Oil Change Idiocy

[EternityofNight]

Greetings,
I decided to change my oil today, so when I got home from the store I got under the car with a socket and removed the drain plug from the front. I was surprised at how less oil than expected came out, but then I turned my attention to the oil filter. That thing was stuck tight and my filter wrench didn't fit, so I stabbed the bastard with a big screwdriver and twisted it off.

I put on a new filter and then I poured 3 quarts of ATF and a quart of mobil 1 into the crankcase, and started her up. I let it idle for a minute and then drained the oil out, except there was less than I had expected! When I checked the dipstick and it was showing to be more than full!

Mystified, I took a moment to think about what was going on, and then I discovered that there was another drain plug at the back, Doh!!! I felt like a total ass, yet I was happy that I was going to drain out all the crap from my motor. When I removed it, a torrent of black, sludgy oil came out. When I filled the system with clean mobile 1 mixed with a can of "Restore" and ran the motor, the dipstick showed a very clean oil!

I drove her tonight and the motor ran smoother than before and had plenty of torque. (I added "Restore" when I acquired the car a month ago, it seems to have helped.)

[1990LTD]

that second drain plug has caused much confusion for many years :d

[Brandon]

Did you rechange the oil filter? And I didn't know of ATF would clean the engine. I've heard the use of gas cleaning one out. Just don't put too much in. LOL.

[EternityofNight]

I figured that I would wait until the next change to replace the filter, but it should be okay in the mean time, right? Maybe I'll replace it before that, it's about 7 dollars as I get the one with the anti drainback valve. I did some research and ATF seems to be ideal for the job, as it is a light mineral oil that is filled with detergents and seal conditioners. I only ran it for about a minute and bear in mind that alot of the original oil was still in the engine due to my error. I want to clean the engine but without dislodging chunks of debris, so a detergent oil would seem to be ideal for the job.

[EternityofNight]

Did you rechange the oil filter? And I didn't know of ATF would clean the engine. I've heard the use of gas cleaning one out. Just don't put too much in. LOL.

I don't think gas would be a safe idea, I think diesel or kerosene would be better, although these do not have any lubricating qualities so ATF would be a better cleaning solution IMO.

[gadget73]

massive internal cleaning is not really the best idea. It will tend to break loose big chunks of crap that might clog the pickup. You're safer doing it slowly with maybe a cup of trans fluid per oil change. ATF does not lubricate nearly as well as engine oil, and in a motor with miles that probably has sloppy internal clearances you can cause major problems. Synthetic oils will also tend to clean the inside of the motor out. If its not chunky and nasty inside, regular oil changes should be all you need to keep it clean. The inside of my Mark VII's engine is very fresh looking, and its got 230k on the clock.

And no, running that oil filter is probably not the best idea if its been subjected to 3 quarts of ATF. Its probably partially clogged and bypassing a lot of the time. Especially dangerous if you've loosened up a lot of junk in the motor. Any dirt particle larger than the oil film on the bearing surfaces will gouge the bearings up.

Never ever use gasoline in the crankcase. Thats just asking for problems. You want something non-combustable in there and the closer to regular engine oil the better. Hey, engine oil happens to be exactly the right viscosity.

[EternityofNight]

I didn't notice any chunks of debris, just thick dirty oil. I know that you're an expert around here, but I hope you're wrong about the major problems that I might encounter. You said that dirty oil would damage the bearings, but when I check the dipstick it looks like it does in the bottle. Thanks for detailed reply, though.

PS, I'm going to cut that filter open when i change it, just out of curiosity.

[EternityofNight]

Thankyou Gadget 73 for your good advice, I appreciate your words of wisdom. However, I'm now curious, if a bearing was wounded by the ATF flush, when could I expect to see symptoms of this, would it appear as a noise? It's an old motor so I anticipate that one day it may need an overhaul or replacement (with a more powerful motor?) but for right now it runs smooth and reliable, I want at least 2 years out of it before anything major packs in. I am optimistic that I will get at least another 5 years before another major overhaul, based upon it's good working order and my engine friendly driving technique. I do some RPMs occasionally when accelerating but don't push it too far, and I minimise engine braking and erratic pedal movement. That sounds a bit like erotic pedal movement, which would be like, a sexy lady with nice legs pumping up and down on the gas pedal.

[Pirate]

Thankyou Gadget 73 for your good advice, I appreciate your words of wisdom. However, I'm now curious, if a bearing was wounded by the ATF flush, when could I expect to see symptoms of this, would it appear as a noise? It's an old motor so I anticipate that one day it may need an overhaul or replacement (with a more powerful motor?) but for right now it runs smooth and reliable, I want at least 2 years out of it before anything major packs in. I am optimistic that I will get at least another 5 years before another major overhaul, based upon it's good working order and my engine friendly driving technique. I do some RPMs occasionally when accelerating but don't push it too far, and I minimise engine braking and erratic pedal movement. That sounds a bit like erotic pedal movement, which would be like, a sexy lady with nice legs pumping up and down on the gas pedal.

Welcome to the world of LoPo piston slap. With the 8 Crown Vic wagons (one of them was a Mercury, whoops) I've owned, it either was already present, or showed up right after a long-needed oil change, and if yours started making a light tapping noise right after the oil change, more than likely, you are experiencing the same noise that almost everyone else in here is experiencing with these lo-po/standard output 302's.

[EternityofNight]

Fortunately, there is no such noise that I can hear, the only noise is when you first start her up and it's a very noticable knocking noise. It was like that when I got it, and when I looked around on the web it seemed that a lot of people experienced this and said that it's normal for this engine.

[gadget73]

If its not knocking any worse, don't worry about it. The mains are already worn if its making the death knock on startup. The firing order of the non-HO 302 beats the crap out of the main bearings and they make that noise on startup. It will go a really long time that way. As long as its got oil in it, and a little bit of oil pressure you'll be ok.