Oil Sludge/gel-ling

[deadmilenko]

Has anyone ever experienced this or heard of it?

My sister in law bought a used '00 Rx300 from a Lexus Dealer one month ago and has put 2000 miles on it. She loves it but when the Check Engine Light came on her husband checked the oil level. It was low so they added some oil..........4 quarts.:cries: Since those 4 quarts they have had to add two more. There is no sign of leakage under the vehicle nor does it look like its burning oil. The vehicle has 85,500 miles on it. That is a total of 6 quarts in a one month period.

The dealer in Tennessee flushed the motor and they said that there was no sign of oil sludge. However could it not be that in doing a engine flush that the oil sludge would break down with the compound that is used to flush the motor out? They want her to drive another 1000 miles on it to see if there is any sludge build up. By then here warranty would be expired. The out of state dealer that she bought it from said that if it was oil sludge they would have to do an complete engine swap $8000. And that they would \pay to have it shipped to there dealer to perform the engine swap.

Thanks in advance for you input.

http://www.autosafety.org/article.php?scid=185&did=1261

[lenore]

There is an 8 year unlimited mileage warranty for oil sludge problems....Look it up and get the work done http://www.oilgelsettlement.com/

[bwh414]

There is an 8 year unlimited mileage warranty for oil sludge problems....Look it up and get the work done http://www.oilgelsettlement.com/

I own a 1999 RX AWD and always used Mobil 1 fully synthetic oil. I have used it in all of my vehicles for many years. I later learned that the synthetic oils do not form sludge, and I don't know whether my 99 with 175,000 miles on it has any sludge, but I've never had any problem with it. So I would recommned using the syntheic oil if you keep the truck.

Brian

[lenore]

I started my car on the synthetic blend when I bought it new. And I too have not experienced the sludge so far, At around 80k miles I switched to full synthetic and have not looked back. I now have 146k miles and still going. Yes Synthetic seems to help curtail the sludge problem...

[2JZTWIN TURBO]

I started my car on the synthetic blend when I bought it new. And I too have not experienced the sludge so far, At around 80k miles I switched to full synthetic and have not looked back. I now have 146k miles and still going. Yes Synthetic seems to help curtail the sludge problem...

Well it's a little late for that with this guy isn't it? If there really is no sludge (which I doubt) your just burning it. If there is sludge a flush isn't going to get rid of it. It'll be caked in the head under the valve covers. I would make absolutely sure before you spend money on a repair that Lexus very well may cover.

[mburnickas]

Well folks, synthetics oil WILL cause sludge down the road. It depends on the duration on the oil, class of synthetic oil, gas additives used, emission systems working 100% and some other important factors.

If you ask why etc I have done enough oil testing (UOA) on my ES, along with other gas/diesel engine then most will in there life or on this very forum. Not being stuck up but being truthful here.

In my ES, the max I could go with a group 4/5 engine oil is “approx” 17,000 miles without outside additives added. I am doing the same drain duration using LC20 since it performed wonderful results on my last 12,000 drain. Based on my understand and outside oil testing people I should be able to go well over 20,000 miles on my oil and perform just fine; while using LC20. Jsut FYI here.

But if you want to know for sure, 100% no guessing or thinking here. Pull the VC (valve covers) or do a UOA (used oil analysis). I would do a UOA since it is cheaper and most in-depth on the present and past issues.

My guess is if you are 4 qts low on a 6 qts system, you are going to have serious issues right there. Plus a flush is not the best thing in the world, depending on the flush product used. I would use only Lc20, Amsoil engine flush, Chemtool, seafoam, diesel fuel or kero for a flush. The others are over priced/over-pimped product and there makers are clowns.

[tta300]

Since the basic warranty expired on my '99, I've been using Mobil1 5w-30 and changing oil & filter every 4000 miles. Out of curiosity, I pulled the left bank valve cover 3 weeks ago. At 119,000 miles, there was no signs of sludge, carbon build up, or obvious cam lobe and valve disk wear. I wish I had pictures to post. It is farely easy to pull the left bank valve cover. A new rubber gasket is all needed to put the cover back on.

[mburnickas]

Since the basic warranty expired on my '99, I've been using Mobil1 5w-30 and changing oil & filter every 4000 miles. Out of curiosity, I pulled the left bank valve cover 3 weeks ago. At 119,000 miles, there was no signs of sludge, carbon build up, or obvious cam lobe and valve disk wear. I wish I had pictures to post. It is farely easy to pull the left bank valve cover. A new rubber gasket is all needed to put the cover back on.

Very true. Problem with Mobil1 is that is is weak in ZDDP and mostly a group 3 fluid. You could use Walfart Full synthetic fluid and get the same results. But changing at 4K miles is a little, umm nuts.

[tta300]

Although the synthetic oil may last 5000 or more miles, at 4000 it looks dirty. The cost for one Mobil1 5-quart container and a Toyota brand filter is less than $30, plus 30 minutes in doing the change and 3-4 times a year. This is the cheapest insurance I can buy for the infamous 3.0 engine on RX300.

[lenore]

He may be high mileage, but maybe some of this would clean the sludge and make the seals more pliable. Some where on one of the sites folks have used THE RX cleaner and found that their oil leaks and useage went down because the seals became more pliable. Here is the link http://www.auto-rx.com/

[mburnickas]

Although the synthetic oil may last 5000 or more miles, at 4000 it looks dirty. The cost for one Mobil1 5-quart container and a Toyota brand filter is less than $30, plus 30 minutes in doing the change and 3-4 times a year. This is the cheapest insurance I can buy for the infamous 3.0 engine on RX300.

You cannot go by color of engine oil here. I would look for another filter rather then toyo. Over priced and poor design.

Not pimping UOA's, but that is the cheapest insurance here.

[mburnickas]

He may be high mileage, but maybe some of this would clean the sludge and make the seals more pliable. Some where on one of the sites folks have used THE RX cleaner and found that their oil leaks and useage went down because the seals became more pliable. Here is the link http://www.auto-rx.com/

Problem with this internet only product (7 years old; was named "XXX" too) is the maker does not make anything he buys the products and combines. I say problem here since he does not know much on his product. His mods on his forum (Rick20, etc) and certain oil testing people know more then the maker. That is not good in my eyes. The maker/seller should know all the ins/outs of his product.

Have you seen the PR statments he makes to his past customers on forums? They are rude and flatout mean. I like it when he states the customer did not follow instructions, or use again and post(spend more money), it was leaking from the start if you want money back (no money back). I am not attacking the product but it is clearly in the young stages and I wonder why these durations etc were not fully tested upfront and why manfactures do not use it? Plus if you say anything not positive on a few forums the posts are removed. Talk about funneling the public here.

I am not saying it is not a good product but I do not know if what I am buying is the best bang for the buck....He is still working the product instructions or even proven they (instructions) work best. He is going by (1) UOA from a analysis person. What even happened to a baseline per normal practice? Too many questions undocumented and unknown to date along with long- term usage on his 3oz deal.

Hence you can use a numbers of products that are cheapear, do the same job, can buy most places and have been on market a much longer time.