Here are some engine shots of my 93 22RE with almost 89,000 miles
The truck has had regular oil change intervals with Mobil 1 syn.
There was NO build up on the valve covers, only on the edges behind the valve springs and where the gasket meets the head.

Could a flaulty PCV system cause this? The engine had a functioning PCV valve in it.. I replaced it anyways. The only other thing I can think of is that it was not driven that often by the previous owners and it just has alot of build up... or could it be the fact that the engine doesn't EVER go past 175 degrees? Isn't the stock temp around 200-210? Is it possible that this crud would normally be burnt off?

I just started a AUTO RX Cleaning phase to remove the sludge deposits.
Other than poor fuel mileage the truck runs like a champ and doesn't use any oil. ( I just adjusted the timing back to stock (it was at 8*) , checked the valve clearances, intalled a new cap and rotor as well as spark plugs. I also installed a new fuel filter.


Any ideas why these deposits happened? Has anyone else experienced this on a 22RE?


Here are the pics (huge)

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Five

 

is it just a light film or more like thick grease?

 

and how many miles did it have on it before you got it?

 

Grease...

86,000....

 

sorry to hijack, but superjoe, did you part out a 1st gen 4runner on craigslist?

 

i would put my money on lack of oil changes by the previous owner, most to all engines will develop a light yellow/brown film over time, but yours is a little worse, was there any milky oil on the underside of the valve cover? that would indicate a bad PCV, and i would recommend getting a new t-stat also, which is 195* which should help your fuel milage

 

nope, not me

 

THere was not any milky substance that I saw. I changed out the PCV today and I think that the T-stat change is a good idea.

 

I will be sure to post up pictures of the engine after the Auto RX treatment....

 

I hope that Auto RX stuff works out for you.

I would have recommended against trying to clean out existing sludge, unless you've disassembled the motor and have it "hot dipped", as it is a bad idea to have particulate matter like sludge, floating around your engine before falling into the oil pan where hopefully it will be picked up by the oil pump and sent to the oil filter. Remember also that an oil filter has a bypass valve that opens up if enough junk clogs the filter, so it's a real possibility that you're circulating those chunks of sludge through your motor.

Sludge that's already built up isn't the problem so much as it is a result of a problem like poor maintenance by not changing the oil regularly. But sludge that is stuck in place is much better than having it floating loose in your engine. Imagine if one of those "chunks of sludge" had blocked the flow to your main or rod bearings before being caught by the oil filter!

 

you should see my 22R-E in my '91 truck. sludge chunks EVERYWHERE inside the engine. however it hasn't hurt my performance or gas mileage, i still get around 20mpg with 30x9.5 tires and stock gears.

i think it's often caused by using really bad oil, like pennzoil or quaker state -- they're paraffin based and cause sludge.

 

Sludge is caused by not mixing enough booze in yer coffee...

 

Wow... thanks for that info Kyle. I am glad to know that sludge doesn't seem to bother the 22RE..! Would you say that your engine is more sludged than mine?