by Tammy Williams
VehicleMD Staff Writer
Originally published in Winter 2009 Issue

People generally like things clean: We like clean clothes, clean dishes and clean towels. Don’t you agree that these items are much better fresh and clean than dirty? So why should your engine be any different?

An oil system cleaner helps clean out all of the grime and deposits that can build up on various parts of your engine between oil changes, helping to make its insides cleaner.

The oil system cleaner is added to your “old” motor oil. This combination is run through the engine for about five minutes, helping to ensure the cleaning solution reaches all the crevices in the engine, and then the oil system cleaner is drained out of the engine with the motor oil. Add clean new motor oil and, voila, you’re done!

During this process, the oil system cleaner removes contaminants in your engine that can rob your vehicle of performance. When gasoline is burned, it doesn’t completely combust, meaning it leaves behind traces of carbon and varnish in your engine. Over time, these tiny bits can really start to build up. If left too long, they can even start to harm parts of your engine.

“It’s always worth a little extra effort to maintain the operation, performance and efficiency of your vehicle,” said Steve Farr, vice president of Smart Blend Synthetics. “The engine is generally considered the heart of the vehicle, so consider an oil system cleaner as Lipitor for your car.”

Just as cholesterol medications can help a person live a longer healthier life, an oil system cleaning can help your vehicle live a longer, healthier life, too. When a vehicle is new, the engine is free of contaminant buildup, so it operates at maximum efficiency. As contaminants build up in the engine, they add weight to the parts, so the parts don’t move as freely as they once did. However, an oil system cleaner can get rid of this contaminant buildup, helping your engine function like it just rolled off the new car lot.

Performing an oil system cleaning will not only help your vehicle feel like it just rolled off the car lot, but it can also help your vehicle last longer. By removing all the contaminants in the internal parts of the engine, an oil system cleaning promotes extended service life via reduced parts wear.

If you are leery about performing an oil system cleaning because your owners manual says not to add anything to your motor oil, you can feel at ease. Unlike engine oil additives, supplements or treatments that are added to fresh motor oil in the vehicle, and thus stay in the vehicle, an oil system cleaner is a cleaning agent. It cleans the internal parts of the engine and is drained out with the “old” motor oil—it does not remain in your engine. The old oil captures the contaminants in your engine and carries them out with the oil.

So, when considering an oil system cleaning, simply ask yourself, “Why put clean oil in a dirty engine?”