Good over the counter sludge remover?
 

Mechanic said I have engine sludge. Named a few brands where you pour it in the oil tank and should help thin it out or even remove it. Something like marina green or something.

Any suggestions? Is it possible? Any recommendations?

Eagle Gold engine flush. I've use it every other oil change. It does wonders. When I first bought my X, I did my flush. You should have seen the gunk that came out of the engine. I like this stuff. You should try it. Good Luck...

I found a Gold Eagle:

http://www.goldeagle.com/goldeagle/products4.htm
http://www.goldeagle.com/goldeagle/products6.htm

is it the complete oil system flush? or the engine tune up? or any of those in those links?

do you just pour it in and viola? or is there a process? if so, what is it?

thanks! this is exactly what i was asking about. :thumbup:

Yes sorry, Gold Eagle. All you do is pour it in the engine. Let the engine run for about 10 min. Then turn it off and flush your oils. What I do, is drive around the block a few times. For some reason I feel it cleans better. But that's just me. Get it, it really works...

side question - how about for knocks? or is sludge the same reason it knocks?

I've heard good things about Sea Foam but personally, I wouldn't try any of the additives. It may be strong enough to thin out the sludge but also may wear out engine seals. Just be careful when using any.

Pine-Sol

Does a good job of dissolving the gum from old gas and doesn't eat plastic or rubber parts.

"Sir, your X5 is no longer drivable. But its smells great."

JK. pine sol? ya? really? straight?

I've run it in my Jeeps before...it's oil based. More than 1 mechanic has verified this for me, I thought the same but it works. It cleans out the lifter valleys real well.

Google it.....

Are there issues with sludge in the 4.4? It seem some people use additives and some do not. I have owned 2 series BMWs for 20 years and use nothing but synthetic oil.

well, all my jobs have been done at the dealer, so go figure.

he says sludge, who knows. its like bull riding in a crystal shop in there, i swear.

and mine's an 01, and i do extend my oil changes - meaning i usually just go off the indicator lights for service instead of changing at regular mileage intervals.... yeah yeah, spare me the lesson. i know better.

What is the symptom on your X that indicates sludge?

couple of reasons. one primarily that i hear the engine kinda choking. when idling, its muscles like a mustang, so to speak. then also, on acceleration, the sound of my engine is not as crisp as it was before. it has that heavy chug sound. not super loud, but compared to when i got it.

there prolly are other fixes, i'd imagine - maybe fuel injector, sparkies, etc.

oh, and of course the mechanic friend. told me there was sludge. now before you say anything, he said he'll do it for me at my next oil change - charge me $15 bucks for the 'marina green (SP?)' - some type of sludge remover.

Someone please explain to me how you know it cleans your valley pan, oil sump etc..... without tearing the engine apart. IMO additives cover up a problem not fix it, cleaners do work .....kinda of..... but there is no way in the world I'd put pine sol in my engine and turn it over!!!!! Do what you want but ...... ike301 hit the nail on the head.

Ike....if you're mechanically inclined, why don't you just open it up to verify if you have sludge or not.

Moreso, are you the original owner or is this is used. Maint. records ?

The ONLY product I would recommend is www.auto-rx.com but beforeso, I would probably lean on opening it up myself to see how dirty it is.....or decide yourself based on past service maintainence.

nope. mechanically challenged. i only know how to do it on hondas. back in the day, at least.

thanks for the link.

Still wondering if anyone has experienced sludging besides ike? I just bought my 2001 4.4 from a friend who bought it at 32k. I saw the maint and saw oil was changed at the dealer as required in the lease. Now it has 56k and I am the proud owner. I was just curious because I own an Audi A4 which is known to sludge, but mine has 157k and no worries.

get a new mechanic.

I believe sludge happens when you don't do in between oil changes. I had a previous post about this. I even had pics to back up what I was explaining. Either way, my mechanic had this one customer, he brought his Bmw 540 03 in because his engine was not running right. At the end of this problem, to make a long story short. My mechanic opened the engine and to see all this sludge, grime, basically SH&T! in the engine. This guy did only every 10 to 15k oil changes. My point here is if you do in between oil, and the X is not running with oil past 5k to7k then there shouldn't be any sludge in the engine. But like I said before. I flush my engine every other oil change or even every 3rd, whatever it really doesn't matter much, this stuff will not harm anything.

