Sludge Lawsuit.... - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

KyleCannon · 09-22-2008, 02:19 AM

Hello,
My mother is the original owner of this car and got the notice but didn't notice any symptoms at first. Now there is a billowing smoke that comes out of the muffler on a cold start or if the car sits for more than 30 minutes or so. Been told my by uncle thats a mechanic that its most likely the sludge problem. I was not aware of this lawsuit until my parents brought this up to me and i wanted to kick them in the ass for not doing anything about it. Well, my mom bought the car around Sept 10~ '97 and I was wondering if its still possible to get this taken care of by toyota? Or am i screwed? This is basically gonna be my car and i'm really pissed that they couldn't take the initiative to just take it in and get it at least looked at!

Also, save some room by not making another topic. i hear a clunk while going over bumps and stuff... herd this for years and I have had the front and back struts replaced with the KYs or whatever they are called (gas shocks). I was wondering if there is a specific thing i should look at to get this damn noise to stop

Thanks everyone!

***toyomoho*** · 09-22-2008, 11:06 AM

The sludge settlement was for 8 years, not sure your still covered but the info is at the link below:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news0...ettlement.html

White smoke at cold startup could be due to worn valve stem seals. This is a typically problem and not a sludge issue. If checking for sludge pull off a valve cover and check for build up.

The clunk could be worn sway bar bushings or end links.

CupCate18 · 09-27-2008, 03:18 PM

Clunk could also be the CV Joints. Just an idea.

hevster1 · 10-09-2008, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CupCate18

Clunk could also be the CV Joints. Just an idea.

Not likely. Clunk is probably the upper strut mounts which was a common issue.
Sludge wise, if it is present and if you did your oil changes it probably will not be they probably will cover it. It could be valve seals as was suggested. Pull the front valve cover to be sure.

jobodizo · 10-10-2008, 06:58 PM

You may not have to have anything special done to fix this problem, at least temporarily. My wife and I just bought a 96 Avalon that developed the "sludge" problem shortly afterward. We took it to our local Firestone and had them run their premium oil change, which goes for about $40. It's only been about a month, but the problem seems to have pretty much cleared up...at least for the time being. Just a thought.

KyleCannon · 10-11-2008, 01:14 AM

Any good walkthroughs in this forum to perform the valve gasket changes and taking the sucker apart? Is it relatively simple to do as well or no?

hevster1 · 10-12-2008, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KyleCannon

Any good walkthroughs in this forum to perform the valve gasket changes and taking the sucker apart? Is it relatively simple to do as well or no?

Tools needed-5mm Allen key(it might be 6mm, it has been a while), A ratchet with a short extension (3-5inch) and a 10mm socket.
Remove the 2 allen screws holding the plastic cover on. Remove the plug wires or if equipped with coils remove the 3 plugs and 3 10 MM hex head screws and pull the coils. Remove the hex head screws holding the valve cover. Wedge a slotted screwdriver under the cover and pry up. The cover should come off. Total time about 5 minutes.

edge10 · 10-17-2008, 08:18 PM

You can check to see if you have the problem by removing the valve cover as above post. Here is a link I have which shows the sludge removal on 2001 Camry with the 1MZ-FE 3.0L V6. It is fairly involved since you need to pull the heads to do it correctly. Some techs suggest replacing both valve covers and the PCV valve with new design revisions to help prevent the sludge formation. One key item is to clean the oil pump pickup screen to prevent oil starvation.

The smoke could be caused by bad valve guides/seals or could be the sludge that is compacted and pushed into the combustion chamber by the bucket lifters.

http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/sludg...ng_sludge.html

There is another method of sludge removal by doing a series of oil changes one after another to try to remove the sludge that is blocking the oil passages and pickup. I don't know how well it works, but it is not going to remove all of it. What you are trying to do is clean the oil passages. I would be careful about using an engine flush to remove the sludge. If you remove too much sludge and block the oil pickup your engine will be trashed.

edge10 · 10-17-2008, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hevster1

Tools needed-5mm Allen key(it might be 6mm, it has been a while), A ratchet with a short extension (3-5inch) and a 10mm socket.
Remove the 2 allen screws holding the plastic cover on. Remove the plug wires or if equipped with coils remove the 3 plugs and 3 10 MM hex head screws and pull the coils. Remove the hex head screws holding the valve cover. Wedge a slotted screwdriver under the cover and pry up. The cover should come off. Total time about 5 minutes.

Does the valve cover gasket need to be replaced or is this a rubber gasket that can be reused?

***toyomoho*** · 10-21-2008, 08:44 PM

Typically a reusable gasket.