How To Claim Possible Sludge Problem On A 2001 Es300?

[dxf]

i have a 2001 es300 with 54,000 miles on it. original owner, changed oil every 3000 miles. after reading some sludge problems on the forum, i looked in the oil filler hole under the cap. a crust of "crud" can be seen. do i just bring it in to the dealer and say fix the sludge problem or what steps do i need to take?

[SW03ES]

Well first of all you have to establish if it has sludge, have you been experiencing any reduced performance, is it using any oil? Sure fire way to check is to pull the valve cover.

[djspawn00]

before you swing by the dealer, confirm you've got a real sludge issue, but also keep in mind that they will try to avoid helping you unless you can furnish reciepts or some type of proof that the oil was changed in a non neglectful manner.

[dxf]

i do my own maintenance, so no receipts. i do keep a log thought, hope that's good enough.

will i need to replace the valve cover gasket if i pull the valve cover off, or is it reusable?

[mburnickas]

i have a 2001 es300 with 54,000 miles on it. original owner, changed oil every 3000 miles. after reading some sludge problems on the forum, i looked in the oil filler hole under the cap. a crust of "crud" can be seen. do i just bring it in to the dealer and say fix the sludge problem or what steps do i need to take?

100 to 1 you are fine. Everyone, even me, looks inside the oil fill hole and flips out when they see the baffle with carbon/sludge on it.

Either, you are using oil, blowing oil or oil test wil show high NOX/OXD to show you have sludge (or pull cover). Everyone is sludge crazy and most do not have it.

[X72]

i have a 2001 es300 with 54,000 miles on it. original owner, changed oil every 3000 miles. after reading some sludge problems on the forum, i looked in the oil filler hole under the cap. a crust of "crud" can be seen. do i just bring it in to the dealer and say fix the sludge problem or what steps do i need to take?

Are you sure what you are seeing is sludge? On our 03 and 05 ES's, the baffle that obscures your view of the valvetrain underneath the oil cap has a black rough coating that could be confused with sludge. Just touch it when the engine is cold and you will notice that clean oil will stick to your finger. If this is keeping you up at night, have the front valve cover removed to get a good look inside.

[X72]

i do my own maintenance, so no receipts. i do keep a log thought, hope that's good enough.

will i need to replace the valve cover gasket if i pull the valve cover off, or is it reusable?

You will need to scrape off the old gasket and use a new gasket.

I have never done this myself; I would refer to a repair manual or just have a mechanic do this for me.

[dxf]

yes, i was able to break pieces of the "crust" off by just poking at it.

this is after i clean some of it off.

i will pull the front valve cover off to be sure after i buy the gasket.

[Toysrme]

i looked in the oil filler hole under the cap. a crust of "crud" can be seen.

That's not sludge, It's simply oil that has burned on the cover plate for the oil fill cap. It's almost impossible for that not to happen. Toyota puts protictive shielding on all the external orifaces of it's valvecovers to keep oil from being slung out of the engine if they ever go missing.

Same thing happens to the PCV / crankcase breather cover plates, etc, etc. What you're showing is normal operation. The oil film that attaches to the cover plates doesn't 100% drip off & simply cakes over time.

You have to pull both the valve cover's off to check for sludge. I can flat out tell you. if you take that to a dealer, they're goingt o laugh at you & send you right back out the door unless you can prove sludge. Either by pictures inside the heads (remove valve covers), or there is actual sludge related damage occuring. Which, unfortunately, breaks down into a lack of oil circulation has roasted a bearing. The first sign of that is typically engine damge so sever the bottom end must be rebuilt.

(i.e. rod collapsed, bent, slung off the crankshaft, or snapped in half)

So if the engine isn't knocking & you don't have pictures inside the valve covers... They're gunna toss you out, or charge you the $200-300 for taking the valve covers off & replacing the gaskets. You know... That's good long-term maintenance, but something I think alot of mechanically inclined people would just preffer to do at home.

[justin97]

i looked in the oil filler hole under the cap. a crust of "crud" can be seen.

That's not sludge, It's simply oil that has burned on the cover plate for the oil fill cap. It's almost impossible for that not to happen. Toyota puts protictive shielding on all the external orifaces of it's valvecovers to keep oil from being slung out of the engine if they ever go missing.

Same thing happens to the PCV / crankcase breather cover plates, etc, etc. What you're showing is normal operation. The oil film that attaches to the cover plates doesn't 100% drip off & simply cakes over time.

You have to pull both the valve cover's off to check for sludge. I can flat out tell you. if you take that to a dealer, they're goingt o laugh at you & send you right back out the door unless you can prove sludge. Either by pictures inside the heads (remove valve covers), or there is actual sludge related damage occuring. Which, unfortunately, breaks down into a lack of oil circulation has roasted a bearing. The first sign of that is typically engine damge so sever the bottom end must be rebuilt.

(i.e. rod collapsed, bent, slung off the crankshaft, or snapped in half)

So if the engine isn't knocking & you don't have pictures inside the valve covers... They're gunna toss you out, or charge you the $200-300 for taking the valve covers off & replacing the gaskets. You know... That's good long-term maintenance, but something I think alot of mechanically inclined people would just preffer to do at home.

agreed i took my valve cover off at abotu 130k i think and there was a coating of oil abd didnt see any sludge at all.

[Toysrme]

would also like to add how awesome that OEM cover plates/splash shields / whatever you want to know them by are. i know alot of local muscle car restorers that have to install their own cover plates because their rockers sling oil straight out the breather holes into the engine bay.

lol!