With the help of manuals and friends, performed a headgasket change on a '94 Mit Montero 3.0L.
I need to perform an oil change before I turn the key, but what oil should I use? Don’t I need something that will pull the particulates out? detergent or non-detergent?
The oil you need is the oil that is specified for your car, the same oil you should already be using.
If you got any trash, gasket parts, or other matter into the engine when you changed the headgasket (was it really the headgasket, or was it the valve cover gasket? - I’d bet valve cover.), then you messed up. You may get away with it, or you may clog some of the oil passages.
All oils today are detergent; and have been for may years. As stated, iuse the same oil as specified in the manual. I would drain it and change the filter after 1000 miles to dump whatever debris accumulated during the rebuld.
Thanks, It was the head, not the valve cover gasket. I just was going to use the oil specified, but someone told me I needed something special. The reason I asked about the detergent was I use non-detergent for my 1966 Vespa gearbox oil so that all particulates collect and drain out when i change the oil. I thought this might be along the same lines.
Get some cheap but decent 5 or 10W30 oil, fill the car to capacity, drive it a few hundred miles and change the oil and filter. That should get rid of most of the gunk.