My 91 trans Am Convertible 305 TPI has sludge in the valley....!!!
engine still in the car..... removed intake to fix coolant leak.....
this is what I found.......
best way to clean with out pulling the engine....??
thank you

 

Can I “fill the engine with diesel fuel and let sit then drain....??
need help with this....
its my daily......

 

I would wipe out as much as you can with a rag, then buy several cans of brake parts cleaner from Walmart and spray it all over. After that drain the oil, refill with a cheap Walmart engine oil and add an oil flush agent. Put the top of the engine back together and run it to let the flush clean the engine some more, then drain the oil again and put in mobile 1.

That's a LOT of sludge...

 

I would do what was suggested above. That is alot of sludge. I would be worried about the oil pump pick up getting clogged. How was your oil pressure before the tear down?

 

Good oil psi..... it’s a daily driver..... blew the heater core and had a small intake leak......
plan was to bypass the heater core and replace intake gaskets.......

 

I haven’t taken the valve covers of yet...... but I’m sure it’s scary under them..... same thing for under the valve covers...???
is there any thing stronger than brake clean....??

 

Sludge city. Man, time for some serious cleaning.

 

Ok I scraped and carb cleaned it.....

 

 

Before I drain the old oil out.... should I clean it more....??

 

Looks worlds better, but whatever you do don’t forget to reinstall that retainer for the lifter guides!

 

Took it off to better clean it and the valley....

 

What can I do for the ports in the heads.......??

 

Nothing; any attempt to clean any of that stuff out of the ports will send it into the cylinders. Stuff some balled-up rags or paper towels into the intake ports so you can clean off the gasket surfaces without scraps getting into the engine.

Are you going to drop the pan and clean it and the oil pump pickup? If you don't, all the 'stuff' that's been washed down from above is liable to wreak havoc on the moving parts. Seriously, trying to clean out a sludged engine without complete removal/disassembly leaves you between a rock and a hard place; what's left in there is going to get circulated with the engine oil.

 

Hit the local Walmart or auto parts store and go down the Snake Oil aisle... Walk past all of that stuff to the Seafoam. Follow the instructions on the can where it talks about adding it to the crankcase oil. Adding a can to the gas, or doing a top-end treatment probably isn't a terribly bad idea either. Read the can. You might also take a look at Marvel Mystery Oil. Or jump on the google and search for info on adding a bit of ATF (less than a qt by far) to your oil a day or two before doing your oil change. Basically what you're doing is adding detergents to the oil to break some of that crap down so it will flush with the old oil during the oil change. Could possibly end up plugging something, but really Owner/Operators of Junk have been using the above products for decades to clean the sludge out of old engines.

Really though, that's not THAT bad. Back in the Quaker State Pennzoil days, it wasn't that uncommon to pull valve covers or an intake an encounter a block of carbonized sludge covering everything. If you leave it alone it'll probably be just fine. Or you can try to flush it out over the course of a couple oil changes, and it'll probably also be just fine. Either way it's a 305. It's probably not got a ton of life left in it, and it's not like it's much to lose if something did go terribly wrong. Ultimately you have to look into the options and decide for yourself if you want to even mess with it, or risk leaving it alone, or risk trying to remove it.

Good luck whichever way you go.

 

Wow. Looks a LOT better. I used Gumout Multi-System. You want something with PEA. I did an idle-soak (while idling, poured in bits at a time through the brake booster hose) and then a quick shut down and let it sit overnight. Smokes like a bugger so if you have neighbors, may want to do it just after dark. Then I added a can to a full fuel tank. If you don't already, I also recommend going full synthetic.

 

Any one have any pictures of the 081 TPI heads...?
I want to make sure all my drain back holes are clean and clear.......
thank you

 

 

 

 

 

Good morning everyone
this is my daily driver..... I’m trying to not pull the engine out........ but trying to clean it as best I can...... I was fixing a coolant leak and bypassing the heater core..... then I discovered the sludge...!! Car is in my driveway..... so I’m not going to attempt to remove the oil pan on the ground.....!! Can’t I flush it with cheap oil... after I clean it all can I leave the drain plug out and just pour cheap oil in and let it run out......?? Then reassemble and add ATF to my oil drive 1K and change ... after 3 1K oil changes hopefully I should be ok....... If theirs a better way {without} pulling the engine please let me know...... I’m on a budget.... if the engine has to come out then there’s no way a 305 goes back in.....!! 350 with headers.... upgrade the TPI.... ETC....
no money for any of that....... well not right now.... LOL
I’m losing money.....while it just sits......

Thank you

 

Like Drew and others mentioned without pulling and disassembling the engine your options are kinda limited. What you’ve done so far looks good but every cover you could pull will probably result in the same find. I’d say finish up what you’ve done, put it back together and run some engine flush through it a time or two with fresh oil. Follow the instructions and let it get good and warm. It will tell you to let it idle but you may be able to induce a little RPM, just don’t rev it like crazy. Get some temp in it and then drain it as soon as possible while warm, and just let it drain and drain until not even a drip is coming from drain plug. Do that a time or two and finish with fresh oil and filter, you should be just fine

 

If you flush it I would drain the oil twice before adding your final clean oil to drive on. I'd change it a few days after driving too.

 

Looking way better. I couldn't even see the spider before.
Yes, you can use diesel fuel to flush all of that crap out of there. I did it to mine. Buy 2 gallons.
I would put the valve covers back on with the new gaskets and fill through each cover.
Catch the diesel coming out of the oil drain plug, strain it, and repeat multiple times until no chunks come out.
The last time I would let the 2 gallons sit in the engine overnight. After the final drain, let it "dry" for a while.
If you have an air compressor, use it to help blow out the rest and help with the "drying".
Then do the cheap Walmart oil procedure as others have suggested. Add Marvel Mystery Oil to help continue the cleaning.

You may end up with a few leaks you didn't have before because the sludge was sealing them.