What to do with a sludger??

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: tig1
My daughter had a 99 Lexis RS 300 and I changed her oil every 10,000 miles and used M1 10-30 till she sold it with 80,000 miles. Engine seemed quite and ran great. No top oil in the 10,000 mile OCI.


10,000 miles!! are you serious! good thing she doesnt own it anymore.

 

[sparkplug]

M1 5w30 for 5k max.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: lexus114
Originally Posted By: tig1
My daughter had a 99 Lexis RS 300 and I changed her oil every 10,000 miles and used M1 10-30 till she sold it with 80,000 miles. Engine seemed quite and ran great. No top oil in the 10,000 mile OCI.


10,000 miles!! are you serious! good thing she doesnt own it anymore.


Thanks for commenting.

In 04 she replaced it with a new S350,I think thats the #, MB. She sold the Lexis to a friend that, I think, is still driving it to this day. If you are interested I can find out more info about this car for you?

As a side note, if the engines in the Lexus are such junk as to sludge up that easy why didn't they require synth. oil? The M1 seemed to do very well in her engine.

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: tig1
Originally Posted By: lexus114
Originally Posted By: tig1
My daughter had a 99 Lexis RS 300 and I changed her oil every 10,000 miles and used M1 10-30 till she sold it with 80,000 miles. Engine seemed quite and ran great. No top oil in the 10,000 mile OCI.


10,000 miles!! are you serious! good thing she doesnt own it anymore.


Thanks for commenting.

In 04 she replaced it with a new S350,I think thats the #, MB. She sold the Lexis to a friend that, I think, is still driving it to this day. If you are interested I can find out more info about this car for you?

As a side note, if the engines in the Lexus are such junk as to sludge up that easy why didn't they require synth. oil? The M1 seemed to do very well in her engine.


I think this and the early AWD U-140F was a major embarrassment for Toyota/Lexus.At least they covered the sludge problem,but they never did a recall on the weak transmission.

 

[tig1]

Lexis 114,
This conversation sparked my interest. I just called my daughter, and she says the Lexus is still owned by the same person and the SUV is still running strong. My daughter did say she told her friend to continue to use the oil that had been used from new, M1 10-30. Just an update you might be interested in.

 

[Sayjac]

Without taking off the valve covers, and knowing the maintenance history, specifically previous OCI's, it's hard to say.

35k is not a lot of miles, even on a sludger, if the oil has been changed regularly. I would go least drastic first, especially if the engine is running well.

Use a quality SM dino like PYB for 3k OCI's, or 4-5K OCI's with a quality syn like Pennz Plat and a quality filter. In other words shorter OCI's. Also check PCV valve.

Now, if you pull the valve covers and it's bad then you could consider RX or MMO.

You might want to read this previous thread also about a sludger with many more miles.

HTH
J

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: tig1
Lexis 114,
This conversation sparked my interest. I just called my daughter, and she says the Lexus is still owned by the same person and the SUV is still running strong. My daughter did say she told her friend to continue to use the oil that had been used from new, M1 10-30. Just an update you might be interested in.


Yes that is very interesting tig,thanx for the info.

 

[360kid]

35K is still low miles. I would hope that the previous owner changed the oil regularly so that the engine isn't too sludged up. I have no experience with these engines, so I really don't know how bad the sludge issue is with them.

I would run Pennzoil Platinum in the recommended weight for about 2000 miles, dump it, and repeat one more time. Then I would run Mobil 1 in it with 3 month oil change intervals or every 3-4K. Change the oil filter everytime of course. Then check the oil every other week or so and keep up with all the regular maintenance on the car.

 

[Geonerd]

Have someone pull a valve cover and LOOK before leaping!

IMO:

If the car is heavily gooped, you might try several short, additive enhanced changes running dino oil. Forget mileage, just run the oil 'till is starts looking nasty. (ARx guys, how fast does the stuff work?)

If the sludge isn't too terrible, go with whatever quality syn is on sale, running somewhat longer intervals. (A few K miles?) In time, this should clean up the engine to an acceptable degree.

Be sure to change filters frequently. Use something decent, avoiding the $4 specials. The extra gunk the filers catch will probably shorten their life, and just might cause a cheapo unit to fail.

Try to avoid going the cheap route - the car may be in need of quality maintenance. Saving a few bucks by running cheap filers or oil will only burn the owner in the long run.

 

[ekpolk]

Originally Posted By: Geonerd
Have someone pull a valve cover and LOOK before leaping!

