06 Corolla Sludge :: MMO Experiment

[hate2work]

Catera, kudos to you for doing this. I agree about making you mad to see this, it ticks me off too.

We have an 06 Corolla, and that thing gets babied by me. The wife wants to know why we don't just take it to iffylube, I think I'll show her this thread

I know alot of people do it, but I still don't like the idea of putting solvent in the oil and then driving it. I think the flushes that you just add and then idle for 20 minutes are a better deal, but that's just me. And sometimes you just use what you have on hand

Keep us updated about this, put your camera in a plastic bag to take pics and keep it clean.

 

[finalyzd]

At my shop our gtx high mileage oil change is 50 lol but u. Get a lot for that service seems like she upgraded to a blend or a highmileage.

 

[suspiciousmind]

I think it'd be a good idea to change the filter again right now.

 

[saberz]

I'd be swapping that filter out every 1k, just the amount of gunk that will fill it up in a very short amount of time. MMO from my personal experience works quite fast in the sense it will immediately soften up material in say 100 miles and slowly clean up it, but the speed depends on how much dirt/sludge there is.

If its an excess amount of sludge the filter will be packed sooner rather than later. A few oil changes and it should be good though. Maybe run a stout HM for the extra add pack and MMO or your choice of product.

 

[OLAFF]

Here are some pics of that filter you guys asked for.

It was a messy job, oddly enough I dont see the sludge that I saw at the top of the engine... weired huh?

It was very dirty, and the oil in the case was very very thick, nothing like the oil that came out of the crank case.

Sludge out of the filler neck..

Oil filter...

Oil Filter DATED: DEC 07 < seems to me.

 

[OLAFF]

Look how slow it was draining...

Here are the brake pads 95% worn.

 

[sangyup81]

Jiffy Lubes don't use FRAM Orange Cans. This means they never ever changed the filter? That thing musta been in bypass the whole 2 years

 

[OLAFF]

I asked her regarding her millage and oil changes... she said last 4 were done at jiffy lube... before that at the dealer.

She said she stopped taking the car to the dealer at around 50K, when she bought the car from the lease.

I keep wondering how that Fram filter ended up on there too...


If you guys like JiffyLube so much, I have no problem with you taking your car there... from what I have seen I would stay away from them.
They seem to mistreat customers that don't know much about cars.

 

[hominid7]

I agree with suspiciousmind...On a sludged engine i'd start out with a few rapid oil changes of inexpensive dino. By rapid i mean maybe 100 miles.

If the Jiffy Lube in question did pull a fast one, that's a shame. Not only to the OP's friend but also to the thousands and thousands of Jiffy Lube workers that take pride in their job.

In my neck of the woods there is an inde-owned Shell Rapid Lube which performs my tranny fluid exchanges every 25-30K miles. They could not be more honest, and they take great pride in their work.

 

[L_Sludger]

 

[sangyup81]

We like that Jiffy Lube uses SOPUS products.

I'd like to know a little more about how that company is run. Does upper management push store managers to make more profit while turning a blind eye to ethical practices? I've seen it in the cell phone store world so I wouldn't be surprised to see it done in the quickie lube world.

 

[OLAFF]

Oh, another odd observation, the oil was not only thick, and very black but it also had a very awful smell to it... cant even describe it.

Next time I see her I will discuss the oil change situation with her... its only going to be around 15$ to do it again... so maybe like you guys say I will do another at 500mi, and another at 1000mi. Not sure if I should use any more MMO though!?

 

[Bill in Utah]

As said above. Jiffy Lube does not use Frams.

They would NOT RISK NOT CHANGING a oil filter. (or the oil)

Sorry, Girlfriend's friend is not telling you the truth. Ask for the RECEIPTS.

Again, I don't take my personal vehicles to Jiffy Lube but have taken work vehicles there for YEARS. I've also stood there and watched HUNDREDS of vehicles get their oil changed and see the filter come off into the drain shelf and oil come out.

They charge $$ for their SERVICE, they are NOT going to not do the service. Esp on a SIMPLE corolla.

Bill

 

[hominid7]

Interesting photos, thanks for sharing them.... That oil looks like it has coolant in it perhaps?

If the filter was clogged, it could have been bi-passed a few thousand miles ago.

If you have time, it would be interesting to see the next filter you take off the car. That one should be really loaded up with junk.

I would think it's doubtful that the dealer used a Fram. I would think it's at least possible that a Jiffy Lube franchise may have bought a Fram if they ran out of their regular stock, rather than turning a customer away. Perhaps the hand written date was some kind of inventory/signature to verify when it was purchased, etc...

Whatever happened, it's a good thing your friend had someone watching out for her and hopefully this episode can get her on the right track with her car.

 

[OLAFF]

Originally Posted By: sangyup81
We like that Jiffy Lube uses SOPUS products.

I'd like to know a little more about how that company is run. Does upper management push store managers to make more profit while turning a blind eye to ethical practices? I've seen it in the cell phone store world so I wouldn't be surprised to see it done in the quickie lube world.



Well at the one by my house, the employees are all high school people. Dont seem to know much about oil changes, doubt they have any certifications to do that.

Then they see a guy with a nice car, seems to know what he wants and needs form them, so maybe they do a proper oil change.
Then they see a girl clueless as to whats under the hood of her car, doesn't know what oil she needs, they tell her the most expensive package is the best... so she agrees and they proceed to wipe off the filter... maybe do an oil change maybe not...
Then they see the car again, they figure ok, well lets just keep on doing this...

If the manager doesnt give a smack about his job or his 8$/hr, he will hardly care about your car. Like they say oil is oil, and the tighter the better...

Its just how I think about it.

 

[sangyup81]

Yeah I'm with Bill. This is more likely a mistake of a noob who didn't know you were supposed to change a FRAM Orange Can every time you change the oil. Heck it's noob to even buy an oil filter when a better one can be had for 1/3 less than the orange can assuming this was done at Walmart.

I think the GF's friend is just trying to protect either herself or someone and lay the blame on Jiffy Lube. They probably already know you don't like Jiffy Lube and used that to deflect attention to the story so you'd just fix their problem without any further questions.

Sorry man

 

[mikered30]

Will you pull the valve cover?

 

[c3po]

Originally Posted By: Catera
Next time I see her I will discuss the oil change situation with her... its only going to be around 15$ to do it again... so maybe like you guys say I will do another at 500mi, and another at 1000mi. Not sure if I should use any more MMO though!?


I would probably suggest getting a can of the Amsoil Engine Flush to use for your next oil change on this car.

I do not believe that one treatment of MMO is going to get this engine clean, it may take a few OCI's with MMO in the engine. It would probably be wise to use the MMO at each OCI because it may take awhile for this engine to get cleaned up. JMO

 

[hominid7]

Come to think of it, doesn't walmart use Fram's on the cars they service?

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: hominid7

I would think it's doubtful that the dealer used a Fram. I would think it's at least possible that a Jiffy Lube franchise may have bought a Fram if they ran out of their regular stock, rather than turning a customer away. Perhaps the hand written date was some kind of inventory/signature to verify when it was purchased, etc...


Most of the Toyotas use the same filter. The other Toyota filter works on a Corolla. Their computer system orders filters when they start to get low depending on the part number.

I SERIOUSLY doubt that Fram came from Jiffy Lube. (and I've seen them state "sorry we don't have the part so no service" on weird / not seen often vehicles when they don't have the part)

And I've never seen $8 a hour managers at Jiffy Lube. They make a lot more than that. So do most of their workers (who are well out of high school)

Catera, Did you use to work there and get fired? It's obvious you have "issues" with Jiffy Lube?

Bill