Corolla - Engine oil sludge- please advice...?

Question

I bought a corolla 2000 four months back. Got buyers inspection with a local mechanic .....he listed drive belt, tensioner, rotors resurface. Got them all done.... Low engine oil pressure light
came on this week ....took it to the same mechanic..now he is saying lot of sludge and engine could break anytime....he cleaned oil pan and strainer....suggested to get rid of the car asap... Confused what to do...can a dealer fix this bettter ....if so how much will it cost.....

Answer 1

Slow down a little. For someone to help, the information has to be a little more clear and precise. I am not sure what is wrong with your car. The symptoms you noted don't sound much like they are directly connected. And I am not sure that any of them are related to sludge. BUT, the reason your question caught my attention is this: Toyota is involved in a large, multi-million dollar lawsuit regarding severe engine problems caused by SLUDGE in their cars built since 1997. I don't know more details but it might be worth your while to check it out.

OK? Here is all I have: www.oilgelsettlement.com

No joke. Good luck.

Answer 2

Well not really. A good way is to dismantle the engine and clean it. I heard about detergent oils but never used one. Even engine flush. Now, if the car was done maintenance according to the book? If the answer is yes it has none of that and that guy is a lier. Take it to another mechanic and ask if you really have what that guy say. Go around and ask. I wonder how he find out? Unless your engine is really putting out tar at the oil pan. 3,000 oil changes are absurd. The normal is what the book tells you. I change mine every 10,000 with synthetic and I have more than 70,000 and no so called sludge. To get that, you most never or maybe changed the oil once on those 70,000+ miles. Do not confuse Tarnish with gunk or sludge. Some oil caps builds some deposits but that does not mean the whole engine is that way. If you open the cap and look inside and is brown is fine, as long does not looks like clumps of tar or tar looking particles inside the engine.

Answer 3

.Sludge in an internal combustion is caused by several factors
1) High mileage between oil change
2) Not changing the oil filter at the required intervals.
3) If doing a lot of short drives and the engine is not getting to normal operating temp,than change the oil more frequent.
4) Wrong oil. Oil to use is must have detergents in it,the idea is to wash contaminates from the top end and put it in the sump.
Run the engine till it reaches normal temp,drain the engine oil,when drained put in 2 quarts of flushing oil (or 10 SAE engine oil) run the engine over idle speed for 30 minutes and repeat.,than replace the oil filter and with a good brand of oil (Not Castrol) top up the sump to the correct level as per service book.
note the mileage and change the oil filter and engine oil at 6,000 miles and you will never have sludge problems.
I hope this has helped. Waltz .

Answer 4

if you trust and know this mechanic is good, then work with him. find out what's causing the sludge and if it's reapairable. since he's cleaning it the oil pan and what was inside the engine. try to see how a new oil change works out, drive for a few hundred miles an check again and then if need be change the oil again. Trying to see if you're able to clean the engine of thsi sludge... other option is to take to another mechanic for 2nd opinion. btw. how many miles is this car?

Answer 5

I suggest changing the oil and adding a can of Marvel Mystery Oil with the oil. Don't over-fill it. Replace a quart or 2 of oil with the MMO. Run it for about 500 miles then change it again. If the problem is sludge then this should dissolve a good portion of it. IF you're still getting low oil pressure then you may have a bad oil pump.

Answer 6

there is a machine called a bilstein engine flush machine that could flush that engine it cost about $135.00( you might be able to fine one locally but most repair shops do not have them. it will include drianing the oil and hooikng up the machine to it the machine runs a cleaning solvent through the oil passages it has a 3 micron filter in it a typical oil filter has a 25-40 micron filter so oil can flow through it. when this machine is hooked up to your car , your car is not running
then fresh oil and filter are installed after wards
good luck