Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: Vikas
I have been on this forum now for almost a decade but this is the first time I am seeing sludged vehicle which was purchased new by a BITOG'r :-( The most logical explanation is that coolant contamination has caused this and there was not much that OP could have done to prevent it i.e. OCI's are not be blamed here.
Good point Vikas, and an example of why we never, should say never, to engine cleaning products.
If the engine is in fact well maintained, had a mechanical issue beyond the owners control here's a perfect example where an additive to clean an engine up might just come into play. Even if you're one of those all you'll ever need is a good oil kind of guy.
No - you are going at it all wrong. This is not an example of an "additive" coming into play - it is a case where a UOA have have shown the problem. Then one would FIX the problem (in this case the heads) instead of trying to put a band aide on a gaping wound.
Vikas is right - OCI's are not be blamed here.
OK so a UOA shows coolant in the oil, and you fix the problem. Also note I said additive to clean the sludge not fix the bad head, [I mentioned mechanical problem as well] you've taken my point out of context. Are you going to tear the entire engine down to clean out the sludge after you fix the heads? A lot of extra work, and the potential for more problems. Especially when something like Kreen would do a good job of cleaning up whatever you didn't manually get after you pulled the heads.
BTW a pressure tester would have showed the coolant leak as well, but that's another topic.
Edit to add: I'm not the kind of guy who'd leave bad heads on an engine, and toss a band-aid at it. I'd fix it, clean what I could, and reach for something to do some additional cleaning. If the engine was a total mess inside I'd consider diving in a little deeper. I've seen enough of these problems to know just how far to dig in. I wouldn't rip into any more than I had to though. One could also say the engine really wasn't well maintained if a coolant leak was allowed to sludge up the engine, but I'd rather not go there. Not everyone totally on top of auto care.
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: Vikas
I have been on this forum now for almost a decade but this is the first time I am seeing sludged vehicle which was purchased new by a BITOG'r :-( The most logical explanation is that coolant contamination has caused this and there was not much that OP could have done to prevent it i.e. OCI's are not be blamed here.
Good point Vikas, and an example of why we never, should say never, to engine cleaning products.
No - you are going at it all wrong. This is not an example of an "additive" coming into play - it is a case where a UOA have have shown the problem. Then one would FIX the problem (in this case the heads) instead of trying to put a band aide on a gaping wound.
Vikas is right - OCI's are not be blamed here.
OK so a UOA shows coolant in the oil, and you fix the problem. Also note I said additive to clean the sludge not fix the bad head, [I mentioned mechanical problem as well] you've taken my point out of context. Are you going to tear the entire engine down to clean out the sludge after you fix the heads? A lot of extra work, and the potential for more problems. Especially when something like Kreen would do a good job of cleaning up whatever you didn't manually get after you pulled the heads.
BTW a pressure tester would have showed the coolant leak as well, but that's another topic.
Edit to add: I'm not the kind of guy who'd leave bad heads on an engine, and toss a band-aid at it. I'd fix it, clean what I could, and reach for something to do some additional cleaning. If the engine was a total mess inside I'd consider diving in a little deeper. I've seen enough of these problems to know just how far to dig in. I wouldn't rip into any more than I had to though. One could also say the engine really wasn't well maintained if a coolant leak was allowed to sludge up the engine, but I'd rather not go there. Not everyone totally on top of auto care.
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