I had my oil changed this weekend and the guy told me that I had sludge. How would this have happened?
He told it would be 10 extra dollars to clean it out so I went ahead and did it. He said it would effect my performance but now it almost feels like I lost power but it does seem to accelerate smoother. Give me your thoughts

two ideas come to mind.

1. you were shafted out of 10 bucks
or
2. you waited too long between oil changes

I am not aware that sludge is an issue with the 4.7L V8. In fact, I believe the opposite is true. This engine is considered to be one of the easiest engines on oil that is out there.

Do you change your oil and filter on a regular basis...more often if you operate the vehicle under severe conditions (short trips, stop & go, extreme heat, etc.)?

I think this guy gave you a bunch of BS. I can't think of any product or procedure that would effectively and safely remove sludge for a cost of $10. I would be concerned about what kind of crap that was put into my engine. I would call them up, explain what they supposedly did, and find out what they added to "clean" out the sludge.

Yep!

I've put 25k miles in 13 months and no sludge. I get it changed every 5k miles.

mochoajr

Another reason to change your own oil (saving money and then saving even more money) I am sure you do not have sludge but only you will know if you change it.

You got suckered. I don't know what they put in your engine, but I would not keep it in there.


And don't let them change the blinker fluid, until 30k.:arrow:

This is EXACTLY the reason I do it myself. I'm sure this "mechanic" knows that Toyotas IN THE PAST have had problems with sludge, so a couple year old Toyota rolls into his shop and sure enough you magically have sludge.

I would definitely find out what he put in your engine to "clean" your "sludge" problem, but here's how I would go about it: I would call the place up, ask for the manager or even the guy who told you about the sludge. Then ask him what product he used on you truck because "it really worked well" and "you really noticed a difference in performance" when in all actuality it either didn't make a difference, or made things worse. This way you get the truth about what went in your car. Mechanics like him have a habit of lying about anything, and if you call and pressure him all pissed off he might give you the run-around.

Just what I would do...

Unbelievable!! Total nonsense. You donated ten dollars to his pocket. In the future I would refuse extras until you can research it. In the mean time I would find another shop or take it to the dealer (I hope it wasn't a Toyota dealer that did this but it wouldn't surprise me) or do it yourself

If you can do your own oil change next, get a used oil analysis.

Your V8 should be almost bulletproof, it's another great engine by Toyota.

If you had sludge it would of cost a heck of a lot more than $10 to fix it. Sludge gums ups the works and in most cases you have to tear apart your engine. If you go long on oil changes and you have a concern start changing the oil more often, 3,000 miles for real wierd os like me, or maybe go 4,000 to 5,000 miles. Bottom line I wouldn't think you had sludge with a $10 fix.

To assume the sludge comment was indeed true, what oil do you run?

I had a Trooper with 48K miles and had the oil changed at 4-5K intervals. The engine froze up because of the sludge. I used Quaker State, dealer said QS is one of the worst oils as there is a ton of parafin/wax in their oil which causes sludge.

Sounded like a good story to me. Warranty provided a new engine and I sold it as soon as it was released from the shop.

Yep....I'd guess #1

Like Peter said, if you had an actual sludge problem, 10 bucks definetly wouldn't cut the mustard.

90% probability you got taken for $10.

10% probability that you are only driving very short distances so the engine never gets a chance to get rid of internal condensation. This will lead to some milky substances showing up on the oil cap, etc. Especially if you just have some cheapo oil in the engine. SO they probably just put in one of these aftermarket oil detergants.

Maybe try a good oil next time, or just get M1 it will easily clean out the engine without you having to add other stuff. Dump it after 5k and you should be good. But if you constantly drive short distances I would recommend that you stick with a very good syn oil as it will definitely help your engine a lot.

Well who knows... I probably got taken. Oh well... but its interesting that some of yall said it might be b/c of short distance driving.
I do A LOT of this. I go to college in a pretty small town so most of my driving is done around the corner to Walmart or fast food. Its only 10 min to the other side of town so most of my trips are really short.

Who did the oil change (stealership / quick lube / garage?) What brand and grade did they put in this time?