Gunge at bottom of engine

[newto912]

I took the bottom off the engine where the mesh and magnet are, only to find an oily grey gunge.the tray was pretty full of it
I read on here somewhere that this was not a good sign( cant find the thread)
see pics

any comments on likely health
engine not started for god knows how long, have syringed some oil down the cylinders and all moves freely by hand cranking
what do you think about the gunge , does it mean excessive wear and a rebuild needed?
any views
Thanks in advance
Andrew

[newto912]

still not got the hang of pic posting
[img]https://www.flickr.com/photos/139567942 ... taken/[img][/img][/img]

[johnM]

still not got the hang of pic posting

Sludge by andrew blaszczyk, on Flickr

Click the little arrow bottom right on your flickr photo, Its the BBCode you need to copy from flickr and paste it into the thread.

[bjmullan]

still not got the hang of pic posting
[img]https://www.flickr.com/photos/139567942 ... g][i][u][b][/img][/img][/b][/u][/i]

Nearly there. You just have two too many /img tags at the end.

[Nige]

Condensation in your oil, make sure the breathers are clean and clear and use it more often/longer journeys.

[newto912]

thanks
lets hope thats it,
will get everything connected up and try and get the engine going!

[Timo]

Yep, I agree with Nige it looks like you have condensation in there, this is what causes the gungey grey build up known as mayonnaise. The only risk when you have this kind of build up is that some of the gunge gets in an oil galley and blocks flow to its vital components. If I was you I'd clean out all the accessible gung from the sump plate etc, refill with fresh oil, take the car on a few runs, then drop the oil again and refill with fresh once more. The 912s worst enemy is tired oil and irregular changes, remember the filtration system was pretty poor on these cars. Change your oil every 2000-3000 miles and use the correct earlier type grades designed for cars of this age, steer clear of modern synthetic or semi synthetic (A lot of brands do classic specific oils these days.) and you should be fine.

[jackstowers]

Also avoid starting it if your not going to use it. The old leave it ticking over for 20 minutes thing will certainly generate the condensation which in turn makes the gunge

[neilbardsley]

You probably want to check your oil filler too. Probably worst. Take off and clean. You can probably put your finger into the engine and clean our more of the gunk.

What do the more knowledge than me think about putting in an oil with more cleaning properties for 500 miles then changing the oil again to get right of some of this gunk? There seems to be mixed feelings on the 912 forums with some of the experts saying that you would start moving dirt around and perhaps disturb the seals?

PS Jack Staggs a 356/912 guru from the states takes the slump plate off every time he changes the oil so you are at least checking the right things.