I run Quaker State full syn, which is pretty cheap at Walmart. I follow a blog where a guy does independent wear tests on all sorts of oil and it is one of the best and cheapest. I will check out the valvoline. Thx

 

Start with this:
If that doesn't peak your interest, check this out next:
The Valvoline Restore & Protect costs a few bucks more than the Quaker State synthetic and is not on sale nearly as much. Valvoline is known to have rebates which is when I stocked up on my stash. Subject to change, I think it's well worth a few extra bucks especially with older engines like ours. I used to be an avid Pennzoil Platinum guy but now I've made the switch to Valvoline. Never thought I'd see that day.

 

I've always liked Valvoline products. That said, an oil's first and foremost purpose is to prevent wear and carry away heat. They all claim to keep the engine clean but once the sludge is built up like in your pics, an oil simply won't remove it. Even dedicated motor flushes won't remove that. This is why I run one every 3 oil changes or so, so things don't build up. Even so, my engine shows the signs of the bad care it received from the previous owner/s. There isn't much sludge built up anywhere but everything is still black and dirty looking. I see pics of guys with engines that look shiny and new on the inside and those have received consistent care over their lifetime for the most part. Despite how it looks, the thing runs better than some motors I've felt with half the mileage

When I got my truck, the owner had gone roughly 20K without an oil change and it wasn't the first time. He shows up for me to test drive and when I checked the oil it was barely registering on the stick. Most people would have walked away, but I looked at the fact that he went that many miles never checking the oil, and it still had oil in it. To me that was incredible that he wasn't able to kill the motor, so I thought it must have something going for it. Anyway, i initially refused to test drive it till he put oil in it, so he runs into Walmart and came back with 3 expensive quarts of Mobil 1 to throw on top of the dirty oil. Test drove it and was surprised how tight the engine felt. It's still tight to this day. I didn't buy it on the spot though. I let him stew for a bit, then used what I saw as a bargaining chip. That was 2013 and I got it for a steal.

I never forget the first oil change I performed though. Even with the quarts of full syn we'd added, the oil rolled out slow like black honey. So yeah, everything is ugly and discolored in there, but no built up sludge. PS: It was valvoline maxlife that he'd gone 20K on. Still have the receipt he gave me.

 

Background info:

1st - 2/3/24 - 169,135-miles - Oil and filter change - Pennzoil Platinum High Mileage 5W-30 / Fram XG8A
2nd - 2/17/24 - A couple hundred miles after the 2/3/24 oil change, I removed the passenger side valve cover and took the BEFORE pictures.
3rd - 2/23/24 - Added one quart of DEX/MERC ATF to engine oil.
4th - 9/21/24 - 170,425-miles - Oil and filter change - Pennzoil Platinum High Mileage 5W-30 / Donaldson P169071. Added one quart of DEX/MERC ATF to engine oil.
5th - 10/26/24 - 170,635 miles - Oil change with a mix of different 0W-20 Motor Oils mostly Mobil 1 0W-20 Advanced Fuel Economy. Added one quart of DEX/MERC ATF to engine oil.
6th - 12/22/24 - 170,824 miles - Oil change with - Valvoline Restore & Protect 0W-20 / Fram XG8A. NO ATF added.
7th - 3/21/26 - 172,642 miles - Took AFTER pictures.

Before and After pictures...

BEFORE ->

AFTER ->

BEFORE ->

AFTER ->

BEFORE ->

AFTER ->

 

I'd say that's pretty decent cleanup for only 3,507 miles of oil changes and flushing. I'm happy with the results so far. The next oil change going in will be Valvoline Restore & Protect 5W-20 and NO ATF... VRP 5W-20 will be the oil of choice moving forward as long as oil pressure remains good.

Here are a couple other pictures taken today, 3/21/26...

 

All that in just 3500 miles? Holy smokes, that stuff works quite well......

 

So today I set out to start the replacement of valve seals, valve springs, valve lash adjusters, and rocker arms. And I'm already starting to think I should have left well enough alone. The experience has been less than satisfactory.

First, my engine does NOT have Conical 0.635" I.D. valve springs, But this is the only choice on Rock Auto. Anyone seen this before? I.D. of original spring is 0.845". I'll post a pic below.

Second, I probably started on the easiest cylinder #2 and already lost a keeper. Luckily, I took someone's advice and ordered a few replacements ahead of time. I used the grease on finger tip trick and it's still nearly impossible to do this in a semi-efficient manor. Which leads to my next issue..

Third, for some reason, when I first started, I had decent cylinder pressure with my engine leak-down tester. Well, first, I had about 57psi when my test gauge was set to 70psi. So that's not too good. But as I worked, I lost pressure even though my compressor was running almost continuous. Towards the end I was down to 30psi which wasn't enough to keep the valve up while I was trying to compress the spring and install the keepers. Again, my first cylinder, and a long job in front of me. Well, now I have to decide if I want to source the right valve springs and re-do #2 cylinder. Who knows at this point. I may say screw it on my efforts to replace the valve springs and keep the old ones.

As promised, pic of valve springs. EngineTech # ERV1432 on left with original retainer on top. Original spring on right...

 

According to ALLDATA here: https://www.alldata.com/sites/defaul...ing_011019.pdf

The first step is: 1. Warm up the engine, so the rings have a chance to seal.

Like a compression test, engine leak-down tests should be performed on a "warm" engine. I'm performing the valve spring changes on a cool engine over the course of many weekends as I have time. That may be one of the reasons why I'm having troubles keeping the cylinder pumped up? Wondering if I should put a little engine oil or WD40 in the cylinder to help with the ring seal? Fingers crossed.

 

What I do, as back the cylinder I am working on off some, then stuff cotton rope into the cylinder. I know that's pretty easy on a chevy small block, probably tougher on the 4.7..... but, get enough of it in there, run the piston back up, and the valves are NOT going to move.

 

Well, that's a very likely plan B if I can't get good cylinder pressure.