| I first was made
aware of this possible problem from a fellow Quad owner (signed, rerack). He told me about a sludge build up in
the filler cap assembly in his Quad. At first, I didn't
think much of it, and thought it was due to his home
state climate. January 2001 / Maryland. I went to check the puppy's oil level and look what I found after removing the cap.
You can see it on the cap and spout of the oil filler assembly, it's oil sludge. As you peer down the filler cap you'll see that it draining back to the engine.
My take on this is that's it moisture that mixes with oil vapor, condensing on the filler spout and cap. Probably because the filler cap assembly extends away from the warmer/hot engine condensing the oil & water vapor mix on the cooler plastic filler assembly. Well in any case this mix makes sludge, which looks that if enough of it drains into the engine it can be destructive to the engine components. As this owner writes, "The dealership already had the replacement parts(a oil cap with a flat bottom, and baffles that go in the filler tube)and this will resolve the problem per dodge that was due to condensation build up. It took them about a half hour" I'm curious if this addresses the problem, it seems that it's a temperature thing and baffles and flat cap may do little for balancing temperature with the engine, unless the cap with the flat bottom acts as an insulator to reduce the temperature difference. It may end up where this filler assembly may have to modified, either made smaller and compact, so the heat from the engine keeps the assembly hot. Or the assembly would have to be insulated, possibly a split insulation sleeve along with an insulated cap. Recommendations: If you have a substantial amount of sludge building up and it bothers you, take it back to your dealer and have the modification put in. I think it will reduce the amount of sludge but not eliminate it. For now I just keep changing the oil and filter when early spring comes around In closing this addition, I'd like to point out, it's you mail that makes this site what it is. Without this Quad owners mail, I probably wouldn't have put this page up, thinking it was just a fluke I was experiencing, let alone know that Dodge was already aware of this problem. |
