Did an oil change today after running. Oil was quite dark, but it was not sludge. A few rivulets of some sludge in the sump, but what worries me, is even after this, the 4th change, I've still got some fine fuzz on the 4 magnets from the sump. About half a teaspoon full. All the gears (crank, idler, cam) look OK, and no odd wear patterns or rough edges on them. And then I found, caught on the side of the connecting rod, a 1" long piece of thin twisted string about the size of heavy carpet thread, could it be some sort of bearing packing, or are those all felt rings? Anyway, it's back together making power again. Using Delo 15-40.
We're getting ready for a big storm hitting Wed evening, about 3" that night, followed by another 2" in the following 2 days, 4-6" storm total expected. Yucch.. too much in such a short time, everything is currently saturated, and with more, there will be slides.