Valve CoverJob and the Sludge call

[jjf8]

So I have had the 2002 SR5 for about a year, 82K. Always kept an eye on the oil, changed it twice, It was always clean, never black. Took it in for Valve Cover job as I do not have the resources and space to do the work. Got the dreaded "sludge" call.

I have read all the posts for the last few days about the pros and cons of the various methods of possibly cleaning it. Dealer says not to add any additives.

On the fence on what to do. Drive it as is, rebuild it, take it out back,,,,,,, sell it with disclosure

It was dealer bought, one owner, a lot of dealer maintenance done prior to sale at trade in , Tie rods, charcoal Filter, brakes etc. $2600 in dealer cost service, I was told it was serviced privately by the owner by the dealer. That should have been my walking out moment but it was not, so I am now facing the consequences of a bad decision.

Truck seems to run fine and has up to now and the oil remains clean.

Just looking for a fresh perspective as a lot of the threads I read were older.

Thanx of all the info on this board, may not participate much, but I read it quite often,

 

[Kanoe]

Too bad to find that. Sorry to hear it.

I don't think it's a death sentence. With such a low mileage engine I would just get a good synthetic oil in it and do frequent oil and filter changes. I think this would gradually clean it out. I believe some synthetics are better than others in terms of detergents. I've heard Amsoil is good for cleaning.

 

[white_n_slow]

I think you're overestimating the severity of this problem. Sludged up motors can still run like clockwork to high mileage, and frequently do.

Just sucks you don't have the space/resources to work on it yourself. I would just clean it out with shop rags, q-tips, etc, and slap the covers back on. Also do the same with the oil pan and whatever you can easily reach from below. Then start a frequent oil change regimen with a quality oil. I don't know anything about those oil additives, but seems to me they can't do any permanent harm if you don't leave them in there too long. But I wouldn't put any detergents in there to break down the sludge without first removing what you can physically get at. That's just my $.02

 

[thegipper]

I think you're overestimating the severity of this problem. Sludged up motors can still run like clockwork to high mileage, and frequently do.

Just sucks you don't have the space/resources to work on it yourself. I would just clean it out with shop rags, q-tips, etc, and slap the covers back on. Also do the same with the oil pan and whatever you can easily reach from below. Then start a frequent oil change regimen with a quality oil. I don't know anything about those oil additives, but seems to me they can't do any permanent harm if you don't leave them in there too long. But I wouldn't put any detergents in there to break down the sludge without first removing what you can physically get at. That's just my $.02

^This sounds like pretty good advise to me. Just clean it out the best you can and switch to a high quality oil like Amsoil. You could add seafoam to your oil (follow direction on bottle) and that will most definitely help clean this up. Make sure you only drive with the seafoam for like 50 miles (again read the directions) and then change your oil.

If your 4R was running fine before you found this I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Yeah it looks crappy but if the engine is still running fine, just clean it up over time and call it a day...

 

[T4R2014]

Don't touch the sludge. Button it all back up and run synthetic oil of your choice to clean it up. I wouldn't worry about this.

 

[LittleCaesar]

The cheapest route for me if this was my ride would be to use Pennzoil conventional 5w-30 or 10w-30 along with 8 to 12 oz of Marvel Mystery Oil in the crankcase and change it every 1500 to 2000 miles. Slow and steady cleaning is what you are aiming for.


The dealer should be able to vacuum some of this out. Their liability for them lies in what is in the oil pan which they cannot see.

 

[Jhelms]

First owner may have never changed the oil or let it go for LONG periods of time between changes (low miles / long intervals). Agreed with the above - DO NOT DO ANYTHING other than button it back up, run a high quality synthetic with good detergents / cleaning additives such as Ca and Mg. For this task I would recommend going with rotella T6. Change it every 2- 3K for the next 12 - 15K miles and it will look black as night while cleaning things up slowly. Also, during the cleaning process, run an oversized filter. I recommend wix PN: 51516

Make sure to change your PCV valve and replace the soft-line leading to it. Likely both will be clogged up.

Last, do not take just short drives that never let the truck fully warm up. Every weekend or so, take it on a nice 20-30 mile freeway run and let it get nice and hot. Will help in the cleaning.

 

[desertegal7]

Man,, sorry for that.
BUT
4runners 3.4/2.7 are a very tough engines,, even a little abuse will cause no harm (my opinion)
I will agree with the mates above on not to touch the engine.. just clean as much as you can (by hand or anything that could suck that) then bolt back the cover.
Yes,, replace PCV valve immediately it is very cheap.
And clean your oil pump strainer immediately. 15104-62040
Gunk can harm when it falls down into oil pan and when pump sucking oil it clogs the strainer net which causing crankshaft wearing and under lubrication for the whole engine.

for me i use engine flush every year to clean any gunk,, but i know my engine.
using engine flush in your case might not be the good idea.

if mine is like yours then will just clean, use synthetic oil, open the cover everywhile to see the cleaning progress,, and when gunk is low then put an engine flush in.

i use LiquiMoly engine flush.

Im attacing my 240+K 3RZFE engine. (it was like this when purchased it but my 30years old corolla was in the same condition following the mentioned steps)

 

[jjf8]

First owner may have never changed the oil or let it go for LONG periods of time between changes (low miles / long intervals). Agreed with the above - DO NOT DO ANYTHING other than button it back up, run a high quality synthetic with good detergents / cleaning additives such as Ca and Mg. For this task I would recommend going with rotella T6. Change it every 2- 3K for the next 12 - 15K miles and it will look black as night while cleaning things up slowly. Also, during the cleaning process, run an oversized filter. I recommend wix PN: 51516

Make sure to change your PCV valve and replace the soft-line leading to it. Likely both will be clogged up.

