hmmm changed PCV WTF sludge?????

[01GPGT]

this is on my 2003 Olds minivan with a 3400 has 95,876 miles runs perfect


well changed the PCV mainly becuase oil was coming out around it when i did this i noticed the bottom of the PCV valve had black sludge.


i go WTF? and open the oil fill yup sludge. where the hell did you come from?


realy where it was not like this at all the last time i changed the oil 2,000 miles ago. we have had this van sense 2007 with 54k on it it now has 95k. it's never over heated we have changed the coolant every 30k (still has dex but meh) the intake gaskets have never leaked (knock on wood) we have always used full synthetc 5 w30 we use a wix filter change it every 3,000-5,000 miles.

is there any thing i should do diffrent becuase this actualy realy ruind my day

[86FieroSEv6]

Have your traveling habits changed recently, such as short hops or infrequent travel allowing a lot of cold operation? Is the thermostat weak allowing it to run too "cold"?

[01GPGT]

well recently i have stopped going to college so we now mainly go in and out of town but it still has to run on the highway for 10 minutes to get there. and every time we run it we wait for it to fully warm up before we shut it off


and nope does not run cold if any thing it runs a bit hotter then it use too. the needle now goes to half the guage when it use to only go to about a quarter

[86FieroSEv6]

If all you are doing is warming it up then shutting it off, that will contribute to condensation build up. Usually not in so short a time span though, but I have seen first hand on the occasional hanger queen what can happen in relatively short order even allowing for full warm ups. Slightly higher temp's normally would not affect synthetics unless they were extreme, which would be beyond the cooling system's ability to handle things. No coolant loss, eh? And the aforementioned "goo" is not gray at all? How does running the A/C affect the temperatures?

[01GPGT]

by warm up i mean i take it for a 10 minute drive


but yes the goo is black vary puzzling. maybe i got a bad batch of oil?

[86FieroSEv6]

What oil specifically are you using? Did you change or possibly misjudge how long it's been since the last change? I use Amsoil XL10-30 in my ZX2, it's supposed to be 7500 mile oil but I change it about every 12000 and it comes back clean time after time, never getting more than a chestnut brown. My commute is 18.5 miles one way twice a day to help keep the king's taxes away.

[01GPGT]

i use mobile 1 full synthetic


i change it when the oil life monater says 10%

in the owners manual it says it shud come on any where between 3,000-5,000 miles


maybe it's not that acurite. i think i will just change it by milage and ignore the computer from now on and se if it clears up. it's not thick sludge but more like a thin layer

[pocket-rocket]

When you say sludge, does it look sort of like snot? If so I would be looking at Lower Intake Manifold gaskets.

[01GPGT]

When you say sludge, does it look sort of like snot? If so I would be looking at Lower Intake Manifold gaskets.

no it's more like tar.



i have seen what happens when the LIM gasket goes thank god it hasn't plus the coolant level is still full doesn't use any

[Azrael]

How well are the rings sealing? Maybe some oil is creeping up into the combustion chamber and somehow recirculating back down semi-burnt. Synthetics usually have higher flash/flame points than regular oil and won't fully burn away.

[01GPGT]

How well are the rings sealing? Maybe some oil is creeping up into the combustion chamber and somehow recirculating back down semi-burnt. Synthetics usually have higher flash/flame points than regular oil and won't fully burn away.

no oil is getting into the chamber this is in the top of the head under the valve cover. van uses no oil between changes