Having used T CUT isn't it petroleum based so cannot think it would have done any harm. Expect it would quickly evaporate off. Still better to be safe than sorry!

Beg, borrow or buy a vacuum oil pump. eg Sealey etc. If you are lucky the goop will be sitting on top of the oil. You will see whatever is vacuumed up (using the thin hose) as it enters the container. If its at the bottom vacuum the whole sump and refill.

I have owned a Pela vacuum extractor for a number of years and have used it on a BMW and a Nissan. Both had one thing in common and this would apply to any car, the device will not work with cold oil, even the 0w30 ued in the BMW, the Nissan used 5w30. Both needed a good run, probably about 8 miles to get the oil hot enough for the devise to work.

The Pela is not a cheap and nasty device, its as good as it gets. Once hot the oil is extracted within a couple of minutes.

Having used T CUT isn't it petroleum based so cannot think it would have done any harm. Expect it would quickly evaporate off. Still better to be safe than sorry!

Not sure what the abrasive is in it. It was said years ago the abrasive did not break down which makes it bad for engine ?

T-Cut is certainly organic and will mix with the oil, so no use hoping it will sit on top. I would guess the abrasive is fairly mild, such as talc or chalk. Perhaps it will just put a shine on the cylinder walls .... :-)

"How on earth did you pour the wrong stuff?"

I think he's embarrassed enough already.

I know its too late now as the oil change is probably underway already.

If it was mine, and thankfully it's not been not started, i would have bought 5 or 10 litres some of the cheapest most rubbish engine oil, or any old unused engine any of my friends had lying around and, after draining what was already in, i would have poured that cheap oil straight in purely to wash the muck down, and then refilled with again some el cheapo correct grade, ran that for a couple of days, then drained again and then put the correct oil in and a new filter.

Don't be too upset, we've all managed to do the most idiotic things when distracted.

Glad you got it sorted and congratulations to your son.

Suspect the mechanic is right in that old toyotas are fairly hard to wreck.

Suspect the mechanic is right in that old toyotas are fairly hard to wreck.

Thinking about it (chemically) I reckon if only a moderate amount of T-Cut was added, running the engine would probably do little harm. Once the contents of the sump had passed the filter, the 'abrasive' would be removed. The remainder is miscible with oil and probably volatile enough to be burnt off anyway. Perhaps the filter would need replacing if it was rather bunged up?

After all, T-Cut is not intended to damage paintwork, is it?

Suspect the mechanic is full of it. What do you expect him to say?

Not good customer relations to make with the bad vibes when there's nothing practical to be done.

You got a lot of confidence in the average oil filter. If the stuff is all coa*** enough to get stopped by it (greater than say, 50 microns) then OK, but you point out that its quite fine.

In this context, that isn't a good thing.

If it wasn't abrasive, it wouldn't work.

<< If the stuff is all coa*** enough to get stopped by it (greater than say, 50 microns) then OK, but you point out that its quite fine. If it wasn't abrasive, it wouldn't work. >>

If it's co@rse enough to damage the engine it will be filtered out; if not, it will smooth the mating surfaces. The abrasive in T-Cut is not harsh, paint is a relatively soft material compared to cylinder liners and the micro-swarf off them which the filter is intended to catch. I don't think some T-Cut is a serious threat to an engine, especially if it's removed smartly.

"smooth out the mating surfaces"Well, isn't that nice?

Oiil filtration is perfect, and everything is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.

This goes way beyond T-Cut .

This is Universal Engine Wear Wonderfulness,

But the T-Cut people might like to know anyway

"T-Cut Unique IdeasWe’d love to hear your inventive way of using T-Cut!Let us know by emailing us via the button below.Name:*INSERT NAMEPhone:*ENTER PHONE NUMBEREmail:ENTER EMAIL ADDRESSMy unique use for T-Cut is:Can we contact you?* Yes No"

.

Assuming it is a fine abrasive, I'd expect it to greatly increase wear. The mating surfaces would be smoothed (they were probably already smooth), then they'd be removed. AFAIK polishing metal always removes material.

If the engine was run with this stuff in it (say, to go to a garage for an oil change) then I'd expect the abrasive to be embedded in bearing surfaces and continue to have an abrasive effect after that, and subsequent oil changes.

This "ïf its big enough to cause wear, the oil filter will get it" jive is a comforting myth. If you poke around a bit you'll find plenty of research to the contrary, and on my current car I have anecdotal evidence in the form of fine ferrous metal settling out of the oil on standing.

Could be, hadn't considered that.

OTOH bearing metal is about 1 on the Mohs scale.

