# 03 cavalier oil sludge



## Courtjester1 (Sep 27, 2006)

I have an 03 cavalier with the 2.2 ecotech and I just got an oil change a few days ago and I went to check the oil today and there was quite a bit yellow sludge on the dipstick.

First thought was the pvc valve until I learned there was no pvc valve just an orifice on the valve cover. Could this still be the issue?


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## Basementgeek (Feb 7, 2005)

Any chance you heater is not working well ? Maybe a thermostat then if it is not.

BG


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## bruiser (Jul 30, 2005)

Usually that's a sign of the car engine not warming up to the proper temperature. The moisture that builds up in the engine isn't burned off. Short trips that don't allow the engine to get up to proper temp can cause it. Worse case could be a head gasket. Are you losing any coolant?


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## Courtjester1 (Sep 27, 2006)

The heater is rattling a bit in the cold but I'm getting great heat still. I was thinking moisture build up could be the issue too, I'm currently on the way of travelling from on end of the country to the other and noticed less sludge but still is some. As for head gasket I'm not getting any milky exhaust or loosing any coolant at all.


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## Basementgeek (Feb 7, 2005)

I a still leaning that even though you good heater output, the engine oil is not getting hot enough to drive off the moisture in the crank case.

BG


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## wolfen1086 (Oct 4, 2007)

Its been my experience that if the engine is running ok and theres no water jacket leaks or cracks in th head that the moisture in the air that gets into the engine block due to pressure equalization will condense and gather on the oil cap, valve cover and what ever doesn't get oil splashed or shot at it constantly, Check your pcv valve, shake it if it sounds broken its working fine, an check the seal of th oil can and any lines that attach to the valve cover for leaks. If everything is fine, you simply need to make longer trips, a engine that doesn't warm up all the way doesn't perform all the way, plus just imagine if all the water isn't being evaporated from the oil, what its doing to the exhaust system.


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## Courtjester1 (Sep 27, 2006)

I just drove over 1500 km and still getting sludge. When I get to my destination i'm going to change the valve cover to see if that's the problem. I should also mention that I seem to be losing oil, no idea from where though. There's no leaks that I can see, nothing on the ground. I've had this issue for a while where I'd give it an oil change and it would be up for about 5/6 months and then out of nowhere it would just drop completely without any evidence.


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## wolfen1086 (Oct 4, 2007)

If theres nothing seeping down on the engine then its burning it through the engine, I found out the hard way that just because you don't see oil burning in the rear view mirror doesn't mean its not burning it, Also GM's are famous for that little puff of smoke when you first start, thats valve seals, oil collects in the cylinder and on start it makes a puff that goes away to the naked eye, but i reality its still there. My S-10 Blazer did that very same thing, every six months there was a 1 quart low


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## Basementgeek (Feb 7, 2005)

Running oil 5/6 months the oil is thinning down and some could be running down the valve stems in to the engine.

BG


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## Courtjester1 (Sep 27, 2006)

That might be the case if it wasn't constantly happening on this trip though. Every few hours of driving I pull over and check the oil and its really sludgy and usually my dipstick reads below min for oil. So I nurse it and just top it up a with enough oil but when I stop again it will be gone. But no visible drips or leaking.


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## wolfen1086 (Oct 4, 2007)

Ok I have to ask, what color is the oil when you check it after driving?
Does it still look like oil or a Milkshake?


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## Courtjester1 (Sep 27, 2006)

Just got another oik change and asked the guy to look at the oil and he showed it to me and it looked like oil. Not milky at all


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## wolfen1086 (Oct 4, 2007)

Thats a good thing


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