What is this charcoal / sludge in my oil pan?

[MsLarr]

This last couple of years I've been doing all my own maintenance on my TJ. I bought the Jeep in 2004 it had seven miles on it. Recently I noticed that what appeared to be oil on the driveway. It wasn't much just a few drops maybe everyday or every other day. So I got everything necessary and it took me the last month to get two screws out of the starter to get it out of the way of some books that were in the oil pan. And then it took me another week to get the exhaust pipe out of the way. So I finally got the oil pan down yesterday. I expected to see some Sledge a magnet and possibly metal slivers or whatever because my Jeep now has around a hundred thirty thousand miles. But I didn't find that at all. There was no magnet. But there were items that look like pebbles are rocks that were jagged and very irregular in shape. I was extremely concerned cuz I thought it was Pisa to the engine like something had broken. But I hadn't had any issues with my engine running. I took the pieces out and put them on a paper towel and started doing research or trying to. nobody had any answers for me there's nothing on the internet that I could find. I even asked some mechanics that I know that in the family and friends. No one had any answers. After a few hours I went back out because my brother told me to hit it with a hammer to see what it was made of. I don't know if this was a good thing or bad thing because I noticed the items or what seems to be more like pebbles than anything we're slightly different because they were dry now. They were very light. Whereas before I wasn't sure if they were aluminum pieces or pebbles. Now I could crumble them with my fingers and they just turn to dust like charcoal. I smelled them and they had a petroleum smell to them. Does this make sense to anybody out there?

 

[MsLarr]

 

[Chris]

Those almost look like really big chunks of carbon build up to me. The sort of stuff you'd find on a very dirty cylinder head.

I've heard you can run Sea Foam through it to clear out a lot of this carbon build up supposedly. I'm still undecided on whether that stuff actually works, or if it's just snake oil and people like to believe it works.

 

[Boinked]

Could it be contamination? Maybe it dropped off the block while you were pulling the pan down?

 

[ShredAZ]

Those almost look like really big chunks of carbon build up to me. The sort of stuff you'd find on a very dirty cylinder head.

I've heard you can run Sea Foam through it to clear out a lot of this carbon build up supposedly. I'm still undecided on whether that stuff actually works, or if it's just snake oil and people like to believe it works.

I like to think I'm a critical thinker and don't blindly follow shadetree mechanic principles based on heresay. That being said, I am a believer in Seafoam if used properly.

Here's a good video showing what it can do to a mucked up cylinder:

I typically run 1-2 cans a year through the Jeep. I also think remembering to open up the throttle every once in a while will help keep the engine routinely clean of carbon build up.

That being said, my money is on foreign debris falling in the pan when you removed it.

 

[Chris]

I like to think I'm a critical thinker and don't blindly follow shadetree mechanic principles based on heresay. That being said, I am a believer in Seafoam if used properly.

Here's a good video showing what it can do to a mucked up cylinder:

I typically run 1-2 cans a year through the Jeep. I also think remembering to open up the throttle every once in a while will help keep the engine routinely clean of carbon build up.

That being said, my money is on foreign debris falling in the pan when you removed it.

I'll have to give it a try sometime then for sure. When it comes to "additives" I firmly believe most of them are nothing but snake oil (and for most of them, that's true). But I hear a lot of good stuff about Sea Foam. Guess it's time for a can.

Still... like you said, nothing beats "The Old Italian Tune-up".

 

[JEEPCJTJ]

I'm very leery when it comes to any snake oils.

Having said that, I will also say that Sea Foam did what it told me it would do. I can't quite remember which car it was or why I used it but due to still having a quarter of a bottle from 5 to 10 years ago sitting on my shelf, I know it worked.

Also on my "snake oils that work list" is Lucas Transmission Fix. It certainly helped our 96 Grand Cherokee shifting problems. It also has completely corrected shifting problems in a Pontiac Torrent that a fluid and filter change didn't help at all. It was a last chance effort from the only repair shop I even trust and I really didn't expect it to do much but that Pontiac was still shifting fine 25000 miles later when I traded it in as a down payment for my current TJ.

 

[tworley]

X2 on carbon deposits. Ive ran sea foam before with good results. Though a good romp every now and then helps alleviate that build up. Drive it like a teen, rev it up high and go fast (ie, Wide Open Throttle). The carbon built up will blow out the exhaust.

 

[MsLarr]

Those almost look like really big chunks of carbon build up to me. The sort of stuff you'd find on a very dirty cylinder head.

I've heard you can run Sea Foam through it to clear out a lot of this carbon build up supposedly. I'm still undecided on whether that stuff actually works, or if it's just snake oil and people like to believe it works.

it is some kind of carbon cuz it had the texture of charcoal and it was practically weightless I could crumble it between my fingers and it would turn into a powder and it smelled like petroleum. So it must be carbon. Just about 4 months ago I did seafoam in my gas tank and my oil and through my throttle body. No smoke came out. So I don't know what should I do at this point? also there was no magnets inside my oil pan should I put one in there? Ty

 

[Chris]

it is some kind of carbon cuz it had the texture of charcoal and it was practically weightless I could crumble it between my fingers and it would turn into a powder and it smelled like petroleum. So it must be carbon. Just about 4 months ago I did seafoam in my gas tank and my oil and through my throttle body. No smoke came out. So I don't know what should I do at this point? also there was no magnets inside my oil pan should I put one in there? Ty

I'd get a magnetic drain plug, it certainly wouldn't hurt!

