Ongoing Removal of Engine Oil Sludge

[campbeam]

I thought that I would start this thread to record my latest battle with the ongoing oil sludge issue. Most of my driving is short distance <10-15kms so the engine does not get up to full operating temperature to help disperse any accumulated contaminants.

However over the next 2-3 weeks I will have the opportunity to do longer trips to aid the oil sludge removal process. As a starting point, I did an oil change about 1 week ago at 231250 kms on the odometer. Now done another 300kms and the following photos were taken after driving 250kms. The oil on the dipstick is almost tranparent in colour with a faint golden colour trace. Photo inside the oil filler cap gives a better view of the engine oil colour on top of the finger protection plate. The other photo is a picture of the display screen of the inspection camera which has dual lens. Top half of the screen shows the downward looking view of the cylinder head which looks quite clean. The lower half of the screen shows a side view of a camshaft. You can see the accumulated oil sludge at the end of the camshaft.

[Tony Prodigy]

They say pictures tell a thousand words. The last one sure tells a good story Ash. Man that's sludgy. You weren't wrong. The first pic is pretty much what you could expect after only a few hundred kays. The problem is that the accumulated sludge that forms in all those little pockets is the challenge. It would warrant an engine out, partial disassembly and then go to town with solvents and scrubbing brushes of all sizes to thorooughly clean the internals.

I think at some point you may just have to live with the fact that you will probably never get it 100% clean, which is why your oil filter will play a vital role in capturing the crumbs as they come away. It's like the gift that keeps giving. As long as the vital components aren't blocked with sludge and are able to function, the rest can be more viewed as more of a visual distraction.

I don't recall, but is it possible to get the camera up to the oil pick up screen or is there disassembly involved ?

Thanks for the pics too.

[campbeam]

On 10/13/2021 at 2:08 AM, Tony Prodigy said:

your oil filter will play a vital role in capturing the crumbs as they come away. It's like the gift that keeps giving. As long as the vital components aren't blocked with sludge and are able to function

Attached picture is after doing a few hours of highway driving; Brisbane to Gold Coast and back. Oil on the dipstick is now a light golden colour. I did check with the inspection camera but no noticable difference. Really need a decent road trip. 

[Tony Prodigy]

A good run is what it needed. Good to see the detergents going to work. Colour is fine.

[campbeam]

I did a post to this thread back in June 2022 where I finally surrendered and removed the front valve cover for a thorough cleaning. Also removed as much of the oil sludge from the valve train as practical before doing an oil change. Late July, I checked and replaced the oil filter cartridge. Last oil change was done on 9th October using Shel Ultra 5W-40 full synthetic. Now done 300kms of my usual short distance driving and the oil is already a light golden colour.

Plan is to do an engine flush then another removal of the front valve cover during the Xmas-New Year period and check whether further oil sludge has either accumulated or reduced in my engine for that 6 month period.

 

[campbeam]

On 11/4/2022 at 10:17 AM, campbeam said:

Plan is to do an engine flush then another removal of the front valve cover during the Xmas-New Year period and check whether further oil sludge has either accumulated or reduced in my engine for that 6 month period.

Looks like that plan did not happen. I did do an engine flush using Penrite Engine Flush yesterday morning. Instead of adding to the existing engine oil, I changed the existing oil and oil filter cartridge then idled the warmed up engine for 10 minutes. Most likely NOT recommended but I also did approx. 65 kms suburban driving then did another oil change with a new oil filter cartridge and new quality full synthetic engine oil this morning.

Previous engine oil and oil filter cartridge have been retained for next engine flushing.

Overall, worth doing the engine flush as the oil did darken up quite a bit. Removal of front valve cover will have to wait until the next oil change, at least.

[campbeam]

Following photo shows the amount of sludge collected in a new oil filter cartridge after 5 months and approx. 2500-2700 kms of short distance driving. 2nd photo is of a re-used cleaned oil filter cartridge after the engine flush. Not the best photo but there is very little oil sludge.

[Tony Prodigy]

She's getting there Ash.
It is a long and frustrating process, one that will continue for quite some time I reckon. It's trying to remove the sludge from the hard to reach places where oil doesn't move as much or as fast as other areas within the engine. 
I think this is why the recommendation of using the flush with the old oil works better than with new oil.
The debris  in the old oil can be used to your advantage to aid and assist with the movement of the "stuck" sludge particles. if that makes sense. If you have fresh oil it's too slippery. You need gunk to help move the gunk.

[SJRP]

Has anyone tried the BG Dynamic flush kit for this?

I'm looking at getting to try. Quite expensive but looks good on YouTube.

And I do have some serious sludge issues.

 

Interested to hear from anyone 1st hand.

Picture posted from Smoking Aurion topic, very much related.

 

[CONROD]

give this mob a buzz, they'll sort the mess out, there's a video somewhere actually showing how much sludge comes out the sump drain after using it

Engine Sludge...Act quickly, or it'll kill your engine. - Cost Effective Maintenance

[campbeam]

If your engine has serious accumulated oil sludge issues, then I HIGHLY recommend removing the front valve cover and thoroughly cleaning the valve cover and cylinder head valve gear, as best you can. Also check and clean the PCV valve. This is a proven solution to resolve the issue of the engine blowing white smoke on start up or when accelerating hard.

After this has been done, then if required, try the chemical flush product to further clean the engine internals.

[SJRP]

 

What about the rear cover?

I'm sure it's as bad or worse.

All the oil channels below the valve levels.

What about every thing around the timing chains and VVT gear.

What about all the oil sitting in the intake manifold.

Cleaning under the front cover works amazingly but that's about 30% of what needs cleaning. and yes a good clean  PVC line will stop oil being deposited into the intake.

 

If the BG Dynamic flush kit is as good as people say it is that would save about 27 hours of labour getting all this cleaned up manually.

That's why I was asking if anyone has 'actually' used this 'specific' product...