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Over the past few years, I have noticed an increased volume of commercials from motor oil manufacturers dealing with engine sludge. From my perspective, I find the commercials rather humorous, as there is nothing better than seeing a car being coated with a goopy, black substance dumped from a large container above. Yet, the humourous aspects of such commercials should not take away from the real purpose of the message: engine sludge can indeed cut your auto’s engine life short, which can end up costing you a bundle to repair. But like most mechanical aspects of an auto, there are plenty of things that you can do to avoid the “Black Death” striking your auto.
The History Of Engine Sludge
A vast majority of us have never seen engine sludge, unless you happen to be a mechanic who works on neglected vehicles on a daily basis. As we will see below, there is nothing worse for a mechanic to deal with than engine sludge (at least on an intact engine). Believe it or not, engine sludge gets the moniker “Black Death” from the place where the real Black Death occurred in medieval times: Europe. During the 1980s, European drivers of Ford and Chevrolet autos began to complain that their auto’s engines were seizing up unexpectedly, even if they had performed the proper maintenance on their autos. Obviously, something was amiss here and it didn’t take automotive experts long to figure out that it had something to do with engine oil.
What Exactly Is Engine Sludge?
No, it wasn’t a case of sub par motor oil traversing the European continent, but rather a combination of tighter engine tolerances, high engine temperatures and stressed motor oil. Like today, the speed limits on European highways are a lot higher than in North America. The higher speed limits mean pushing engines hard. Plus, European autos are known for their high performance motors, which in the 1980s began to use more compression in the cylinder block to produce more power. The overworked and chemically incorrect motor oils used (regardless of brand) simply could not handle the stress of higher compression (i.e. the heat produced from it) and began to change their competition from a fluid liquid to a thick, pudding like substance that would later be called sludge.
What was occurring in these autos and to the chagrin of many drivers around the world today was a very unnecessary chemical reaction. Whether it is caused from poor maintenance or just plain bad luck, engine sludge is essentially the various additives found in oil that have solidified after the main components of the oil have broken down. After solidification, these additives, now in the form of a glue-like substance, can burn themselves onto various engine components and, most importantly, clog the oil channels that help to keep the internal components of the engine properly lubricated. As we know, if an engine is not properly lubricated, it will eventually seize and you are stuck with a 300-pound paperweight under the hood of your auto.
How To Prevent Engine Sludge
Like many things with autos, the best medicine against engine sludge is preventative maintenance. If you drive an auto that isn’t exactly a high performance machine (i.e. less compression), chances are that you will never have to deal with engine sludge if you change your oil as specified by your auto’s owner manual. Remember though, your auto may not exactly be performance, but if you slack in regard to changing your oil, it is only a matter of time before engine sludge will start to form. At the same time, if you drive a high performance auto or drive your standard auto pretty hard, change your oil (filter and all) every 2500 miles just to play it safe. It may cost you more in the short term, but you’ll be saving yourself a bundle in the long term.
What To Do
For those that have autos that already have a sludge problem, there is a solution, but it can be risky. A qualified mechanic can “flush” your engine out using special additives and pressure to remove sludge build-up from various places in your engine, which, if all goes according to plan, will make your auto’s engine good as new. At the same time though, an engine flush can fail in the sense that it will push sludge build-up into oil ports and seize the engine up. Talk to your mechanic, as he or she can tell you if it is a safe idea or not.
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