2006 catch can sludge, HELP! is my engine blown?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Ianmeister, Jan 10, 2021.

  1. Ianmeister

    Ianmeister Active Member

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    OK, here's the story. I've got a 2006 with around 240,000 miles. I bought it in may of 2019 it ran pretty good, but the plugs were FOULED. So I replaced them. along with all the fluids and PCV valve which was gunked up pretty bad. I noticed there was a ton of sludge down in the intake manifold So last summer I popped in a cheap oil catch can. in the last week of august I changed the oil, and checked the oil catch can. It was empty. Right after that we moved to Boise Idaho from the SF bay area of CA. My daughter has been driving it and since august put about 5K miles on it. So 12/24 I checked the oil and the catch can. Catch can was FULL and the engine oil was 1.5 quarts low! She needed to run back to CA then back to Boise, a round trip of 1300 miles, She returned on 12/26. I think she drove about 1800 miles all together. Car was 1.5 quarts low AGAIN and the catch can was full again. This time I looked at it closely and there is more water in it than oil. See the pictures. JUST SO WE ARE CLEAR!! there is no water sludge on the oil cap, Radiator cap or dip stick. But here are the pictures of the sludge. The sludge container from the side you can see how it separates like salad dressing. We have experienced snow, rain and sub freezing temps out here. is the catch can just picking up condensation? IMG_0956 (2).JPG IMG_0957 (2).JPG IMG_0959 (2).JPG IMG_0964 (2).JPG
     
    #1 Ianmeister, Jan 10, 2021
  2. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Catch cans do get the mix of condensation and blow by ;).

    Here is what the catch can on our 2019 Prime caught after being installed for 9k miles:

    56FE39E3-B0B8-4EEF-8051-0D9892EDDE5C.jpeg 5F70E561-9DFF-4087-96CA-D1188F0B28EA.jpeg

    Our Prime has 30k miles and does not consume oil, yet it does catch the PCV valve blow by:).

    While the catch can doesn't stop oil consumption (I had a catch can installed on our old 2010 and it didn't help with the quart every 5k miles consumption), it does prevent the liquid blow by from entering through the intake.

    So I would keep checking the can and the oil dipstick to stay on top of it(y).
     
    #2 Raytheeagle, Jan 10, 2021
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  3. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Increased RPMs (driving up hills, rabbit starts, heavy pedal syndrome, etc) or sustained high speed driving have been correlated with an increase in oil consumption. Was the engine consuming oil before August, or did it only begin after the daughter started driving it?
     
    #3 SFO, Jan 10, 2021
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  4. Ianmeister

    Ianmeister Active Member

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    it's definitely worse since she started driving. and she is a leadfoot where as i drive slower than your grandmother, and if grandma is dead, I still drive slower. i guess this explains everything.
     
    #4 Ianmeister, Jan 10, 2021
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  5. Ianmeister

    Ianmeister Active Member

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    man, the consumption is so fast i wanna do the head just to replace the valve seals. but what about the rings???
     
    #5 Ianmeister, Jan 10, 2021
  6. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Try a piston soak (or more) using Berryman's B-12 chemtool (cheaper by the gallon) or Kreen (more expensive and mail order only).
     
    #6 SFO, Jan 11, 2021
  7. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    That's normal condensation emulsion. Atmospheric moisture gathers in the crankcase overnight, and it gets blown out as 'mayo' when the engine is in warm-up phase. If daughter hits it harder in general it follows that there will be more total ejecta.

    The other 'normal' way out for that moisture is for the oil temperature to exceed the boiling point of water. The steam expands and exits the PCV, leaving only clean oil behind. Even if it doesn't boil, there is a significant drying effect from the hot oil.
     
    #7 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Jan 11, 2021
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