might not be a bad idea to run a 0-20 or 030 for a while too. Oil is gonna thicken like a mother...
Nooooo!!! Sludge in 97' Camry
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I agree with the Auto-Rx recommendations wholeheartedly. I'm about 500-600 miles into my ARX treatment and my engine is running noticeably smoother already (it may also be partially due to using MMO in the last seven or so tankfuls). In any case, ARX is da stuff.
I agree with 427Z06 and others. It would be best to drop the pan and remove the valve covers and manualy clean! Then I would order two-three bottles of Auto-Rx! I would follow the Auto-Rx directions for sludged up vechiles.
If he plans on keeping this vechile until it will not run or it starts to nickle and dimehim to death I would order a gallon of Lube Control for on going maintence!
What type of oil and OCI is he useing?
If he plans on keeping this vechile until it will not run or it starts to nickle and dimehim to death I would order a gallon of Lube Control for on going maintence!
What type of oil and OCI is he useing?
If there was sludge.....would a synthetic oil help clean it up ???
Would Delo 400 or Delvac 1300 help clean up the mess ???
Would Delo 400 or Delvac 1300 help clean up the mess ???
LT4, I'm inclined to believe those oils will clean up things somewhat due to their high detergency, but they truly won't clean the engine like it needs to be...
I made the mistake of adding a quart of ATF to a BMW that had noisey lifters. I didn't know that it was severly sludged up. The ATF broke loose large chunks of gunk, and plugged up the oil pickup screen. I had to pull the pan, manually clean everything, and I even pulled the cylinder head to have it cleaned by a machine shop.
Don't use ATF, or any of those other "flushes".
Don't use ATF, or any of those other "flushes".
For gawd's sake, take some pictures, before and after. Was the engine using oil prior to the sludge discovery? A lot of people swear by Auto RX...but then a lot of people swears by STP oil treatment and Slick 50. I would like to see definitive proof...
Compression tests, both before and after Auto RX would be a bonus.
This is the perfect test bed. Take some before and after pics and lets see what the difference is.
just imho, ymmv
darrell
sin city
Compression tests, both before and after Auto RX would be a bonus.
This is the perfect test bed. Take some before and after pics and lets see what the difference is.
just imho, ymmv
darrell
sin city
I would advice against even ARX for at least 3 or 4 oil change.
With that much stuff you should do a quick 500 mile change for a few times with the cheapest dino oil, then when it became more stablized use ARX, then after a few quick 500 ARX cycles you can go back to 3000 mile change.
ARX on such a sludged engine is just as bad as flush.
With that much stuff you should do a quick 500 mile change for a few times with the cheapest dino oil, then when it became more stablized use ARX, then after a few quick 500 ARX cycles you can go back to 3000 mile change.
ARX on such a sludged engine is just as bad as flush.
"ARX on such a sludged engine is just as bad as flush."
And this is based on...
Sorry but the evidence on this forum, the thousands of postings in the additive forum and my own personal experience directly contradict this staement. I don't work for AutoRX.
Mark in NC
And this is based on...
Sorry but the evidence on this forum, the thousands of postings in the additive forum and my own personal experience directly contradict this staement. I don't work for AutoRX.
Mark in NC
if you could stick your finger in a camry oil fill hole and "scooped it out with my finger.."
that in itself is a pretty good trick.
The oil splash baffle is right under the cap and prevents anyone's finger from getting much of anything. It's like 1/2" under the cap and unless you have very skinny fingers, you can't reach around it. You can't even get a funnel to stand up securely in there.
Did you REALLY scrap it out or just look and see what you thought was sludge? The splash baffle has a very rough, gritty finish, is black and has fooled 1000s of people.
Please pull the valve cover to verify sludge and if you have it the advise given here (your choice...) is probably as good as you can get. Does your cousin pray a lot? This would be a good time to start.
I'm definitely NOT saying I doubt you, but before you go to the effort and expense to correct the problem, please verify in a better manner.
The oil fill cap is NOT a good place to check.
that in itself is a pretty good trick.
The oil splash baffle is right under the cap and prevents anyone's finger from getting much of anything. It's like 1/2" under the cap and unless you have very skinny fingers, you can't reach around it. You can't even get a funnel to stand up securely in there.
Did you REALLY scrap it out or just look and see what you thought was sludge? The splash baffle has a very rough, gritty finish, is black and has fooled 1000s of people.
Please pull the valve cover to verify sludge and if you have it the advise given here (your choice...) is probably as good as you can get. Does your cousin pray a lot? This would be a good time to start.
