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Posted by Vaughn [99.120.34.5] on Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 11:05:19 :
In Reply to: Oil pan drop or not. posted by Hayden W Lake [174.252.32.224] on Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 08:10:39 :
If you don't have rod knock or low oil pressure, leave it alone. Sludge builds up whether you use detergent or non-detergent motor oil and soon will build up again once you clean the pan. If you notice, the pan drain plug is slightly higher than the pan bottom. It's intended to be that way so the oil will form a sludge layer. Why does the engine need a sludge layer? Because the 230 does not do 100% filtering of the oil when the engine runs, it’s partial filtering. What’s partial filtering? This means some of the oil from the pressure side of the pump goes to the oil filter and some of the oil is allowed to continue to moving parts. Why is this allowed? The oil filter will plug, and considering that maintenance may not always be performed timely during the era these engines were used, it prevents sudden death of the engine. What’s the purpose of the sludge layer? Once the engine is turned off, gravity pulls particles that were not filtered and other foreign materials to the sludge slay which are held captive until the layer is removed.
So bottom line – there is intelligence built into the design of these engines, and the sludge layer should be viewed as friend, not foe, it does play a vital role in cleansing the engine.
There are two types of engine sludge:
- Water sludge – bad
- Oil sludge - good
Once all engines were designed for 100% filtering, the sludge layer was no longer needed and that’s why the drain plug today is lower than the bottom of the pan, to allow a flush of the pan when changing oil.
Ok, let’s discuss oil. The Power Wagon owner’s manual says to use oil that is well refined and high quality, no distinction made to detergent/non-detergent. I myself, use a detergent motor oil to prevent varnish and carbon buildup on moving parts and in oil passageways. Viscosities that people use in there 230 engine range from 30W to multi-weight oils and they all seem to work fine. I use 20-50W in my truck and have for 30 years. So pay attention to the climate, use a viscosity appropriate and your oil of preference.
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