Here's some sludge for ya.

[AdRock]

I bought a 1995 F150 last May from some close friends of mine that are also car nuts like myself. I knew the engine had been sludged at one point( by her ex husband ) but they had taken it to a shop and had everything cleaned out. A new oil pump was also installed. That was about 5 years ago. The truck ran great, the oil looked good, and there were no odd noises or anything.

Then at the beginning of December as I was leaving from work the oil pump locked up and it twisted the pump shaft till it snapped. The 5.0 was toast. I decided that I would just buy a new long block.

When I pulled the pan off it was nice and clean inside but I noticed a chunk of junk in the oil pickup screen. The pump had been starved, heated up, then seized. I pulled the valve covers and everything was pretty clean.

Then I pulled the intake off and HOLY *&%*&$&&*&**&% Apparently the shop that cleaned everything out DIDN'T clean everything out.


THE BOTTOM OF THE INTAKE

THE LIFTER VALLEY. It was so thick that you can even see the lifter brackets. For fun I cleaned out the stuff and weighed it. In a small thin trash bag the crust and sludge weighed in at 5.5 pounds. LOL.

 

[gomes512]

Wow! Reminds me of the scenery from the movie Aliens.

Thanks for posting.

 

[901Memphis]

Sounds like a mechanic who was paid to do a job tried to cut corners.

 

[AdRock]

And for the people who might not be sure what it should look like in there.

Here's the fresh long block. All the stuff in there is what was being covered by all the sludge in the previous pic.

 

[Nick1994]

All that PYB wax buildup?


Haha just kidding

 

[Mr Nice]

I avoid high mileage vehicles if I'm looking to buy used.

 

[Clevy]

Unreal.
Using a product like mmo or Kreen or chemtool would have blackened the oil immediately.
No way would just short changes fix that up.
How someone lets it get to that point is beyond me. Heck I get all uptight if my oil blackens pre-3000 miles,which tells me there's ample deposits being cleaned up.
Well at least you've now got an engine that is of known quality and cleanliness and can get in a regimen suitable for your climate and driving style.

 

[AdRock]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
I avoid high mileage vehicles if I'm looking to buy used.


Normally I do too. However, these were close friends that I completely trust. As far as they knew everything was fine. She used the truck as a daily driver for 5 years after the guy cleaned it up (besides the lifter valley) and it ran great with no problems. She felt horrible about it happening.

 

[901Memphis]

Makes me want to buy new vehicles only.

 

[turtlevette]

It looks like something very odd happened there. I can't imagine oil turning into coke. It's way beyond sludge.

Almost like something other than motor oil was used. Some low temp oil.

 

[901Memphis]

Thermostat stick open, short tripper, extended changes on dino.

 

[spk2000]

Looks like grease

 

[PeterGreen]

Yea, though I walk in the valley of sludge I will fear no evil for Thou art with me

 

[FetchFar]

Yea, though I walk thru the valley of sludge I will fear no evil for SeaFoam art with me...

 

[turtlevette]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Thermostat stick open, short tripper, extended changes on dino.


Why would a cold engine coke the oil.

There's something else going on way beyond normal bounds. I don't think any modern oil would do that under any of the conditions you listed above. I can't think of a condition that would cause that with modern oil.

Maybe he made his "own" motor oil.

 

[possum328]

Originally Posted By: FetchFar
Yea, though I walk thru the valley of sludge I will fear no evil for SeaFoam art with me...
thy Kreen and thy MMO they comfort me.

 

[friendly_jacek]

The miracle is the thing worked for 5 years after the "cleaning."

 

[spasm3]

Imagine how long it took for oil to drain from the lifter valley area. I bet the oil levels were all over the place. Add til you think is full then after hrs of sitting, its overfilled. Drive it and its back to the correct level.

 

[29662]

that is some pretty nasty stuff. Amazing it ran that long with the lifter valley sludged up so badly.

 

[FetchFar]

Originally Posted By: possum328
Originally Posted By: FetchFar
Yea, though I walk thru the valley of sludge I will fear no evil for SeaFoam art with me...
thy Kreen and thy MMO they comfort me.


SeaFoam, Kreen, MMO would all run for the hills at that one. Too far gone. DOA...