I generally change my own oil, I use Mobil 1 and change it between 4 and 5 thousand miles. I always see a little sludge on the oil refill cap. I recently had it changed at EZ Lube and they wanted to clean and flush my engine, I declined, any thoughts ?
Need some info. Does your forum ‘nickname’ refer to the vehicle in question?
Year/make/model/engine size and mileage.
Have you noticed a slow coolant leak from the coolant reservoir?
I’m guessing from your handle the vehicle is a Dodge pickup. Sometimes I would find a milky colored sludge in the oil cap. It was condensation building up from a bad PCV valve and short drives not warming up the truck completely. I replaced the PCV valve for a few dollars and made a point to get one good drive in a week to clear out the moisture. My 98 Windstar did the same and another PCV valve cured it.
However if the coolant level is dropping slowing it could be a sign of an intake manifold or head gasket leak. My 2000 Blazer had an intake manifold gasket leak, the coolant level dropping and subsequent discovery of water in the oil were the signs of this. Fortunately, the truck was repaired before any damage occurred.
I hope your problem is the former.
Ed B.
As noted we need more information, but it sounds to me like it does NOT need any kind of flush. There may not even be any kind of problem at all. However, I will ask a couple of other questions. How long has it been since the last oil/filter change (time and miles) With the engine cool, open the radiator cap. Do you see any oil like stuff in there?
Keep in mind that all quick oil change places should be considered off limits to any car you care about. They are well known for errors and trying to sell un-needed add on services.
We see it there often. It should happen there. The oil drops just stay there without circulating and eventually dry out. You should not have the engine flushed.
It’s a 2004 Dodge Ram, 51,000 miles, It’s the small 8 (not the hemi), The coolant system is not leaking, I bought the truck with 21,000 and it runs like a champ. Thanks for your help.
I’ll change the PCV valve next, thanks very much.
I would strongly suggest that you have a REAL mechanic assess whether your engine needs to be flushed. While that procedure might be needed occasionally on some engines, I think that you have to seriously question any suggestion for “up-selling” at a quick lube place.
Actually, I question the idea of even having them change your oil, but I would certainly not accept the opinions of anyone working at one of these places. They are not trained mechanics and their level of expertise is usually somewhere around the “novice” level.
If you value your truck, you will not go to these charlatans again.