SLUDGE!!! Need some oil experts...

[Jason280]

All right oil guys, need some major help here.

I recently bought a '95 Jeep Wrangler YJ with the 2.5L 4 cylinder and 154k miles. The engine has an oil leak around the valve cover, so I pulled the cover today to replace the gasket. What I found underneath has to be the worst buildup of sludge I have ever seen on a vehicle. I mean, this is freakin' ridiculous. Maybe even YouTube or Google Search worthy. This thing is a [censored] mess, and the odd thing is, it runs great. No smoking, ticking, knocks or other noises from the engine. It just purrs along! I would guess this was from not changing the oil for a loooooong time, but I have no idea (I changed the oil as soon as I bought the jeep).

I picked this Jeep up to be my winter project, but I have no idea what to do with this sludge in the valve train. How do I proceed from here, and any advice? Thanks!

 

[sunfire]

Oh my....

I hope you got the jeep at a good price.

 

[daman]

Holy [censored]!

 

[widman]

Is it soft sludge, or hard carbonized sludge?

Remember that the same is everywhere. I'd clean up what you can see, change the oil to a 10W-30 CI-4 with AutoRx, Then change filters again in a couple of weeks, see what you are getting.

 

[sciphi]

Ditto Widman.

Besides a scraper, a bucket, and some elbow grease cleaning up the stuff you can see, maybe put a bucket underneath the open drain pan, then pour some kerosene over it. Make sure to drop the oil pan and clean off the oil pickup screen before refilling with a 15w-40 HDEO and larger-than-stock filter.

If that's possible.

 

[The_Eric]

You'd better be looking at the PCV system. An improperly working or faulty PCV system can definitely contribute to these issues.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Good news that its running great. That tells me its likely a PCV issue.

Check your PCV and make sure it does not have a coolant leak.

I'd clean up as much as you can then use something like Pennzoil conventional 5w-30 and 1 qt MMO with oil changes every 1k and filter more often. Cut open the filter after 300 miles and see what it looks like. If its full put on another and remove/cut open after 200 miles. Keep going till it starts to settle down.

Once you get it cleaner, I'd stick with conventional oil 5w-30 and oil changes around 3k depending on time. No more than 5-6months.

Keep us informed!

Bill

 

[Jason280]

Quote:
Is it soft sludge, or hard carbonized sludge?

Remember that the same is everywhere. I'd clean up what you can see, change the oil to a 10W-30 CI-4 with AutoRx, Then change filters again in a couple of weeks, see what you are getting


I guess I would say its more of a "soft" sludge, but I'm no expert.

What exactly is happening to this stuff once the engine is up to temp? I mean, does it breakdown at all and circulate, or is it simply staying a mountain of sludge?

As far as changing the oil again, how much driving should I do in between oil and filter changes?

 

[Scienceman]

Here is DT466E's plan:
1: buy 3 jugs of PYB
2: buy 3 oil filters
3: Change the oil to PYB, let oil run 500 miles with some auto RX added near the end of the 500 miles.
4: repeat 2 other times.

 

[Capa]

I would remove whatever you can physically and then run 2 to 3 short OCI with a premium synthetic like, for example, Pennzoil Ultra. I would attempt a nice long trip just before changing the oil each time as well.

 

[Jason280]

Quote:
Here is DT466E's plan:
1: buy 3 jugs of PYB
2: buy 3 oil filters
3: Change the oil to PYB, let oil run 500 miles with some auto RX added near the end of the 500 miles.
4: repeat 2 other times.


Quote:
then run 2 to 3 short OCI with a premium synthetic


What's "PYB" and "OCI"? I having a difficult time following the acronyms...

 

[Sayjac]

That is classic man! That may be as bad as I've seen posted here. Check out some of the ideas you're given on this thread.

And Good Luck. Follow up posts are always appreciated.

 

[wvcvpi2003]

hey jason, did you post this on arfcom?

ETA:

now is a good time to do an I-6 or V8 swap.


or you could try auto-rx

 

[daman]

Originally Posted By: Jason280
Quote:
Here is DT466E's plan:
1: buy 3 jugs of PYB
2: buy 3 oil filters
3: Change the oil to PYB, let oil run 500 miles with some auto RX added near the end of the 500 miles.
4: repeat 2 other times.


Quote:
then run 2 to 3 short OCI with a premium synthetic


What's "PYB" and "OCI"? I having a difficult time following the acronyms...

Pennzoil yellow bottle and oil change interval

 

[Capa]

"OCI" oil change interval. "PYB" pennzoil yellow bottle.

 

[Oregoonian]

PYB = Pennzoil Yellow Bottle

 

[Jason280]

Thanks, Pennzoil is actually what's in the engine now. Will adding a quart of ATF help the issue any?

 

[wvcvpi2003]

Originally Posted By: Jason280
Thanks, Pennzoil is actually what's in the engine now. Will adding a quart of ATF help the issue any?


yes, but not as much as auto-rx will.


i will find you a link to the 60k mile bmw with no oil change.

it is still running after changing the oil and running auto-rx


link

60k no oil change

 

[Scienceman]

sorry Jason280.
I would not recommend ATF.

 

[sunfire]

IMO oil synthetic or dino won't clean that engine quickly enough before there is real damage done to the bearings. With all that sludge the oil passages are plugged up restricting oil to the engine.

You need a fast acting oil additive like MMO or Kreen and few 3K OCIs to clean up the places where you can't get to... oil passages, oil pump, rings, VVT systems use oil too... just to name a few.

There are plenty of MMO success stories in the Oil Additive section.

You should also clean out the oil pan.