Oil Sludge & Leak?

[Firstbrick]

I was changing the oil in my car today (first time for me since acquiring the car w\36K miles) and noticed a sludge buildup under the filler cap and the entry port to the valve cover (see pic.). Prior service records indicate regular oil changes. I also observed fluid leaking between the throttle body and the inlet pipe under the intake manifold. It appears to be oil. (see pic.) Anyone else observe this? Any thoughts prior to seeing the dealer for this and other issues? Best Regards.

[1Lieutenant]

I have 30K on my 2002XC. Synthetic oil since the 7500 mile first oil change and NO sludge whatsoever. I change the oil every 7500 miles BTW. No leaks as well.

Steve

[gibbons]

Wow, that's kinda icky looking. If it's on the cap like that, there's probably build up everywhere else too, including maybe the oil gallies and other crucial areas. If I was you, I would get a bottle of "engine flush" and run it through. It is essentially a special solvent that you pour in your oil, and then run the engine for 5 minutes. Then you dump the oil/flush/guck and start with fresh oil again.

[dlr97]

Maybe you should ask the service dept. to pressure test the cooling system to check for any leaks into the oil.

Dave

[jmoser]

You have discovered one of the true and indisputable reasons for using synthetic oil - it does not sludge up while conventional oil can and will.

Toyota recently had a very embarrassing admission that LOTS of new vehicles suffered engine damage due to oil sludge, even with regular scheduled oil changes. The very high operating temperatures (used to satisfy emissions requirements) caused the oil to oxidize and sludge up.

IMHO any turbo engine (high temps) should use synthetic oil; I use it in all my vehicles. The turbo is lubed and cooled by the same oil as the engine, lots of waste heat comes off the turbo and heats up the oil. I change my XC70 every 5000 miles with 10W-30 Mobil 1.