LarryK Posted May 17, 2020 Share Posted May 17, 2020 Looking for advice here folks. Today I removed the rocker cover on my Td5 to replace the injector loom and was disappointed to find a lot of black oil sludge stuck to everything under there. The cam looked good with no obvious wear. This Defender is only driven occasionally around a farm and does mostly short trips but once in a while it goes 50 miles or more for a spirited drive. Even though it does little mileage (as little as 1000 miles some years) the engine oil is changed annually using a good quality 10w40 oil. I don't have any coolant loss. Could this thick sludge be as a result of only very occasional driving or do you think there's a more serious underlying issue? It has been starting and driving well up to now although I've recently found engine oil at the ECU red socket, hence the replacement of the injector wiring loom. Any advice regarding the cause of the thick black sludge would be welcome and any recommendation for removing the sludge (apart from dismantling the engine) would be appreciated. Thanks in advance, LarryK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigi_H Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 (edited) I believe, the oil does not get hot enough. My oil (200Tdi) takes about 10 to 12 km to get hot. The water is hot long before. I can see it on the oil pressure. Pressure drops significantly to 2.5 bar then Edited May 19, 2020 by Sigi_H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryK Posted May 19, 2020 Author Share Posted May 19, 2020 Thanks Sigi_H, I think you are probably correct, this Td5 only does short and very occasional trips. I've carefully cleaned the rocker area and will take it for a good long drive soon. Perhaps I was being overly concerned as I had never seen such a sludge build-up on any other engines. Thanks, LarryK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 Yeah short journeys can cause this. Not sure there’s much you can do about it, but at least it runs OK. lf you use flushing oil or any similar products it could make more problems for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigi_H Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 Without scientific confirmation i would say use cheaper oil but change it more often. Normally that sludge is a emulsion of water and oil. Longer journeys heat the water out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mutley Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 My wife had this on her Peugeot petrol motor and our garage said the same as above, that it was due to short journeys and referred to it as Mayo as in Mayonnaise. He say though unsightly not alot you can do apart from clean it off regularly but otherwise it's not detrimental to the motor. I too would recommend maybe a cheaper oil and twice a year oil change. Which i what i do, normally early December before it gets too cold then another beginning of June Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryK Posted May 22, 2020 Author Share Posted May 22, 2020 Thanks for all the responses. I'm not concerned about this issue anymore as it was black sludge so probably due to too many short trips and lack of a decent run. I've carefully cleaned away the sludge and will do a few longer runs and check under the rocker cover again in a few weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mutley Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 Check your manifold inlet and inter cooler hose too, every chance these will be clogged with the black sludge!?! Take them off and let them soak in a large bowl of petrol (in a well ventilated area away from the house), may take a few attempts to get it somewhere near clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryK Posted May 24, 2020 Author Share Posted May 24, 2020 21 hours ago, Mutley said: Check your manifold inlet and inter cooler hose too, every chance these will be clogged with the black sludge!?! Take them off and let them soak in a large bowl of petrol (in a well ventilated area away from the house), may take a few attempts to get it somewhere near clean. Thanks Mutley, I'll do that. Top breather hose was clean but I'll check the other hoses too, Regards, LarryK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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