I lived in Germany from 71-83 and while I was there an old German mechanic showed me how to clean my VW engine. We drained the oil out of the engine then put in Diesel (the same amount) and ran the engine for about 5 or 6 seconds until the oil light started to fade on. We drained the engine and then put new oil back in. He told me this cleans out all the oil channels within the engine and helped the oil flow better afterwards. This never hurt my VW and seemed to help. Of course those old beetles did not have an oil filter.

I just bought a 1983 300SD and was thinking of "Cleaning" the engine this same way. Has anyone ever tried this on a MB Diesel? I don't want to screw up my engine but it sure would be nice to know it's cleaned out inside and all my oil channels are open.

Any thoughts?

Hmmmm...
 

I remember reading an article by Smokey Yunick back in the 1970's describing a similar process, except he used kerosene and ran the engine for 30 seconds (!). I'd be afraid to ever try this myself.

The closest I've gotten is using 10W30 Agway Super Diesel oil this winter. I figure that this oil is rated for properly lubricating a diesel engine up to 50 deg F, and the thinner viscosity should help remove a bit more sludge than my usual 15W40. I do notice a faster warmup to normal power levels.

I would not recommend cleaning any engine this way. If the engine is so gunked up that this is needed, it's an act of desparation.

If you insist on this approach, use a couple of quarts of cheap oil and the rest diesel fuel. You could also simply pour some fuel through the engine while hot after draining the oil and leaving the drain plug and filter out. Follow that by a few oil changes over just a few hundred miles, draining thoroughly while the engine is at operating temperature.

Regular and frequent, thorough hot oil changes will eliminate the need for ever taking such drastic steps.

Good luck,
Change oil hot and change oil often,

Please take Larry's advice & only attempt this an act of desperation. For no particular reason & against my Dad's advice :(, I decided to do this with kerosene on one of the VW diesels I had and it actually CLOGGED the oil channels with the sludge that the K1 loosened. If memory serves (I was a teen at the time), we had to run several gallons of K1 thru the engine before it stopped knocking. NOT WORTH THE RISK.

Hope this helps