Quote:
Originally Posted by Dalez0r
Hello all!
I recently purchased a 94 Maxima GXE at 170k, VG30E engine of course. Bought the car because I also own a 86 300zx with that engine, and know it's highly reliable. The car according to Carfax has only had two owners, and spent most of it's life in Florida.
In any case, the engine had leaky valve cover gaskets, so I had a friend who has tools (some idiot stole mine. GRRR) pop the covers off, where we found a CRAPLOAD of oil sludge everywhere. It looks like someone took hot roofing tar and splashed everything with a good 1/8+" layer of it. The friend says he used to work at a engine rebuilding shop, and this is one of the worst he's seen. He recommends selling the car immediately so I don't end up with a dead car and no money. I assume this was caused by one of two things: lack of sufficient oil changes, or overheating. I mentioned overheating because the car also has a brand new radiator the previous owner must have installed before selling it. Everything else about the car seems great, runs good, shifts fine, etc. Only problem I've had is a rough idle when it's cold outside and the engine isn't warmed up (temp sensor not kicking in cold enrich?) and a code for a bad O2 sensor.
Soooo, what's the popular opinion here? I hate to let the car go, I only paid $1500 for it, and my girlfriend who I bought it for loves it.  |
Do you have photos? It sounds like the sludge could've actually caused the overheat by blocking oil flow.
You could probably try to dissolve that stuff little by little, as long as it is actually dissolved and doesnt come off in chunks. I used to use some stuff, cant remember what its called... but you pour it into an engine before the oil change and let it idle for 5 mins, then drain it all. It was supposed to eat away at deposits like that.
You're lucky that you have a VG with this issue though, a VE with poor oil flow would be long gone by now.