Other car problems- Oil sludge?

[Delarock]

So... My check engine light went on yesterday. I was due for maintenance and went to the dealership. They told me that I had some sort of pervasive oil sludge problem and the engine would need to be rebuilt. Few questions-


1) Engine sludge requiring a rebuild- Is this legit? Has anyone heard of this before?


2) How much should this type of thing run me? Their price quote was pretty high even by my estimates. I'll tell you how much they quoted me after I get a few guesses as to how much it should be.


3) Does anyone know any other sort of corrective measure that I can take to sort this out?


Here's what I know, and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have. Right now, the engine light is off. They said that the oil level was near empty. They topped it off and turned the light off, so I'm waiting to see how long before it goes back on. The car is a 2007 4Runner, 6 cyl, 95000 miles. Oil changes every 4-6 month, not driving the car hard, just about 12k miles a year. The car has been and currently is running normally as far as I can tell. Drove the car about 30 miles yesterday, no light. This morning, no light.


Thanks in advance for your help.

[BriarFox]

Sludge happens in just about every engine, but if it gets bad enough, it can cause the engine to run sluggishly or not at all. A full engine rebuild is one of the most expensive repairs you can do to a vehicle. It'll probably run a $2-3k, and maybe more. That said, I'd get a second opinion, and I wouldn't get it done at the dealer. Those bastards always charge way the hell too much. Go to a good, independent ASE-certified mechanic.

Edit: Also, from your details, it would be really weird if the sludge problem were so bad that the engine needed to be rebuilt. I doubt I'd worry about it until you start getting performance problems.

Edit2: Also, to prevent things from getting worse, you can switch to a fully synthetic oil. You can also call around and see if any place has the equipment to do an engine flush. I've heard of it, but I don't know how easy or common it is.

[Kastrel]

Edit: Also, from your details, it would be really weird if the sludge problem were so bad that the engine needed to be rebuilt. I doubt I'd worry about it until you start getting performance problems.

This, honestly. If it were so bad, why wouldn't your car have been acting up?

On the other hand, I took my truck in for a routine inspection and they told me I couldn't drive it off the lot. The rear axle was literally about to fall off, it was hanging on by sheer physics, and was no longer attached to the vehicle or something. Furthermore, half of the brakes were literally non-functional. Car was running fine.

But kudos to you for trying to get some outside opinion. Thats the best thing non-car savvy people can do.

[Gompers]

Is it a VW? They are known for incredibly bad sludge problems from 2002-2006 i think. My 2004 Passat had the same problem, and it ran me about $1400. Had the work done at a mom and pop VW repair shop, so I think that's where the low price came from.

[Delarock]

The rear axle was literally about to fall off, it was hanging on by sheer physics.

Hah, hilarious.

No engine problems or discernible drop in gas mileage. No smoke, smell, or sounds. This was all based off of the code the engine threw. I'm investigating this matter further. Perhaps I'm being a little optimistic, but I'm feeling that this is a minor issue blown out of proportion. That is, that there may be some sort of sludgy buildup but there isn't an issue here. This is based on the fact that they said the engine was low, they topped it off, the problem went away. I was told to check the head gasket, the cylinder compression, and if that passes, a bleed down test to check if they're holding.

I have a thing about going to dealerships, seeing as how I used to work at them. I know how they work, but this really took me by surprise. What I feel is happening here is that they're really going to unusual lengths to get my money. Either that, or they just really don't know what's going on. I've seen the $2-3k estimate for the cost of a rebuild, but they quoted me $8600. This is the second trip to the dealership that has led me to getting an issue fixed elsewhere for much much less.

This may be sheer opinion, but a lot of what I've turned up has mentioned a switch to synthetic oil. Any guidance with this?

[BriarFox]

Yeah, as I mentioned above, synthetic oil will help prevent sludge. Make sure it's the fully synthetic, though, not a synthetic blend. I used to use synthetic oil in my Audi A4 because the 2.0 turbo engine was prone to sludging with regular oil. Synthetic oil usually lasts a lot longer than regular oil before it gets dirty, but if you want to keep things spotless, just change it every 3-4k anyway.

[Drakefang]

They are trying to rob you. A remanufactured motor runs maybe $2600 or maybe into the higher 3,000s (first website I checked for motors). Fuck labor, no way it's six grand.

[Kastrel]

$8600 gets you a brand new motor. They are trying to rob you.

$10600 got me a 1 year old car. Definitely consider alternatives.

[Drakefang]

$10600 got me a 1 year old car. Definitely consider alternatives.

Heh I was editing my post as I was reading more websites. You can't really find "new" motor prices very well, it's either rebuilt or remanufactured.

[Back]

Yeah, as I mentioned above, synthetic oil will help prevent sludge. Make sure it's the fully synthetic, though, not a synthetic blend. I used to use synthetic oil in my Audi A4 because the 2.0 turbo engine was prone to sludging with regular oil. Synthetic oil usually lasts a lot longer than regular oil before it gets dirty, but if you want to keep things spotless, just change it every 3-4k anyway.

I'm also a synthetic oil user. The 3-7k muile change is a hold over from the 50's when everything was shittier than it is now. Cars these days don't need that high of maintenence but the dealerships/mechanics shops still need the revenue. Go synthetic and change it once a year. Be warned though. Once you go synthetic do not go back to regular.

[Gelston]

Heh I was editing my post as I was reading more websites. You can't really find "new" motor prices very well, it's either rebuilt or remanufactured.

Parts and labor for a new engine should cost 2-4 grand, the prices you likely saw were for some high performance stuff.

[Parkbandit]

Hah, hilarious.

No engine problems or discernible drop in gas mileage. No smoke, smell, or sounds. This was all based off of the code the engine threw. I'm investigating this matter further. Perhaps I'm being a little optimistic, but I'm feeling that this is a minor issue blown out of proportion. That is, that there may be some sort of sludgy buildup but there isn't an issue here. This is based on the fact that they said the engine was low, they topped it off, the problem went away. I was told to check the head gasket, the cylinder compression, and if that passes, a bleed down test to check if they're holding.

I have a thing about going to dealerships, seeing as how I used to work at them. I know how they work, but this really took me by surprise. What I feel is happening here is that they're really going to unusual lengths to get my money. Either that, or they just really don't know what's going on. I've seen the $2-3k estimate for the cost of a rebuild, but they quoted me $8600. This is the second trip to the dealership that has led me to getting an issue fixed elsewhere for much much less.

This may be sheer opinion, but a lot of what I've turned up has mentioned a switch to synthetic oil. Any guidance with this?

This is what I would do:

You said they just topped off your oil to turn the light off... change your oil today and put in a synthetic oil.

Do a couple of oil changes with synthetic oil every 1-2K miles for the next 3-4 times you reach that mileage. You will essentially flush most of the sludge out of your engine this way.

Use synthetic oil from now on. You say you aren't hearing any weird knocking, no smell, no smoke... I doubt it's as bad as the dealership wants you to think it is.