the mother of all oil sludge.......

[subie cop]

black jello

So, here are the details........

Charger was put into service a little over a month ago, approximately.

Currently has 5000 miles +/-

Last oil change was 800 miles ago with 5W20 from a 55 gallon drum.

Oil is SureGuard (synthetic blend), a brand our mechanics have been using for years without any issues.

This car (as with most of ours) is driven 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. They are driven hard, idle for long periods but are routinely serviced by our 2 full time mechanics.

The problem

noticed the vehicle was sluggish during normal "city" type driving until you romped on the gas, thought this may be due to the "Eco" mode the new Chargers are currently coming with...

Tuesday nite, Charger was at idle most of the night while I was on various calls, noticed some knocking and took the car out of service.

No CEL, no oil light nor any other warning lights.

Mechanics pulled the oil stick, no oil.

Mechanics pulled the oil filter, turned it over and no oil poured out but a semi-solid jelly like substance was inside.

Mechanics pulled the pan and..............check out the link.


http://s968.photobucket.com/albums/ae168/subiecop/?action=view&current=oilsludge.mp4&newest=1


Ive shown several shop owners and none have seen oil in this condition before.

Samples have been sent to the company for evaluation.



We also have a Tahoe which also was knocking but the oil was not as "solid" as the Charger's but more like molasses.

4 other cars have been changed with the same oil but no problems as of yet, they are being taken out of service as of tomorrow.

Any thoughts?

 

[ReiKo]

Check the oil drum....


The video link doesn't work...

 

[subie cop]

try the link now

 

[ReiKo]

It's the oil itself... Pull the rest of the fleet and have it changed... That drum(s) are either contaminated or they are recycled oil and go labeled wrong... Recycled oil does that very commonly...

 

[subie cop]

will engine coolant make oil react that way?

 

[ReiKo]

will engine coolant make oil react that way?

Doubt it...
Engine oil and engine coolant looks like this...

 

[fiveohcrazy]

will engine coolant make oil react that way?

engine coolant would turn it milky brown. I agree with Reiko.

 

[shawnc16]

No it would look like chocolate milk if it had coolant in it..

 

[jspec]

It looks like someone is buying some new motors . I hope the tax payers don't get stuck with the bill!

 

[ReiKo]

Also I would start filing a labor/warranty claim against the oil company...

 

[Fryguy302]

Holy shit, that's crazy. I wonder if those cars were sabotaged somehow...wonder if someone put something in the oil. I've never seen anything like that with a car that had been properly maintained.

 

[subie cop]

^ thats what Im thinking although we rarely leave our cars unattended. Im curious to see what the oil in the other 4 cars that have been recently changed looks like....

 

[MentalMisfit]

It looked like some nasty black jello can't say I've ever seen anything like that.

 

[subie cop]

such a good description I changed the title of the thread

 

[1BADAIR]

wasnt there a thread not long ago about local oil contaminated?

 

[1BADAIR]

oops.
think it was trans fluid

 

[dave89iroc]

How often is the oil changed? they go by mileage on the odometer?



I've seen it before, in lease cars that never had an oil change, with between 30,000 and 40,000 on the odometer..........




excessive idle time needs to be counted as mileage

if run 24/7, the oil needs to be changed a hell of a lot more often then 3/3000, every hour needs to be counted as about 50 miles, so, 1 month=about 36,000 miles..........


fleet trucks that idle a lot(construction, etc.) see this often, dealers wont even warranty some privately owned vehicles when the hour meter and odometer don't somewhat match


if running synthetic, once a week would be ok for oil changes(~8400 miles)

 

[subie cop]

I've seen it before, in lease cars that never had an oil change, with between 30,000 and 40,000 on the odometer..........

Charger has approximately 5000 miles

if running synthetic, once a week would be ok for oil changes(~8400 miles)

No way is once a week realistic for these patrol cars....average miles put on a shift can range from 40-70 depending on the vehicle. Even running 70 miles per shift thats "only" approximately 1500 miles driven per week. There has NEVER, in the history of this department, been an issue with the vehicles like this one. Vehicles are serviced whenever anything fails not including routine "check ups". This is an issue with the either product or someone tampering with the vehicle.

 

[subie cop]

PROBLEM SOLVED

The issue has been solved. Mechanics found a sticker on the side of the barrel that had been partially torn off saying "contains cooking oil". Mechanics also found solidified cooking oil on top of the motor oil inside the barrel after a few weeks. The supplier, Star Petroleum in Detroit, did not clean the barrels that contained the cooking oil before supplying them to various dealerships, oil change places, etc.

A representative from the company admitted to the alleged mistake and an insurance claim was filed. The insurance company informed us that there has been 80+ claims to date all resulting in new engines being installed. This being said, the two patrol cars involved now have brand new crate motors.

 

[SSpdDmon]

Nice outcome....got a little lucky if you ask me.