# Engine sludge removal



## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Most people will soak everything in kerosene, which you can buy for fairly cheap. However, if you're looking to clean out the engine, there are two products I recommend. 

One is AMSOIL Engine Flush. Fill the engine with some cheap oil when you have it back together, pour the flush bottle in with the oil, and idle for about 15, maybe 20 minutes. After that's done, replace the filter and drain the oil. I would buy two bottles, and run another flush after a short (3,000 mile) oil change. 

AMSOIL Engine and Transmission Flush

Second, before you put it back together at all, run some AMSOIL Power Foam on components you have off of the vehicle. This stuff is so good, we can't sell it in California. It is an expanding foam degreasing solvent, and it's very strong. 

AMSOIL Power Foam®

I strongly recommend replacing the turbo oil feed line, as it is undoubtedly coked solid with oil deposits, and running a GOOD synthetic oil to prevent this issue from reoccurring. Some of my customers running AMSOIL have engines with over 200k miles on them and the top end is so clean you could eat off of it. Not only is there no sludge, there isn't even varnish or discoloration. It is visually identical to a brand new engine with the exception of camshaft break-in wear.


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## Sharkboy24 (Oct 7, 2016)

Thanks for the 411. I was using royal purple oil but i will have to look into this amsoil. Just trying to prevent another breakdown after this disaster


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## a2chris (Jan 13, 2017)

Sharkboy24 said:


> Hey everyone. I recently had a turbo blowout and that led to a cracked head gasket. My question is there any way to remove the oil sludge while i have the motor pulled replacing the head gaskets (upper and lower). Looking for a possible solution maybe a engine soak or something. Any tips would be love. Thanks


What year and how many miles?
Did you pull it your self?
Just curious since I have a similar job ahead of me.
Thanks


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Sharkboy24 said:


> Thanks for the 411. I was using royal purple oil but i will have to look into this amsoil. Just trying to prevent another breakdown after this disaster


RP's products have gone way, way downhill since they were acquired by Calumet. Poor shear stability, poor thermo-oxidation (sludge under heat), and mediocre volatility and additive package. 

Let me know if you want a quote on some AMSOIL products. These are true Group V synthetics.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

Sharkboy24 said:


> Thanks for the 411. I was using royal purple oil but i will have to look into this amsoil. Just trying to prevent another breakdown after this disaster


Royal Purple is expensive garbage. A cute color. Like K&N, fashionable with people who can think no farther than advertising copy.


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## Sharkboy24 (Oct 7, 2016)

have not pulled it yet, dreading what i might find. its a 2012 cruze around 95k miles. Not for sure but i believe either the wastegate got stuck or there was a clog in the oil feed line.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Sharkboy24 said:


> have not pulled it yet, dreading what i might find. its a 2012 cruze around 95k miles. Not for sure but i believe either the wastegate got stuck or there was a clog in the oil feed line.


The 2012 models had the old turbo feed line design. The updated design had a heat shield and two o-rings instead of one. I replaced it as preventive maintenance.

Good luck, you're not the first to have to deal with the consequences of a sludged up 1.4 turbo engine. Those engine flushes and an ester based oil will clean up the engine and keep cleaning throughout the service interval. Ester based oils have exceptional cleanliness properties and seem to do a good job of cleaning "dirty" engines. 

Sent from my BlackBerry PRIV using Tapatalk


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## Sharkboy24 (Oct 7, 2016)

Should have talked to you before i had this problem lol. Anything else i should look at since i have around 96 k miles on it


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Sharkboy24 said:


> Should have talked to you before i had this problem lol. Anything else i should look at since i have around 96 k miles on it


Check valve in the intake manifold
http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/34-gen1-1-4l-turbo/175793-cruze-1-4l-gen1-pcv-system-explained.html

CPASV seals
http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/129-...t-position-actuator-solenoid-valve-seals.html

Oil pan seal (it's RTV, not a gasket, and you put RTV back on it to fix the leak)

Is the burst disk on the valve cover intact (is it sucking air under idle)? 

Trans fluid needs changed if it hasn't already. 

Last guy that showed up on our Facebook group with the same problem you had. He was scraping off sludge from the top end of the engine after removing the valve cover all over. He ended up running our engine flush, then running our Signature Series engine oil, and 4k miles later, he's holding up OK. I'll see if he wants to chime in here and share some of his experiences. 

I hate to make this thread a promotion for AMSOIL products, but really, our Signature Series oil is practically sludge-proof. Had that engine run this oil from day one, you'd be looking at a sludge-free, varnish-free, mint condition top end. 

