CRV 18k mi OCI, significant sludge buildup

[Bill7]

This will blow you're mind. 13' CRV AWD EXL / 70k / Took to the dealer to replace the VTC valve. Mechanic says " you know, there's A LOT of sludge build up in that engine..." I was like WHAT !!!!!!!!!!!! I did OCI every 3k. Original owner. Good synthetic oil with a good filter. Combo of highway and city driving. Yeh, something smells fishy in Denmark. I think BIG OIL is pullin the wool over our eyes !

I personally think all these big "Name brand" oil manufacturers are the ones who have an incentive to increase profits by cheapening the product (same principal as First Brands/Fram cheapening their oil filters), but cheapening the oil, as it costs less to make an inferior oil.

 

[50yr Street Mech]

Granted, it costs less to make an inferior oil. That makes total sense. But I'm using quality oils and filters, or are they quality oils in the first place. The typical oil I'm using is the 20k oil, which I dump at 3k. So, why in the world would their be sludge buildup in the engine at 70k ? I went into the shop bay, and seen it myself. I'm not using additives, like say STP blue bottle, or anything like that. Then I'd say, " Ok, it's the blue bottle causing this mess" Not beating the car to death, not running it hot. It's just a daily Joe Schmo driver. It gets it's highway workouts. Regardless, it has 614, 877k on it now. I attribute that to the 3k oil changes. 13' K24 Honda engine. I can't really complain. Same bearings/cam bearings/rod bearings/cap bearings. I just think this 10k , 20k, whatever k oil is a bunch of bologna. Frequent OCI's is the key to longevity. Big Auto extended OCI intervals to blow an engine before it's time so you either rebuild it, or buy a new car.

 

[Glenda W.]

Any pics of the sludge?

 

[nwjones18]

It would burn about 1 quart per OCI. Due to your experiment with VR&P, I currently have that in this car. It burned about 1/2 a quart in the first OCI, and NONE in it's current OCI (which has about 5000 miles). So, perhaps the rings were a bit dirty? Don't know...but I've been watching it closely and the consumption may have stopped! At just over 130,000 miles now.

My CRV uses roughly 1qt per OCI as well and I usually change it around 7500 mi which is 20ish % on the MM. Been running Chevron 5w-30 syn-blend for years due to stash, but it has M1 5w-30 in it now. Curious if consumption changes.

 

[50yr Street Mech]

No pics of sludge. I've seen a lot worse. Very thin layer... More concerned now about clackity clack. Does not use a drop of oil. Ran an EPR 109 at 300 K just in case of stuck rings, but no stuck rings. Cleaned it out nicely though. Just wanna know if I should thicken the grade to 5W30 or something else to slow the inevitable death. Runs fantastic, but it can't run forever. I'm not stupid. The end will happen.