IMO:

If the car is heavily gooped, you might try several short, additive enhanced changes running dino oil. . . .


Another pre-BITOG anecdote from my experience. I had a friend who is quite intelligent generally, but he is an absolute car moron. For a while there, he was trading and purchasing cars every six months or so. He would just see one he thought he liked, and buy.

Anyway, one of his impulse purchases was a ~2 year old Lexus ES-300 with a Sludgemaker 1MZ V-6. Notwithstanding his intelligence, he decides to bring the car to me for a look after he had bought it. I opened the oil filler for a look. This is normally not a good indicator, since in the 1MZ, the filler is baffled, and the baffle is coated with a sound absorbent material. But this was like opening a jar of chocolate syrup. You could scoop gooey crud up with your finger, much as you might dig a finger full of peanutbutter from the jar. I asked, "Mike, did you check this before you bought?" His predictable/priceless response, "check what?" as if there wasn't a load of filth on my finger.

In a state of semi-shock, I figured maybe I should pull the trans stick too. It was almost as entertaining. It revealed ATF that looked like no ATF that's ever come out of one of my cars. I've heard ATF described as "cherry juice" which I suppose works for healthy ATF. This stuff was more like BLACKcherry juice. It was a sooty opaque black, and even worse, it was saturated with obvious, shiny metal flakes. Sort of like a liquid version of a Schwinn bicycle paint job. I felt like barfing into his engine compartment, but I figured it was already a big enough mess.

I sent him off with a list of things to have done at the shop, including a few quick oil changes (I knew not of ARX back then), and a trans flush. I'm not sure now that a trans flush was a good idea, but on the other hand, he impulsively traded this car for a used LS-400 a few months later, before anything actually grenaded on him. EDIT: For perspective, this is a guy who traded-in a nice Jeep Cherokee the same day he found it with a drained battery in the morning. Apparently, a short in the door lock circuit had caused the problem. By the time I rescued him, he had convinced himself that the Cherokee simply had to go. . .

I suppose this story provides one possible answer to the OP's original question -- get rid of it, and the sooner the better...

 

[Hazmat]

I had a '99 with with this engine and did 10K OCI's. I started driving it when it had 75K on it and sold it to my niece when it had 160K on it. She is still driving it and has had no issues.

Therefore, I don't believe that a 10K OCI is unreasonable.

I used Mobil 1 and a Supertech filter.

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: Hazmat
I had a '99 with with this engine and did 10K OCI's. I started driving it when it had 75K on it and sold it to my niece when it had 160K on it. She is still driving it and has had no issues.

Therefore, I don't believe that a 10K OCI is unreasonable.

I used Mobil 1 and a Supertech filter.


No but your chances of having a major issue are increased 98% This motor has high internal heat/oil,and head temps and other design flaws in that department.Other wise it`s a very good engine,if properly maintained.You just cant abuse it like an old slant six,and then harp & moan because it sludged up.

 

[Ken2]

Originally Posted By: pickled
My neighbor recently acquired a 2000 Toyota Sienna van with div>
Clean the engine with Auto-Rx following the routine for heavy sludge.
http://www.auto-rx.com/pages/heavy_sludge_app.html

If he plans on keeping the van a short time, run the 10W-30 HDEO on 3000 mile ODI. If he plans on keeping it for a long time, run any good synthetic on 5k ODI and introduce him to the pleasures of oil analysis. A couple of tests and review of the oxidation level of the oil will show if the oil drain interval is working for this engine. When he finds an oil and ODI that works for this engine, there's no need for analyses, although he may see a benefit of one maybe every 30k. He also should drain and refill his transmission every 30k.

 

[Hazmat]

Originally Posted By: lexus114
Originally Posted By: Hazmat
I had a '99 with with this engine and did 10K OCI's. I started driving it when it had 75K on it and sold it to my niece when it had 160K on it. She is still driving it and has had no issues.

Therefore, I don't believe that a 10K OCI is unreasonable.

I used Mobil 1 and a Supertech filter.


No but your chances of having a major issue are increased 98% This motor has high internal heat/oil,and head temps and other design flaws in that department.


Maybe so....I guess this would be a good reason to avoid Toyota products...and purchase a brand that does not have this issue.

As it is...I will never purchase another Toyota because of dealership issues and their lack of standing behind their products.

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: Hazmat
Originally Posted By: lexus114
Originally Posted By: Hazmat
I had a '99 with with this engine and did 10K OCI's. I started driving it when it had 75K on it and sold it to my niece when it had 160K on it. She is still driving it and has had no issues.

