Hello all,

I hear a lot about sludge issues causing the 1.8T engine to freeze, but I am curious how the sludge issue is actually causing this. I suspect it can cause this several ways, but I am trying to be preventative by identifying the problem early.

Is the problem generally that the sludge plugs the tubes that return the oil from the head, effectively starving the oil pump and therefore the engine? Or is it that the sludge gets so thick in the pan that the pickup tube screen clogs, also starving the pump/engine? Or is it some other failure mechanism?

Thanks.

read auditech79s post on sludge. very informative.

i have 100k on my car w no issues at all. i beleive its all in maintanance and some seafoam everynow and then. the oil pick up tube on the 1.8's is usually the culprit from what i have come to see. cam chain tensioners are one of the first to go.

if you dont know what i am talking about.... do a little searching.
as i said. i dont know much about sludge. just that i have made it to 100k sludge fee
good luck

You hit the nail on the head, the pick up tube to the oil pump gets clogged and takes out the engine. Performing a seafoam treatment or engine flush should keep the engine clean of sludge. If you do develop oil pressure problems, take off the oil pan and change the oil pick up tube, change the oil filter, flush the engine with seafoam, then change the oil filter again.

Thanks Auditech79. How do you recommend that I monitor the engine for sludge, by looking into the valve cover or some other way?

Also, should I just plan to run some Seafoam through it every 30 - 40K miles even if I am running the engine on synthetic oil?

Thanks!

Un-fortunately, you will have oil pressure problems with absolutely no signs of sludge under the valve cover. The pick up tube is a crappy design on the longitude mounted 1.8T motors, its way too narrow. So doing a seafoam treatment every 20-30k should keep you safe.