Time to drop the pan?

[Oliverguy-NE Ohio]

my Oliver 77 that was sitting for 20 years has some sludge in the bottom of the pan as to be expected. there's probably about a half inch in the bottom if I had to guess. should I drop the pan and clean it out real good?

 

[rrlund]

Probably. Just draining and flushing likely won't get the crap out. The oil pump pick up might have a lot of gunk in it too.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

Buy a camera to look inside the oil drain plug to see what's going on. They are cheap and easier than dropping the oil pan​

Amazon

9.8FT High Performance Industrial Endoscope 1600x1200 Resolution, IP67 Waterproof, Works with Smartphones, Ideal for Mechanical and Appliance Maintenance(30w Pixel​

$9.50

my Oliver 77 that was sitting for 20 years has some sludge in the bottom of the pan as to be expected. there's probably about a half inch in the bottom if I had to guess. should I drop the pan and clean it out real good?

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[Oliverguy-NE Ohio]

I have a borescope I use for looking into the spark plug holes. I can just use that I think.

 

[timcasbolt]

If you already know there's 1/2 inch of sludge in the pan you've answered your own question.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

I have a borescope I use for looking into the spark plug holes. I can just use that I think.

I would suspect if you have sludge, you would find some under the valve cover and on the rocker arms.
Please post back what your endoscope shows inside your engine, valve covers and pan.
Some people think ATF has a lot of detergents in it. I would try adding adding some ATF, and run the engine before draining old oil

 

[Oliverguy-NE Ohio]

okay here's the update. the cylinders and cylinder walls all look great. I know the valve train is pretty clean cuz a couple months ago I took off the valve cover and The rocker set and clean them up real nice cuz they had some old sludge on them. I put some ATF in the oil and ran it for about 5 minutes and next week I'm going to drop the pan and clean it. all you have to do is take off the bottom flywheel cover and then all the bolts for the pan so it's easy enough to drop so might as well.