dollars a week in gas when i could go back to spending 35 to 40 dollars a week in gas in my grand prix!

My dad who was a head mechanic for a Chrysler dealership and later The New York City Transit Authority (All mechanics in NY answered to him title really was Superintendent of NYCTA.) Would take engines granted this was in the 70's and 80's not sure if this would work on newer cars he would stick a hose in the water jacket and turn it on flush it out out. Then he would put 4 quarts of kerosene with 1 quart of 10-30 oil and a can of stp in a picture, stir it up put it in the crankcase and let it run for 15-20 minutes drain it run 10-30 through it for 1,000 miles then drain it and change the oil

Well first of all congratulations on having the courage to do this yourself, I believe the hardest part of something like this is taking the first step and jumping right in. I'm not aware of a way to clean the block while its dismantled, but that doesn't mean there isn't a way a suppose. Personally I wouldrun some rotella t "diesel oil" after you get it back together. The diesel oil contains a lot more detergents that should clean all that stuff up for you. Or you could use seafoam in the crankcase but make sure to use the correct amount and not the whole bottle and don't run it for more than like 100 miles