I think you called it. Low maintenance, cheap oil and short trips. The engine gunk doesn't look bad, about what you'd expect.

__________________
“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

Thanks Mike - really? That amount of gunk normal for about 100,000 miles?

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Normal on a properly maintained car? No. On a car using cheap oil, short trips, etc, yup, pretty common.

There used to be an oil (and it"s probably still around) by the trade name of "Pennz-oil". When it was used in a car which only went on short trips, it would build up a waxy residue. I have personally seen it so thick inside the valve covers it actually restricted the return flow of oil into the sump. Once a week drive on the highway kept it flowing but short trips, forget it.

I don't see much wear on the bores. How were the measurements? Out of taper?

__________________
“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now