http://www.corolland.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19248
1ZZ-FE engine died of sludge at 72000 miles. One documented oil change at 66000 miles.
Some people are total morons (mental note: don't buy used cars).
quote:funny story: went for a test drive of a used truck at a local dealership. clean, inexpensive, my friend was interested. ask to take it for a test drive, they give us the keys. we pop the hood and look at the dipstick...it is covered in grainy rusty lookng grunge, and low to boot. we drove the truck, it ran fine (friend made sure to beat it a little on the way out of the dealership). took it back and said thanks but no thanks... why would the dealership try to sell a used vehicle without even bothering to check the oil? or did they not care? maybe they were hoping either an idiot would buy it, or no one would buy it and it would go to auction...dunno...crazy... I agree with elpolk, that this doesn't necessarily sound like sludge being the primary cause of death, instead simply abused to death, perhaps the engine was really worked over for the first 50,000 miles without regular oil changes, poor lubrication, everything heating up and wearing terribly. And then add on another oil change intervals with extended drains (probably on dino) on an already abused engine...snap, whoops, sorry.
Originally posted by Drew99GT: You can tell a lot about an engine by simply pulling the dipstick and looking under the oil fill, as well as checking other fluid levels etc. I wouldn't even think of signing on the dotted line without looking myself. But I guess someone who'd go 12,000 miles between oil changes after he bought the car wouldn't have enough sense to check a car over before he bought it.![]()
quote:It does sound like this guy did learn the lesson. Now whether he'll apply it in the future, we'll probably never know. Painful experiences like this one, which of course happen in an almost limitless range of guises, have a funny way of boosting the "victim's" common sense. Unless they're really just stupid. And there are a few of those out there. . .
Originally posted by mcrn: i wish there was a way to teach common sense.
quote:"Isn't there a light to tell me the oil needs to be changed? It never came on..."
Originally posted by CBDFrontier06: Aren't oil changes and basic maintenance an important part of American culture?