QS oil really that bad with causing sludge?

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I know I am probably opening up a large old topic, but is it really STILL sludge causing? I know my dad said back in the 70s and 80s he had some bad luck with QS burning oil and causing sludge. But nowadays with advancements in tech, is it not better? I have been using QS High Mileage in my 1995 Nissan for the last 2 changes and my car has been running better and quieter than with Pennzoil High Mileage or Valvoline High Mileage...
 
I think you answered your own question there buddy.

The oils of today aren't nowhere CLOSE to the oils from the 70s.
 
Originally Posted By: zeke1985
I know my dad said back in the 70s and 80s he had some bad luck with QS burning oil and causing sludge.

Well, let me formally welcome you to the year 2012. Quaker State does not do that anymore nor has it for years.
 
Originally Posted By: zeke1985
I know I am probably opening up a large old topic, but is it really STILL sludge causing? I know my dad said back in the 70s and 80s he had some bad luck with QS burning oil and causing sludge. But nowadays with advancements in tech, is it not better? I have been using QS High Mileage in my 1995 Nissan for the last 2 changes and my car has been running better and quieter than with Pennzoil High Mileage or Valvoline High Mileage...


Pennzoil and Quaker State are also owned by the same company, SOPUS, now since 2002. If the OCI is within limits and is a SM or SN rated oil, there shouldnt be any sludge build up.
 
My last use of QS was in '95 so I really couldn't say. I did get lots of comments to the effect of "I'm ruining that engine.", but it didn't. Car ran 4 more years.
 
Yea, QS has come a long way since the 70s.....lol. I even know of some guys who use QS in their "race" cars.....particularly the 10w30 Full Synthetic stuff...then I was browsing one of those "Tuner" magazine, and noticed they have QS adverts...I was like wow....they've come a long way
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Funny thing is, I used Quaker State in the early 80`s for years, and never had any trouble? I was just thinking about this today too. It`s supposed to go down to 11 degrees tonight, so you know tomorrow morning its gonna be cold! And my car always started (back then) sitting out side with good ole Quaker State Sterling 10W40 motor oil in the sump.
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QS and Pennzoil both had that reputation in the 70s. It persists today. The other day I ran into a fellow trying to decide which 5W-20 to buy for his 4 cyl Ranger. He was doing 3K OCIs. I suggested he use PYB and he rather forcefully said, "No way. That stuff will sludge your engine!"
 
Originally Posted By: OldCowboy
QS and Pennzoil both had that reputation in the 70s. It persists today. The other day I ran into a fellow trying to decide which 5W-20 to buy for his 4 cyl Ranger. He was doing 3K OCIs. I suggested he use PYB and he rather forcefully said, "No way. That stuff will sludge your engine!"
And that's when you recommended he use a Fram filter, right?
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Originally Posted By: opus1
Originally Posted By: OldCowboy
QS and Pennzoil both had that reputation in the 70s. It persists today. The other day I ran into a fellow trying to decide which 5W-20 to buy for his 4 cyl Ranger. He was doing 3K OCIs. I suggested he use PYB and he rather forcefully said, "No way. That stuff will sludge your engine!"
And that's when you recommended he use a Fram filter, right?
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Quaker State sludged up and killed one of my vehicles about 20yrs or so ago. A tough as iron Ford inline six, 300 or 4.9 or something like that. My mechanic, who knows I take care of my vehicles. Was in complete shock when he took off the valve covers and eventually the oil pan. Total sludgefest, I almost puked when I saw the damage.

Yes, I am an old pooper. When I first started driving, the oil cans and spouts were still being used. The new fangled plastic containers were as big a game changer as Velcro is today.

Anyway, I still have a bad taste in my mouth from Quaker State and will not ever put that motor oil in any car I will ever own.

That being said, I would not hesitate to recommend the oil to anyone if I were asked. Q.S. and its sister Pennzoil makes some mighty fine slick stuff nowadays.
 
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Just what is the chemical composition of sludge and will it show up in a UOA? Maybe because it drops out it is not detectable?
 
1972 called and they want their rumor back.

Oil does not "Make" sludge. One of it's jobs is to prevent sludge. If an engine is a sludge bomb something prevented the oil from being able to prevent sludge from forming.

