Oil problem

Did someone mic different brands of oil or use an oil additive? I have never seen this and it seems like it might be due to incompatible oil additives. This is not very common, but if temperatures are high enough, sometimes the additives can react and cause sludging.

 

Never.

Looks like water in it.

 

OMG...this is serious sludge.

 

I thought this happened when water got into the oil e.g. head gasket failure. Seems very unlikely on a low mileage 550 though.
Looks like the dry sump reservoir is acting as an oil-water separator unit for those familiar with crude oil processing!
We need our oil expert Mr . Haas to comment?
Ron

 

In the right climate you can get that from condensation if the oil is not gotten hot enough on a regular basis to keep it evaporated off.

I have had to do to total rebuilds on transmissions from that cause leading to rust in the transmission.

 

Only seen sludge that bad with a coolant circuit failure of some kind, head gasket etc. I don't think condensation would cause that much muck. Condensation in my experiance will cause a little "milky" residue on the back of oil filler caps etc. What did the oil filters look like, and what was the customers complaint, oerheating ?, low oil pressure ? I am curious!

 

My first thought was water ingress. Oil mixing can hurt things. Get it cleaned out with a few oil changes and possibly run Auto Rx in there. Ask for some support on Bobistheoilguy web site.

aehaas

 

What does your coolant look like? Have you drained the radiator(s)?

Did the exhaust puff white or blue smoke at startup cold?

Did the water temp gauge flutter around one point while driving?

 

What I did on my Mercedes once that had blown a head gasket, was to throw a couple of qts. of cleaning solvent in the oil and run it for a bit, then flush out.

 

Any idea what type of oil was used?
Would it matter?

 

Coolant likely, condensation unlikely, likelihood reinforced by white smoke at start

 

You nailed it. Nice to have you here on-line.

 

Dear No Doubt,
See also my reply, I mentioned head gasket first !!
Ron

 

Hey Ron! So you did! Well, I may have missed your correct diagnosis, but at least I didn't think that it was condensation...

 

The interesting thing for me working in the oil and gas industry is that the 550 dry sump reservoir is acting like a water separation tank, this process is often used in crude oil/water separation where the mixture of oil and water that comes out of the oil well is then allowed to separate by natural gravity (oil floats on water) in a settling tank for a few days.

The 550 dry sump reservoir is having the same effect, maybe due to lack of use, cooling effects, the high height of the reservoir (aids the gravitational settling) or entrainment (the flow is trapped in the reservoir).

Of course, the oil you buy from the store should never have more than a very low % of water in it, so the water is coming from the 550 coolant system via the head gasket leak.
Regards,
Ron

 

??

 

You work in the oil and gas industry and live in Texas?

 

used to operate oily water seperators on tankers.. thats exactly what it looks like..

glad you got it sorted dan.. going to stop by soon to check that thing out again..

-amante

 

Dear Rivee,

yes, I live in Houston, I see from your profile you are located in "Calileftico", is that somewhere to the right of California? Since anywhere to the left is in the Pacific Ocean.
A Google search located you as saying "Black 360 spyder spotted on hwy 1 near Highlands Inn Carmel, on Monday".. Thus you must be near Carmel? Anyway Google has never heard of "Calileftico".

Nice to hear from you,
Ron

 

rmfurzeland,

it's a lousy attempt at an acronym for: The Left Coast of California with a big splash of Mexico mixed in.

 

How does a head gasket fail within 10kMiles?
Poor parts quality? Overtemping? Over-rev'ing?
..and more importantly, are there any ways that an owner can prevent it?

Thank you