Therefore, I don't believe that a 10K OCI is unreasonable.

I used Mobil 1 and a Supertech filter.


No but your chances of having a major issue are increased 98% This motor has high internal heat/oil,and head temps and other design flaws in that department.


Maybe so....I guess this would be a good reason to avoid Toyota products...and purchase a brand that does not have this issue.

As it is...I will never purchase another Toyota because of dealership issues and their lack of standing behind their products.


I couldnt agree with you more their Hazmat.

 

[ekpolk]

Originally Posted By: Hazmat
Originally Posted By: lexus114
Originally Posted By: Hazmat
I had a '99 with with this engine and did 10K OCI's. I started driving it when it had 75K on it and sold it to my niece when it had 160K on it. She is still driving it and has had no issues.

Therefore, I don't believe that a 10K OCI is unreasonable.

I used Mobil 1 and a Supertech filter.


No but your chances of having a major issue are increased 98% This motor has high internal heat/oil,and head temps and other design flaws in that department.


Maybe so....I guess this would be a good reason to avoid Toyota products...and purchase a brand that does not have this issue.

As it is...I will never purchase another Toyota because of dealership issues and their lack of standing behind their products.


Of course, buy whatever you wish, but if you do your homework, you will see that Toyota has stood by their products. They have offered an extended wty for owners of the Sludgemakers, so long as the owner can show some semblance of regular maintenance.

I've owned cars from Toyota, GM, Ford, Chrysler, Honda, Nissan, and VW (and MB, if you consider the 1984 190E my wife came into our marriage with). Of all of them, the very best in dealership response, and company backing of the product is Toyota. I realize that others may have been left with other impressions, but that that's where I'm at, with no doubt at all.

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: ekpolk
Originally Posted By: Hazmat
Originally Posted By: lexus114
Originally Posted By: Hazmat
I had a '99 with with this engine and did 10K OCI's. I started driving it when it had 75K on it and sold it to my niece when it had 160K on it. She is still driving it and has had no issues.

Therefore, I don't believe that a 10K OCI is unreasonable.

I used Mobil 1 and a Supertech filter.


No but your chances of having a major issue are increased 98% This motor has high internal heat/oil,and head temps and other design flaws in that department.


Maybe so....I guess this would be a good reason to avoid Toyota products...and purchase a brand that does not have this issue.

As it is...I will never purchase another Toyota because of dealership issues and their lack of standing behind their products.


Of course, buy whatever you wish, but if you do your homework, you will see that Toyota has stood by their products. They have offered an extended wty for owners of the Sludgemakers, so long as the owner can show some semblance of regular maintenance.

I've owned cars from Toyota, GM, Ford, Chrysler, Honda, Nissan, and VW (and MB, if you consider the 1984 190E my wife came into our marriage with). Of all of them, the very best in dealership response, and company backing of the product is Toyota. I realize that others may have been left with other impressions, but that that's where I'm at, with no doubt at all.


Maybe the Toyota dealers are better,but the Lexus dealers are not.

(at least here in my area)

 

[ekpolk]

Originally Posted By: lexus114
. . .
Maybe the Toyota dealers are better,but the Lexus dealers are not.

(at least here in my area)

Well, since I haven't set foot in PA in three years, and I've never done anything more than drive through, or stay a couple days on business, I have no basis to dispute that.

I would add this thought: For those of you who don't know the geography of this area, Pensacola and Mobile AL are about 50 miles from one another. For many years, there was a Lexus and Toyota store in Mobile, and only a Toyota store in Pensacola. Roughly a year ago, Toyota allowed another franchise to open in the Daphne AL area, right across the bay from Mobile, in the direction of Pensacola. I'm sure that this left both the established stores very PO-ed, but it has left them all being very, VERY sensitive to competing for and keeping business. Next thing you know, they'll all have someone in the restrooms to flush the commode for you. Yes, healthy and ethical competition is a very good thing!

 

[Hazmat]

I also have owned just about everything under the sun...and I would have to say that Honda has the best service of any that I have encountered. The only reason I don't own a Honda now is because their styling leaves something to be desired.

But for dependability and excellent service....Honda is hands down the best.

BTW...SORRY I DID NOT MEAN TO HIJACK THIS POST

 

[RichR]

My daughter drives our 107k '99 v6 sludger owned since new.
Our first Toyota.
It sees a lot of short trips.
I have auto rxed it twice and add 3oz at every oc.
Never more than 3k oci.
I change the pvc and clean the DIRTY tb twice a year.
I haven't looked inside but it runs well.