My Hyundai has indications of sludge on the oil cap. I change oil every
5000 - 8000 miles, but may have gone 9000 once. Could the 1 longer stretch be the cause of this? Why am I getting this sludge and what can I do about it.Thanks.
It depends. What is the climate where you live? How long does it take you to accumulate the 5-8,000 miles? A little white emulsion in the oil cap isn't unusual in cold weather.
Matt
I'm a little curious as to what the sludge looks like. Is it dark brown and gummy, or does it have a whitish appearance to it?
The answers to Matt's questions are important as well.
In general, however, the answer is more frequent oil changes. I'm a believer in 3000 mile oil changes, but there's significant debate on this as well, even among experts.
A lot depends on the type of sludge. If it is the black sludge from overheating, then better oil or more frequent changes would likely help. If it is the white/brown sludge formed by an emulsion of oil and water, then you can change your oil every week and not prevent that in cold weather as it forms very quickly. The only cure for that is to drive a longer trip occasionally to fully heat the oil and evaporate the water.
Matt
I'm neither for or against a particular distance as each car has a different set of circumstances.
You can start with the premise that more frequent changes do no harm (except for the cost)
Most of my daily driving as a 26 mile trip, much of it highway or country roads. Plenty of warm-up time, a nice 2000 rpm cruise no strain on mountains, just a gentle hill or two. I change at 7500 miles. Even at
118,000 miles, I never have to add between changes.It I did city driving, two mile trips where the engine never heats up, yes, I'd go with 3000 miles, maybe even less.
Does it matter what type of oil you use? I use a synthetic and chance every 7500.
Edw> > believer in 3000 mile oil changes, but there's significant debate on this
Synthetics should go a lot longer, but again, it depends on your situation. I've not used synthetics in my cars yet but I've not had any oil related failures, even with up to 185,000 miles. Some years ago I was playing with some small high RPM 2 cycle engines. Synthetics made a big difference in getting higher rpm. If I was driving a high performance car and drove it accordingly, I'd sure use the synthetic. .
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