dammit
dammit i finally got to mess with my lt1 some today. pulled the valve covers off and there is an assload of sludge and grime and **** all over the place. what the hell? ive never seen anything like this. can i just clean it up w/out disassembling everything? if so, how should i do it? is this normal?
Ho many miles on the car?? This is pretty typical for high mileage. I've seen big block chevy motors where the oil returns in the heads were almost totally closed from built up sludge, granted that motor had about .020" ring ridges and about 200,000 on it!!!
Just my .02 but, if the build-up is bad enough that you want to try and motor flush be careful. Sometimes you will end up dislodging all the crap in the motor, just in turn clogging the pickup or worse yet, scorring bearings and such. Some will say "impossible"..I say..."I've done it"...I realize saying "leave it dirty" isnt really a great answer, but I think you know what I am saying.
i have the same problem with my 93 LT1, its got 71k miles on it. from what i can tell, the guy before me took out the thermostat, which didnt let the water circulate right, then to fix the heating problem it caused, he wired the fans to run all the time. i was wondering if this excessive heat might have caused it. so maybe this is normal for LT1s?
Staging Lane
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 93
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It strikes me the risk of problems just increases with any effort short of a tear-down and reassemble. Additionally, the accumulation may well point to a problem that will be found in a serious tear-down. Better safe than sorry.
JM$0.02USW -- Gary
JM$0.02USW -- Gary
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I'm kind of in the same boat in that I just started messing with my 95 LT1 with 138k miles that I bought last summer. I've got the intake manifold off and yesterday pulled the valve covers and I was surprised at how little sludge there was inside. I have some hard carbon buildup inside the manifold and throttle body and some on top of the bracket that holds the lifters in place, but otherwise, pretty clean.
I guess it's a testament to what changing your oil regularly can do. The guy I bought it from had every receipt for anything he had done to the car since 2000, which was one of the reasons I bought it...man of my own heart!
Anyway, I didn't post this to rub it in, but rather to let you know that from my experience, this isn't just a thing that's typical of LT1s, but rather, it's probably typical of neglect, regardless of the type of engine.
I guess it's a testament to what changing your oil regularly can do. The guy I bought it from had every receipt for anything he had done to the car since 2000, which was one of the reasons I bought it...man of my own heart!
Anyway, I didn't post this to rub it in, but rather to let you know that from my experience, this isn't just a thing that's typical of LT1s, but rather, it's probably typical of neglect, regardless of the type of engine.
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Anyway, I didn't post this to rub it in, but rather to let you know that from my experience, this isn't just a thing that's typical of LT1s, but rather, it's probably typical of neglect, regardless of the type of engine.[/QUOTE]
Agree!, I have disassembled my motors with 150+k and be sludge free, Regular oil changes and type of oil will prevent this from happening, Penzoil is the worst for sludge build up...
Agree!, I have disassembled my motors with 150+k and be sludge free, Regular oil changes and type of oil will prevent this from happening, Penzoil is the worst for sludge build up...
Try a few short oil change intervals with diesel oil, just look for an SL or SM rating on it meaning it is gas rated as well, many are. They are very high detergent and will gently do some cleaning. After that a product called AutoRX is arguably the bhest and safest engine cleaner out there, not a solvent like the flushes. Shaeffer's Neutra would be another one I would consider trying.
Penzoil is the worst for sludge build up...[/QUOTE]
Hey moe, I'd never heard about Penzoil being bad for sludge. You have an opinion on other brands that are particularly good or bad?
I would assume that the synthetics are good as a whole, so not including them.
I've been sticking with what I can get cheap (Coastal, Autozone, etc.), since I read that they were pretty much the same, as along as they have the API start certification. Bad move?
Thanks for sharing your experience/opinion.
Hey moe, I'd never heard about Penzoil being bad for sludge. You have an opinion on other brands that are particularly good or bad?
I would assume that the synthetics are good as a whole, so not including them.
I've been sticking with what I can get cheap (Coastal, Autozone, etc.), since I read that they were pretty much the same, as along as they have the API start certification. Bad move?
Thanks for sharing your experience/opinion.
no they are NOT the same, theres different ratings on the bottles, the higher the letter teh better the grade of oil...
Amsoil is the best oil out, good for 25,000 miles or a year, Mobil 1 Full Syn being a close second IMHO, but a lot of people like German Castrol, but I've never tried it.
Amsoil is the best oil out, good for 25,000 miles or a year, Mobil 1 Full Syn being a close second IMHO, but a lot of people like German Castrol, but I've never tried it.
