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SolaraGuy.com • View topic - Any Gen 1's w/o sludge??
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 5:29 pm
by bbq bob
no slugde , 115,000 miles , 99 camry sc'ed.

PostPosted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 6:35 pm
by 02slera
i bought mine "used", or the softer term "pre-owned" haha, with 105k miles. i have not had a valve cover off yet but it runs and drives great with 125k miles now. i wouldnt know if its true but pennzoil platinum says it cleans out up to 40% of engine sludge with the first oil change. i put that in my car last time but am using amsoil now. im up for another oil change and i feel like as long as i use synthetic oil im covered. will have valve covers off sometime soon hopefully to check valve clearance and add shims if needed.

PostPosted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:44 pm
by turboman412
good way to look for sludge is pull the pcv valve out. it would be sludgy... but i guess if its a new valve you wont know. only really way is to remove the valve cover. my 97 had a small sludge problem, alittle build up in the head, i have no clue untill i had a broken timing belt nothing Crazy just ran some cleaner and synthetic oil and wishing for the best.

PostPosted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:23 pm
by Bippusol
no sludge, 6080

PostPosted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:43 pm
by MisterTedster
I have no sludge at 150,000 miles and I'm the second owner

PostPosted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 10:33 pm
by cd57078
That is awesome guys! Thanks for all the replies. This really surprised me, especially you folks that are higher than 100k (or 150k! haha awesome). I'm trying to figure out why some have sludge and some don't and maybe some of you guys are right> maybe it just has to do with oil changes on time. Still, it is still somewhat tough to find a nice used one because if it's from the dealer it's hard to know how well the previous owner took care of it. I have seen a couple nice ones that are only 1 or 2 owner cars so maybe I'll pursue those a little more. If any of you guys want to sell your cars, or know of some for sale, feel free to let me know. Thanks.

PostPosted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 12:07 am
by DSM_Lara
No Slugde here, 60K on 1999 Solara V6

PostPosted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 12:51 am
by SpeedySolara
cd57078 wrote:That is awesome guys! Thanks for all the replies. This really surprised me, especially you folks that are higher than 100k (or 150k! haha awesome). I'm trying to figure out why some have sludge and some don't and maybe some of you guys are right> maybe it just has to do with oil changes on time. Still, it is still somewhat tough to find a nice used one because if it's from the dealer it's hard to know how well the previous owner took care of it. I have seen a couple nice ones that are only 1 or 2 owner cars so maybe I'll pursue those a little more. If any of you guys want to sell your cars, or know of some for sale, feel free to let me know. Thanks.


Where are you located?

PostPosted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 8:13 pm
by bassthrive
Sludgeless since 2000 with 120k on the clock, synthetic oil and filter changes every 6000-7000 miles.

PostPosted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 3:21 pm
by TadS
Just did the valve cover gaskets on my dad's '97 ES300 200,000+ miles, no sludge. He bought it at around 60k miles. I keep the oil changes up for him every 3k.

PostPosted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 5:12 pm
by SpeedySolara
All 4 Solara's I've owned were sludge free, including the new motor I'm swapping in. Thats 5 1MZ's with no sludge...I guess I was just lucky.

PostPosted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 9:53 am
by Gibson99
my 95 (which i bought used at about 60k miles) had no sludge even at 220k miles when i did the valve cover gaskets.

my 98 was clean as a whistle at 120k when i did the gaskets.

both cars were s/c'd.

i also believe that as long as you keep up with your maintenance, you'll never see sludge.

PostPosted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 4:34 pm
by HydroponiK
Is there anyway to tell if you have sludge without removing the top?

PostPosted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 10:54 am
by Gibson99
HydroponiK wrote:Is there anyway to tell if you have sludge without removing the top?


unfortunately, no. the oil cap is too recessed in that little filler neck area so it always has some junk on it so you can't rely on that. the dipstick may have some glaze/heat marks on it no matter what... and like others have said, pulling the pcv (not easy if the car has a s/c) isn't accurate, esp if they just replaced it. only way to know 100% for sure is to pull the front valve cover, which takes 10 mins tops.

PostPosted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 11:54 am
by ozone
My wife's car has about 230,000 miles on it and I have no clue if it has sludge or not, because I've never pulled the cover (although it needs it, leaking). It drives great, so why would I care?

I think you have the right attitude though. If it's gone 100,000 miles it's probably ok to buy even if it does have sludge. It is good to be careful.

And as has been said here a lot, you do have to pull the valve cover off. If you just look under the cap, you will swear it has sludge. They all look bad there.

Good luck.