Engine Sludge: Any Updated Fix?

[Rattnalle]

I wouldn't idle an engine with mostly diesel in it myself. Diesel contains stuff you don't want inside the engine and it doesn't lubricate anywhere near as well as engine oil.

Just use good oil and shorten the intervals a bit and it'll sort itself out.

[dlundblad]

I wouldn't idle an engine with mostly diesel in it myself. Diesel contains stuff you don't want inside the engine and it doesn't lubricate anywhere near as well as engine oil.

Just use good oil and shorten the intervals a bit and it'll sort itself out.

On top of no lubrication, I would worry about some junk coming loose and clogging up the pickup screen.

Speaking from experience, 0w40 and 3000 mile oil changes will fix it.

Also, the car would need driven. Short trips and not allowing the engine to run at operating temperature won't do a thing.

[Rattnalle]

I wouldn't idle an engine with mostly diesel in it myself. Diesel contains stuff you don't want inside the engine and it doesn't lubricate anywhere near as well as engine oil.

Just use good oil and shorten the intervals a bit and it'll sort itself out.

On top of no lubrication, I would worry about some junk coming loose and clogging up the pickup screen.

Speaking from experience, 0w40 and 3000 mile oil changes will fix it.

Also, the car would need driven. Short trips and not allowing the engine to run at operating temperature won't do a thing.

If the engine doesn't get warm it's not far enough to drive instead of walking of cycling

[93SCMax]

I wouldn't idle an engine with mostly diesel in it myself. Diesel contains stuff you don't want inside the engine and it doesn't lubricate anywhere near as well as engine oil.

Just use good oil and shorten the intervals a bit and it'll sort itself out.

+1

[June]

Wow...MDK here. I've had many Volvo's since about 1998...has anyone tried a "diesel wash"?.... after next oil change interval , drain 6 quarts and replace filter. Add 6 quarts of Diesel fuel and let it idle for awhile at your discretion. Drain/ re-fill/ replace filter. I know from my experience these 2.4 turbos get dirty
A mechanic here at Porche Maserati Volvo of Cincinnati recommended this procedure.... submitted with caution

My husband says this is a old trick to free a sticky lifter in old American V8s. He also said for a 5 quart engine, just the oil pan is mostly drained leaving the oil in the filter and some in the pan. Then the engine is run at idle for 20 minute intervals at idle only until the ticking is gone. Also the car will need several oil changes with filters over the next few weeks to remove debris that has been loosened and breaks loose over the next 1000 miles or so. He says a dirty engine may take 3 changes before the oil comes out without debris. I guess that means every few hundred miles or so. Otherwise either the screen may get blocked or the filter will allowing debris to bypass the filter. It does not sound like a great idea to me. June

[jimmy57]

Any sludge cleaning should be done in small doses. Unless you have pulled the oil pan or the head cover (this is 2018, you could also view inside with a camera, film it, upload to Youtube, get monetized, and receive a check) then you can't know the level of deposits. I'd be scared of full diesel anyway as lubricity of low sulfur diesel is not nearly as high as older formulations.
If you knock down too much at once then the oil filter gets obstructed and the bypass opens an the rest goes into oil passages and things like the CVVT solenoids.

[Georgeandkira]

I'm no "sludge guru" but I read the posts of many who play them anonymously on the internet.

In the absence of loud noises (clicking, clattering) I'd just go the "several good oil w/middle quality filter changes" route.

Adding kerosene or Sea-Foam toward the end of an OCI, while tempting, would be guessing.

People do say the synthetics clean better than conventionals but that sounds a little too pat.

I use Mobil1 0W-40 European Formula in my '07 because A) I have a bunch of it lying around and B) I heard it cleans well.

[Rattnalle]

Proper synthetics, which the European formula should be since you're not allowed to sell it as a synthetic i Europe if it isn't, are superior when it comes to forming sludge and getting burnt. The cleaning is more to do with the additives. But the sum of the same cleaning and less new dirt to clean is better cleaning.

[abscate]

Wow...MDK here. I've had many Volvo's since about 1998...has anyone tried a "diesel wash"?.... after next oil change interval , drain 6 quarts and replace filter. Add 6 quarts of Diesel fuel and let it idle for awhile at your discretion. Drain/ re-fill/ replace filter. I know from my experience these 2.4 turbos get dirty
A mechanic here at Porche Maserati Volvo of Cincinnati recommended this procedure.... submitted with caution

My husband says this is a old trick to free a sticky lifter in old American V8s. He also said for a 5 quart engine, just the oil pan is mostly drained leaving the oil in the filter and some in the pan. Then the engine is run at idle for 20 minute intervals at idle only until the ticking is gone. Also the car will need several oil changes with filters over the next few weeks to remove debris that has been loosened and breaks loose over the next 1000 miles or so. He says a dirty engine may take 3 changes before the oil comes out without debris. I guess that means every few hundred miles or so. Otherwise either the screen may get blocked or the filter will allowing debris to bypass the filter. It does not sound like a great idea to me. June

Didn’t we have a poster who tried this on his wife’s car, blew it up, then punched a hole in her seat so that’s he could take it in and get her engine fixed ??

[Georgeandkira]

"...then punched a hole in her seat so that’s he could take it in and get her engine fixed ??"
Maybe, but wouldn't the $5,000 tab for a mere seat reskin be a red flag?

Seriously, A friend took possession of a "typical" 2001 Subaru Forester. It clicked, ticked and leaked.
He tried the ATF engine flush trick and it was ineffective. I believe the car was not maintained properly.
Also, I read that the solvents on which the engine flush trick was based were removed from ATF formulae years ago.