Is it a good idea to get an engine flush on a 2001 Chevrolet Impala LS at 176,000 miles?

If you're talking an OIL SYSTEM flush, I would advise against it. The coolant, however, can't hurt. The long-life coolant GM uses is called DexCool, and it has a bad habit of turning acidic after so many miles...

Are you having issues with the cooling system? If not I would advice against doing a flush. Flushing the system will break loose particles and can lead to leaks or having to replace parts before their time. Now if you just want to drain your coolant out and replace it with new that would be ok. IMO anyways.

dandy:Gray area for sure... I always advise against a Trans Flush on high-mileage, unmaintained vehicles, but have never advised against a coolant flush...especially on Dexcool cars where Universal Long-Life or Ethylene Glycol coolant is used as a replacement. In that case, a simple drain & fill will not remove the coolant left in the engine and the heater core, and since GM's Dexcool is notorious for being prone to sludge and worse, corrosion, I would definitely flush it and replace it with Universal Long-Life, or even a Longlife, G05- approved coolant (OE for many German manufacturers such as Volkswagen/Audi, BMW, etc).

/\ My concern with not doing a complete flush and re-filling with anything other than Dex is the possibility of a reaction and the question mark factors regarding cross-compatibility.. If you want to be on the safe side, I suppose you could do a power flush *without* the cleaner and/or additive package.

The only issue im truely having with cooling system is that my fan only really pushes when turned all the way to 5 which is the highest but the reason why I am asking about the enginge flush is because when I get my oil change they say there is sludge build up I know that you dont want to do a flush on a teans after so many miles but is it the same thing with the engine? also I did notice on my radiator cap there was some build up as well and they said that i needed a flush on that as well is that a good idea?

You may have an Intake Manifold gasket leak, which is pretty common on GM V6's and frequently results in coolant in the oil and vice versa, which is sometimes mistaken for a Head Gasket failure. *Personally*, my .02 cents, I would do the Cooling System Flush but instead of doing the Engine Oil Flush with an additive, use a quality oil with high detergency (Pennzoil has among the best detergent packages on the market right now, even in their Conventional oil)...Run that oil for around 3,000 miles with a quality Oil Filter like Purolator, then when you go to change it, run the engine til it gets near operating temperature and carefully, so as to not burn yourself, remove the drain plug and filter and let it drain thoroughly for 15 minutes or so. The detergents in the motor oil will have gone to work over those 3k miles and draining it while warm gets more out. I fear that running an Oil System Cleaner in a high-mileage engine could result in oil leaks down the road, and if not drained thoroughly, could affect lubricity of the new oil going back in. As for your fan only operating on the highest setting, you're talking about the Blower Motor that blows air out of the vents, are you not? Other than the heater core, that system is not part of the Engine Cooling System. You most likely need a Blower Motor Resistor, which is typically an inexpensive part and easy to install. Textbook Resistor failure results in a loss of low blower speeds first, then often progresses until the only two operating speeds are Off and Max.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTS8at0-FYM --- have you ever changed your cabin air filter. If not and it's stopped up it will cause low or no air flow from heater fan. Check out video to find out how if you need to replace it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptADvMadKRU -- here's another video just in case your model did not match the first video. Hope these help.

I'm having a problem with my chevy impala 07 the light comes on and it's telling me oil pressure low keeps coming on and off , sometime it don't turn on in till the end of the day a macanic tould me to do a motor flush the maybe it has Somthing there but I was just gonna change the oil sensor to see if it gose off . I really don't know what to do ?