Crud on dipstick

ISLE

MEMBER
2015 CHEVROLET EQUINOX
2.4L
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
80,000 MILES

Good day, I hope you're all doing good out your way. I have a question about my vehicle listed above that I bought new and it uses 5/20 semi-synthetic oil in it. I did regular oil changes on it at 10,000 kms since that was the manufactures specs for the first 3 years but then I noticed when I periodically checked the oil (i'm somewhat of a car guy and I like to know what my vehicles are doing, new or old) that a black soft slimy crud/sludge or what ever you want to call it started forming on the tip of the dipstick tween oil changes. I asked Chevrolet about it and they said well that was regular wear and tear. I don't quit understand that and didn't believe that cuz my mom bought a new 2004 Cavalier and she never had anything like this happen ever, yes the oil turned black or dark before the next oil change but nothing like this. So I started doing oil changes at 5000 kms like we used to do back in the good ole days like my moms car. I questioned Chevrolet further on it and they said they could do an engine wash/flush for me which it turned out I had to pay for but whatever. The problem never really went away but it seemed to be a whole lot better and some times almost nothing. So then at about 5 years with regular oil changes I noticed that it started doing it again. At 5 years my warranty was up so I started taking it to my local shop and getting the oil changed at 5000 kms or 55 engine hours whichever came first since I have a very short drive to work it idles a fair bit, especially in the winter. The local guys noticed that the oil filter was somewhat wrinkled/crinkled/slightly collapsed once in a while (some times worse than others) when they took it out to change it but never really seen anything out of the ordinary in the oil which I thot there might be. I've talked to some people over last while that have had an equinox and i'm hearing that engines have been rebuilt anywhere from 120,000 - 150,000 kms due to oil pressure problems and such. I'm thinking that my issue could very well lead to something like that, do you have any advice as to how to prevent this from happening? Can I go away from the synthetic oil. Should I be washing my engine out again and what would I use? Any advice please, thanks. Look forward to hearing from you guys!

6 Replies

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

This does sound like sludge which is formed due to two things. First lack of maintenance and the oil additives breakdown and cause sludge.

The second thing is more rare and is caused by a restriction in the oil system and it basically does the same thing as lack of maintenance.

So if the filter is actually deforming as well as seeing some sludge then I suspect you have a restriction in the system.

This is to be confirmed by checking the oil pressure.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/high-oil-pressure

Below you will find the spec on the PSI which is pretty general but says between 30-70 PSI. So I suspect you will be on the higher end of this with the engine just at idle but at operating temperature.

If that is the case then we have a restriction in the system and unfortunately there is no way to truly flush the engine.

I attached the spec and process from the manual on how to check the oil but do you think you can get a picture of the oil from the dipstick and attach it here?

If you can get one on the stick and then wipe it onto a clean white rag so we can see what it looks like, that will help confirm this or take us in a different direction.

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