I believe in order to clean the carbon out of the cylinders with the SeaFoam, I think you have to run it through the brake booster or one of the vacuum lines? It says on the bottle I know, but I haven't looked at it in a long time.

But that may not be the answer. Sometimes carbon build up is so bad that you literally have to take the engine apart and rebuild it, as well as have the parts media blasted and cleaned.

 

[MsLarr]

Could it be contamination? Maybe it dropped off the block while you were pulling the pan down?

I thought the same thing myself. However it wasn't dirt it was like charcoal briquettes. If this is due to a dirty cylinder head like the other guy said, could I use turpentine through my oil to clean out my engine? Or maybe transmission fluid? Because I saw a couple of videos about it on YouTube.

 

[MsLarr]

I like to think I'm a critical thinker and don't blindly follow shadetree mechanic principles based on heresay. That being said, I am a believer in Seafoam if used properly.

Here's a good video showing what it can do to a mucked up cylinder:

I typically run 1-2 cans a year through the Jeep. I also think remembering to open up the throttle every once in a while will help keep the engine routinely clean of carbon build up.

That being said, my money is on foreign debris falling in the pan when you removed it.

I hear what you're saying, and I did think the same about debris falling in when I was taking it off. However the texture of these were all the same and it was not dirt. And it had a strong very strong smell of petroleum. Messi I have no magnet but I I will go buy a magnetic drain plug. Also I ran seafoam, I got two bottles of it, about 4 months ago and put some in my gas my oil and sprayed a whole container in the throttle body while my son kept it at 2,000 rpms. It never smoked. The other things I saw is people put transmission fluid or turpentine in the engine and ran it 20 min. Supposedly to clean it out. What is your take on those?

 

[Boinked]

The only thing is getting the carbon buildup in the oil would mean that you have bad piston rings. The cylinders have tight tolerances and i cant see a way to get a chunk that big into the oil pan.

Anything is possible. But i would be skeptical about it being build up.

 

[MsLarr]

Those almost look like really big chunks of carbon build up to me. The sort of stuff you'd find on a very dirty cylinder head.

I've heard you can run Sea Foam through it to clear out a lot of this carbon build up supposedly. I'm still undecided on whether that stuff actually works, or if it's just snake oil and people like to believe it works.

See that's exactly what I was saying to everyone else. I did the Sea foam thing about 4 months ago. I bought two bottles. One was a spray and one was a liquid that you would pour. I put some in my gas tank in with my oil and spray the whole other bottle into my throttle body. My son had it on 2000 RPMs the entire time I was spraying. I even drove it around directly after like it's like I seen others do on YouTube. However the only difference is my car never smoked. I asked somebody else this but I want to ask you too, what do you think about the turpentine or transmission fluid idea of putting it in the engine for 20 minutes to clean it?

 

[Chris]

I asked somebody else this but I want to ask you too, what do you think about the turpentine or transmission fluid idea of putting it in the engine for 20 minutes to clean it?

ATF in the engine works, and it cleans it out great! My buddy and I did that to his Subaru once and it worked really, really well. Of course you have to make sure to flush it out thoroughly when you're done, so I'd get a bunch of extra oil to run through and do that with. But that is definitely something worth trying.

When I put SeaFoam in mine years ago, I remember it smoked a lot, and then of course the smoke went away.

 

[MsLarr]

The only thing is getting the carbon buildup in the oil would mean that you have bad piston rings. The cylinders have tight tolerances and i cant see a way to get a chunk that big into the oil pan.

Anything is possible. But i would be skeptical about it being build up.

Okay that being the case of being skeptical on buildup, what would you suggest I do? Cuz my car was running great besides the small week it had coming from the main seal. I've never had any shifting problems power problems anything I can think of except for it doesn't do so great on gas but then again it's a 6 cylinder 3 1/2" lift and 31 tires. So I think it uses as is expected.

 

[tworley]

When I put SeaFoam in mine years ago, I remember it smoked a lot, and then of course the smoke went away.

Same. But I soaked mine up thru the brake booster then shut the truck off for 15-20 minutes while it did its thing

 

[MsLarr]

ATF in the engine works, and it cleans it out great! My buddy and I did that to his Subaru once and it worked really, really well. Of course you have to make sure to flush it out thoroughly when you're done, so I'd get a bunch of extra oil to run through and do that with. But that is definitely something worth trying.

When I put SeaFoam in mine years ago, I remember it smoked a lot, and then of course the smoke went away.

I think I will try that. So, flushing it out, how would I do that? Just drain the ATF and put the cheap oil in, and then run it and drain it and then put the regular oil in?

 

[Chris]

I think I will try that. So, flushing it out, how would I do that? Just drain the ATF and put the cheap oil in, and then run it and drain it and then put the regular oil in?

Yep, that's exactly what I would do! Run it with the cheap oil for 15 minutes or so, then drain it, then put the good oil in.

 

[MsLarr]

Thank you everyone for responding I really appreciate the help I hope to God it's not piston rings or anything upwards of that. I most definitely will report back afterwards. If your interested in an update. I'm pretty slow, so I might take a week. Thanks again all
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