Sludge advice

[MJND1990]

Well I gave a dealer a $100 deposit on a 2001 Toyota Avalon XL today. KBB:$12,000, got it for $7,600. The car has 72,000 miles and is immaculate. The engine looks brand new, and you can tell the car was undercoated often because the was no sign of age underneath. The problem? I just read about the "sludge problem". I dont have maintenence records of the previous owner, but the car runs PERFECT and I figure if the owner took that much care or his car to keep it showroom perfect, then he probably changed the oil often. I plan on using Mobil 1 synthetic in it. My friend parents have a 98 Sienna. They used Mobil1 since the bought it new and now at 190,000 miles, nothing has ever broken. I have read that this sludge problem has only affected 1% or 2% or 1997-2001 vehicles, but it still worries me. Is this a safe choice to buy this car?????

[MR2Jedi]

Welcome to the Nation
All vehicles will accumilate sludge when the old gets old and loses it's viscosity. Regualr oil changes can keep this to an absolute minimum. Check the oil and look for leaks in the engine bay and underneath. But from what you've said, it sounds well taken care of . Congrats!!!

[MJND1990]

Well I'm goin to pick the car up tommorow and I'm gonna test drive to see if the clunk is fixed(muffler rattling) before I make the deal. While on my test drive I'm gonna pop the hood and take off the oil cap. Shine a flashlight in, if that will even work or not, and maybe put a finger in and run in along the inside of the valve cover. If my finger comes out with a clump of sludge on it then I aint buyin it. However I dont think there will really be any. I've read the countless information on the whole 3.0liter V6 sludge issues, and Im not too worried. Only 3,400 of 3.5million were affected. Also I blame the owners. While the vehicle may have had a MINOR design flaw with the PCV, it was magnifyed enough to become a problem when people didnt change their oil often. Or went to Jiffy Lube and only got 3 quarts drained lol. My last car, a 2000 Dodge Neon, had no maintnence records either and wasn't in as good shape. I pulled the valve cover off once on that to change the spark plug tube seals and there was No sludge at all. Looked like a new engine. Buyin a used car is always a gamble, so you never can tell what will happen.

P.S. It seemed like most of the 1mz failures occured at 40 or 50k. Since this one has 72k i figure its taken care of. Plus it doesnt smoke AT ALL.