Sludge and Oil Pump Failure

mjeep · **Joined:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 2:30 am **Posts:** 2

I was recently driving my 2004 Liberty when the check oil light came on, I immeditely pulled over shut down and checked my oil, level was fine and oil didn't look out of the ordinary. Got back in the vehicle and drove off, about 4 miles down the highway I heard a terrible noise and a serious drop in power. Towed vehicle to dealer. I have the powertrain warranty they said they pulled the valve covers the oil was a little sludgey and they could go no further until I produced receipts, I change my own oil, I do not save receipts but I do keep my maintenance records on Excel, I produced those records but they still will go no further until I produce some receipts. I have heard that the sludge is a problem with these engines because they run hotter. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Neal · **Posted:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 4:11 am

What oil are you using, change frequency and total mileage?

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:36 am

mjeep wrote:

I was recently driving my 2004 Liberty when the check oil light came on, I immeditely pulled over shut down and checked my oil, level was fine and oil didn't look out of the ordinary. Got back in the vehicle and drove off, about 4 miles down the highway I heard a terrible noise and a serious drop in power. Towed vehicle to dealer. I have the powertrain warranty they said they pulled the valve covers the oil was a little sludgey and they could go no further until I produced receipts, I change my own oil, I do not save receipts but I do keep my maintenance records on Excel, I produced those records but they still will go no further until I produce some receipts. I have heard that the sludge is a problem with these engines because they run hotter. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Dude, that would suck. I keep all of my receipts just for that reason. Good luck.

benmar2000 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 10:33 am

Yeah.. That does suck.. That is why I have the dealership do all the oil changes until it is out of warrenty... If something goes wrong.. They have record of it and so do I...

Good Luck..

Ben

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 10:43 am

benmar2000 wrote:

Yeah.. That does suck.. That is why I have the dealership do all the oil changes until it is out of warrenty... If something goes wrong.. They have record of it and so do I...

Good Luck..

Ben

You do not have to get it done at the dealer, just be sure to keep all receipts. I also copy mine when I get so many b/c they like to fade.

Ive noticed my 3.7 does run really hot, that one reason I may try to get the mechanical fan since I didnt get the towing pack.

mjeep · **Joined:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 2:30 am **Posts:** 2

Neal wrote:

What oil are you using, change frequency and total mileage?

I use Valvoline 10w 30. Change every 3-5K.

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:13 am

Right there is your problem.

1.) Valvoline oil sucks. It's well known to have tons of parafin (sp?) in it, which if I'm not mistaken is also used in candles and other waxes. Anyway, over time this cheap oil will start to sludge up inside your engine. And as the miles rack up it can cause serious problems. Try to stick with quality motor oils like Pennzoil.

2.) You are using 10W30 which is OK...but 5W30 is what's normally recommended for your engine.

Your situation sucks though...I wish you luck in getting it fixed.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:16 am

LibertyCRD wrote:

Right there is your problem.

1.) Valvoline oil sucks. It's well known to have tons of parafin (sp?) in it, which if I'm not mistaken is also used in candles and other waxes. Anyway, over time this cheap oil will start to sludge up inside your engine. And as the miles rack up it can cause serious problems. Try to stick with quality motor oils like Pennzoil.

2.) You are using 10W30 which is OK...but 5W30 is what's normally recommended for your engine.

Your situation sucks though...I wish you luck in getting it fixed.

I had no idea valvoline had parafin in it, WTH is up with that. I use valvoline maxlife in our grand and it had around 157k on it. I took the valve cover off not long ago and it was as clean as could be.

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:21 am

Yeah, we had the engine apart on my buddies Toyota Tacoma a few weeks ago, and his valvetrain was covered in sludge and buildup inside. We asked him what kind of oil he'd been using and he said Valvoline. My father who's been a master mechanic for over 30 years then proceeded to give my buddy the lecture on why you should not use cheap motor oils like Valvoline. It was a mess. He needed a new engine anyway because we hydrolocked his fourwheeling...but if he hadn't the cheap oil would have taken it out before long.

benmar2000 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:53 am

I have used Pennzoil in my YJ for a very long time.. When I had a lifter go out, I took the valve cover off and it was super clean.. Even with 120,000 miles on it... So I continue to use Pennzoil...

