This is cause for concern. Plan on dropping the oil pan and cleaning the oil pump pick up screen. I now believe that the physical make up of sludge includes decomposed rubber from the engine vent system..If this is caught soon enough, then there should be no damage , but a good deal of work.
While not beautiful, I feel a lot better now. The pan is getting dropped and cleaned in 2 weeks. I'm not driving the car right now, its not even insured at the moment, no plates either. It just came out of storage. I'm going to clean the cover today and I do believe that some auto-rx will take care of the rest. Not to mention the 3 oil changes that it is going to get in conjunction with the screen/pan cleaning.
any recommendations for cleaning the valve cover? Brakes parts cleaner?
For anyone that hasn't seen my other posts...
I am going to be flushing the radiator, changing the thermostat, changing the oil, changing the fuel filter, installing the PVC update with all pipes and a new check valve and replacing all the vacuum lines with silicone this week.
The car itself has around 94,000 miles on it. The engine (whose history I know nothing about other than this) has about 60,000 miles on it. It has semi-syn in it and I'm switching to full with these next oil changes. I'm probably going to rotate between lubro-moly, mobil1 delvac, mobil 1 turbo diesel and rotella synth, finishing with the lubro-moly.
Do all that Hkayssi says to do. When items are exposed and/or easily accessible, they should be examined to the fullest.
This engine can be saved,IMO.
Just about anything , including ultrasonics or steam or even oven cleaner can be used, BUT, particularly with the harsh oven cleaner, the affected surfaces should be re-finished and re-protected..IMO...
The oil lines are very important as is the screen, and the machined surfaces, the rest is cosmetic..
If you have the time and money and connections, why not take a sample of the sludge and have it analyzed ???
This is something that Saab should have done years ago - maybe they did and never reported anything....;oops:
If you have the time and money, bring down to machine shop and have them clean it. I would try good old gasoline, pour it in, let it sit and use an internal engine cleaning brush.
So I'm pretty sure that I am going to go ahead and clean out the valve cover with oven cleaner (later, Its back on for now since I have no oven cleaner) and get the sludge accumulator oil pan. There is a knocking/clicking/not right sound coming from the timing chain area, maybe out side the engine maybe inside, not sure. Just wondering if thats common and if anyone knows what it is I'm sure the mechanic will tell me, I just want to know what you guys know of that sounds similar.
I'm also considering a machine engine flush, I have to see if the mechanic i'm going to has one or if I have to go somewhere else.
Does anyone know if there is any kind of cleaner that I can spray around the cams and timing chains and all that while I have the valve cover off? Something that I can just drain out with the oil? Brake parts cleaner takes everything off, but I'm guessing thats a really bad Idea.
So is brake parts cleaner ok? has anyone sprayed a cleaner on everything, put the valve cover back on, run the engine and drain the oil? Seafoam? Marvel Mystery Oil?
I normally use either gasoline(years ago), or kerosene, or carburetor cleaner followed by Dawn and very hot water.
IMO, oven cleaner may be too harsh.
Oil is a good protectorate, as is wax...or engine assembly lube
There may be more on the market for those who are very particular (Geriot's Garage ?)
I'm really leaning toward pouring kerosene in and letting it sit for awhile. I just don't think thats its a good idea until I have the new oil pan so that I can clean out the debris.
Regarding the knocking, clicking noise from the engine, you might search the posts by Frank_Drebin regarding the work he did on the 9-3 convertible after purchase. Among other things, he replaced the timing chain and removed the balance chain. He would probably advise you, among other things, to examine the chain tensioner to determine how far it is extended. You might need to replace the chain.
I don't even think you have anything to worry about. Am I missing something from the picture? I think the engine looks fine. But aside from my opinion, I use carb and chock cleaner in the can. I just spray it in there, let it drain out, then dry fully in the sun. It works for me. Good luck!
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