What's Head Suppose To Look Like...

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Jelly

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Geeezzz, that sounds really bad... [Big Grin] Seriously though, what do you all think the head should look like. For instance, if you take the filler cap off my engine (Chevy 4.3L V-6) and take a look, there is absolutely no deposits or sludge. Also, and this is what is amazing to me, there is no brown coloration to the metal at all! It's dark gray everywhere. Of course I've been using HDEO's (Hmmm, have used Delo, Rotella, and Long-Life) since I got it... On the other hand, by the time I met my girlfriend, she'd put 120,000 or so miles on her car, and it has been ran on standard mineral oil on who knows what drain intervals. Everything has a dark brown varnish on it. Of course now, she'll be running an HDEO. So what about you guys? What does your engine looks like? [ November 18, 2003, 03:06 AM: Message edited by: Jelly ]
 
cant see mine, oil is filled from a tube that passes through the intake and dumps into the valley area, it has had M1 since 1500 miles, (just under 50k now) I would assume it is very clean inside I had a 280zx as a teen, had to pull the valve cover to adjust the valves, it had a dark brown translucent varnish coating, I changed with Castrol 20-50 (Florida heat) every 3k or less, It saw many short heavy throttle trips delivering pizza's, it had 80k when I bought it, 160 when I sold it, always looked the same my neighbor just bought a 74 international scout with a seized motor ( I think he said ti was a 345ci ) , under the cap and on the rockers below was covered with black crusty sludge, don't know its maintenance history but I would assume dino and infrequent changes same neighbor has a early 80's Honda, pulled the valve cover to trouble shoot backfire, just a light brown translucent coating on the cam and rockers looked good, he has only had it a short wile, previews maintenance unknown but I would assume dino and regular changes a coworker has a late model nissan v6 with 120k miles, he used M1 since shortly after break in, looked under the cap except for where the dark oil pooled in the low spots it looks like it was just cast today and sprayed with clean oil, the aluminum of the head was bright, not a bit of varnish anywhere witch leads me to a question,I am aobut to buy a used car, can synthetics or the high detergent HDMO's (or better yet a synthetic HDMO) eventually remove varnish left over from dino use? Or to get that clean do they have to be used from the start? [ November 18, 2003, 04:25 AM: Message edited by: RavenTai ]
 
Can't realy see the head in my truck, but I assume its as clean as a whistle. I've run syn for nearly all its life and I'm on the rinse phase of an AutoRX cycle. My girlfriends car has had very little required maintenance and is sludged up pretty bad. A look into the oil cap shows black sludge, even after an AutoRX treatment. The AutoRX did help though. It removed the large cakes of sludge, but I think one more treatment will have to be done this summer. My father recently bought an '87 chevy 1/2 ton 4x4 to plow with. The truck only had 37,000 miles on it when we got it, but due to the previous owner's neglect, the frame was rusted through. So for the past year we replace the entire frame (actually we bought a rolling chassis), all body panels (fenders, doors, bed sides, and tailgate)and have been perfecting the assembly. The truck is really nice now. Just two things bother me. When you take the oil cap off, there is a gritty brown sludge all over the inside. We have been changing the oil out frequently, because we haven't put a ton of miles on it, but I still don't like that sludge. Second, the motor is a 305, which seems to be a gas pig, but not all that powerful. But with only 40K, why swap it out?
 
The last time my valve cover was off for t-belt replacement at ~180k engine had clear brownish varnish. Mechanic said its fine for mileage and age of car and engine (1995 Civic-now 200k). He said engine should be good for around 250k before a major repair (likely valves occurs). Yes engine is pure dino Valvoline and Castrol GTX every 4-5k. [ November 18, 2003, 08:56 AM: Message edited by: harper ]
 
quote:
Originally posted by RavenTai: a coworker has a late model nissan v6 with 120k miles, he used M1 since shortly after break in, looked under the cap except for where the dark oil pooled in the low spots it looks like it was just cast today and sprayed with clean oil, the aluminum of the head was bright, not a bit of varnish anywhere
With the exception of the aluminum (mines all iron, baby!), that's exactly what my engine looks like...as if it was just cast yesterday, with the exception of the oil pooled up in low areas.
 
Everyone dislikes sludge (no surprise), and that frequently pops up in these forums. But you don't hear as many questions about varnish. Yet it's a good question -- sludge is easy to remove, but how does one nuke the tougher varnish nemesis? From the Auto-RX website: "Q: Why is there still some varnish in the valves area after an Auto-Rx® cleaning? A: Varnish is nothing more than a cosmetic stain, it does not effect the performance of your engine. Auto-Rx® does clean the varnish off, but due to varying engine designs it is impossible to give an exact time frame." Out of curiosity, I checked into a couple cheapo engine cleaners as well on the Web. Valvoline's 5 minute kerosene-based flush does not claim to remove varnish (only sludge is mentioned). Solder Seal/Gunk's 5 minute flush (diesel fuel-based) mentions both sludge and varnish. Rislone, a naphtha-based product, mentions both sludge and varnish removal. But Marvel Mystery Oil, also naphtha-based, only mentions sludge. Alemite CD-2 Oil Detergent, 100% mineral oil, mentions both sludge and varnish, and Amsoil Engine Flush, half kerosene and half naphtha, mentions only sludge. I'd think that anyone who claims varnish can be removed in 5 minutes is on crack. I don't know how well high-detergent motor oils can remove old varnish, or if they even can. This might be a job for a high-quality additive or flush, or better yet, just ignore the varnish if it's not heavy.
 
Amsoil claims their product has no kerosene. This is a reply I got from them when I asked about possible problems from dislodged sludge:
quote:
Engine Flush is supposed to dislodge deposits and trap them in your filter. Our product is a petroleum distillate but it is not kerosene. AMSOIL AEF has lubricating properties that kerosene does not. If there is a pre-existing sludge with any engine, problems can easily occur regardless of whether flush was used or not. If a flush product was left in your engine, it will “thin” the oil and may very well cause problems. If our flush product is used as per the instructions on the container it will NOT cause engine problems and is actually a good and prudent maintenance procedure.
 
Last time I adjusted the valves on my Cummins powered Dodge, (214K on the clock, bought used) there were no deposits under the valve covers. Everything was covered with black engine oil, but no sludge or varnish. This is a pretty low flow area, too - just lubed by oil spitting out of the pushrods when the cam is at zero lift. It amazes me how diesel oils can have all that nasty black soot in them yet still keep all the parts clean.
 
JohnnyO, contain thyself, please. Thats whats kept this site HEAD and shoulders above the rest, clean informative fun for the whole family! TC scope the flash of 120F how long do you think that solvent lasts in the oil at the high press/high temp areas?
 
quote:
Originally posted by Terry: JohnnyO, contain thyself, please. Thats whats kept this site HEAD and shoulders above the rest, clean informative fun for the whole family!
[Cool] I know, I know. I'm a moderator on another site. Sometimes the funniest people are the ones who don't realize it. [Big Grin]
 
quote:
Originally posted by Jelly: -*-* What does your engine looks like?
Looks like NEW shiny metal. Think of what what a new car would looked like when you had between 1000-3000 miles on the oil/car, that is what mine looks like with 391700+ K.
 
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