All that being said, GM re-calibrated the oil life monitor for the 2013 models to drastically reduce oil change intervals, as they discovered that the cheap semi-synthetic oil they were filling cars with was not holding up to the 10,500 mile intervals that the oil life monitor will take to get to 0% on 2011 and 2012 models, so if someone followed that religiously, the result here is not surprising. People who change that oil at more sane intervals (5,000 miles) don't seem to have problems that are so severe.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

XtremeRevolution said:


> All that being said, GM re-calibrated the oil life monitor for the 2013 models to drastically reduce oil change intervals, as they discovered that the cheap semi-synthetic oil they were filling cars with was not holding up to the 10,500 mile intervals that the oil life monitor will take to get to 0% on 2011 and 2012 models, so if someone followed that religiously, the result here is not surprising. People who change that oil at more sane intervals (5,000 miles) don't seem to have problems that are so severe.


I'm not sure, but I thought GM recalibrated the older car's OLM in a update - perhaps tied to a recall for emissions.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

ChevyGuy said:


> I'm not sure, but I thought GM recalibrated the older car's OLM in a update - perhaps tied to a recall for emissions.


You might be right about that. I never took it in for any update.


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## BlueTopaz (Aug 25, 2012)

XtremeRevolution said:


> Check valve in the intake manifold
> http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/34-gen1-1-4l-turbo/175793-cruze-1-4l-gen1-pcv-system-explained.html
> 
> CPASV seals
> ...


They also reformulated their AC Delco dexos 1 oil to help. 

"
​
*Description:*

When the dexos1 motor oil specification was first brought into market, it was made clear that GM would upgrade the specification when necessary. That time has come for ACDelco dexos1 5W30. The second generation specification upgrade is being rolled out over the next 2 weeks. The included spider chart demonstrates the areas where the ACDelco dexos1 5W30 oil characteristics are improved. The motor oil market is made up of many oils but dexos specifications are formulated for GM designed engines. GM dealers are encouraged to understand characteristics in the spider chart and explain to customers the benefits of the new dexos1 5W30 specification. In addition, the new upgraded specification is now a Full Synthetic Oil. 

*Second Generation dexos1 specification requirements:*

GM has developed four new engine tests for this updated specification

1. NEW General Motors Oxidation & Deposit Test (GMOD)
Verifies the Improved Oxidation and Deposit Control Characteristics 

2. NEW Stochastic Pre-ignition Test
Verifies the Added Protection for Turbocharged Engines and pre-ignition concerns 

3. NEW Turbocharger Deposit Test
Verifies the Added Protection for Turbocharged Engines. 
Minimizes deposit formation which ensures optimal performance during engine life.

4. NEW Aeration Test (Bubble Control)
Ensures that the air bubbles in the oil are dissipated quickly to improve oil performance. "


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

BlueTopaz said:


> They also reformulated their AC Delco dexos 1 oil to help.
> 
> "
> ​
> ...


Well that's comforting. It basically says, in a round-about way, that every GM car made after the date in which that improvement occurred, will require at minimum a full 100% group 3 synthetic, because every gasoline-powered vehicle GM makes requires that specification or better. 

The days of conventional or semi-synthetic oils are over. 

By the way, where did you get this, and when did it go into effect?


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## Jwh0818 (Nov 21, 2016)

My car has 71000 miles before I opened it up. I had to replace the valve cover due to a bad pcv. I opened it up and it was full of sludge (pic attached) beyond belief. It has had steady oil changes from dealer for the life of the car. So I gave amsoil a try and after only 3 to 4k miles, I am already seeing improvements to the sludge going away. I got the flush with 5 quarts of signature series and a six oil filter. I won't ever be using anything else in any vehicle I own


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## BlueTopaz (Aug 25, 2012)

XtremeRevolution said:


> Well that's comforting. It basically says, in a round-about way, that every GM car made after the date in which that improvement occurred, will require at minimum a full 100% group 3 synthetic, because every gasoline-powered vehicle GM makes requires that specification or better.
> 
> The days of conventional or semi-synthetic oils are over.
> 
> By the way, where did you get this, and when did it go into effect?


I got it from a guy that works at a GM dealership.

"*Rollout:*
Throughout the end of June and up until July 15th, CCA will be selling both previous and new specification as the supply chain of oil is populated with the new specification. Effective 7/15/2016 dealers will only receive the new specification and will start being billed the new part numbers listed in the bulletin. On 8/1/2016, the prices for Full Synthetic ACDelco dexos1 5W30 bulk oil will be increasing by approximately 4% or about 40 cents a gallon. Packaged ACDelco dexos1 5W30 is also coming and it will have a new part number and Full Synthetic labeling. As with bulk, the packaged pricing will be about 4% higher than the previous dexos1 specification."


