SLAP THE SLUDGE – sludge and engine oil remedies

Many of us have seen or heard that perplexed tagline of a certain soap detergent advertisement stating, “Daag achche hain (Stains are good)”. Though, the unbiased fact is that the stains are painful and irritating to get rid of. And not to forget that the stains are unfavourable in every form. Talking about the context of motorcycles, these stains can be in their most harmful attire of sludge within the engine. Remember those boring moments, when you need to take your motorcycle out for a service, either willingly or deliberately, which includes a quick lubricant oil change, and then you come to know about that there is a certain ‘engine oil sludge’ which is commonly known as dirt or muck clogged inside the engine. This is where the mechanic tries to dig a deeper hole in your pocket by advising you for treatment of engine oil sludge removal. As we all know, fresh new lubricant oil is a free flowing blended liquid of base stock oil with inclusion of some additives. But once it is employed for performing its job, it is subjected to a whole lot of tantrums of engine operation and environmental attacks, leading to formation of a brown or black coloured deposit of high viscosity. This particular substance is called sludge. And this gets even more villainous once you start neglecting those periodic oil changes, where the engine oil keeps on breaking down, becoming contaminated, flowing at a snail rate and builds up its ‘colony’ of waste products at the ‘basement’ of the engine. It is where the engine damages need to be taken care of, and this particular article deals with all the arenas of sludge formation and its remedies.



WHAT IS THIS ENGINE OIL SLUDGE?

Normally, the engine of your motorcycle is allowed to face the same levels of stress as you are prone to your some random 10 hours of strenuous job. For the proper butter smooth operation of your motorcycle’s engine, the lubricant is essential to it. Liquids are destined to make our lives easier, and it is this trait that engine lubricant oil fulfils too. But as they say, if there is a will, there is a way, and if there is a way, there are warnings and obstructive challenges. Engine oils do tend to deteriorate due to the repetitive frictional action of engine components and the entrance of exterior contaminants like dirt, dust, pollen grains, etc inside the engine oil. This whole bunch of hurly-burly companions together form engine oil sludge, which is nothing short of scaled out muck. Sure, everything in this universe undergoes the spade of time, and engines are no exception. Motorcycle engines have come a long way of development over the decades, which have made them more and more efficient and long lasting. And the same levels of development have been reflected on the engine oils too – the introduction of multi-weight and synthetic oils, with the addition of additives to sustain the same levels of viscosity, being the prime inventions of innovative brains. But although in a much decreased form, the problem of engine oil sludge formation still persists. With the increasing engine emission norms in the recent times, the engine oil sludge formation started becoming a point of concern. And the whole story revolves around the grade and viscosity of the engine oil being used. No surprises – the engine oils with lower viscosity tend to give up more readily as compared to those with higher viscosity grades. And ultimately, what we receive as a climax is an engine with lots of ‘scars’ of overheating signs, frequent part replacements and decreased power and efficiency outputs.



SCIENCE BEHIND THE ENGINE OIL SLUDGE

Common folks hate science, simply because they do not want to complicate their already fussed up life. But do not worry, the theories behind the formation of engine oil sludge is not rocket science. So in typical science fashion, a question arises – “What is the reason behind the breakdown of engine oil due to contaminants and engine oil sludge formed?” In simple words of Chemistry, at higher temperatures, the engine oil becomes unstable and begins to decompose. This process is followed by a commonly used term called ‘oxidation’, which occurs when the lubricating oil is subjected back to the normal temperature conditions for extended time periods. And this oxidation only gets furious when the oil is prone to more frequent temperature variations. And when we extricate even further, the fact is that during the process of oxidation, the chemical bonds and forces which define the molecules of oil begin to become loose and finally break out. This results in the accumulation of the by-products formed during reaction, which interact together to form a dense mixture comprising of solids, liquids and gases of high viscosity. This waste contains a variety of dirt and fine metal particles, which act as the partners in crime for the whole nuisance to be created further.

Talking about the playground of the lubricating oil, the engine of a motorcycle is just a simple internal combustion engine, into which fuel and air are mixed and burned. This process generally releases a lot of heat and various reaction products, which make their foray into the crankcase and thus, contaminate the lubricating oil. Although the temperature of the engine oil is high enough to boil the volatile components like water with the help of PCV system, but the lower base of crankcase gets layered with non-volatile compounds, which neither leave the compartment when the oil is changed, nor they allow to flow the engine oil to flow smoothly, just acting as adamant tenants. And the matters get even worse, if the engine is liquid cooled, with the engine coolant joining the spoiling party. Once the sludge is formed, it acts as the pug in a certain cellular advertisement – it travels wherever the engine oil treads its motion and gets deposited in those parts. And if the muck formed as a solid constituent, the jamming of engine components gets even more foreseeable.

