Need your advice on the following:
Just bought a '79 with L82 Engine. Car is in mint condition.
The engine runs absolutely fine with no problems.

However when I pull the dipstick I can see that there is sludge
in the oilpan.
I do not want to fix somehing that isn't broken but what do I do now?
Just frequent oil changes to 'clean' it or would anybody recommend
to have the engine flushed ??
What kind of oil would you recommend ?

Every help is appreciated.

Thank's
Thomas

 

BG 44K comes highly recommended. I'd flush the engine & put semi-synthetic to start softening the seals, then switch to full synthetic.

 

TZ06....I have a 79 L-82 with 70,000 miles, but no sludge. If I were you, I would first drain the oil over night to see how much sludge would drain out. Then refill with some type of light weight oil and run for a few minutes, then drain over night again. Install a new filter and use a good quality oil. Everyone has a different opinion about oil. I personally use Amsoil formulated for flat tappet (lifter) engines. Also, Amsoil sales a product that is designed to loosen sludge so it will drain. I've never used it though.

 

Just change the oil and filter frequently until the sludge is gone. Maybe 500 mile intervals and make sure the engine gets up to operating temp each time you run it. If you are concerned about how bad it is you can always pull a valve cover and have a look. I would be prepared to change the gasket while you are at it since it may not survive the dis-assembly. All modern oils are detergent oil so take your pick.

 

I would never flush an engine that has lots of sludge deposits. If you are not going to have it out and go through it, leave it alone and just change the oil and filter regularly. You will likely do more harm than good.

 

one or two treatments with seafoam will clean it up. add one can to the crankcase and run it at operating temp for 200 miles, drain, change filter and refill with regular oil, run and check. if you still see sludge add seafoam and repeat step one. using synthetic will do nothing for you as far as a detergent. once the sludge is cleaned up can you use the syn if you want, just don't think you're any better off with it.

 

Probably hasn't been driven for any distance to speak off.
If it were my car:

• wouldn't take it on the highway for now
• run it hot with city driving, stop-n-go
• get a bottle of engine flush at discount auto
• follow the instructions as in let it idle only, don't drive
• change the oil and filter
• all of the above

Wouldn't be a bad idea to change the hoses and belts while you're at it.
Then take it for a couple of highway runs..enjoy..

 

Do not try to clean up sludge quickly, unless you want to remove the heads and drop the pan. You can loosen big chunks of goo and clog stuff up...then you get damage. Put in a decent quality detergent oil for the first 2-3K miles. Change the oil filter every 500 miles during that oil change cycle and just add enough oil to make up what is lost. After 3000 miles or so, the engine will be pretty clean. If you haven't seen any problems or leaks by then, just put a good synthetic oil and a good quality filter in every 3000 miles thereafter.

 

The diesel oils like Rotella, Delo, Delvac, etc have good detergent additives and that is what I would use.

 

 

What is the sludge? My guess would be that it formed due to water in the oil, probably from the engine being frequently started and ran and turned off when the engine was still below operating temperature. When I start up an engine, I always run it long enough for it to come up to operating temp (200 degrees f or more) to help drive out water.

 

I have seen more than once where someone flushes an old coolant system or motor with flushing stuff. If you flush the motor you take a chance that you will loosen everything up holding that motor together. It will leak like a sprinkler...then you will have to tear into it. Drive it and change the oil several times.

Is your oil pressure good? Any loud tapping or knocking? Go with the least intrusive first....

Rd

 

Just curious, how did you see into the oilpan from the dipstick tube?

 

I had a 80 with sludge and did the above it took some time to get it clean but it did come clean. I wanted to know if there was sludge in the top end of the motor. You can pull a valve cover or what I did was pull the distributor and when I did the shaft housing was full of sludge. I knew the whole engine was full of it. You need to disolve sludge slowly. You don't want chucks coming out because if chunks are falling out of the oil pan then chunks are falling in other parts of the motor.

