PHOTOS of what I think is sludge in my 1.8T... is it Auto-RX time?
- Thread starter gnosis
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I looked around inside the filler hole again, this time with a stronger flashlight. The thin yellow varnish appears to be only on the underside of the valve cover itself and abruptly ends where the vertical sidewalls of the valve cover meet the aluminum head itself, which looks VERY clean from this junction on down. If I use synthetic oil from here on out on a 3 to 3.5K mile / 5 to 6K km OCI, I be very surprised if my engine develops a significant sludge problem.
Positive water
but negative for coolant. My coolant level is just under minimum. I don't know how long it's been at this level. So if I have a coolant leak and there is water but no coolant in the oil, what does this mean?
See UOA at http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=002180#000000
[ December 30, 2004, 05:03 PM: Message edited by: gnosis ]
See UOA at http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=002180#000000
[ December 30, 2004, 05:03 PM: Message edited by: gnosis ]
No signs of sodium or potassium in your UOA, so I agree that there is no coolant there.
The water has to be coming from condensation and combustion by products (few people realize that H20 is a primary result of combustion).
Some have suggested making sure the PCV system is doing it's job of ventilating the crankcase.
The other problem is that you might not be getting enough long trips on the motor. Winter conditions can require 30 minutes or more of highway type driving to get the oil temp up high enough long enough to boil off any trapped moisture.
Another things that can help are to park in a garage at night to minimize atmospheric condensation. An engine block heater can also help.
Finally, if all else fails, change the oil very frequently! Your situation is a classic case where frequent changes with good conventional oil are better for the vehicle then are longer OCIs with expensive synthetic oils. Frequent changes with a good syn would be icing on the cake. The moisture accumulation needs to be gotten rid of.
In you shoes I would certainly try the Auto-RX route as a next step, or I would move to a more mild climate
.
John
The water has to be coming from condensation and combustion by products (few people realize that H20 is a primary result of combustion).
Some have suggested making sure the PCV system is doing it's job of ventilating the crankcase.
The other problem is that you might not be getting enough long trips on the motor. Winter conditions can require 30 minutes or more of highway type driving to get the oil temp up high enough long enough to boil off any trapped moisture.
Another things that can help are to park in a garage at night to minimize atmospheric condensation. An engine block heater can also help.
Finally, if all else fails, change the oil very frequently! Your situation is a classic case where frequent changes with good conventional oil are better for the vehicle then are longer OCIs with expensive synthetic oils. Frequent changes with a good syn would be icing on the cake. The moisture accumulation needs to be gotten rid of.
In you shoes I would certainly try the Auto-RX route as a next step, or I would move to a more mild climate
John
I agree with TDI Jerry. I just took my valve cover off of my 15 year old 120,000 mile BMW yesterday. This was a "wholesaler" car with absolutely zero service records for the first 100,000 miles. Sadly, from the evidence I have found it seems the previous owner "drove it and got out of it". When he found he needed brake pads, he traded the car in. Anyway, after Amsoil 10W40 over the last three years, I can see that the il is trying to clean things up but it is still a mess under the valve cover. I am going to start Auto-RX next.quote:
Originally posted by tdi jerry:
I DONT CARE WHAT KIND OF OIL YOU RUN WHEN IT GETS LIKE THIS THE SYS OIL WILL NOT CLEAN THE ENGINE UP. THE BEST SYS OIL CAN NOT CLEAN A ENGINE UP ONCE THE OIL GETS BAKE UP ON THE MOTOR PARTS.
Intertsingly, this car runs great does not use a drop of oil, leaks only a drop once in a while, and has excellent UOAs with a once per year drain interval. So for all of you VW guys (and others) with sludge and varnish issues, don't panic, just follow the advice of the experienced guys here and enjoy your cars.
Don
You should take a quick look at the "Nasty Valvetrain" post where a bad 1.8t crankcase breather varnished up the engine.
I wish it were that simple for 1.8T owners, Don. Check out the horror stories on VWVortex.com and ClubB5.com, and you'll see what I mean. These cars desperately need oil pressure gauges, as well as drivers who know how to read early warning signs on these gauges. By the time the low oil pressure idiot light finally comes on, the engine is generally toast because of a clogged oil pump pickup screen. For many owners, abrupt sludge-induced engine failure comes on like an unexpected sudden heart attack, which also arises, often symptom-free, from gradual inexorable clogging of a vital circulatory system.
I am convinced that 1.8T engines subjected to short-trip urban driving cycles, 5K mile OCIs, and dino oil will inevitably die prematurely of sludge. I am equally convinced that 1.8T engines blessed with long free-flowing highway trips and synthetic oil will never develop significant amounts of sludge, even with 5K mile or perhaps slightly longer OCIs. Since I can't avoid the urban driving, which gets worse every year in San Diego County, my best guess is a 3K to 3.5K mile OCI on Mobil 1 0W-40. I am also open to other ideas, such as PCV system maintenance and inspection, since others have suggested a connection between PCV problems and sludge formation.
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Yeah sure, Auto-RX sounds like a GREAT solution in this motor. Make sure you do a compression test before you start treatment and another one afterwards so that you KNOW it worked.
My friend's Saturn had soft sludge like this, so I changed the PCV valve. That had no effect, and the sludge was worse the next time I looked. I replaced the thermostat, and the following inspection 6 mo. later showed no more soft sludge.
Of course, the engine leaks oil everywhere, now that all the goo is gone.
Of course, the engine leaks oil everywhere, now that all the goo is gone.
Compression test consists of inserting a probe into the sparkplug opening and cranking the engine. Times 4 cyl for you could be done in a 1/2 hour. Call John.
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