Does anyone use a product like seafoam before an oil change to loosen everything up? I've got 200k miles on my truck and after an oil change the dip stick doesn't come out as clean as I would hope. I tried pouring half a quart of clean oil through while the plug was out but I'm sure that doesn't really do much.

Dont waste money for nothing
Youll never be able to remove all the carbon on a 200k mile engine unless you do complete overhaul also it doesnt matter if the oil is clean or dark. Just use quality oil and youre good to go

If the engine run well and has no lifter/push rod noise no reason to even bother

Bs. their are a lot of old school ways to do a clean out on a truck. drain the oil and put a quart or two of transmission fluid and let it idle for about 10-15 min. the trans fluid has a lot of additives. NOW!!! this can kill your motor if you are one of the unlucky ones. iv seen this trick clean and make a motor run 100% better and iv seen it clean out the carbon so much that the motor starts to knock as the carbon was the only thing stopping it knocking. and their is a lot of reasons to take care of the motor after 200k. to get to 300k. why not take the time to take care of the motor when you are driving it daily i take it. there is a motor sealer at any auto parts store and a motor cleaner you can get into. i personally use Seafoam. put half in gas and half in oil. and you can run some through a vacuum line. just take your time and don't pour to fast as you can hyper lock your motor.

Yeah the truck is my daily, only a 2011 so I'll be keeping it for a while. Im going to start doing the oil changes a little sooner as I've noticed I only get 6 quarts out when I put 8 in after 10k miles. Been doing them myself for the last 60k miles. I'm running synthetic too.

Thanks for the insight I'll see what I can find at Princess Auto.

Seafoam works nicely, there's another product that's a little stronger but can't remember I keep thinking of E40 the rapper.. sounds like you just want to "rinse" it out with the sea foaming

As for the loss of oil check for leaks or seeping, possible you're just slightly burning oil aswell. It's not too major but something to check every once in a while

A strong base with potassium should help 👍

Banana flavoured bleach?