 

If you try to flush the engine out, you may well be sorry you did. It was in the news here in Southern California (could have even been national, I don't recall) awhile back that some of the Jiffy Lube or other similar type "oil change" places were selling engine flush services to people who came in, just to jack up their charges. That wrecked a bunch of engines to the point that it made the TV news and got the companies into legal trouble. Moral of the story, engines are not intended to be flushed. For one, its not even oil that they use, and for two, it could knock big chunks loose and plug something up and ruin your engine.

In your shoes, I'd simply use a full synthetic, because they are really good at cleaning engine internals, better than dino oils, and then change the oil and filter extra often. Once you're satisfied that things are clean enough for you, return to normal change intervals and use your favorite oil. I'm not sure which viscosity you want to run, but Castrol Syntec 20W50 full syn, has extra zinc/phos in it for older flat tappet type motors. So, maybe you could consider that. Otherwise, Royal Purple is so good at wear protection, from its proprietary Synerlec additive, that even their street oil with reduced modern levels of zinc/phos will still prevent flat tappet issues. I've used it myself in a 283 without issue. Also the brand new lower zinc/phos Castrol "Edge" full syn motor oil has such good wear protection, that it also would be worth considering even for a flat tappet motor. It even advertises 8X better wear protection than Mobil 1. Another good anti-wear full syn is Valvoline Synpower which advertises 4X better wear protection than Mobil 1.

So you have several choices of oil to use, but full syn is your best bet, and DO NOT FLUSH the engine. Do things nice and slow, you'll be glad you did.

 

Thank ya'll for your help.....

SH-60B

Whenever I pulled the Dipstick the tip always had debris attached
to it which was no metal. But the particles all had a crystalline condition.
Honestly I had no experience with this problem up to now but figured
based on researching the Internet that this got to be sludge.

I decided to use Seafoam and did the first run today.
Put appr. 5oz in and ran the car for like 10 miles very smooth with max 2500 rpm.
Changed oil and filter. Engine runs smooth with no problems.
The dipstick shows significantly less sludge.
I will repeat this procedure no a couple of times.
That way I think I will not risk any damage and will have a clean
engine in a few hundred miles.

540 Rat

I know that he 'Oil question' is always a delicate issue, as well in germany where I am originally coming from
but I heard that those 'old' small blocks should not be run with
synthetic oil. But I must admit that I have no personal experience
since I just bought my '79.
So I appreciate every good advice.

Thank's
Thomas

 

 

I would bet that your car sat for many years with the oil left in the pan. That oil dried out and left caked oil residue. In this case, I would recommend that you drop the pan and clean it completely. Why? Because that caked oil takes up space and will limit the amount of oil you can get into your engine. You don't want to over-fill the engine...even if it only takes 3 quarts. Caked oil residue is not as 'nice' as sludge. It may take years to disolve. To drop the pan, you just need to remove the two bolts mounting the idler arm to the frame rail first.

 

You are going down the right road so just stay on it. I have done this many times when I worked at a Chevrolet dealership from '74 to '79. There are a few different things that can cause the condition you have. Seafoam is great because it is a superior detergent and has excellent lubrication qualities(marvel mystery oil works too). Just be sure to keep changing the filter with every treatment. No need to be greatly concerned with "chunks" - there is a screen on the oil pump pick up tube and obviously another in the filter. Once the Seafoam has acted on the gunk it gets very soft before it disolves, so it hurts nothing. Heck, I've left Ford oil pump drives laying in the oil pan when they fall out while you're changing the dist and left push rods in the oil pans of Cummins diesels that fall while disassembling the overhead - don't hurt a thing! On the oil issue - if you want to use conventional oil you are fine, just use a quality brand and add a bottle of STP tp protect the cam and lifters - your engine will run just as well and last just as long as it would with the synthetic.

 

[/QUOTE]- if you want to use conventional oil you are fine, just use a quality brand and add a bottle of STP tp protect the cam and lifters - your engine will run just as well and last just as long as it would with the synthetic.[/QUOTE]

My engine machinist reccomended to use STP too because it has a high ZDDP package and costs alot less than others like GM's EOS.

+1 on the frequent oil / filter changes to clean it out. Personally, I'd drop the pan first and clean it, the pump pickup, and anything else in need.