I have some bad yellowish sludge. I change the oil and within 300 miles the sludge is there. Since Feb 2009, I have been changing my oil every 3000 miles with full syn oil. Before Feb 2009 I had my truck in storage (from July 06 until Feb 09) while I was deployed. I never noticed this sludge before. There is also a ticking noise that seems to have just started.
I've read many of the post about the sludge with this motor and decided to go ahead and add 1 1/2 bottles of ARX with a new oil change.
When I read the articles last week I noticed that it said for heavy sludge to change the oil filter at around 1200/1300 miles and top off with oil if need be. I don't see that now. Has something changed?
Should I wait until 3000 miles to change oil and filter. Possibly do a second cleaning if required.
You have coolant getting into your oil most likely. I saw this firsthand on the exact engine of a friend's truck that had a coolant leak that was not fixed right away (radiators and expansion tanks are notably weak on these trucks). The truck consequently overheated really bad at least one time in hot Atlanta heat on the interstate. After the bad radiator and expansion tank were replaced, he noticed the same yellowish deposits under the oil cap, along with a loud lifter tick. His coolant level would drop slightly over time and the oil level was climbing on the dipstick due to coolant getting in the oil. Head gasket replacement is very expensive work on these engines so we used a high quality liquid sealer instead that did the trick, then ran an Auto-rx treatment finally to clean things up and his valve tick went away during the treatment.
To determine if you are getting coolant in your oil you have to check your coolant level in the expansion tank first thing in the morning or before engine is started that day, and then see if the coolant level drops over time, like a couple of weeks.
The amount of yellowish sludge seen in your pictures could be just from short trips or a non-functioning crankcase ventilation system. The engine that I worked on had WAY more, like gobs of solidified, yellow bacon grease. But the ticking hydraulic lifter is a common occurrence when coolant gets into the oil, like when a head gasket begins to leak after engine is overheated or when the lower intake manifold gasket leaks, allowing coolant into the crankcase.
Read this thread I started earlier this year for some more info:
dude, this is not sludge. It's just condensation. All dodge 4.7s seem to have this problem. I believe there is a TSB out there as well on modifying the oil filler tube. As someone already mentioned above, if you drive a bit after discovering this milky substance in your oil filler tube and then check it again, it will most likely be gone. Nothing to worry about.
does the dipstick show any of this "milky substance" on it? what about when you drain your oil? If your coolant and oil are clean (no signs in either one that they are mixing) and the levels of both are not changing, I say you are fine. how many miles on the engine anyway? I dont think it's very likely for the HG to go on a 2004 engine.
I only have about 75500 miles on it. The oil comes out clean when I change it. There is no yellowish or milky substance on the dipstick. I checked the coolant and its good to go as well. Will the ARX help with any of this yellowish substance.
