Chevy Tracker engine and sludge

[otis24]

I just purchased a 1999 Chevy Tracker with the 2.0 Suzuki engine. It is purportedly a one owner vehicle. There appears to be trace amounts of sludge around the oil cap and the inside of the engine is definitely varnish coated. I have three bottles of Auto-Rx on order.
Are these engines known to be particularly prone to sludge?

 

[Dr_No]

No idea, but good luck with auto rx

Three treatments should do it

 

[Big Jim]

They are not known as a sludge prone engine. Suzuki engines in general give very little trouble. Suzuki in general has a very low warranty expense rate. Enjoy it.

 

[klingon20]

I agree with Jim, those Suzuki engines are fairly reliable.

Good luck with your new purchase

 

[Zaedock]

Suzuki engines are very reliable. I just tuned the 1.6L in my '98 Tracker 4 door. I pulled the valve cover to check the lash and there was no varnish or sludge. The only repairs I have ever done have been tune up items and a timing belt(and water pump, cause it's there)at 60K. I posted a nice UOA a while back of my Tracker as well.
My brother has a '03 Tracker and has had 0 problems. I had 200K on my old '89 Sidekick and then gave it to my brother (who put another 80K on it) before he bought his. It was then given to his friend and to my knowledge, is still driving.

 

[wgtoys]

Did you get maintenance records with it? I'm certainly wondering if it had regular oil changes and other maintenance.

 

[ewetho]

Quote:

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I just purchased a 1999 Chevy Tracker with the 2.0 Suzuki engine. It is purportedly a one owner vehicle. There appears to be trace amounts of sludge around the oil cap and the inside of the engine is definitely varnish coated. I have three bottles of Auto-Rx on order.
Are these engines known to be particularly prone to sludge?

---

I am actually a Suzuki tech and can say I see quite a few sludged ones but all of them I have seen have been known to have skipped Oil Changes (evidence includes we do the oil changes and the Suzuki Filter is still on and the last OC we did was 9K ago). The ones that have it changed every 3K on conventional are very clean. The abused ones build sludge regularly. They are subject to a good carmel color coating but that is about it. If changed regularly they will go well past 100K with no build up past that.

 

[Chris142]

I have a customer with over 400K on her Vitara (same basic car as the Tracker) with very few problems. Worst was a trans rebuild @ 380K.

 

[otis24]

The previous owner started recording the maintenance in the back of the owners manual. It appears that the vehicle started with a regular oil change schedule of 3k miles at during the first couple of months then up to 5k intervals. If this is indeed a one owner vehicle, I don't see why the owner would switch from a regular OCI's to being neglectful. Anyway, the Auto-Rx should help clean things out.

 

[Pablo]

I agree this engine is not listed as a sludge engine. I guess sludge, grime, coked old oil caused by neglect don't fall into the "sludge listed" territory. We could argue a bit about where the line is drawn.....because it depends on the chosen motor oil, driving conditions, ambient weather, etc... I've been saying if for awhile but there are some engines and conditions that 5K with conventional oil is not a good combo, or at best is pushing it.

Run the bottles of AutoRx with confidence, this will really clean the unseen items, like rings, oil galleys, etc.....you'll have plenty of time and miles during this process to select a good oil. And you will be pleasantly surprised at the outcome!

 

[ThirdeYe]

My guess is the previous owner may have forgotten an oil change, or the PCV valve might've gotten clogged.