sludge on a 2001 V6 Camry?

If it was sludge on top of the baffle, it would continue to build up until you couldn't put oil in anymore because the area would fill up with the stuff.

But it doesn't.

$49 is cheap for peace of mind Now you are 100% sure it is not a problem

Assuming that they re-torqued the value cover bolts correctly, or did not damage the gasket.

I was talking to him while he was doing it. Toyota Master mechanic.

17+ at the same dealership and I saw him properly to this. Only took him less than 10 minutes and he was talking to me at the same time.

He says he's only seen 2 that come in with the sludge. Of those 2, they were not able to provide receipts or records of oil changes.

Our Camry story is getting better and better each day. I found out that the original owner has bought the 7 year, 120,000km ECP warranty with Toyota and he has just signed over the transfer papers to me and all I have to do is the mail it back to Toyota to enable the warranty back to me. That's another 2 year bumper to bumper warranty!!! We will be covered until 2008 this time.

That sandy black crust is "A" sludge. There's more than one I'm starting to think. I too inspect the step under the oil-fill hole for an indication of any problems. Doesnt matter if its plastic or cast. You can also wipe up under the cover with your finger.

There wont be any problems, just give it healthy oil-changes, and by that I mean, once the oil has fully discoloured, change it and the filter.

My '95 had the same thing, but after 2 1/2 yrs and 20,000ks there has been no-more forming.

Jason

I hope you don't take this personally, but you have no idea what you are talking about. The 92-96 Camry did not have the plastic deflector right under the oil fill cap. On models with the plastic deflector, you can't see a thing inside the valve cover.

None taken,..what I meant was, it doesnt matter if there is a deflector or not in any engine, Toyota or not. If the engine is producing sludge, it will be on the deflector,..maybe not to the same extent as the rest of the motor, but enough to give you a Yes or No answer. The only exception would be if the deflector was totally isolated from the oil-mist and gases that circulate around a motor.

Jason

I believe that you are wrong about that. The plastic deflector is right below the filler cap, and tends to get a bit soft and sticky when hot (its plastic). Every time oil in put into the crankcase, it gets coated with oil and the becomes sticky after a while. The deflector is positioned in such as way that it is unlikely that real engine sludge can get on top of the deflector.

Therefore, any residue on top of the oil fill deflector (or any lack of such residue) is no indication either positive or negative as to whether one has engine sludge.

It is a bit hard to describe to people who have not seen the deflector. I have one on my 98 Camry and have used Mobil 1 5W-30 (changed every 4000 miles or so) ever since 5000 miles (I did a regular oil change at 2500 miles and switched to Mobil 1 at 5000). My deflector has the same sticky substance on it as others have reported and I guarantee that my engine is still clean as a whistle after 58,000 miles.

I can second that. I was not a believer at first but panicked when I saw the crusty stuff on the plastic deflector...but in the end, I had the valve cover taken off and it was super clean. NO sludge whatsoever even though the top plastic piece coated with it. Toyota mechanic explained to me the exact same thing as users desribe here.

Fair enough, there's always the exception.

Jason

If it's sludge, why doesn't it continue to build up, even if you clean 'it' off of the baffle?

On the 97-200? V6 there is a plastic deflector right below the oil filler cap that no one could imagine if they haven't seen for themselves. Why Toyota would put a piece of plastic (that ends up getting sticky with oil residue) inside an engine is beyond me, but I guess it doesn't hurt anything except for the atheistics of when you remove the oil filler cap.

It's part of the PCV design. Toyota changed it after Charlene Blake-Flake stirred the pot with her hallucinations.