Mmmm...Sludge

[wraithblade]

Pulled my valve cover today to replace a leaking gasket, and look what I found! I scraped a good portion of that out, but only so much can be done with a screwdriver and a rag.

I suppose I can't be too suprised, considering this was my sister's first car. She drove it low on oil on more than one occasion, and once came to me complaining that it was making 'funny noises'. Turns out it was a full two quarts of oil short of full. The 236k miles on it doesn't help either.

I'm debating how I should handle this sludge. I'm currently in middle of the first rinse cycle of an auto-rx treatment, so I could continue with it, and see what the second treatment will do for me. I'm a little tempted to go for kerosene to clean this out on my next oil change. In any case, I'm still getting good oil pressure and only a little ticking at low RPM.

[MG_43]

That is ugly, looks like it has been using Pennsoil (spelling) the yellow oil can junk (candle wax) in the oil.

[5-90]

That's my first thought - that someone has been running Pennzoil all its life.

I flatly refuse to run the stuff - I won't even run it in a two-stroke engine that burns oil.

I'd be only mildly surprised if A) you didn't find that crap in the oil sump as well, and B) you couldn't make candles out of the stuff.

If you're using Pennzoil, I'd highly suggest running a good engine flush (several times!) and switching to Valvoline, Castrol, or some re-refined oil (with also doesn't have paraffinoids in it) for the rest of the engine's life.

As a side note - I went through something like that shorly after we got our 89 Limited - it had had about 90K of Pennzoil through it. All twelve of the lifters "went solid" (read: crapped up with paraffin wax) and I had to change them all. Scraped about a half-inch of sludge out of the oil sump as well - and I gave up and ran a quart of Diesel in the oil, and let it idle for a half-hour at a stretch - changing the oil after each.

It's nice and clean now - so no complaints anymore.

Damn Pennzoil.

5-90

[ladywolf]

that is just flat out DISGUSTING...makes me afraid to pull the cover on the 89 xj i just bought...and its got 205k and runs great...cept for the leaky fuel pressure regulator i had to fix

[klonestar]

Originally Posted by ladywolf

that is just flat out DISGUSTING...makes me afraid to pull the cover on the 89 xj i just bought...and its got 205k and runs great

Ditto! 90xj 140K seeing some sepage around valve cover gasket.

[ladywolf]

now if my dad ever needs help with his dodge, i'm going to refuse to look at the valve cover...cuz dads been running pennzoil in that truck of his for god knows how long. since i've owned my own rigs i've either used castrol (while i was in germany) or halvoline/valvoline.....and my subaru dealership uses one of the 2nd two...cant remember which


i refuse to use that crap in a yellow bottle...kind of like i refuse to get anywhere near quaker oil in wallyworld


since we're on the topic of oil anyhow.........oil filters...which do people prefer? normally i buy a fram

[Ramsey]

thats a joke right? dont buy fram, there crap. i use either mobil 1, purolator, or wix. all seem fairly the same to me, just depends on where i buy oil from and what they have.

[ladywolf]

sure, it was a joke.

[RichP]

Get in there with a shop vac and get the stuff thats fallen down out of there before you put the cover back on. A plastic scraper works better than a screwdriver and rag, cut one used for body filler into different shapes as needed and keep the shop vac right next to the scraper as you work. Othewise a bunch of that crap is going to end up in your oil pan..

[92XJMass]

I'd run two doses of AutoRx.

[grundan]

you could very easily pull the rocker arms and push rods while you have the cover off. soak em in kerosene and use a plastic bristle brush and clean um up real good. you can also clean the top of the head off very easy with rockers out of the way. use a shop vac and a small scraper or screwdriver.

after you clean it up start the engine with the cover off and see how well your lifters are pumping oil on the top side.

[SuperRA]

Dont mean to hijack or anything, but my engine pretty much looks like that picture at top. I've already got the head off and would like to scrub inside the lifter galley. What solvent can I use in there that would be ok to get in the crankcase (which I will also clean out) kerosene? I've been cleaning the valvetrain in Berryman chem dip, and it works great for small parts.
THanks

[87manche]

kerosene or diesel will both be fine. I would clean the pan, then put fresh oil in. Run until warm, then drain and replace, just to be sure you got it all out of the oil galleries and such.

[Overdriven]

Believe it or not mine was much worse. '88 with 130k on it. I found it as I was replacing a head gasket. I cleaned everything I could reach. I ended up fixing my problem with oil pressure fluxuating (sp).

I run Wix filters and mystic oil in mine. Also add a quart of oil treatment, can't remeber the name, every time I go.

[lost1]

Mmm, yeah that pic brings back memories...when we replaced the engine in my '00 with a reman, we went ahead and took it apart to see what we could see...and found a 'shit milkshake', pre-churned and ready for digestion. Nasty stuff, I couldn't believe that had been inside an engine that ran that strong. (even with a cracked head, the mechanics I talked to all said that the engine seemed to run pretty strong. Maybe the shit milkshake has special properties?) effing previous owner didn't do a damned thing nice to this rig.

with this new engine, I'm using Mobil1 and I got my hands on a few NapaGold filters for the next couple changes. whatever works, it's waay better than the fram.