That sounds reasonable. I ran all of my inline 6 bimmers all the way to 15k miles without a peep and all over 150k miles. I think I will take your advice with the 4.4 and do them every 7,000. With all that I am reading about the transmission that seems like a larger worry.

Generally, if your engine is creating sludge you will see a coating on the inside of the oil fill cap as well. Though this is not a sure gage, if the cap is coated it is a pretty sure indication of whats inside your engine.

Ike.....I never really read your thread in whole until now.

Seriously though, but a $15 Miracle Cure proposed by any indy.....I'd be looking for a new indy personally !

he's a dealer mechanic.... aka stealer mechanic

SLUDGE occursfrom not doing oil changes at the proper interval. you can follow the car's service indicator IF you use the proper synthetic oil.

but you need to change it annually if you do not exceed the mileage of the service interval.

if you drive short trips the moisture inside the crankcase collects because the oil does not reach 212F.

your PCV is not working. check the oil seperator or PCV type valve.

so what i'm hearing is pretty much an immediate oil flush and new oil. yes?

then maybe a spark plug peek.

sounds about right?

kerosene works
 

Most engine cleaners are kerosene based. Toss in a quart of kerosene to the oil and run then engine for five minutes and then drain all the oil out. It will not harm any seals and will dissolve all carbon based gunk which can accumulate in an engine. I have used this technique for years in all kinds of engines and never had any problems. I live at 6200ft altitude so all carburator based motors run rich here and accumulate carbon and gunk from running rich. A fuel injected engine is'nt much different depending upon the computer program limits running it. Its cheap and effective but don't leave it in the oil pan or run it too long. Its for flushing a warm engine only.:thumbup:

Ike,

USE the AutoRX as it worked for me & worked WELL!. You have to leave it in the oil for about 1500 miles & it slowly cleans sludge, carbon, moisture & deposits it in the oil filter. It is a gentle cleaning, wont hurt your bearings, rubber parts, etc. It's biodegradable - fabulous stuff. the other engine 'flushes' are really harsh cleaners...dont put them in your car. They are ok for loose tolerance engines, & were popular 50 years ago.

Just unscrew your oil filler cap & look at what's on the underside. Mine had gooey black crap mixed with tan streaks (moisture). Oil had been changed at 15k intervals with Mobil 1. I changed oil & filter when I bought it (62,000mi) & 2 days later the new oil looked like coal tar. So I changed oil & filter, used a non-synthetic oil (important) & added Auto RX. Ran 1500 miles, changed oil & filter again & used a hi-detergent diesel oil, 15w40 (this is to clean & rinse anything left over. Ran this 2000 miles, then did the oil & filter & used a semi-synthetic (prevents gaskets from hardening and leaking oil).

Oil staying clean now with over 3500 miles on it. Oil filler cap is clean as well. The BMW v8's are sludge monsters & the dealers know it. If you do not remove the sludge & grime, it will eventually cause a premature engine failure...of course, once out of warranty that's more $ for the dealer. Change your oil every 3500 to 5000 miles & you'll be OK.

Last winter we had a cold snap of minus 25 to 35 degrees. Local (big) BMW dealer towed in over 100 cars for various levels of blown oil pan gaskets, rocker cover gaskets, intake manifold problems. Reason is because of sludge/moisture buildup. The BMW PCV valve is actually a one-way filter that cleans & relieves crankcase pressure. Sludge & moisture filled it up & subzero temps caused the filter to freeze solid. When folks started up their expensive German engineering marvels, the pressure had to escape somehow & ether blew out the pan gasket, rocker gaskets or found it's way back into the intake doing God knows what to the injection system. Bottom line...

CHANGE YOUR OIL - CLEAN OUT THE SLUDGE WITH AUTO-RX - USE A SEMI SYNTHETIC OIL (not Mobil 1).

OK, rant off.

Hawk

Hawk, my mechanic has been saying this since I bought my X. He told me that semi-synthetic is better then Synthetic because it helps to coat the engine internals better then Synthetic. But he said to change it every 3k. I've been a little nervous to only put semi so I've been putting BMW HP Synthetic in it and changing it every 4k.
Where can I find this Auto-RX? Thanks...

Also, is Castrol Syntec any good? And I've done the flush and my oil is looking good, but like I've said, I use the Full BMW Synthetic. Do you think that I should change? Does it really matter since I'm doing oil changes every 4k? Thanks...

Bimmer,
Get it here:
http://www.auto-rx.com/

I run the maintenance dose as suggested with a high quality semi synthetic from Schaeffer Oil. Schaeffer contains a high dose of moly that coats the valve train & helps prevent wear, lifter noise, etc. It also has a high flash point (handle heat well) & pours at 50 below. I've used the 20w50 racing oil

http://www.schaefferoil.com/705_racing_oil.html


in my 928 Porsche (similar engine, dual overhead cam German v8) and the 15w40 diesel (ok for passenger cars too, read HIGH DETERGENT...keeps em clean) in the X5. Both are good summer weight oils & I believe will be no problem for winter use (not Antarctica).

Hawk

Liqui-moly.de
 

Check out liqui-moly products. made by germans for german autos. fully synthetic oils, with true base stock synthetics, better than castrol that is not a "true' synthetic. they make engine flush products, diesel flush products, valve cleaners. I have used their valve cleaners for years . ask your bmw mechanic, he will know of their stuff. chucker

hi,

Doesnt the instructions on the bottle say idle your engine for 10 minutes. do not drive your car during this period?

also wouldnt the mechanic need to remove the valve cover or head to identify sludge?

Hello, acitydweller. Well, to answer your question, it doesn't really say not to drive it around the block. I think driving anything over 1 mile would be bad. But around the block, would not do anything. Now this is just my way of cleaning the engine out. You don't have to do this. Just add and idle for about 10min. That should be fine.
To answer your second question. All I can say is that my engine ran rough when I first bought it. And on some occasions I could hear a light knocking noise from the engine when the engine was very warm after driving back from work. It took 4 oil changes and flushes but now no noise and is smooth and quiet. I also add one container of BG MOA in the engine at every oil change. Again people will argue about this but I don't care what anybody says. All I know, this has helped me put over 200k on my previous Lexus, Infiniti, and my Ford F-350. So to each his own. I have right now 97k on my X, and she is running better then when she had 45k. Hope I could help. Good Luck.

im glad it was sorted out on your car. i am just a little nervous when it comes to engine maintenance. had too many different mechanics say different thigns on the same car, if you know what i mean... I have used seafoam in teh vacuum lines no slow drip for several other japanese cars but never on a bmw.

NOW BEFORE YOU GUYS BLOW MY BRAINS OUT FOR SAYING THIS...hear me out...

from the advice of some local members here from SoCal they said one of the good SAs in town is John Velarde from New Century BMW in Alhambra. Went there to make an appointment and told him about our forum and he was glad to hear about his reviews. He was cool, did a great job but before I left, he whispered to me that DON'T DO OIL CHANGES IN BETWEEN what the Meter on the cluster says. It's a waste of money. He said that these engines are built to last longer without oil changes.

NOW, HOW MANY OF YOU GUYS AGREE?

I don't agree. Clean new oil is always a better lubricant.

I myself gave him that look as well but he assured me that its a waste of money. I do follow the usual 5k oil change on both of my vehicles no matter what the SA said otherwise...

I change the oil following the service indicator on the X5 4.4


on my low mileage M3 I'll change the oil annually because I don't drive it enough.

110k miles and no problems. I think the rest of the car will fall apart before the engine dies.

Did you mean Lubro-Moly products? You can purchase these from companies like Bavarian Autosport, BMP Design, and others. They have been recommended to me by 2 indy BMW shops. I know Lubro-Moly sells a product called MotorClean, which is supposed to dislodge sludge and improve compression. It cost approx $15.00 That is about the only product I would use, if any. It is made in Germany for German cars. I have personally used the Lubro-Moly Ventil Sauber and Jectron for years in my e36 325i, which has over 270k on the clock. No offense, but I would never put kerosene or Pine Sol in my 4.4. I think your best bet is to use good quality oil and change it about every 7,500 miles, avoid short trips that do not allow the oil to reach high enough temp, and use Lubro-Moly sparringly. Lubro-Moly and Red Line also make engine oils that are supposed to be very good. I have not personally used them yet, but from what I have read, BMW in eurpoe recommends the Lubro brand. Just my $0.02.

:iagree: I've always followed the lights based on A) what BMW says B) Dealers (who would actually benefit from you coming in more, and C) my experience of never having a problem with any of my engines following doing it this way.

I think it's hard to except for some people, but oil/engine technology has changed quite a bit in 30 years. Oil changes every 3-5k just aren't necessary anymore.

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