Sludge in Suzuki Swift ZC71S

[DanMan]

About 3 months ago I bought a Suzuki Swift 2008 1240cc CVT model. recently there was a small oil leak (more like oil vapor) through the tappet cover. When I remove the tappet cover to fix this problem I saw there is engine oil sludge. (Refer attachment) what should I do to get rid of these? Technician at A*W Attidiya said they have seen worst and just to increase the oil change frequency. (3000-3500km cycles)  I would be really grateful if some advice can be given? (Current mileage: 78,000km) 

[Davy]

Increasing the oil change frequency is not going to remove the sludge that's already deposited throughout the engine. Get an engine flush done to remove (most of) the sludge. The engine cover and sump needs to be removed and manually cleaned before using new oil and filter. 

With the new oil, drive for a couple of thousand kilometres and change oil and filter again to remove any remaining sludge.

After this you can go back to your regular oil changes. Keep an eye on the level and condition of engine oil.

Oh and by the way, YOM 2008 car with 78,000km? Mileage is surely tampered. 

[DanMan]

On 9/29/2019 at 6:05 PM, Davy said:

Increasing the oil change frequency is not going to remove the sludge that's already deposited throughout the engine. Get an engine flush done to remove (most of) the sludge. The engine cover and sump needs to be removed and manually cleaned before using new oil and filter. 

With the new oil, drive for a couple of thousand kilometres and change oil and filter again to remove any remaining sludge.

After this you can go back to your regular oil changes. Keep an eye on the level and condition of engine oil.

Oh and by the way, YOM 2008 car with 78,000km? Mileage is surely tampered. 

Thanks a lot for the reply. I’ve been in two minds because a lot of online forums said that flushing can lead to complications. But since I am planning to use this for a few more years I think it’s better to do it now than later. Do you recommend any place to get this done? 

 

Small note about the mileage: previous owner was the second owner and when he bought it in late 2013 the car had already done about 50,000kms. After that, this has been used as a secondary vehicle (10-20km per day for school runs etc.) And done about 5000km per year on average. I think I can trust him on that because I got the emission test certificates and the service details since his purchase.

Edited September 30, 2019 by DanMan

[Davy]

5 hours ago, DanMan said:

Thanks a lot for the reply. I’ve been in two minds because a lot of online forums said that flushing can lead to complications. But since I am planning to use this for a few more years I think it’s better to do it now than later. Do you recommend any place to get this done? 

 

Apologies for the confusion. I guess when the term "engine flush" is used, you assumed using one of those chemical cans and running the engine to clean it up. What I meant was to clean the engine manually (oil pan and the filter/screen inside it, crankshaft area under the engine, engine cover/valve cover and valve body) after draining the existing oil. Then fill with new oil and use new filter and drain that oil within 1000 - 2000km or so. Repeat if necessary depending on the condition of the oil. The purpose of this is to use engine oil to flush the engine instead of a chemical. You can do as many iterations as you want depending on the amount of sludge. This is a safer alternative to using a chemical. 

What you have read about engine flushing chemicals is true. Especially on cars with VVT as sludge can get into the solenoids and block them, resulting in issues in the VVT system (from your photo, your car has VVT as well). Sludge can also get lodged in oil lines and cause oil starvation and wear. I helped flush a friend's car once and it clogged up the oil pressure switch with sludge and it had to be replaced. 

 

6 hours ago, DanMan said:

Small note about the mileage: previous owner was the second owner and when he bought it in late 2013 the car had already done about 50,000kms. After that, this has been used as a secondary vehicle (10-20km per day for school runs etc.) And done about 5000km per year on average. I think I can trust him on that because I got the emission test certificates and the service details since his purchase.

The thing is, oil changes have to be done based on mileage or time - whichever comes first. If the car only does 5000km per year, the previous owner should have done at least two oil changes within those 5000km (6 month intervals). The reason is that engine oil breaks down over time. Doing short distance trips and rarely using the car still requires oil to be changed when the time is up although the mileage is not up yet.