Re: Couple o' questions (ATF in the oil, oil filters and Redline)

[rsco@lubrizol.com (Robert S. Cohen)]

peter, peterhe@microsoft.com wrote:
>
>3) (The weird one) My Acura (yes, I know, but the other 2 questions were
>Audi...) seems to have a lot of sludge build-up. The dealership points
>this out every time they see it and have been saying that there's
>nothing I can do about it. However, the last time I was there I actually
>talked to one of the mechanics and he suggested putting a pint of
>Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) in with the oil for the next 3 oil
>changes and do those 3 oil changes 1,000 miles apart. The ATF supposedly
>contains a lot of cleaning agent(s) that will dissolve the sludge and
>enable it to drain with the used oil. Does this sound reasonable to you
>guys?

Forget the ATF. When we talk about sludge, we mean a thick (mayonnaise
like) build-up on non-moving parts. Sludge is a result of insolubles
overloading the lubricant.These insolubles could be dust,dirt,wear
particles, or oxidation products.  Even if you could remove all the sludge
from your engine (regardless of the the means by which you do it), the
build-up will almost certainly recur. Think about what could be causing the
build-up in the first place.

things to consider (in order of importance)

Is your air-filter being by-passed?

If not, you should consider going to a shorter service duration ( change
your oil more frequently).

Consider a synthetic. They have greater solvency than pertroleum based
oils, and will leave your engine cleaner. Many also include better additive
packages, and may allow you to get by with your current drain interval.
Rather than using ATF, why not just substitute some synthetic oil for
petroleum oil in your next change. then drain after a couple thousand
miles. Much of the sludge should be dissolved by then.

Rob

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Robert S. Cohen       NewMedia Inc.             The Lubrizol Corp
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                      cohen@nmedia.com          rsco@lubrizol.com
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