I'm definitely NOT saying I doubt you, but before you go to the effort and expense to correct the problem, please verify in a better manner.
The oil fill cap is NOT a good place to check.
"the thousands of postings in the additive forum "
and these were all sludged engines? or just engines that didn't sludge after a treatment?
"Look, mom i've got an elephant repellant."
"There aren't any elephants around here."
"see? It works already."
and these were all sludged engines? or just engines that didn't sludge after a treatment?
"Look, mom i've got an elephant repellant."
"There aren't any elephants around here."
"see? It works already."
Kenw,
I put the oil cap aside. I was looking into the oil filler hole itself. It only goes down 1" to 1.5" or so. It has two metal plates that are off-set so you can't go that far down. There was so much sludge in that hole that I could have built a clay sculpture.
I put the oil cap aside. I was looking into the oil filler hole itself. It only goes down 1" to 1.5" or so. It has two metal plates that are off-set so you can't go that far down. There was so much sludge in that hole that I could have built a clay sculpture.
yes, the oil filler hole is where the splash baffle is. My 2.2 Camy baffle is not deep enough to allow a funnel to even stand on it's own.
The oil fill cap nearly bottoms out on the baffle, btw, so if it is sludged that heavily, there should be some indication of the cap threaded-end embossing itself in the sludge buildup.
Did you actually remove some sludge? I just don't want you to spend a lot of time and effort on a potential false alarm, and on these engines there have been many, many more false alarms than real ones. But certainly enough real ones to be concerned. Let's hope for the best.
The oil fill cap nearly bottoms out on the baffle, btw, so if it is sludged that heavily, there should be some indication of the cap threaded-end embossing itself in the sludge buildup.
Did you actually remove some sludge? I just don't want you to spend a lot of time and effort on a potential false alarm, and on these engines there have been many, many more false alarms than real ones. But certainly enough real ones to be concerned. Let's hope for the best.
This is not the v6 right? the v6 has the sludge protection warrenty. Geez, he must have not changed the dino oil 15k OCIs to get that bad!
both 14 and v6 have the extended warranty i believe, but the v6 is by far the leader in potential sludging issues. My friends at local dealers have neither seen a sludged i4 of this vintage although I'm sure it can happen. Traditionally the i4 sold about 4:1 over the v6.
So PMWalter how often was he changing the oil and what kind and what grade was he using?
Was it syntheic or dino?
Would really like to know.Also how often did he change his pcv valve.
Was it syntheic or dino?
Would really like to know.Also how often did he change his pcv valve.
Miami,
I'm not sure exactly how long his OCI's were. They drive about 1200+ miles each month, and he probably went 3,4+ months between the changes. The PCV valve looked original to me. It was very dirty and grimmy, however it still rattled a little bit. Not like a new one though. The car used whatever the oil change shops had to offer. Dino oil for sure, no synthetics. The car is in the Seattle are, so they do a LOT of high speed driving, coupled with excessive idling while in rush hour, etc.
Kenw,
OK, we're on the same page now. I understand what you mean by the splash guard. And yes, I scooped the stuff out in large amounts. Even in the filler cap.
So, let's say that he does or doesn't have a big sludge problem. It would still probably be a good idea to use AutoRx. He decided to go that route. He ordered a double treatment of the stuff and plans on dumping it in this week. I guess we'll see what happens. Ragardless, it will be good for his engine. I even ordered a bottle for my 98'Camry I4 at 60K. Thanks for your input.
I'm not sure exactly how long his OCI's were. They drive about 1200+ miles each month, and he probably went 3,4+ months between the changes. The PCV valve looked original to me. It was very dirty and grimmy, however it still rattled a little bit. Not like a new one though. The car used whatever the oil change shops had to offer. Dino oil for sure, no synthetics. The car is in the Seattle are, so they do a LOT of high speed driving, coupled with excessive idling while in rush hour, etc.
Kenw,
OK, we're on the same page now. I understand what you mean by the splash guard. And yes, I scooped the stuff out in large amounts. Even in the filler cap.
So, let's say that he does or doesn't have a big sludge problem. It would still probably be a good idea to use AutoRx. He decided to go that route. He ordered a double treatment of the stuff and plans on dumping it in this week. I guess we'll see what happens. Ragardless, it will be good for his engine. I even ordered a bottle for my 98'Camry I4 at 60K. Thanks for your input.
Well, if you did scoop it out, I would feel very safe in saying that yes, in fact he does have sludge. Thanx for your patience, I've just seen a lot of people get really panicked when that silly splash baffle got them all spun up! Good luck and let us know what comes about.
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