Engine Sludge: Any Updated Fix?

[Tonyx]

I just had this theoretical idea of cleaning any engine with sludge...
Completely hypothetical...
Let's see what you guys/girls think:

- Drain old oil and dispose of properly.
- Reinstall the drain plug.
- Remove spark plugs.

- Pour some Berryman or equivalent (AC Delco fluid, info in BMW forum) down the spark plug holes.
With time, the fluid will dissolve the carbon build-up on the piston and on the rings.
This fluid will eventually end up in the crankcase.

- Now pour 2 gallons of diesel into the oil filler hole, it will end up in the crankcase anyway.
Let it sit in the crankcase for 1-2 days to dissolve any gunk.
Do NOT run the engine during this soaking period.

- After 1-2 days, suck out any remaining fluid inside the combustion chamber. Reinstall spark plugs.
Drain the diesel from the crank case.

- Do an oil change with new oil filter. Drive for about 300-400 miles. Do another oil/filter change.

---> Is this (completely soaking the crankcase with diesel fluid) a good idea?

Only suggestion I can make is after the 'solvents' are drained, replenish cylinder oil by adding a tablespoon to each through spark plug hole and cranking it for several seconds. Then install the spark plugs and drive for 300 - 400 miles.

After several days of degreasing the cylinder and piston rings, I would worry about dry starting the engine.

[cn90]

My 2004 V70 2.5T now has 116K miles.

Oil is synthetic 10W30, filter is Mahle.

The engine ticking noise ("diesel" noise) continues. Sometimes, it gives the impression of lower end knocking. I hear this noise mainly from the outside.

Inside the cabin, engine "diesel" noise is minimal.

Car otherwise runs fine and smooth.

I understand the "diesel" engine noise is very common in the 2.5T engine but curious if anyone here ever uses 15W50 oil to quiet the "diesel" noise?

[MoVolvos]

My 2004 V70 2.5T now has 116K miles.

Oil is synthetic 10W30, filter is Mahle.

The engine ticking noise ("diesel" noise) continues. Sometimes, it gives the impression of lower end knocking. I hear this noise mainly from the outside.

Inside the cabin, engine "diesel" noise is minimal.

Car otherwise runs fine and smooth.

I understand the "diesel" engine noise is very common in the 2.5T engine but curious if anyone here ever uses 15W50 oil to quiet the "diesel" noise?

I use to run the Swepco 306 15W-40 in the 98 S70 T5 and it would quiet the diesel sound considerably. Went with the 308 5W-40 afterwards due to an unseasonably cold winter and only driving the car a couple times a week and under 7 miles one way. Car never warmed up. The S70's transmission also was much smoother with the Swepco 714 20W transfluid.

None of the current 5 cars have minor engine or trans issues nor get driven much so just going with the cheaper stuff and changing the oil once a year. Current favorite is the Castrol Edge Titanium 0W-40 as it is approved by VW for the 19 Atlas and was quieter than the Costo Kirkland 0W-30 (cheap, cheap but good oil).

https://www.amazon.com/Castrol-03101-0W ... 856&sr=8-6

https://www.amazon.com/306-Supreme-Form ... 514&sr=8-7

https://www.amazon.com/308-5w40-Premium ... 795&sr=8-4

https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/ ... =0&SVSVSI=

I would not however just use any 15W-40 as the Swepco would stay on the walls of the engine so start up wouldn't be noisy. Use to use some thicker single weight motor oils to quiet pre-80's engines or ones starting to have lower end groans but again can't do this in colder climates.

The Rotella T6 5W-40 is my second oil of choice for quiet motors so if the climate is not cold you could try the T6 15W-40.

https://www.amazon.com/Shell-Rotella-Sy ... 621&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/Rotella-Aceite-d ... 158&sr=8-5


*

[oragex]

Berryman Chemtool kills the rubber gaskets. I did use Seafoam and it did help quiet down a noisy lifter, but the more surprising result was the fresh engine oil was still pretty clear after about 6-7000 miles (engine has 130k miles)

[jamadams]

It has been my experience that to truly know the amount of Sludge in an engine, you must remove the engine oil pan. you will find a lot of stuff in the pan. Clean the pan, clean the oil pickup sump and reinstall all. R&R the pan is not too bad. it is the cleaning that takes some work. Zep industrial cleaner from Lowe's works good. If you have access to a commercial parts washer, that is great. I usually have to use a combination of both. including a long screwdriver to dig out the J-drain (square tube, cast into the pan) from the block into the pan. Ref. the attachment.
A lot of Quick lubes don't change the filter, probably don't have the correct tool. some use cheap/bulk/recycled engine oil that is almost always mineral based (non-Synthetic).

What causes the sludge: extended oil drains, city driving, idling (drive-thru's), poor quality oil, wrong Viscosity oil, mineral based oils (can't take the heat) defective engine coolant thermostat (too cold) high humidity driving conditions.

anyone else know any other causes?

[jamadams]

Wasting your time and money. Remove the pan. See my post on this with pictures.

[volvomadness]

Try using the BG kit $70 on amazon. works wonders in cleaning the engine and also has a fuel system cleaner included.

[oragex]

The engine ticking noise ("diesel" noise) continues. Sometimes, it gives the impression of lower end knocking. I hear this noise mainly from the outside.

I had a lifter ticking. Could easily locate it to one cylinder from the engine bay, I think it was cyl #3 or #4. It was average loud. It did two Seafoam treatments at different moments, now it's perfectly quiet, cannot hear it any longer. I would not use Berryman B-12 Chemtool at any place with rubber seals. There is a video on Youtube comparing Chemtool and Seafoam and you could see Chemtool was attacking the rubber seals, while Seafoam did not. Obviously, if using Chemtool gets the engine seals to leak, that is a death sentence for the engine.

The previous owner had the car for about 2 years and by the looks, I suspect he didn't change the the oil filter. I think this can happen on quite a few S60, when owners service them at a cheap local garage that doesn't have the tool to remove the filter cup, and perhaps even more so cannot order the filter itself from local auto parts or stores - my local hardware store does not sell the oil or air filters for these cars.

[ignatz]

The previous owner had the car for about 2 years and by the looks, I suspect he didn't change the the oil filter. I think this can happen on quite a few S60, when owners service them at a cheap local garage that doesn't have the tool to remove the filter cup, and perhaps even more so cannot order the filter itself from local auto parts or stores - my local hardware store does not sell the oil or air filters for these cars.

My 2001 V70 suffered the same fate. Dealer oil changes until the last owner had two jiffy oil changes in the last 2 years of ownership, probably using cheap oil. Removing and replacing the oil pan is one job, cleaning a cruddy Volvo oil pan is tedious task, because of all the complex structure. Also it gives you access to the PCV oil return port, that was mucked up on mine.
I'm 65 and a mechanic since my teens. Cleaning the oil pan and PCV block return brought more "swear word" phrases than any other job I did. "Holy xxxx" " What the xxxx" "What a xxxxing mess".
Dropping the oil pan on my car and re-O Ringing all the seals will definitely add to the life of the car.

[erikv11]

My 2004 V70 2.5T now has 116K miles.

Oil is synthetic 10W30, filter is Mahle.

The engine ticking noise ("diesel" noise) continues. Sometimes, it gives the impression of lower end knocking. I hear this noise mainly from the outside.

Inside the cabin, engine "diesel" noise is minimal.

Car otherwise runs fine and smooth.

I understand the "diesel" engine noise is very common in the 2.5T engine but curious if anyone here ever uses 15W50 oil to quiet the "diesel" noise?

It's been a couple years now, how is the sludge that was so evident under the cap?