Engine Sludge - FX35

L

lsfeder

Member
Location
Panam
Hi Everyone,
I was doing some routine maintenance on my FX35 today, changing the oil, filter and oil gasket in the cooler.
When I took apart the cooler, I noticed a disturbing amount of sludge in and around the oil cooler area.
Since owning this vehicle (aprox 2.5 years now) I have done religious 5K mile oil changes on syn oil. We do mostly stop and go traffic driving as we live in the city, and I have noticed air filters getting dirty VERY fast. I am averaging a change every 2K miles now!! This sludge issue has me worried. The car is driving fine, although every now and then on a warm restart the engine will stall requiring a 2nd start which usually starts up no problem. During the oil change the old oil seemed to flow fine out of the drain plug, and I got 5 quarts out which is what should come out. Any advice?
 
You have brought 3 issues to the table:
1. oil sludge in cooler
2. air filter condition
3. warm start issues

1. I am not familiar with the oil gasket you are referring to on your oil cooler; however, what color was this sludge? did you flush the sludge out of your cooler before replacing it? are you sure it is only in the cooler? can you stick your finger in the oil pan drain and feel the same consistency in the bottom of the pan? What oil do you use? A good detergent oil's job is to prevent sludge buildup. Depending on the answers to some of these questions, I would recommend more frequent oil changes.

2. changing air filters every 2k (for city driving) is excessive. perhaps you can post a picture of what you consider to be a dirty filter. What kind of filter are you running?

3. hard to say if your warm start issues are related to the previous problems. how many miles are on your FX? MAF sensor, Crank position sensor, TPS sensor maybe?
 
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