Sludge

F

faster4runner04

New member
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
 
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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.
 
ironadrenaline said:
two ideas come to mind.

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

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...
 
faster4runner04 said:
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
Click to expand...


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.
 
ironadrenaline said:
two ideas come to mind.

1. you were shafted out of 10 bucks
or
2. you waited too long between oil changes
Click to expand...
Yep....I'd guess #1

Like Peter said, if you had an actual sludge problem, 10 bucks definetly wouldn't cut the mustard.
 
Last edited:
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.
 
First you need to determine if in fact the issue is real. I suspect you will change the oil next time around? Then if it turns out to be true then I would increase the frequency of changes to something like 3000 mile intervals.
 
I'm thinking the mechanic poured in a can of oil additive (STP, etc) when he replaced your oil.

Now if he'd poured in 4-5 more quarts, then added GUNK engine flush, idled the truck for about 10 mins and then rechanged your oil--I'd say $10 was ok.

But.........I'm BETTING he didn't even come close to doing the latter. I, like others here would change out this batch of oil at about 2000-3000 miles. I would NOT take a chance on running it any longer. He may have added some (oil gumming snake potion) to your engine.

Just my 1 1/2 cents worth!!
 
I would just like to say that I change my own oil and I did notice that the last oil change it came out in spurts. Right in the middle of draining.

I changed it in after 2500 cause i had a long trip to mammoth. I noticed it was a little thick. But, not like sludge, I only noticed it cause it started to splash. I only use synthetic and no oil is being burnt.

I think it is the design of the oil port in the engine... I hope.

oh yeah, i change my own oil. CUZ my friends work for auto shops and you will never know what they put in there!!!!!!!
 
truckhigh said:
I would just like to say that I change my own oil and I did notice that the last oil change it came out in spurts. Right in the middle of draining.
Click to expand...

Do you open the oil fill cap before you drain the oil? This will let air get into the system and allow the oil to flow properly.

Also, did you let the oil heat up a little before changing? Unless the oil is cold, you should not be able to tell whether it has thickened up in 2500 miles without sending it to a lab for analysis.
 
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