95 Caprice 5.7l LT1 55k- Valve cover- sludge!

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I just bought a low mileage Caprice. Yes, it's the orginial engine. There is sludge everywhere though. She was not well taken care of throughout the years- oil changes at least. Below is a valve cover picture. This will by my first OC. I know to use PYB for short OCI of around 2.5k. What do you guys think about seafoam in the oil or doing an engine flush?
 
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I'd change PYB more often than that. I'd do it every 1,000-1,500 miles for a while with SuperTech filters.
 
It's the LT1 series III engine. Being a low mileage car, the dirt under the VC is to be expected.
The engine in that car runs at lower temps than that super engine's first incarnation.

If it ain't clicking just run her clean as you plan. Let your driving habits clean it up. Skip the "huile d'snake" for now.
Close it up and check it in a year.

I sold a neighbor's '96 with That car had EVERY OPTION GM had for that car (remember, it wasn't an Impala) except leather.

Does your '95 have Optispark? ...another stupid GM idea.

Go under the car and check the condition of all the "bracing" used. That of my neighbor's car was real rusty.

The front suspension did have grease fittings. Kira
 
Put a new 195 oem thermostat in and also check for coolant leaks it could also be looking like that due to bad maintenance as you know.. I have a 95 seville with about the same mileage and it looks new inside..
 
Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
Put a new 195 oem thermostat in and also check for coolant leaks it could also be looking like that due to bad maintenance as you know.. I have a 95 seville with about the same mileage and it looks new inside..


OEM thermostat is 180°F.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
I'd change PYB more often than that. I'd do it every 1,000-1,500 miles for a while with SuperTech filters.


+1

I'd be a bit more worried on how the coolant system was cared for with that LT1.
Reverse cooling and the distributor under the water pump issues.
 
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She had a misfire and the new water pump had a terrible leak. The water pump wasn't sealed correctly. She also had an assortment of spark plugs including 3 of the original ones, a clogged PCV, and a pinched PCV hose. The opti, spark plug wires, spark plugs, and PCV are all brand new now.



 
Any API SN 10W-30 oil at 3000 mile OCI will clean it nice and slow - the way you want to do it. Might take 20k miles or more to get it clean, don't be in a hurry. Emphatic NO to Seafoam. As others have stated, it's not that bad - I've seen much, much worse on the same engine.
 
Originally Posted By: FastLane
I would do a few early oil changes as well. 1000 miles or so. Get it hit on the highway. Leave it out of OD on occasion.

What is OD?
 
Originally Posted By: gallydif
Originally Posted By: FastLane
I would do a few early oil changes as well. 1000 miles or so. Get it hit on the highway. Leave it out of OD on occasion.

What is OD?


Overdrive. He's telling him to leave it out of overdrive to ensure engine oil gets good and hot while on the highway.
 
The short OCI cleanup is probably the best way to deal with it. And if it's still not clean enough after that, you can always do another short OCI.

Napa Synthetic is still on sale for $2.99/qt, which is the price of PYB dino, and maybe a full syn might be better to use for a cleaning short OCI? Napa also has a couple engine flush things, both their own house brand Mac's, and Liqui-Moly.
 
It doesn't look too bad to be honest, run a few short oil changes on PYB and it should clean it up, and for the love of god never flush a sludged engine, my driend did it once and all of sludge blocked the oil pump's pickup tube and the engine was toast
 
Doesn't look bad at all....you can still read casting marks on the head.

Some short OCI's. plus a bit of spirited driving will clean it right up and have it running great!
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
I'd change PYB more often than that. I'd do it every 1,000-1,500 miles for a while with SuperTech filters.

Why? PYB is motor oil, not a cleaning solvent.
 
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