Last, do not take just short drives that never let the truck fully warm up. Every weekend or so, take it on a nice 20-30 mile freeway run and let it get nice and hot. Will help in the cleaning.

Thanx for all the advice , doing the above was where I was leaning towards. Going to change out the PVC , run an oil change, drop the oil pan and clean it out and hope for the best. It will get highway runs as well .

 

[Jhelms]

Thanx for all the advice , doing the above was where I was leaning towards. Going to change out the PVC , run an oil change, drop the oil pan and clean it out and hope for the best. It will get highway runs as well .

Oddly... I would actually think that was a JDM motor and not a US motor. Wonder if it was swapped (not a bad thing) Usually, most JDM motors I come across look just like your photos when you pop the valve covers - all coked up from lack of oil changes or poor quality oil being used.

 

[T4R2014]

Oddly... I would actually think that was a JDM motor and not a US motor. Wonder if it was swapped (not a bad thing) Usually, most JDM motors I come across look just like your photos when you pop the valve covers - all coked up from lack of oil changes or poor quality oil being used.

Your local JDM Engine dealer sounds shady as hell.

 

[ThorInc]

Button it up and run Amsoil base synthetic through it for 3000 mile oil changes. I would add a 1/4 can of Seafoam liquid into the engine about 100 miles b4 each synthetic oil change and then change it while the oil is still hot.

 

[Jhelms]

Your local JDM Engine dealer sounds shady as hell.

Haha about all of them on the west coast straight off the docks, especially when dealing with older engines. Way more common than you could imagine. Got out of that business many moons ago.

 

[T4R2014]

Haha about all of them on the west coast straight off the docks, especially when dealing with older engines. Way more common than you could imagine. Got out of that business many moons ago.

Must be a west coast issue. All the engines I've seen from JDM Engine Zone in NJ were spotless when my mechanic pulled the valve covers. Don't confuse them with JDM Engine Depot that sells rusty and flooded crap.

 

[mtbtim]

My worry wouldn't be the sludge but how long the idiot previous owner let it go without an oil change. Seems to me with that level of sludge build-up, they let it go pretty damn far to the point that the oil degraded and lost a lot of it's lubricating properties. And, with that sort of engine abuse, I think you can safely assume other areas of the vehicle were neglected. Did they ever change the trans fluid, differential fluids, transfer case fluid during it's life. Did they ever replace the coolant? Did they ever grease the zerk fittings on the driveshafts? These would be the questions I'd be asking myself seeing that sort of neglect.

There's no doubt in my mind that the lifespan of your engine was shortened due to the neglect of the previous owner. Could you get a pretty long life out of that engine? Maybe, but then again, maybe not.

 

[T4R2014]

OP had no worries about the engine before the valve covers were pulled. Think along the lines of "what they don't know won't hurt them". Like I said, button it back up and change the oil.

 

[01thunder]

i used to run kerosene in engines to clean up crap like this. atf fluid as well. worked wonders.

 

[jjf8]

My worry wouldn't be the sludge but how long the idiot previous owner let it go without an oil change. Seems to me with that level of sludge build-up, they let it go pretty damn far to the point that the oil degraded and lost a lot of it's lubricating properties. And, with that sort of engine abuse, I think you can safely assume other areas of the vehicle were neglected. Did they ever change the trans fluid, differential fluids, transfer case fluid during it's life. Did they ever replace the coolant? Did they ever grease the zerk fittings on the driveshafts? These would be the questions I'd be asking myself seeing that sort of neglect.

There's no doubt in my mind that the lifespan of your engine was shortened due to the neglect of the previous owner. Could you get a pretty long life out of that engine? Maybe, but then again, maybe not.

I have the same concerns, I pro actively changed out the radiator after I bought it and drained the tranny fluid, not a full flush, but better than none. Truck seems to run great, even the under carriage is in good shape, granted low miles do not always mean great shape internally. It was owned by a female pastor and obviously not driven much. I have changed the oil twice and it always came out clean, but obviously the sludge is most liked "baked" on which worries me that a piece could break off and cause all sorts of problems. So the only real choice I have is to stay on it slowly. Any 13 year old used car is a gamble and I figured the odds were a bit better going the dealer route, but not this time. Nothing really to do now other than take the advice given here and come up with a plan of action and hope for the best. Appreciate all the input, certainly have a bit more hope than when I picked it up.

 

[mtbtim]

OP had no worries about the engine before the valve covers were pulled. Think along the lines of "what they don't know won't hurt them". Like I said, button it back up and change the oil.

Well, they do say ignorance is bliss.

 

[jgue467]

Damn did the PO sell it to you with the original factory oil in it?

But kidding aside like others said button up, run your favorite Full synth motor oil and I would suggest Startron in the fuel tank. It works very slowly to remove the gunk. Its much less expensive than seafoam (1 quart treats 512 gallons of fuel). Star Tron Enzyme Fuel Treatment

I use it on all my engines, they start easier and much more quickly with this stuff in tank. Luck and enjoy that runner!

Forgot to mention in the fuel for intake, injector and cylinder cleanouts, in the oil for cleaning the engine out. No chunks come out, just small amounts over time that get caught in your oil filter. :cowboy: