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#Post#: 12--------------------------------------------------
What is Sludge?
DIR By: Frank
Date: May 3, 2014, 8:25 am
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What Is Sludge? Do I Have It in My Engine?
Most people think their engine doesn’t have sludge, especially
if they regularly change their oil. They don’t realize sludge is
a normal product of oil and moving machine or metal parts. With
gas or diesel motors, the problem is worse for carbon produced
from combustion that combines with oil to make varnish-like,
liquid grit, and drastically increases (magnifies) wear and tear
through continual depositing.
Although one would think the oil appears to be at fault, that’s
wrong. The oil is actually the victim of mechanical and chemical
attack. The formation of sludge is a complex interaction of
components. These components are soot, engine heat, fuel, water,
acids, and dirt.
Let’s start with:
Soot – This is fine powder that is a product of incomplete
combustion. This carbon substance enters the crankcase with
exhaust blow-by gases that escape past the piston rings. Since
soot is a very fine powder, it thickens oil by a process called
“soot loading.” It gels the oil like a cake mix thickens milk.
Engine Heat – A natural result of internal combustion, engine
heat takes its toll on your motor oil. In the presence of air,
oil undergoes a process called oxidation, which becomes more
severe as the temperature increases. Oxidation thickens the oil
and produces corrosive acids. Left unchecked, your oil would
degrade into a tar-like mess.
Fuel – The fuel enters your crankcase with exhaust blow-by gases
in unburned and partially burned forms. It is chemically
unstable; therefore, it reacts with itself and the oil to form
gums and varnishes that create even more oil thickening.
Water – Water gets into your crankcase typically through
condensation or in exhaust gases that escape past the piston
rings. The engine’s job is to get rid of this moisture by
operating at sufficiently high temperatures. However, all
engines operate periodically at low temperatures and experience
some water contamination. When this occurs, water becomes
emulsified, meaning it is absorbed by the oil and thickens the
lubricant. As a result, the oil does not flow or cool well. The
increased viscosity can cause the oil to burn, creating engine
deposits.
Acids – When fuel burns, some products of combustion react with
moisture in the system to form acids. These include sulfuric,
hydrochloric, and organic acids. Sulfur-based acids are
undesirable because they attack the oil, reducing its detergent
efficiency. Organic acids react with unburned fuel to promote
sludge and varnish. In addition, acids can cause additive
settling, or dropout.
Dirt – Most people associate dirt with engine wear, but dirt can
also play a role in sludge formation. Wear of piston rings and
cylinder walls causes an increase in piston blow-by. Since the
exhaust gases contain many harmful byproducts, their presence in
the crankcase should be minimized. Nonetheless, some of these
compounds will escape past the rings. Auto-Rx® Plus will fight
the harmful effects of dirt. The dispersant suspends and
isolates the dirt, soot, and other solid particles that work
their way into the oil. That is why an oil change is necessary
to flush the unwanted components.
Heat, when combined with engine oil, also creates harmful
byproducts such as sludge, varnish, and sulfur. When these
byproducts combine with condensation and airborne pollutants
(dirt, soot, industrial ash, etc.), contamination build-up is
created. Contamination buildup enters the oil passages in the
engine, limiting the amount of oil that can get to the most
vital parts of the engine. This buildup prevents engine oil from
properly lubricating the engine. When proper lubrication fails
to occur, uneven hot spots are created underneath contamination
deposits, resulting in a dramatic decrease in engine performance
and shortening the life of the engine.
Unfortunately, there is not much that engine oil can do to
reduce the harmful effects of all these contaminants. Oil
changes every 3000 miles and the Auto-Rx® Plus Preventive
Maintenance Plan are the best way to take care of this problem.
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