So I’m working on breathing some life back into this severely neglected 2011 3.5 truck I pick up a few weeks ago

i dropped it off at the shop Thursday to have the transfer case and rear axle oil changed (was chasing friction plate issues in the rear end) and the shop noticed the oil in the motor was horrible (pure black severely needing changed) I don’t know any service records for this truck and I am working from the ground up to try and keep this truck on the road so for my own piece of mind I’m considering doing an engine “flush” before I change the oil out with a quality oil and motor craft filter.

i know most consider this to be “snake oil” and I agree as iv had similar thoughts in the past but im hoping someone can chime in and recommend me a good plan for cleaning out this motor the best I can without opening it up just yet. Truck has 198k on it.

 

I would pull the oil/filter then dump some kerosene & transmission fluid (70/30) into the crank case with a new filter. Let it idle with no load.... for 20-30 mins.
Then dump that and run whatever oil you want. I have done that in the past with paraffin residue left behind from crappy oil. Costs about $12 all in when you include the filter.

 

i've done Liqui Moly Pro-Line Engine Flush works well $14

 

Another option, just do an oil/filter change two consecutive weeks, or 50-100 miles each.

 

im thinking this aswell, I already plan on changing the oil while the motor is warm just to make sure I get everything out I can, but just wanted to ask around about oil flush’s

 

I have added 1/2 to 3/4 of liter of trans fluid to the engine just before an oil change. I run it for 15-30 minutes and then do my oil change. I know it helped my 04 when I would get phaser codes, it would clear them for longer than just an oil change would.

 

I would try the above suggestions before buying a new motor and if the truck is in good condition,2001 i would opt for a rebuilt motor before buying a new truck. I had a 2001 ram truck with 132k miles on it but the transmission went bad. Other than that, the truck was in very good condition (no rust) for being 23 years old. It was worth it to me to put $3100 into getting the transmission rebuilt rather than buying another truck. I had it rebuilt, gave it to my brother, then bought a used F150 for me. The truck was worth more to me than it would have been to a junk yard.