severe sludge accumulation in low-mileage engine (video)
- Thread starter MrGraybeard
- Start date
I get it - 'its done".
That said, it would be interesting to see what the result of attempting rescuing it would be.
That said, it would be interesting to see what the result of attempting rescuing it would be.
I wonder if you could fill the engine right up to the valve cover with alcohol or brake cleaner that won't attack engine seals, leave it for a couple days, and then drain it. Maybe then fill again with solvent to regular oil level, and turn it over with the plugs out, for a minute, drain it again. Refill with some 0 weight oil, run it for a couple minutes at idle. Drain that, and then run some 0W8 for a tank or two, and go to regular oil after that?
CleanSump
Site Donor 2026
Similar to the old shadetree fill it with Diesel and let it sit a few days. Drain and do voodoo mix a couple of times.
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This era Ford engines were also famous for doing this due to valve guide seals breaking apart.Customer towed his '78 (or '79) Ford Fairmont wagon into my father's shop. The 302ci V8 suddenly died on the road and wouldn't re-start.
After confirming the no-start condition, I got to removing the distributor cap and observed the rotor while cranking the engine. No rotation. I pulled the distributor and part of the broken drive shaft came with it.
After removing the oil pan, it was filled with sludged oil. The oil was so thick, the pick up screen had clogged and was sucked inwards toward the oil pump; oil was still allowed to "flow" as the suction tube remained open. I suppose this was a fail-safe design?
I found the cause for the twisted/broken pump drive shaft. There was a small, broken off piece of hard carbon-like material caught in the oil pump gears, essentially freezing the pump, twisting the pump drive shaft breaking it.
New pump and drive shaft, cleaned out the mess as best I could and re-assembled/re-timed. Luckily, the engine ran without knocking.
Questions were asked - found out that the owner used the "If full is good, over-fulled is better" logic.
The old "umbrella" type seals would get hard and break apart, falling into the oil pan.
The tell on those was it would do it again afterward, until all the seals were replaced.
Some enties use vehicles as gate blockers that they want to be able to move ASAP when it is required to permit access, and also to block access after an authorized vehicle enters, think ram an unauthorized tailgater that might get past a simple mechanical gate. In such usage, a vehicle could have extremely low mileage and still have extremely high hours on the engine. Think only driven for checking for reliability, and actual gate movements in 10's of feet forward and then back in place, and maybe not that often. Yet idling 24 / 7 / 365. It's a unique relm of how to abuse a vehicle. And anyone who purchases used should know they exist. Usually with vehicles of enough weight to them to hold their own if a push comes to shove ever has to happen.
It would be a great project. Inquiring minds would want to know!
Doesn't mean that it was actually done....
I understand it's SOP in Alaska and Canada to keep diesel trucks running 24/7 for the entire winter, then the engine gets rebuilt in the summer, and this is done on a yearly cycle. So what's different between our scenarios?
Definitely a security company car. I looked up the ID number and the name of the company matches the half readable website stickered on the trunk lid lol
It's funny how some dealers try to provide warranty services to fleet or business operators who puts the car beyond what's even considered "severe" operation in the maintenance schedule. The proper/by the book way is to not provide any warranty at all, regardless of how well it continues to operate, because of the conditions it's being operated in. I know back in the days when Subaru sold the RHD Legacy wagons to rural postal workers, at least the powertrain warranty was voided/not provided because of how those cars were operated. Frequent transfer case and diff issues from those cars but not one driven by a pleb lol
It's funny how some dealers try to provide warranty services to fleet or business operators who puts the car beyond what's even considered "severe" operation in the maintenance schedule. The proper/by the book way is to not provide any warranty at all, regardless of how well it continues to operate, because of the conditions it's being operated in. I know back in the days when Subaru sold the RHD Legacy wagons to rural postal workers, at least the powertrain warranty was voided/not provided because of how those cars were operated. Frequent transfer case and diff issues from those cars but not one driven by a pleb lol
I presume that vehicle does not have a smart oil-life monitor (OLM), rather than one that simply goes by time or mileage.
A proper OLM would take the time spent idling into account, and call for an oil change at relatively low mileage.
There was an interesting discussion here on BITOG a few years ago, where the premise was that oil life is directly, and inversely, correlated with fuel consumption.
IIRC, the calculation went like this:
When fuel burn = 200x sump capacity, it's time to change oil.
I'll use my old van as an example:
Sump capacity = 4.7 litres
x 200 = 940 litres
How long does it take to burn 940 litres of fuel?
City driving in the winter = 20 litres/100 km
(Pretty poor, but with cold starts combined with rush-hour traffic, it is what it is.)
940 litres/20 litres/100 km = 4700 km
So, by this formula, I should be charging oil at around 5000 km in the winter.
In contrast, the van will use about half that driving on the highway in the knee seasons, so the OCI stretches out to 10,000 km.
*******
All that to say, let's assume that little 4-banger uses 0.8 litres/hour at idle.
If it actually idles almost constantly (let's say for 125 hours of a 168-hour week), it will use 100 litres of fuel idling per week.
Let's say the sump is 4 litres.
4 litres x 200 = 800 litres
The engine would hit 800 litres of fuel consumption just idling over 8 weeks.
It would also use some fuel being driven, and therefore would hit the 800 litres of fuel consumed well before 8 weeks.
So, if I were maintaining that fleet, I would be changing the oil and filter every 4 to 6 weeks, regardless of mileage.
Wasteful? Perhaps, but so is ruining an engine by deferring oil changes.
That's an interesting formula.
According to that, my Tacoma with a 6qt sump getting 25mpg should go 7500 mile OCI's (10000/5000 spec).
My Mirage with a 3qt sump getting 45mpg should go 6750 mile OCI's (7500 spec).
My Moto Guzzi with a 2qt sump getting 50mpg should go 5000 mile OCI's (6000 spec).
According to that, my Tacoma with a 6qt sump getting 25mpg should go 7500 mile OCI's (10000/5000 spec).
My Mirage with a 3qt sump getting 45mpg should go 6750 mile OCI's (7500 spec).
My Moto Guzzi with a 2qt sump getting 50mpg should go 5000 mile OCI's (6000 spec).
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In another lifetime I worked for a company that had several boats, one of which was powered by a pair of fairly highly strung Caterpillar diesels. I've forgotten the engine model but what did stick in my mind was that Cat's recommended oil change interval was based on total fuel burn.
When I was a kid, ~1978, dad pulled the 429 out of moms 73 Mercury Marquis. When he pullied the valve cover you could not see the lower part of rockers due to the sludge. He had used Quaker State (the old paper/foil cans with metal caps), never again! When Castrol came out that is all he used after.
I also used Quaker State in that era, always 10W-30. No sludge in my engines, but I changed oil and filter at 2,000 miles.
When I worked as a tune-up/oil-change tech in 1980, Quaker State was the optional upgrade. It was available only in cans as you described, vs. the bulk Esso 10W-30 which we pumped out of large drums.
Our regular oil, filter, lube, and "15-point inspection*" was $14.88. I think moving up to Quaker State was a $5 upcharge.
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