No sludge = Well maintained motor?

[Spetz]

If a motor at 120,000 miles has no sludge, does this indicate it has been well maintain and that driving habits of the car were good?

 

[CharBaby]

Yeah, and that the engine may be easy on it's oil! I've seen the internals of neglected engines(by my standards) that looked quite good on the inside! And, I've seen the internals that looked poor when the owner did 3mo/3K OCI's. Hmmmm, IDK!

 

[FL_Rob]

Certain engines are well designed and may not show signs of how badly they may be neglected.

 

[bigt61]

You won't know for sure, but you can make an educated guess. I've looked at thousands of used cars during my career and checking dipsticks and oil caps always shed some light on the condition of the car overall. Cosmetics can be glossed over - and often are. A clean car may not be that clean, if you know what I mean.

 

[Guitarmageddon]

Heres how you determine engine health, at least the best way I know how. 1. Do you have service records from the prior owner(s) indicating a good OCI? Have you maintained good OCI? 2. Has the right oil been used for the job? 3. Have you maintained UOA records? Is it wearing acceptably? 4. Compression test 5. Leakdown test 6. Borescope to check for scoring To me, the last three are an absolute must and I dont care WHAT car Im looking at. After all that the sludge to me is more of an afterthought to be honest.

 

[bepperb]

Originally Posted By: Guitarmageddon

Heres how you determine engine health, at least the best way I know how. 1. Do you have service records from the prior owner(s) indicating a good OCI? Have you maintained good OCI? 2. Has the right oil been used for the job? 3. Have you maintained UOA records? Is it wearing acceptably? 4. Compression test 5. Leakdown test 6. Borescope to check for scoring To me, the last three are an absolute must and I dont care WHAT car Im looking at. After all that the sludge to me is more of an afterthought to be honest.

You really ask for UOA records for a used car you would buy? How BITOG is that? Wow. And with only 5 posts. The force is strong with this one.

 

[Brybo86]

Originally Posted By: bepperb

The force is strong with this one.

HAHA

 

[JamesBond]

A clean body, interior and engine bay, and decent name brand tires tell more about the maintenance and driving habits of a vehicle than a peek down the oil fill hole.

 

[zzyzzx]

If a motor at 120,000 miles has no sludge, does this indicate it has been well maintain and that driving habits of the car were good? Either that, you are not driving a Toyota.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Originally Posted By: bepperb

Originally Posted By: Guitarmageddon

Heres how you determine engine health, at least the best way I know how. 1. Do you have service records from the prior owner(s) indicating a good OCI? Have you maintained good OCI? 2. Has the right oil been used for the job? 3. Have you maintained UOA records? Is it wearing acceptably? 4. Compression test 5. Leakdown test 6. Borescope to check for scoring To me, the last three are an absolute must and I dont care WHAT car Im looking at. After all that the sludge to me is more of an afterthought to be honest.

You really ask for UOA records for a used car you would buy? How BITOG is that? Wow. And with only 5 posts. The force is strong with this one.

Now where does length of BITOG membership have a correlation with knowledge of motor oil, tribology and engines? Unless you've been here you haven't been enlightened? Maybe they were on NORIA first

 

[Guitarmageddon]

Hahaha thanks... I think the reason we harp on them so much in the s4 world (4.2L) is because the block is sleeved. And until VERY recently (like, weeks...) NO options were available to re-sleeve with Alusil. ONE reputable tuning shop is doing re-sleeving. Even then, do YOU have 10 grand to give me for their re-sleeved, forged internal motor?? Actually, do you? I want one...