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Old May 20, 2022 | 10:08 AM
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Some Sludge

I put my finger in the valve cover, rubbed the top and it didn't come out too clean. Do these engines run clean? There is some oil change history on the motor, but there are gaps. Currently there is a Fram silver with 30% oil life left. I am running a cup of seafom till I change (will run about 200 miles with it).
 
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Old May 20, 2022 | 01:53 PM
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From: Livingston Tx
Originally Posted by explorerdriver
I put my finger in the valve cover, rubbed the top and it didn't come out too clean. Do these engines run clean? There is some oil change history on the motor, but there are gaps. Currently there is a Fram silver with 30% oil life left. I am running a cup of seafom till I change (will run about 200 miles with it).
Not that I’m aware of with proper maintenance.
 
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Old May 21, 2022 | 07:53 AM
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Originally Posted by explorerdriver
I put my finger in the valve cover, rubbed the top and it didn't come out too clean. Do these engines run clean? There is some oil change history on the motor, but there are gaps. Currently there is a Fram silver with 30% oil life left. I am running a cup of seafom till I change (will run about 200 miles with it).
What color is the sludge, if it's milky colored it's from the motor being short hopped and not getting warmed up causing condensation in the motor but if it's dark colored it's from poor maintenance or blow by from compression getting past the rings.

Denny
 
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Old May 21, 2022 | 08:05 AM
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Originally Posted by rvpuller
What color is the sludge, if it's milky colored it's from the motor being short hopped and not getting warmed up causing condensation in the motor but if it's dark colored it's from poor maintenance or blow by from compression getting past the rings.

Denny
It is dark.

Engine has good compression, starts if you touch the key and runs strong. I was on gravel and just touching the gas spun the wheels. The state inspection guy said it sounds better than his few year old 5.0. He did suggest an immediate oil change. I decided to run some seafoam.
I'll buy the lack of maintenance in the last 30K miles though, considering the detail it needed. It had great OCIs till then.
Hopefully not this bad:
 
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Old May 21, 2022 | 04:31 PM
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Short tripping even when following the oil change guide will still result in varnish/sludge film buildup on the internals.

Key to a clean engine is long run cycles, clean functioning PCV, and 3,000mi/3 month oil changes. Since the oil change intervals were extended past the 3,000mi/3 month interval, the insides of the engines have been noticeably more deposit laden. Used to be able to pop the valve cover on a 150k-200k mile engine and see clean shiny internals, now I get trucks with under 100k miles following the oil life monitor or 5,000-7,500mi change interval and they have a nice brownish black film over the internals.
 
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