Aluminium starts about 1 too, though I'd guess the relevant alloys are harder

Thanks all. It’s in garage having an oil change

I'm wondering how you got it there, and hoping you didn't drive it.

I'd have flushed it with whatever I could get my hands on (within reason, and not including T-cut), kerosene, diesel fuel, used oil, cheap oil.

Lots of it

By flushing I mean pour it straight through, take the rocker cover off and pressure-spray it, take the sump off and mop it out.

Then I'd run it at idle for say 10 minutes possibly with flushing oil for 2-3 changes. If I couldn't get flushing oil I might use a mix of diesel fuel and 2-stroke oil

Then a couple of changes with cheap oil or used oil.

Then a final change with your oil of choice., .

This assumes you want to preserve the engine. If its disposable, scale it down appropriately.

There really isn't anything worse you could have done apart from maybe adding battery acid and leaving it there for a couple of months, and there is no way that a garage oil change is anything like an adequate response.

and if that didn't wreck it nothing would, talk about excessive, flushing oil can do more damage than its worth, I can understand using it for blocked passages and clinker on the head but for that problem no chance and imo wouldn't use it on anything I would rather strip and clean

Not sure that it is an abrasive.

images.toolbank.com/downloads/cossh/0078.pdf

Seems to be hydrocarbons and ammonia.

If T-CUT was that abrasive it would take car paint down to bare metal with just a few rubs. My experience of using the stuff is it is more the petroleum base that removes minor marks and scratches. I cannot see it having any affect on the internal metal of an engine, but wise to get the oil and filter changed. Not a fan of the vacuum method of changing oil, dread to think of what is left in the sump if done cold. You leave your car at the garage at 9.00am and they get around to it at 4.00pm bound to be cold.

This saga could be the basis of the next Specsavers AD!

You think its for some reason OK to use flushing oil in a coked-up engine (in which situation its likely to do nothing at all) but not OK to use it to flush out loose abrasive (which it should do OK, why not?)

I don't think its ok at all to use any form of flushing agent in an engine (seen to many engines destroyed by it over the years) or helped on its way, so I have never recommended or used it on any engine.

What others do is up to them, If an engine needed a strip down years ago it got one, unless it wasn't worth the time and expense, so I'm not going to change my mind now

I assume your in an argumentative mood sir!

You think its for some reason OK to use flushing oil in a coked-up engine (in which situation its likely to do nothing at all) but not OK to use it to flush out loose abrasive (which it should do OK, why not?)

I don't think its ok at all to use any form of flushing agent in an engine (seen to many engines destroyed by it over the years) or helped on its way, so I have never recommended or used it on any engine.

What others do is up to them, If an engine needed a strip down years ago it got one, unless it wasn't worth the time and expense, so I'm not going to change my mind now

I assume your in an argumentative mood sir!

I apologise for last line, I wanted to edit that but site locked up and couldn't do it, so again my apologies

Last line was fair enough, I thought. I probably was in an argumentative mood. Usually am.

I enjoy a good argument, especially if I think I'm winning.

This one, not so sure.

I'm no big fan of flushing oil. Only used it once, when I was much younger and wanted to "do the right thing"with a dirty old engine. Comma stuff. Wasn't especially impressed.

Just thought this was a suitable application. If not, as I said, I might use a diesel fuel/2-stroke mix, or maybe just cheap oil.

I wouldn't normally use diesel/2-stroke in an engine, but that was based on my perception that this was an extreme emergency, because I was assuming that T-Cut was an abrasive.

If it isn't, then I'm wrong. I dunno how you'd find out. The company probably isn't going to tell you.

Even clay bars are abrasive, as I understand it, but very mildly so.

I thought clay bars picked up contaminants from the surface without needing to remove or damage any of the paint (if used correctly). The use of lubricant (soapy liquid or specific one) would appear to confirm that the clay bar does not actually touch the surface.

Use T Cut on a red car and the cloth will be red afterwards confirming that some paint has been removed and surely that removal will be down to the mild abrasive action. Use a clay bar on a red car and all you will see is the bar changing colour as it removes surface contaminants, it usually turns darker as it removes tree sap especially. Use the same type of bar on a white car and it goes exactly the same colour.

I guess she poured in no more than 50mls from a standard small bottle of T-cut. Imagine that spread through around four litres of oil, passing through the filter before reaching important bits. I doubt if there'd be any significant wear even if she drove fifty - or even 500 - miles before the next oil and filter change. You'd have to rub an oily bearing surface or piston ring really, really hard for a long time with neat T-cut to remove a significant amount of metal. Incidentally, T-cut is basically overpriced Brasso which is just as good for removing paint scratches.