Hello all,
I did my first oil change on my new-to-me 97 Disco with 120k. My plan was to do an ATF flush, drop the pan, and replace the gasket and go back with Mobil 1 and filter. I couldnt find the gasket and time was of the essence so I did a Gunk flush and filled with the Mobil 1 high milage. My question is if I do the ATF flush on my next oil change can I still put cheap dino in for the 1000 miles and then go back to the Syn? Am I overthinking this?

 

Quit waisting your money on syntheitc oil till you get the engine pretty well cleaned out.
Do the ATF flush when you change your oil nect, do a one can oil flush the next change then you are set for synthetic. Make sure you use a good oil filter like a K&N 3001 or the Mobil1-301.

 

Yes, you are over thinking. Actually, I would do the ATF flush, run a 'cheap' dino oilthrough it for 500 miles or so(why bother with the expensive stuff)because you will still have a bit of ATF fluid in there after the flush. Then drain it all out and put in the good stuff. The short oil change will get rid of the rest of the ATF and it will help clean the engine out even more.

 

I think that the Mobil One HM will help clean the motor out I would run at least 3000 miles
then change the oil ,,do the ATF flush and reinstall the Mobil One HM again.
The syn oil will help clean out the motor slowly so you should not need to pull the oil pan.

 

No gasket on the 97, just sealant.

If you do an ATF flush, run some good dino juice throughfor 500 miles, as earlier stated, then switch to synthetic.

Don't over think it. You are fine.

 

I wouldn't do an ATF flush just for the heck of it. Unless your engine emits a ticking or knocking that is not exhaust related, I'd let the synthetic oil do the mild cleaning and keep using it from now on.

A lot of people (like me) have obtained great result in quieting a somewhat noisy engine by doing the ATF flush and going to synthetics. But others have ended up with ticking/knocking they didn't have prior to a flush.

 

It is possible the sludge in your motor can insult some noise from being heard. The ATF flush may clean the engine out and reveal noises you were not hearing before. After my ATF flush and switch to synthetic my motor is quieter, although I do hear the exhaust more.

Cheers,

Pete

 

I'm a newbie here hear that there seems to be a problem with engine ticking.
At the risk of getting bashed, have you folks tried AutoRx?
Do a search and read the feedback, seems to be good stuff.
I've used it in all my cars with good results and have also used it to clean my auto transmissions with similar results. Not all additives are bogus. This one seems to be worthwhile.
Product is cleans without solvents and is very gentle.
By the way, I'm not affiliated with AutoRx in any way, just sharing my experience.

 

Wanix-You are not wasting money, but you are overthinking it. The Gunk engine flush works but not as well as the4 ATF flush, just switch to full syn and dont look back. It will clean your engine as you drive, in 15,000 miles your engine will be as clean as if you had done the ATF flush.
If you do the AFT flush them\n run a cheap dino oil for 500 miles and then switch to your full syn.
www.pennzoil.com for some light reading on the benifits of full syn motor oil.

 

+ 1 on the engine cleaning benefits of synthetic.

For example: I have a BMW motorcycle and boxer motors burn oil for the first several miles while they break-in. This Summer, when it finally quit using oil, I used synthetic oil for the first time. Now, even though it had around 3K on it, the used Dino I drained was still somewhat honey colored as viewed from the sight (inspection) window and the drain pan.After changing over to synthetic, changing the filterand riding a few miles however, I was amazed to see that the new oil in thesite glass window had turned absolutely BLACK. Quite disturbing until I realizedwhat was happening. I'm on my third synthetic oil change now and the oil has gradually lightenedup in color, a good indication most of the disolvable sludge has dissipated.

The ATF flush maywork wonders but, all else being normal, Ithink the incremental cleaning that the synthetic oil does may bethesafer route, especiallyif you choose not to drop your pan andclean up down there.