Ben

MikeD0106 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 2:23 pm

How did you pay for the oil and filter's when you bought them... Have you thought about pulling bank statements or credit card statements with the purchase locations and amounts.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 2:58 pm

MikeD0106 wrote:

How did you pay for the oil and filter's when you bought them... Have you thought about pulling bank statements or credit card statements with the purchase locations and amounts.

What he said.

crackercrd · **Posted:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 3:51 pm

LibertyCRD wrote:

Right there is your problem.

1.) Valvoline oil sucks. It's well known to have tons of parafin (sp?) in it, which if I'm not mistaken is also used in candles and other waxes. Anyway, over time this cheap oil will start to sludge up inside your engine. And as the miles rack up it can cause serious problems. Try to stick with quality motor oils like Pennzoil.

2.) You are using 10W30 which is OK...but 5W30 is what's normally recommended for your engine.

Your situation sucks though...I wish you luck in getting it fixed.

Not trying to hyjack here, but I have always heard just the oposite. I have always used Valvoline for this reason(not in my diesel though), and have had no problems(last car was a LT-1 Caprice that I put 200K on). So, maybe the 3.7 just runs hot enough to really need a synthetic, not a convetional.

Also, as stated above, credit card statements with the purchase info(parts store and date) my help. Try and have the oil in the pan tested, maybe there was a bad batch of oil?

spoonplugger1 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 3:59 pm

East coast oils are parrafin based, western oils asphalt based. Pennzoil was always an eastern oil before, when did they change it? Neither is better than the other, if you want the good stuff go synthetic. No sludge ever, the inside of your engine will always look like it did day one as far as sludge goes. There is so many advantages to using synthetics including extended drain intervals that I can't imagine using anything else.

spoonplugger1 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 4:02 pm

Also have a failure analysis and a oil analysis done on the engine. If the oil is within specs they don't have a leg to stand on warrantywise. Oil analysis is about $15.

kickit_in4wheel · **Posted:** Thu Mar 30, 2006 1:39 am

Valvoline synthetic in my jeep right now. The last time I changed the oil at 4K miles, it looked so good I almost poured it back in. Can't say much for any brand's conventional oil, but so far valvoline, castrol, and mobil1 5W30 have been excellent in my 3.7.

Rick

PBrug · **Posted:** Thu Mar 30, 2006 1:52 am

I'm currently running regular oil in my '05 and get all my changes done at the dealer. I'm thinking of switching to synthetic. What if any thing would I have to do to switch to synthetic? How much more would it cost per oil change? How long can you wait between changes with synthetic (miles/months)? I don't drive much, only have 8,700 miles since 02/2005.

winkelhawk · **Posted:** Thu Mar 30, 2006 7:08 am

I always run Mobil 1 full synthetic. I allows me to change my oil at 7K instead of 3K. I usually change it at around 5K. I cost me about $60 to have the oil changed. But I think it is well worth the investment. Mobil 1 is considered one of the better sythentic oils on the market.

jdumont · **Posted:** Thu Mar 30, 2006 8:08 am

I also always run Mobil 1 fully syn. The trick to switching to syn is do it yourself if you dont already. Go to Walmart and get the oil for $20 (5 qt). You will prob save money over the price of a shop doing regular dino juice change and you can check things out for yourself underneath.
JD

JJsTJ · **Posted:** Thu Mar 30, 2006 8:45 am

How about an extended oil change interval of 15-20K miles? You should really consider Amsoil lubes for your vehicles as they Will save you money. Amsoil consistently beats Mobil 1 in testing and in the real world. Amsoil is the originator of Full synthetic oils and they continue to outperform all other brands on the market. Please PM me for more details on how Amsoil Will save you money.
BTW, your purchase through me will also help support L.O.S.T. :wink:

Thanks, John

Sludge and Oil Pump Failure

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