Ecotec 1.4 Sludge

Pennzoil motor oil
jghall00

jghall00

Joined
Nov 23, 2020
Messages
712
So one of my kids bought a Trax with the 1.4 Ecotec. She's rather...lets say, independent, so I'm pretty hands off. But a few months ago I drove the car and the transmission was on its way out. It failed a few months later. My wife and wound up footing the bill for the replacement, so I decided I need to be more hands on with her vehicle maintenance. She has kids and needs a reliable car. I also don't want to foot the bill for any more expensive repairs. I checked the oil and found this.

20251031_231738.webp

She said she uses the OLM, but I'm not sure which oil she's had in it or interval it uses. I'm thinking Valvoline Restore and Protect but I'm worried this gunk will clog the turbo oil feed line. Any thoughts on an OCI using Valvoline Restore and Protect for an engine with sludge?
 
had a 2020 Trax and used Royal Purple 5w-30, never a issue, the oil worked well, the transmission was not working correctly from day one , took it to the dealer under warranty, well they said its normal, other than this issue, it was a good small suv,, sold the Trax shortly after.
 
I get the feeling you may need a prayer for this one...God Bless ya! If you have easy access to the vehicle I would run a 2k OCI with whatever, cheapest spec oil I could find and change filter too. Just to get a baseline estimate of what you are dealing with. Cut the filter and see where your at. Since you already paid for a transmission repair I'm hoping you don't have a hot mess on your hands.

If conditions seem appropriate might be with the Valvoline Restore and Protect for the 4 OCI's they suggest. If you can take before and after pics to at least have a visual of potential progress.
 
I myself would wait on Valvoline Restore and Protect and go with Mobil 1 0w40 as Revinredline above. With all the sludge on the stick, she has problems. Whats the internal head/cam/head webbing look like through the oil fill port? I would run Mobil 1 0w40 1,000 to 1,500 miles and dump it it, filter change of course. Go again with Mobil 1 0w40 for 3,000 miles, TWICE. Then go with Valvoline Restore and Protect.
 
Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-30 will not clog the lines. If anything - it will actually help liquify this gunk and keep it in suspension until it can be drained out. Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-30 is great cleaning oil, but not great distance oil. So keep the OCI at or below 3000 miles.
 
I would guess its just sludge that has been accumulating in the dipstick tube. Unless you have more indicators of sludge.
Use whatever oil you want with one shorter OCI and reassess after that.
 
Last edited:
Mainia said:
I would run Mobil 1 0w40 1,000 to 1,500 miles and dump it it, filter change of course. Go again with Mobil 1 0w40 for 3,000 miles, TWICE. Then go with Valvoline Restore and Protect.
Click to expand...
Is there a difference between the regular and high mileage versions of the 5W-30 EP?
 
Hate to be a doom-m-gloom guy; but it is too late. Doesn’t really matter what you run at this point, engine won’t be around a lot longer.
This engine is brutal on oil, and even with 5k changes on a top-rated synthetic, the engine becomes crusty varnish city. Once sludge is forming, it is done. Turbo bearings will be as loose and worn as heck.
 
Would run some 1K-1.5K oil and filter changes to start with. That should loosen up some of the sludge. Then I would go with 2 rounds of BG 109 with short oil and filter changes to get the rest of the sludge out. Seems like she went too long between OCI's, but it is what it is now. I've had good luck with BG 109 in cleaning up engines. I would also put stickers on the windshield to remind her. But, I get it. She has kids, so car maintenance kinda takes the back burner. Always something going on with kids. Not easy.
 
Navi said:
I would just get rid of the vehicle. Transmission going out...engine not maintained and sludged. You said "Chevy Trax" and "reliable" in the same post...thats just not going to happen. You should look at Toyota or Subaru.
Click to expand...
This is often repeated advice, or Toyota/Honda. But those brands command thousands of dollars premium sometimes and not everyone can swing up front.

Let alone the cost to dump a car you already have and buy one of those high resale brands. I would bet in 9/10 cases it's cheaper to keep what you have, take good care of it, and deal with some nickel and dime repairs.
 
You could do what I did with Valvoline Restore and Protect. I put in Valvoline Restore and Protect 5w20 (heading into winter months) and changed the filter monthly (it definitely needed it) and topped off when needed. In the spring I put in Valvoline Restore and Protect 5w30, car's oil consumption is down about 45%.
 
GR_CoB said:
Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-30 will not clog the lines. If anything - it will actually help liquify this gunk and keep it in suspension until it can be drained out. Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-30 is great cleaning oil, but not great distance oil. So keep the OCI at or below 3000 miles.
Click to expand...
This is where you want to be. Valvoline Restore and Protect won't clog anything at all.

And if the engine is badly sludged, you'll want to keep it under 3k for the first interval at least.
 
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