QCVette

I saw sludge almost as bad. I did not place it to any specific oil though.

When I was working as a mechanic, I took the valve cover off a mid 60's Ford small block to check for a ticking rocker arm/lifter.

With the cover off, it still looked like the cover was there. The sludge had made a complete casting by using the valve cover as a mold.

I suspect that the owner never changed his oil.

c4cruiser

That definitely looks like the 4 circles of the Audi symbol. And with the red anodized components it looks like a DOHC engine. It sure isn't an old American engine like any of the early in-line 6 cylinder engines. I'll bet this was a gasket failure that allowed coolant to escape. Or maybe a crack in a water jacket. I certainly don't think this was the result of years of bad maintenance.

I used Quaker State oil years ago and never had an issue with sludge. Same with Pennzoil. With older engines, short trips and high humidity can easily cause a build up of sludge. Old engines were never "sealed" in that they had open crankcase breathers that would allow moist air to flow back into an engine. And they never seemed to run as hot as today's engines that have run hot in order to meet high emissions standards.