Sludge can be quite damaging to car engines. This could still happen even if we have properly maintain our cars. Some sludge-probe engines can surprise unwary car owners. If maintenance is delayed, sludge is more likely to develop inside the engine. We should make sure that our car engine doesn’t slowly turn into a sludge-filled monster. In essence, sludge is oil in gel form. This could happen when additives in engine oil are depleted by contaminant and heat exposure. If sludge is present at huge quantity, it is possible that our engine starts to become oil-deprived. When the internal parts of our car has become blocked by sludge, an oil change won’t reverse the problem. We should know that engine could fail due to sludge and fixing it can be quite expensive. Among cars that are affected by sludge accumulation, failure could start to happen after 60,000 miles. If the engine isn’t maintained properly, failure could happen after 15,000 miles. Used cars can be poorly maintained during its first few years by first owners. The old solution to clean up sludged engine is by disassembling it and scrub the internal components with kerosene.
However, after a number of years, sludge problem could re-emerge. Aluminum engines have different rate of heat transfer. The internal components can be hotter, causing engine oil to overheat. Engine oil with lower viscosity could be needed if the engine has finer internal tolerance. Engines may need thinner lubricants so they can enter smaller crevices. Some engines can be quite complex and overcrowded that the coolant galleys, spark plug threads, oil passage and valve guides have to be downsized. When coolant leaks, engine oil can become contaminated. We should know that some manufacturers and dealerships tend to keep this quiet and they may even say that they never hear anything related to sludge problem with their car. The problem could get worse when manufacturers deny warranty claims and they say that sludged engines are caused by improper maintenance. We should be aware that sludge development can happen more often to specific engines. We should observe the Internet for this problem. Car forums could be filled with posts related to engine sludge. Weak customer service is also another bad indication that we should know.
If manufacturers admit the sludge problem, we should know whether there are flushes deals. They should provide maintenance procedure to prevent or at least, significantly delay the development of sludge. When our engine is cleaned from sludge, the engine oil will need to be drained. Development of sludge can be prevented if we prevent our car from being overheated. In cold temperature, we will need to drive our car longer so condensation won’t build up. Car owners should also beware of “hot deals” related to engine flushing. Again, we should read reviews whether specific sludge-cleaning method can really be useful. Once our engine cleaned, we should ask owners of identical cars when the sludge formation once again reaches a worrying level.