SLUDGEFEST 2012

[pzev]

I'm going to second the "leave it alone" option. At most, do a piston soak with MMO or another solvent, and that's it. Any harsh cleaning is likely to break loose a large chunks of debris which could clog up various passages. Just keep it full of inexpensive dino, and change the filter every 3k.

As for the piston soak itself, its pretty simple. Pull the plugs and the fuel pump fuse, and fill each cylinder with 2 ounces of MMO. Crank the engine for a couple seconds (with the plugs and fuel pump fuse removed), then let it sit overnight.
The next morning, crank the engine for a few more seconds, then return the fuse and plugs. Start it up, and take it for a drive...then change the oil.

 

[Will2742]

Originally Posted By: pzev
I'm going to second the "leave it alone" option. At most, do a piston soak with MMO or another solvent, and that's it. Any harsh cleaning is likely to break loose a large chunks of debris which could clog up various passages. Just keep it full of inexpensive dino, and change the filter every 3k.

As for the piston soak itself, its pretty simple. Pull the plugs and the fuel pump fuse, and fill each cylinder with 2 ounces of MMO. Crank the engine for a couple seconds (with the plugs and fuel pump fuse removed), then let it sit overnight.
The next morning, crank the engine for a few more seconds, then return the fuse and plugs. Start it up, and take it for a drive...then change the oil.


Yeah, I agree. There's no big hurry to do anything here so I'm gonna go slow on this one. I don't think I have any plugged passages yet since there was no pooling in the head/valve-train area. I am going to do the piston soak, PCV replacement and swap out the dino I put in after 500 miles or so with PU 5W-20 and a good filter. Walmart has PU in the 5qt jug for $27! I'm fairly confident my rings are gunked up since when I remove the oil cap after a drive, I always get smoke out. I'm also going to check on some curved needle-nose pliers to get the PCV out myself without having to pull the intake. THanks again everyone.

 

[LeakySeals]

Originally Posted By: Will2742
Originally Posted By: pzev
I'm going to second the "leave it alone" option. At most, do a piston soak with MMO or another solvent, and that's it. Any harsh cleaning is likely to break loose a large chunks of debris which could clog up various passages. Just keep it full of inexpensive dino, and change the filter every 3k.

As for the piston soak itself, its pretty simple. Pull the plugs and the fuel pump fuse, and fill each cylinder with 2 ounces of MMO. Crank the engine for a couple seconds (with the plugs and fuel pump fuse removed), then let it sit overnight.
The next morning, crank the engine for a few more seconds, then return the fuse and plugs. Start it up, and take it for a drive...then change the oil.


Yeah, I agree. There's no big hurry to do anything here so I'm gonna go slow on this one. I don't think I have any plugged passages yet since there was no pooling in the head/valve-train area. I am going to do the piston soak, PCV replacement and swap out the dino I put in after 500 miles or so with PU 5W-20 and a good filter. Walmart has PU in the 5qt jug for $27! I'm fairly confident my rings are gunked up since when I remove the oil cap after a drive, I always get smoke out. I'm also going to check on some curved needle-nose pliers to get the PCV out myself without having to pull the intake. THanks again everyone.


I had a similar problem with the 02 Camry in my signature. Cleaned it up 60k ago, car runs strong now few minor issues. Beware as you de-sludge with a synthetic if you've never used one in that car before. Leaks and substantial consumption may occur. Mobil 1 High Mileage oil is a good option if your concerned about leaks or blow-by. Also Kreen works! I've had it in 500 miles now, the startup valve seal smoke IS GONE! I should have tried it right at the beginning.

 

[Will2742]

Update:

I finally got the PCV valve replaced. I noticed I had a cracked PCV tube as well so I replaced that too. It was impossible to do the tube ('05 Focus 2.0) without removing the intake. When I had the intake off I sprayed in 2 cans of carb cleaner since it was gunked up really badly. There were butterfly valves in each intake runner just prior to where they dump into the intake head ports. They were controlled by a on a single shaft by a vacuum motor next to the throttle body. I had never seen that setup before and they were really gunked up as well. I also cleaned out the throttle body. I also did the piston ring soak with MMO and I filled up the crankcase with PU to attack the sludge.

The bad news is the PCV valve seemed out to be OK as far as I can tell. It still rattled when I shook it. I still get a lot of smoke from the oil cap as well. Oil usage seems to be the same or worse now.

The good news is the car purrs like a kitten now. Idle and acceleration is very smooth and quiet now so the wife is really happy about that.

I'm going to go with a few short OCIs to see if usage and/or sludge buildup gets better. If not, I'll probable sell it or swap the motor.

Thoughts?

 

[fdcg27]

Let us know how your selected approach works.
I will say that while I'm not a fan of solvents in oil, if ever an engine has cried out for Kreen, this one does.
If the short OCI approach yields no benefit, you might try Kreen.
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Where I you, I'd probably start with the gentle approach, but if that fails, I'd get online and order some Kreen.
An exchange engine might be fairly cheap, but you have to be very careful to get one where everything will mate up and connect seamlessly, and changing the engine will not be an easy task.
Better to save this one if you can.
I'd love to know what OCIs your new wife ran in this car.

 

[DannyBoyG]

If it's still sludged up, try some higher viscosity PU in there like 5w30 or 10w30, I've seen it clean out some real dirty engines. After that, if its clean but still consuming oil, try some high mileage oil, it'll help the seals swell, especially Maxlife.