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Jwh0818 said:


> My car has 71000 miles before I opened it up. I had to replace the valve cover due to a bad pcv. I opened it up and it was full of sludge (pic attached) beyond belief. It has had steady oil changes from dealer for the life of the car. So I gave amsoil a try and after only 3 to 4k miles, I am already seeing improvements to the sludge going away. I got the flush with 5 quarts of signature series and a six oil filter. I won't ever be using anything else in any vehicle I own












Here's the pick jwh wanted to post. 

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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

ChevyGuy said:


> I'm not sure, but I thought GM recalibrated the older car's OLM in a update - perhaps tied to a recall for emissions.


The emissions recall was only for automatics. Those of us with manuals haven't had any ECM recalibration.


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## Sharkboy24 (Oct 7, 2016)

I will send some pics in when i start, hopefully before the next ice age. If post is still up might do a tut on the turbo removal since no one has posted one yet. Thanks


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## jsusanka (Jan 31, 2011)

XtremeRevolution said:


> Well that's comforting. It basically says, in a round-about way, that every GM car made after the date in which that improvement occurred, will require at minimum a full 100% group 3 synthetic, because every gasoline-powered vehicle GM makes requires that specification or better.
> 
> The days of conventional or semi-synthetic oils are over.
> 
> By the way, where did you get this, and when did it go into effect?


Used mobil one extended performance a few times just to save a few bucks on shorter change intervals during the first 20,000 miles of my tender love and care break in when I bought the cruze but used Amsoil SS 5w30 all the other times and so glad I did and I will use nothing else in any of my cars.


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## jsusanka (Jan 31, 2011)

XtremeRevolution said:


> Here's the pick jwh wanted to post.
> 
> Sent from my BlackBerry PRIV using Tapatalk


"steady oil changes for the life of the car from the dealer" All I got to say is WOW! and UNBELIEVABLE! 

I hope this does put an end to the "synthetic blend" from the dealer is good enough argument.

Wonder what it would look like in say another 30,000 miles.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

jsusanka said:


> "steady oil changes for the life of the car from the dealer" All I got to say is WOW! and UNBELIEVABLE!
> 
> I hope this does put an end to the "synthetic blend" from the dealer is good enough argument.
> 
> Wonder what it would look like in say another 30,000 miles.


GM put an end to their semi synthetic Dexos 1 blend last year. With lots of new turbocharged engines entering their lineup (Equinox and Malibu specifically), this is exactly what they'd like to keep from happening by updating the specification and replacing their bulk oil with a "full synthetic" spec. With the introduction of the 1.5T as the base engine in vehicles they sell a ton of to consumers that know nothing about oil, they will want to keep lubrication related warranty claims down. Whether or not the new stuff will actually keep the insides clean at OLM intervals, I have no idea.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

BlueTopaz said:


> In addition, the new upgraded specification is now a Full Synthetic Oil.



Thank you for posting this, I did not know about the dealer Dexos 1 oil changes. I have always paid extra for Mobil 1 at the dealer, I may reevaluate that extra cost now. Will be interesting to see some oil analysis of the new blend.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Sludge was sure a problem in pre-PCV days, used an open breather tube that sucked up dust from the roads, would find mud in your engine.

This looks more like varnish and congealed oil in your engine, if getting engine oil changes from your dealer, would ask him what in the heck they put in there.

Wife said, why are you changing your engine oil, let your dealer do this for you, did this three times, sit in a boring waiting room, 4th time decided to do it myself, while they were charging me for a new filter, that congealed oil is exactly what I found in the oil filter, they were not replacing it, but still charging me for it. Then wanted 40 bucks more for dexos, how do you know if you are even getting this?

With Quacker State Ultimate, SAE grade SN was only three bucks more than conventional, SN is the best you can buy, then it only takes me 20 minutes working at my slow pace. And I know a Delco filter is being replaced each time with a new O-ring and properly torqued. Also have to well oil that O'ring so it doesn't bind, and certainly check for leaks and the dipstick is right at the full mark and know exactly what kind of oil is put in there. Still feel putting that oil filter above the turbo was not a good idea, should have been put on the intake side. If any drops of oil are found, cleaned up.

Sons were running into the same problem, purchased ramps and now doing it there self. How about not checking the dipstick and learning you are two quarts low!


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