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My uncle stopped driving a few months ago and he wants to give me his 1999 Chevrolet Impala that has 150,000 miles. The car runs fine but when I took the Oil Cap off I noticed there was Sludge in the Valvetrain, it is black in color.

Is there any product out there that will clean this Sludge up, any recommendations would be appreciated.
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Hi Rickey, you may be able to clean whilst you drive by changing the oil to a good quality diesel engine oil and complete two or three short (500 miles) oil changes, as Uncle has decided he can't be bothered fighting the traffic he most likely didn't feel he needed service as much so this most likely degraded oil and short running sludge, this is big motor so always warm up and don't use heavy throttle unless the water temp is up to normal when driving , change the oil filter every time you oil change the engine, regards
Rob S
quote:
Originally posted by inHaliburton:
quote:


Any proof of that?


Any proof that it doesn't?


A one and done poster is all the proof needed. Do *you* have any proof it does what he claims?

You do know that ancedotes are not the plural of data. right?

You do know that the burden of proof lies with the one making the claim, right?
quote:
Originally posted by RobertC:
While a "one and done" is certainly to be looked at with discretion, you do make the point that anecdotes are not data.

So, glowing endorsements aside, what data is available for ANY cleaner beyond a simple visual evaluation?


Now that I've thought about it for awhile, I'm not really sure. Unless you tear the engine down, just looking under the valve covers isn't enough.

Dropping the pan would tell you more I would think. But there would still be areas you couldn't see....

I think that abnormal oil pressure would be a clue. Lower than usual, low oil light triggered.

I've heard that MMO lowers TBN, and can drop the oil a grade if added to replace 25% of the oil. (From their own forums.

I'd rather just use quality oil like M1 0w-40.
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