Coolant in the oil, short trips, no thermostat etc.

Most every body here used to remove their thermostat because 195 is "too hot!". So then they ran around @ 120 degrees unable to boil moisture off.
 
Parents and members of my family used QS for years with no issues.


Used it a bunch when I first started driving. Then got into other oils. And here I am, using it all over again....
 
Originally Posted By: LckydevL
Quaker State sludged up and killed one of my vehicles about 20yrs or so ago. A tough as iron Ford inline six, 300 or 4.9 or something like that. My mechanic, who knows I take care of my vehicles. Was in complete shock when he took off the valve covers and eventually the oil pan. Total sludgefest, I almost puked when I saw the damage.


Well, in the so-called sludge days, I used QS 10w30 conventional for 6,000 mile OCIs in fleet usage, with no problems. No sludge, no blown engine.

As for the 4.9 issues you had, it's really easy to blame the oil. Were all other potential issues checked? What was the PCV valve like? I've had PCV problems with my 300. Oil went from milkshake back to perfect after replacement. What about the carb? Ford's experiments with reducing emissions at the time resulted in some very, very poor carbs causing extremely heavy fuel dilution. OCIs? Driving style?

My 300 had some serious problems, too, and it certainly wasn't my choice of oil. The previous owner treated oil as a lifetime fill, and did a half-baked rebuild in the interim, and continued to use oil as a lifetime fill. Sludge never became in issue because of very frequent OCIs and a quality PCV, along with long drives and HDEO in summer and Valvoline HM in winter, which resulted in a very clean engine before my final rebuild.

The next thing that happened was the 1 barrel carb going to the scrap heap. The 300 is a great, stout engine. However, early emissions carbs, poor rebuilds, excessively long OCIs, and failed PCV valves will cause issues.
 
Its great oil, if you find a can from the 70's i prob wouldnt try it but any that is on the shelf today given that the oil gets changed on a regular basis will be fine
 
QS and all of the other oils are 10 times better than what was sold in the 70's. My grandpa put it in all 3 of his vehicles in the 70's and 80's with a can of STP with no problems. His 71 Chevy pickup had the valve cover pulled one time and the mechanic was impressed at how clean it was. Maybe the sludge had something to do with the engine itself like Toyota had a few years ago and we know they build good engines.

I would rank QS in the top 5 of all of the oils, but any name brand oil is top notch these days.
 
Sure, I could pick it apart and blame a number of things that could have caused the sludge.

But I was taught from a young age to maintain my equipment. Be it a truck, car or assorted lawn equipment. I was lucky enough to have a Dad that taught me all these things.

The truck was bought brand new, had around 100k on it and was fed Quaker State about every 3k to 5k. I forget what the OCI recommendation was back then. Regular maintenance was done accordingly on the vehicle. Never had a problem with the truck until the oil pump seized up from sludge. No indication from the oil changes that there was ever any problem.

Anyways, this was a long time ago. Quaker State has obviously changed for the better and is now a top notch oil.
 
@LckydevL

Firstly, welcome, I hope you stay around to teach us something and learn a little along the way.

LckydevL wrote: "Sure, I could pick it apart and blame a number of things..."

But you didn't. You said with confidence and authority that you knew that QS was the culprit. Spewing feelings as facts is not useful on a site that attempts to provide factual information.
 
Originally Posted By: GMorg
@LckydevL

Firstly, welcome, I hope you stay around to teach us something and learn a little along the way.

LckydevL wrote: "Sure, I could pick it apart and blame a number of things..."

But you didn't. You said with confidence and authority that you knew that QS was the culprit. Spewing feelings as facts is not useful on a site that attempts to provide factual information.



Thanks for the welcome, GMorg.

As far as teaching, I am not trained enough to do anything other than relay past experience.

As far as learning, I have learned more in the last two months of researching on this website than I could ever imagine possible.

BITOG is a goldmine of info, plain and simple. Whats great about BITOG is the blend of personal experiences with a ton of hard facts to back it up. It really is amazing what you guys have accomplished here.

To finish the story on the truck, I installed a new long block and ran it for another 100k. I loved that truck, it was my first new one. It was sold to my cousin who did another 50k before a buck stepped out in the road and totaled the truck.
 
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