And that’s a wrap-up to the science quotient. It’s better to know something complicated in an easier way, rather than avoiding it fully, doesn’t it?



HOW DOES THE ENGINE SUFFER FROM SLUDGE?

Now, we roughly know what all processes engine oil undergoes in effect of sludge. But it is even more important to know the effects of sludge on the engine components. There are a couple of reasons which should be known.

If the engine oil begins to oxidise and sludge forms, it indicates that there is scarcity of engine oil within the system, less than the desired level.

The sludge formed is usually a sticky substance, which surfaces over all the engine components, whichever comes in its path of motion. This may sound like a good protective covering, but in reality, it is totally in adverse of it, as it begins to retain the heat of the engine. This results in more mechanical strain on the engine parts, which even includes the crucial systems such as radiator and cooling components. This can lead to some horrible damages such as low oil pressure, lower mileage and harms to gaskets and other parts of combustion chamber – Deadly nightmare for the motorcycle’s engine.

The oil sludge is formed at the top of the engine firstly, including the oil pan and valve cover area. It then flows to create a blockage for the oil screen siphon, which may lead to harmful engine damages as the oil does not reach where it should. This may lead to overall engine seizure, which is one really expensive pill to swallow.

Some of the signs of engine oil sludge formation playing unsafe with your motorcycle are poor fuel efficiency, gruff acceleration, stalling of the engine at moments or drastic loss of oil pressure. The moment you feel one of these indications, it is the way through which your motorcycle’s engine tells you that something is going messy within it.



 

ARE THERE ANY SOLUTIONS FOR IT?

Obviously, there are! Whatever may be the complexities of the engine and the components and items associated to it, thanks to the modern day engineering, the eradication of engine oil sludge formation is not a wrecked bridge to cross. Following are some diagnostic answers to almost eradicate the formation of oil sludge within the engine.

Usually, the sludge formation causes the engine to behave abnormally, and the type and grade of engine lubricant oil utilised is one of those key reasons. Over the past few years, thanks to drastic developments and researches in this particular field, the engine lubricant has seen some massive improvements in the form of upgrades in oil based stocks, use of detergent oil additives to keep the solid particles suspended on the lower base of engine, advancements of anti-oxidants to slow down the formation of sludge deposits in the interior parts of engines and utilisation of engine oil filters to extract those suspended solid particles from the flowing oil and decrease the rate of incoming contaminants from environment. And then, with the introduction of synthetic lubricants, things became even easy, that too without any major rise in costs, which is a big achievement. Just be aware of what grade of oil you are using for your motorcycle, keeping in mind the terrain, weather and temperature conditions. Also, if you are using a synthetic lubricant, make sure that the additives mixed in the engine oil are as per the recommendations of the manufacturer or not.

Proper fitment of engine bearings and the use of manufacturer recommended engine oils and engine components should be followed. You see, originals do not have replacements. The engine bearings and other components associated are designed to be in proper harmony with the engine oil suggested by the maker. So, it is better that you use the parts and equipment of proper standards and fitment. The duplicate parts may get corroded at a faster rate under frictional effects going within the engine. So, better be on a safe and secured side.

Proper de-sludging and refilling of new engine lubricant should be done carefully as well. The engine lubricants used earlier have the tendency to leave their tread marks wherever they travel inside the engine. And this results in the formation of thicker sludge, which provides the engine lubricant flow over a particular area again and again. Just make ensure that whenever you pour out the existing lubricant and are going to fill in the new one, the sludge present in various parts even in the remote corners of the engine get completely out during the refilling process.

Proper maintenance schedules must be recorded carefully. The engine of a motorcycle is one of those parts of your motorcycle which undergoes a lot of scrutiny without complaining a lot. But once it does, it does sharply. The manufacturer recommends periodic service intervals during which your bike should anyhow undergo servicing, if you deliberately want your machine to perform everlasting. Always begin to feel cautious once your motorcycle clicks the mentioned km mark, and when it does, all you need is refresh the engine oil so that it remains smooth and performs even smoother.

Life isn’t eternal, and so is that of a motorcycle. And if engines are concerned, that cautiousness even gets much more intense. The engines of a motorcycle are destined to long only for a particular span of years, after which they give up their breath and begin to show off their age, not in a graceful manner. All you need to do is either overhauling of the engine which includes inspection and replacement of each and every component of the motorcycle. That is because the corroded components undergo so much of agony and afflictions in their life cycle due to repetitive actions, that it is easy to predict the amount of sludge formed out of them. So, it is better for your engine to undergo a full upgrade or hear the call of the hour that it is the time to upgrade your set of wheels.