[budbaer]

I would definitely pull the pan and wipe all the sludge out of it. I've never had the oil pan off my SVX, so I don't know how difficult a task you are looking at, but it's the only way to get all of the sludge out of the pan. I also agree with Earl about sludge being caused by not changing the oil in a timely manner. An oil cleaner would also help to clean areas you can't get to.