NO would be my take. I think most engines with sludge problems occur for the short trip undermaintained crowd, especially if they drive alot in cold weather... find someone with a 2 miles drive to their job and who doesn't ever warm the vehicle up and you'll find a person with a potential for sludge.. you get the extended drain interval guys, you tend towards the varnishes... but the varnishes are less harmful than sludges because varnish isn't going to be on a wear surface whereas sludge tends to plug oil passages.
Reducing Likelihood of Sludge & Varnish ?
- Thread starter ChrisD46
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NO would be my take. I think most engines with sludge problems occur for the short trip undermaintained crowd, especially if they drive alot in cold weather... find someone with a 2 miles drive to their job and who doesn't ever warm the vehicle up and you'll find a person with a potential for sludge.. you get the extended drain interval guys, you tend towards the varnishes... but the varnishes are less harmful than sludges because varnish isn't going to be on a wear surface whereas sludge tends to plug oil passages.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Interestingly, the other day somebody posted a very varnished engine that had varnish on the cam lobes, lol.
I haven't seen that one... it doesn't seem likely either, just judging by the way mechanical stuff like that works. you generally see varnishes on surfaces such as the rocker lever cover or the top of the heads, or the other places subject to heat but no relative wear.. at least in my experience with the stuff. but I learned a long time ago I should never say never
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Base circle of the cam, particularly in a shimmed cam-over-bucket setup, makes little if any contact with the lifter/bucket. I've also seen roller cams with a "path" in the varnish where the roller rolls, so only that part of the lobe is clean, lol.
Here's a pic shamelessly pilfered from @Phishin's thread:
You can see tracks in the varnish on the lobes.
However, here's the thread in question:
Under Valve Cover Pictures 1994 Toyota Camry 5S-FE 4 Cylinder
Here are some pictures of the underneath of my valve cover on my new to me 1994 Toyota Camry with the 2.2 4 cylinder 5S-FE in it. 204,408 on the odometer. Not the best but not the worst I’ve seen either. Definitely wasn’t expecting it to be this dirty underneath. The camshafts don’t look too...
bobistheoilguy.com
And the pic:
This is our Element after a bunch of cleaning efforts. We bought it w 192k on her and now she is at 220k plus, motor had basic Midas oil changes by previous owner who commuted about 20 miles one way. Motor was an oil burner but have it down to nil as of last oil change which has about 2k miles on it so far. These are the intake lobes from last November
Do you know the history in terms of oil change intervals. How many x,xxx miles was the oil changed?
If you might have ordered a CarFax, it might have given you some good insight, as often times, the CarFax lists oil changes/odomerter readings if oil changes were done at a dealership or a national repair chain of stores (like Midas).
When I look at used cars, I usually order the CarFax, and one of the first things I look at is how often the oil changes were done. Also, if I meet the owner to see the vehicle, I check to see if the oil dipstick is stained or if the oil cap has sludge on it or near the oil fill hole.
If you really like the vehicle, but you have some doubts, if the owner agrees to let your mechanic do a pre-purchase inspection, you can ask the owner for his/her permission for your mechanic to do an oil change on the vehicle just to see the oil drain out of the drain hole. If it drains slow with sludgy clumps, the engine is likely full of sludge.
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Excessive sludge/varnish on non wear items is still a concern, as it's likely there is a lot more sludge/varnish that you can't see, perhaps blocking the oil screen or passageways.its not a wear item if it doesn't make contact.
i think first reason is engine design and then short trips.if engine is prone to sludge you eventually you can't avoid it even with long trips.
and as an example: oil control rings. One of the most important things you don't want to plug up with gradual layering of varnish deposits.
The oil was supposedly changed every 3k miles but no. He had owned it for 110k miles and did keep up w maintenance just not oil changes. I do most my wrenching and was only concerned with rust as I can fix most things or a JDM motor and trans are cheap enough. I bought it privately and for $1100 I made out okay.
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maybe
. For those running the SS Amsoil,High Performance Lubricants,Penrite and the Redline HP there is probably enough AN and Ester where nothing would get dirty or stay dirty very long. @TiGeo- you take really good care of your car but if you have to flush it everytime that tells me your oil change interval is too long, your driving habits don't meet what type of oil your using, or you just need to put your car lot on a diet of @High Performance Lubricants and get away from the Grp III. I'd like to say this is simply me pointing out an opinion and it in no way is it meant to be me being a "A-hole" or argumentative towards you.
On the more friendly side of a price point I couldn't agree more. My guess is the EP line,0w40, and possibly the M1HM has the better ingredients.
I think Revving2Redline might be on to something important that is often overlooked.maybe
Anyone who is relying on HPL engine cleaner or HPL PCMO's AN's + Esters to clean out their engine of sludge/varnish/deposits and filling up their oil filter with these massive deposits needs to think about how did their engine get dirty in the first place. The only answer that makes sense is the maintenance (or lack thereof) that the car has received.
UOA's don't measure how dirty/sludgy/clumpy the oil comes out of the drain hole during an extended oil change,
so you could get a good UOA while the oil is dirty and flowing in a sludgy/clumpy way gumming up your oil control rings/piston rings and causing varnish / sludge.
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I don't *have* to do anything, I *choose* to use that product and clearly, my engine looks spotless....it may be a coincidence (more than likely) or not...probably would have looked the same without using it and saved me the ~$75 I spent on the 6 cans over the time I've had it. My average OCI is dead-on 5K which is really overkill here even tracking it occasionally. It's just a good thing to do sometimes as I think about it...to get a more complete drain. I am currently running HPL oil in my car (for the last year give/take) for the abuse it takes. I like HPL so giving them some love/trying it out. The HTHS of >4 and the PAO base for the Euro 5W40 is sure to be a good thing when you are tracking your car with oil temps exceeding 270 for periods of time.maybe
This is a shot from my 04 Expedition 5.4l 2v, that had oil changes from the dealer every 3k miles by the previous owner, Ford confirmed 60+ maintenance reports when I called about a service on it. I bought it with 182k~ miles on her. Previous owner had it since it had 30k miles on it. Definitely a deference is maintenance.
I would worry if I had a little engine especially turbo and drove fast and high rpm and lived in hot places and stop and go traffic or short trips in cold weather and electric fans and long oci ... lots of and here but you know it when you pop the hood and feels like hell and you can bbq on that engine.
Little engines like shorter oci and no dino.
Little engines like shorter oci and no dino.
It is clean, I know dark but all is shiney metal inside, no varnish. Here is a better shot
Zee09
$200 Site Donor 2023
As I get older my prospective has changed. I use quality products on my cars and do better than the book maintenance but the days of me taking better care of my mechanical possessions over myself has changed.
In this crowd I wonder how many own a water filtration system in their house or even care anything about what they ingest on a daily basis etc.
I'm sure they go to the car doc far more often than their own doc. I am very guilty as well but no more.
They days of pining over nonsense is over... A hobby is a hobby but shouldn't rule one's life... Remember that.
In this crowd I wonder how many own a water filtration system in their house or even care anything about what they ingest on a daily basis etc.
I'm sure they go to the car doc far more often than their own doc. I am very guilty as well but no more.
They days of pining over nonsense is over... A hobby is a hobby but shouldn't rule one's life... Remember that.
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