Extreme Sludge Problem!!!

[AZNEAL311]

Ok I get a phone call from a friend asking me to come out and take a look at his friends 2000 Dodge Dakota, problem is it overheats with in minutes. Gauge goes from very bottom to pegged in a matter of minutes. My first thought was bad gauge. We parked I checked every thing I could think of. About to the point where I start scratching my head when I decide to check the oil level. It is a little low so I open the oil fill cap( its one that comes up like 8in from the valve covers and you can see all the way down) and as soon as I open it i notice a lot of smoke. I get my flashlight and look down and there was so much sludge. No joke almost a centermeter caked on every where I could see and the bottom of the cap was even worse. He says he maintains his truck as in regular oil changes,tune ups ect.. What would cause sludge to build up like that and how would you get rid of it? Its a 4.7 V6 i believe with 150k miles. Would it cause the temp to rise that fast? Had coolant,new therm., elec. fan and mech. fan. The air filter was pretty bad which makes me wonder about his regular oil changes and tune ups. Is there a cleaner or system flush that would work or is this going to be a rip the motor out and rebuild it? Oh and I know its a Dodge but I drive a Mustang and know this site is full of knowlagable and experianced DIYers. Thanks ahead of time.

I wish I had my camera with me. Thats how bad it was.

 

[rd]

The sludge and the overheating are most likely different problems.

For the sludge, pull the valve covers and clean them, check it out further.

A simple change in oil brands might be in order. Quaker State used to be famous for this (maybe an urban legend), so I quit using it in 1969. Valvoline has never done this to me.

I had this once with a Pontiac 3.8, my father in laws. It sludged up so bad it blocked the oil return holes in the heads, and it ran out of oil and seized the engine.

For the cooling, I would check that the fan is turning, if it has a fan clutch, it could be worn. Otherwise, it sounds like a head gasket.

 

[AZNEAL311]

Thanks you dont think that has any thing to do with the over heating? Even with the smoke pouring out of the filler cap? It wasnt just a little bit of smoke there was quite a bit. And it countinued to come out pretty thick for several minutes. And if the sludge is that thick it could be stopping the "good" oil from getting to the top of the motor. And it has 2 fans, one runs off of the motor and another electric fan. Both are in working order. The truck drove just fine. Started right up,smooth idle/accel/decell. Like I said I thought it was a faulty gauge. Ran fine even when it was pegged. But when I jumped out and popped the hood it was a differant story. I had my temp gun with my and the radiator was only 100degrees at most, but was getting much hotter reading from the motor itself. Valve covers 230d, coolant lines from heater core 160-190( and the heater was blowing cold air), exhaust manifold was 400+, heads were around 250d, Those are rough figures, I dont have the paper on me that has all the temps I wrote down. along with misc. notes.

 

[dragnazz5.0]

for the sludge problem check out www.auto-rx.com that stuff works wonders. its kind of pricey but it does work

 

[8950HO]

Bad sludge usually forms over time when an engine is run too cool.
I also doubt he is changing oil regularly.

Lot`s of people say they maintain their vehicles when really they don`t.

 

[r.barn5.0]

Seafoam works great for taking out sludge.

I used it a few times in my crank case and when
I tore my old engine down there was not a SINGLE bit of sludge
on the valves or in the pan.

and I'm awfull about letting my oil changes go to long

 

[bullitstang1313]

You could run some GUNK engine flush through the engine for 5 minutes then drain the oil and fill with new. Low oil circulation/lubrication will lead to a cooling problem. One of the main functions of the engine oil is to cool it.

 

[Sicarius428]

Engine oil does help cool the engine tremendously besides the fact that it cuts down on the friction. Oil coolers on the 5.0 can drop the engine temp 20* so keep that in mind. The engine temp is most likely taken from the water which could indicate that the thermostat isn't working too. To get it out you can run a synthetic oil(mobil 1) which is a detergent oil which can break it down and clean it out. You can also subsitute a 1/2 quart of oil for atf fluid which is also a detergent oil when used with conventional oil. Either way his next oil change is going to be interesting to watch.
Kevin

 

[bullitstang1313]

I'm fairly certain that all automotive engine oil is detergent oil. This was an SAE standard. If the engine oil is not circulating enough the extra heat that normally would be dissipated into the oil now has to go to the coolant, thus high engine temperature. Try cleaning the engine with any of the above methods and then if the coolant temp issue still exists then you will need to start troubleshooting it. The key is to eliminate problems that you already know exist and then check to see if the root cause is tied together.

 

[AZNEAL311]

Ohh and the sludge was more of a redish color, closer to rust, not ATF red.

 

[TheBocSez]

I would lean towards headgasket too. Mixing of the coolant and oil makes a nice sludge although it is usually more of a chocolate milkshake color. But a bad headgasket would explain overheating and thick sludge like build up.