dirty surprise under valve cover

mark_salad_bar · Aug 16, 2009

i was helping my girlfriends grandfather tune up a 97 sohc accord. and i went to remove the valve cover and it is full of gunk. its been sitting for awhile. like i had to get a spoon and spoon that gunk out. My question is whats the best way to clean it without me having to take the head off?

HondaLuver83 · Aug 16, 2009

LOL, someone isnt changing their oil on time. You probably have a serious case of sludge. If you dont know how to take care of that, u might as well drive it until it dies or buy a new engine.

You need to take the head off and get it chemically cleaned. You need to drop the oil pan and clean that out as well. While ur in there check ur oil pump screen for gunk on there. Maybe check ur crank shaft for play as well.

I would be very carefull taking that gunk out, u might clog the oil ports for the head and cause some problems.

dcmystery21 · Aug 16, 2009

a ton of engine cleaner. i cant remember the name but its in a grey bottle and you add it to your oil, drive around, and do an oil change. i suppose you could do that but it might get expensive (and i dont even think it will get *everything*)

edit- yes, i agree with hondaluver, make sure you dont have any sludge pieces floating around or that could lead to some problems

HondaLuver83 · Aug 17, 2009

Releasing too much of that **** in your engine at once will clog ports and cause parts of your engine to be starved for oil.

I would do what I said in my first post and then GRADUALLY use engine flush. You are probably going to have to do a oil change/filter and flush a few times after you have chemically cleaned the head,oil pan and oil pump screen if needed.

Make sure you turn ur car off immediately if you see the low oil light come on. That means something is clogged or oil pressure is low.

I have successfully cleaned a sludged engine before, its no easy task and it does not always work as I have seen with a few other people.