He put ATF in the crankcase to mix with regular oil.

 

I figured if it were just gunk, the filter should clear that out unless clogged and bypassed. If this is the case, and you have tons of gunk coming loose, I would throw on a new filter a few times to see. I'm still thinking (unless you know of a small coolant leak somewhere) you might have a very small head gasket leak...although if the bits are black and not tan or similar maybe it is just sludge.

 

I'm sure the filter is catching some of it, but above 8 psi (which is basically all the time) not all the oil is being filtered, so I can imagine some gunk just never gets caught.

I'd just keep changing the oil and filter at shorter intervals for a few changes and watch it.

I wouldn't flush it any more for the time being.

 

Got it.

I'll change the oil with more regularity.

And for the record, I used the each of the cleaning agents only once, and not any more. Also, 6 quarts of ATF in the crankcase only, idling for about 1/2 hour, then dumping and adding Castrol 20-50. New filter of course. Just for the record, I didn't combine ATF with the oil. Full strength ATF only.

No more flushing. But am now using T-6 Rotella, 10-40.

Forgot to mention that I did all this flushing and cleaning to rid myself of the infamous ticking sound thinking the rockers were dirty. Still got the ticking sound. Will probably change t-stat to lower temp. Seems as though the ticking only creeps up when the engine temp heads north of 210f.

 

dude 210 is like Chernobyl! you need to get under 200! I'm running 194-201 on one of my discos and that bothers me.. my 2000 was ticking when I bought it, I cooled the motor to around 188-194 and it runs like a champ and very quiet

 

Not really, especially with a stock stat. The condenser fan doesn't even come on till 212.

 

It doesn't matter when the fan comes on, if you have metal clanging together around 215 because the oil has gotten too thin there is going to be a massive long term problem. Rover didn't decide on how hot the engines would run so they could create the most power plant longevity, they did it to make emissions. GM(buick) invented this motor, and they designed it to run 180 your talking about 32 degrees hotter. also rover put a stupid gauge on the dash so no one would realize how hot their machine actually ran. not that most people would understand anyway. there is a reason there are so many head gasket issues, heat is a great contributor.

 

OP put transmission fluid in the engine to flush it.He put the apple in the orange crate!

 

"He put ATF in the crankcase to mix with regular oil." Yes he did; I overlooked that, so apologize for my remarks regarding that issue. However, the fact that he put ATF in crankcase to clean it out, along with NAPA detergent, etc., makes me even more convinced of my original conclusion above. If you throw a lot of cleaners in crankcase, to clean it out, why be so surprised when you see dislodged particles resulting?

 

"Forgot to mention that I did all this flushing and cleaning to rid myself of the infamous ticking sound thinking the rockers were dirty. Still got the ticking sound. Will probably change t-stat to lower temp. Seems as though the ticking only creeps up when the engine temp heads north of 210f." I am not a fan of cleaning the hell out of it, to get the ticking to stop, for that won't work, in my experience. What the ticking is trying to tell you is that the valve train is worn and could use new parts, which are corrected with those new parts; not with a can of liquid!