- posted
19 years ago
94 Camry with replacement v6 from a 95 Avalon, 60,000 on the engine. No service records. I immediately began using synthetic. Used Lucas, had some valve stem seal leak. 35,000 miles later, the oil light came on briefly one day. Took it to a shop. "Sludge" was the verdict. I was not shown any proof and the light had not come on again in a day or so, so other mechanics said it was likely a sensor. Fast forward a year, just recently...oil light comes two successive days, both near my house and was able to shut down pretty quickly. Off to the shop, a different one this time, and sludge was declared. Also had some engine pinging, which turned out to be a clogged EGR. Still have an engine light on likely due to O2 sensor. Anyway, they dropped the pan, pulled the valve cover, washed it down with kerosene while dislodging all that they could. When replacing the pickup tube screen, rather than a flat piece, they put a ball of screen, like a microphone head, over the tube end to create more area for circulation. When they put oil back in, they used 10-40 Castrol regular and I am not going back to synth, I guess. The EGR valve de-clogging stopped the pinging and increased my mileage back to 30 on the highway from about 22 mpg. That work, plus radiator service and some other small stuff..$800 total and four days in shop. De-sludging was about $500 of the total, mostly labor, of course.