Flushing/Washing the engine, tranny and final drives...I have questions!!!

I'm fixin' to flush/wash my engine, tranny and final drives on my D4 5T series crawler.

1. I've heard that kerosene or diesel can be used...I read somewhere that diesel has more lubricant in it. Is that true?

2. Also, do you use 4 or 5 gallons in the engine and then a new batch of diesel in the tranny and then a new batch in the final drives...or can you re-use the diesel for each step? I think I already know the answer, just want to double-check.

3. What the heck do you do with all this dirty diesel fuel that is contaminated???

4. How many of you actually flush/wash things out and how important is it to do? Does it actually make a difference or is it out-dated info? I don't know when the last time was that it was done to my crawler!

Final question, any tips or pointers to help a cat-novice get this job done properly?

I heard someone say to add some tranny fluid into the oils and gear lube to dissolve sludge and what not...but I'm hesitant to do that until I hear it from an old pro like OM or maybe Bruce from Oz or something.

I also heard if you ad a bottle of ATF to the fuel tank, it will help clean up your injectors. Again, I am reluctant. I don't want to screw something up.

Casey

1. Diesel does have more lubricity than Kerosene.
2. I would not fill a crankcase full of Diesel or Kerosene and then run it. If I thought I needed to "Flush" the block, I might be inclined to mix it with a cheap lube oil, fill it with that, then crank it over with the Pony Motor with NO compression. A better option would be to run a modern high detergent oil and change that and the filters after a couple of time periods.
3. Dirty Diesel fuel? Well?? It makes great brush pile fire starter, you could filter it and then use it for flushing the transmission, You could give it away to your pesky neighbor to burn in his furnace. Pour it in the recycling collection container for used motor oil at the recycling center.
4. It is still recommended to use Kerosene to flush final drives. As far as the tranmission I would say depending on what comes out when you pull the drain plug.
5. As far as adding ATF to the transmission or crankcase oil, I don't believe its necessary, if I felt I needed to flush by additive, then I would peruse the car sections of my favorite or least favorite stores to see what is available.
Same goes for dumping ATF in the fuel tank, I would question the results of combustion by-products harm which would prompt me to use an over-the-counter fuel additive.

I think Flushing is described in the Manuals as "putting the tractor in gear and holding the steering clutches dis-engaged, letting them spin for a while, then engaging and moving the tractor forward, putting in reverse and doing the same".
My observations!
Jeff

You may be asking for more trouble than its worth. I don't think you're going to be able to clean the carbon out of your engine but you will succeed in breaking loose a lot of stuff that should probably stay in place. You might be replacing more filters and oil in the future than you intended and buying a lot of trouble. If you were trying to clean a modern engine that made you money every day, a bypass filter would probably be a good choice. As it is, let sleeping dogs lie.

If you have water in your transmission, kerosene or diesel is not going to separate chunks of sludge stuck to the bottom of the case. You'll have to pop the top and use some kerosene under pressure. I'd just change the oil in the transmission and finals every year for a couple of years. If you run the tractor and get it hot, the sludge will break down and suspend in the oil allowing you to remove it when you do an oil change.

Use a steam cleaner to clean your fuel tank. Clean or replace your fuel line. Check out OM's fuel filter pre-cleaner. Replace your fuel filters and clean the tower out with kerosene. If you use one of those pressurized sprayers, a gallon of kerosene or mineral spirits goes a long ways.