'01 9-3SE Sludge?

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J. Harris - 02 Mar 2006 12:57 GMT

Anyone have an idea as to what a white, soft foamy/sludge-like build up on
the end of the oil "dip-stick" could be? I'm inclined to think it may be an
early indicator of a bad head gasket or a developing case of the dreaded
sludge... FWIW, the car is a 5spd with 62K miles. Full synthetic oil used
and changed every 3K miles. Thanks in advance.

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J.Harris
'01 9-3SE
'97 900SE
'88 9000T (R.I.P.)

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Fred W - 02 Mar 2006 13:31 GMT

J. Harris wrote:

> Anyone have an idea as to what a white, soft foamy/sludge-like build up on
> the end of the oil "dip-stick" could be? I'm inclined to think it may be an
> early indicator of a bad head gasket or a developing case of the dreaded
> sludge... FWIW, the car is a 5spd with 62K miles. Full synthetic oil used
> and changed every 3K miles. Thanks in advance.

No, sludge is usually darker than oil (black) in color. White or cream
color foam indicates water contamination of the oil. This could be a
blown head gasket. It can also occur if you only use the car for very
short trips and never get the oil up to temperature to boil off any
condensation.

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-Fred W

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