Underhood Service Advertise | Subscribe | Contact Us | About Us

How Engine Oil Becomes Engine Sludge Wilmington DE

Fresh engine oil is a clear, free-flowing liquid blend of base stock and additives that contains no fuel, water, coolant, dirt or other contaminants. In engines that have failed prematurely, the oil has very often been transformed into a high viscosity deposit of brown or black goo, commonly referred to as "sludge."

Newport Auto Center
(302) 444-6163
307 W Newport Pike
Wilmington, DE
Guy's Collision Center
(484) 485-2531
1177 E 9th St
Eddystone, PA
Safelite Auto Glass
(888) 820-2558
Philly Pike
Wilmington, DE
Safelite Auto Glass
(888) 820-2558
4722 Kirkwood Hwy
Wilmington, DE
Chadd's Ford Automotive
(610) 459-0100
1260 Baltimore Pike
Chadds Ford, PA
Allstate Automotive Service
(302) 415-3954
1526 Kirkwood Highway
Newark, DE
AAMCO of Prospect Park
(484) 451-5370
746 Chester Pike
Prospect Park, PA
First Vehicle Services-Wilmington
(302) 571-4489, 001-2004
1450 New York Avenue
Wilmington, DE
Scott's Auto, LLC
(856) 299-3465, 001-2004
357 North Broad Street
Carney''s Point, NJ
Safelite Auto Glass
(888) 820-2558
503 Interchange Blvd
Newark, DE
Data Provided by:
 
Provided By:

How Engine Oil Becomes Engine Sludge

By Don Fedak  
July 01, 2004

Fresh engine oil is a clear, free-flowing liquid blend of base stock and additives that contains no fuel, water, coolant, dirt or other contaminants. In engines that have failed prematurely, the oil has very often been transformed into a high viscosity deposit of brown or black goo, commonly referred to as "sludge."

When regular engine oil changes are neglected, normally free-flowing lubricating oil breaks down, becomes contaminated, ceases to flow and is transformed into a thick soup of waste products. That's when serious engine damage is imminent.

Why does engine oil break down, combine with contaminants and form sludge deposits? Chemistry teaches us that engine oil is unstable and decomposes in the presence of oxygen at high temperatures. The process, called oxidation, occurs naturally after exposure to normal operating conditions for extended periods of time and is accelerated by exposure to severe operating conditions or to excessively high temperatures. Alternatively, accelerated oxidation may be triggered by a combination of any or all of these factors.



During oxidation, the chemical bonds that define the oil molecules are broken and some of the reaction products accumulate and interact to form a highly viscous complex mixture of solids, liquids and gases that contain a variety of solid carbon-based dirt and metallic particles, as well as liquid coolant, fuel, oil and water droplets.

But what can technic...

Click here to read the rest of the article from Underhood Service

© 2009 Babcox
3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, OH 44333
330-670-1234
(FAX) 330-670-0874