[DRBagabundo]

Hey guys, I'm currently on the hunt for a 1.8t Passat with a manual. With the tons of research I've done on here I haven't been able to find anything related to this.

I was checking the the pepboys website at Fuel System Cleaning, Fuel Injector Service, Fuel System Service | Pep Boys | Pep Boys

and was wondering if a service like this would prevent sludge build-up that kills this particular engine. My major concern is falling into a money pit...

Also if this does not work, what can? besides seafoam...

 

[y2000passat]

Sludge in these engines is due to turbo heat cooking the oil and has nothing to do with the fuel system so this would not prevent sludge.

Best way to prevent sludge is to use a VW approved synthetic oil. Once sludge has formed, there's no magic way to get rid of it.

 

[Steve in Chicago]

That Pepboys service cleans the fuel system and fuel injectors. Sludge is a buildup of gunky cooked oil in the lubrication system and crank case. Those are two different systems flowing two different liquids to different places in the engine.

To prevent sludge buildup, use the correct oil and oil filter. Change them at the proper interval. Before shutting the engine off after extended or hard use, let the car idle a minute to cool down the turbo.

Two different things can happen when those rules aren't followed.
1. A sludgy goop can build up throughout the lubrication system. Products like SeaFoam and Auto-RX can help dissolve and remove this type of gunk.
2. The hot turbo can cook the oil into hard chunks of carbon and coke. Solvents won't dissolve this stuff. These chunks build up on and clog-up the screen in the oil pickup tube. This starves the engine of oil flow, causes low oil pressure and oil starvation damage to important things throughout the engine. The only way to get rid of this is to remove the oil pan, clean out the pan, replace or clean the pickup tube. If oil starvation damage has occurred to bearings and other hard parts of the engine, restoring proper oil pressure and flow won't un-do the damage.

The key thing is not to let this happen and if it does, to address it immediately so further damage doesn't happen. When shopping for a used car, this is going to depend on how the previous owners cared for the car. Documented oil changes with the proper type of oil is a good sign but not an absolute guarantee.

Always use fully synthetic oil that meets VW spec 502.00 (it will say right on the bottle somewhere).