3 ARX cycles, didn't do much, bummer..

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I am sorry if I come across as being sarcastic however some of the posts create just another discourse on Auto-Rx. My experience is that when I read how unhappy somebody is investigation usually proves they did not follow application.

How about you changing your oil to say Walmart SuperTech and drive for a few thousand miles then post ? surely with photos. Perhaps your title will reflect a different view.
 
/www.auto-rx.com/rms13/> Check this link your engine does not compare sludgewise, he followed the application directions to a "T" in fact his Auto-Rx was bought by someone for him, we never had direct contact.
 
MDOCOD, thanks for sharing you saga with us. Learning is good for the soul.

Looks like you've got a long-term project going --- kind of like training a stray dog with some bad habits you let into your house but love to much to throw back out...

The best I could offer is maintenance ARX, run it hot and hard, change to a thinner oil, and do 2k mile OCIs. That's what I'd do. Of course, I'd try to get as much out of there with a brush/solvent/suckerthingy as I could sinced that's just the way I am.

Good Luck!
 
I'm sorry that I didn't remember this earlier because this adds a little hope to the situation, but there was a post here last year where a guy with a pickup truck did a couple of ARX treatments and when he pulled the valve covers to inspect, he saw practically no difference. Similar to your experience so far.

I think roughly a year later he pulled the valve covers to replace the cover gaskets because they were leaking and he discovered that the engine had cleaned up enormously during the year since the 2 ARX treatments. I recall that he was pretty excited about how dramatic the difference was. That suggests that in some cases ARX may condition the sludge and deposits so that they can be removed, but actual removal takes many more hundreds of hours of operation. This could be what you're in for, but only time will tell.

I know in my own case, I continue to see very gradual cleaning of a little test spot on a cam bearing (it's all I can see through the filler cap), even though my last full ARX was finished last September.
 
lmao @ "well just buy more ARX and this time use Walmart Supertech instead" I thought Castrol was one of the "approved oils"?

To the OP, if it were my car I would buy 2 cans of Berrymans B12 Chemtool and let it go to work. I would only do it, however, if the motor was running very poorly and I had nothing to lose. Since you say it is running well.....perhaps you should just get a good true syn and let it do its thing. (I still say try the Berrymans just so we can see what it does).
 
Alowishus, I was a berryman flush man myself but arx actually removed more of my crud than Berryman chemtool. Odd, I know, but it did.


rsylvstr, short synthetic intervals are merely a waste of money. There is nothing that potent in a synthetic that's going to strip that crud quicker than arx.
 
the issue of how the sludge was "before" ARX has been brought up since my last response... The sludge up top has never been hard. Since the first time I had a good look under it after buying it, the sludge has been very soft. I could seriously clean most of it off with a paper towel if I wanted to, this is why it is so amazing to me that it is still there, any cleaning product, (even something simple, like the HDEO and MMO mix) should have rinsed some away IMO. I chose ARX because I wanted gentle, but effective, I'm not sure why it isn't attacking this sludge, nor any other cleaners...

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mdocod,

Question did you recently purchase this vehicle? If not why has it been neglected on oil changes? -dbdeland

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pretty sure I mentioned this before in this thread, but I'll repeat this. I BOUGHT this vehicle IN this condition. with about 54,000 miles on the engine at the time of purchase. I was semi-aware of what I was getting into when I bought it. (knew it was an abused car, but got a good price on it IMO)

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How about you changing your oil to say Walmart SuperTech and drive for a few thousand miles then post ? surely with photos. Perhaps your title will reflect a different view. -Frank

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Let me ask this. Is supertech your most highly recommended oil for ARX treatments at this time. If so, why? (not just the simple "because it's a plain simple dino" that everyone throws around.) For a long while there: the exact oil that I used for the original treatment was RECOMMENDED by you and repeated in threads all over the place, Castrol GTX. I remember in the last thread (the one that was deleted, hey by the way admins, thanks, nice to be able to go back and check all the stuff we already discussed on this topic, oh WAIT , hehe, just kidding, WE CAN'T, lol)...We discussed the possibility that MAYBE the "new" anti-sludge formulations of GTX that were coming out at the time, (5w30) may have changed in some way to compete with ARX. I never received a clear answer on this possibility from anyone either. I'd be curious to know if successful ARX treatments have been done using the latest 5w30 flavor of GTX since that time. The 3rd cycle was done on havoline 5w30 conventional clean and 10w30 rinse, so I think I can say with great confidence that my choice in dino probably had very little to do with the results (or lack there of).

besides, I used ARX in my rodeo with decent, noticeable results. Obviously I am capable of following the directions, else wouldn't the rodeo treatment have failed under my supervision?

The more important thing, is trying to determine what's going on here... maybe there is more to it.. I have lots of ideas... what If the dealer I bought it from, used some kinda "engine flush" on it before I bought it, maybe the engine was even worse before I bought it. maybe the cleaning formula they used penetrated the sludge, causing it not to "react" with the fatty acids in ARX the way ordinary sludge does... I'm just thinking out load, anything to get ideas stirring... Surely, there must be some reason.

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pulled the valve covers to inspect, he saw practically no difference. Similar to your experience so far.
I think roughly a year later he pulled the valve covers to replace the cover gaskets because they were leaking and he discovered that the engine had cleaned up enormously during the year since the 2 ARX treatments.-va3ux

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this is perhaps the neatest thing I have read yet- this might make since actually.. maybe for some engines, the "rinse" phase gets stretched way out for various reasons. Needing MANY oil changes and many thousands of miles to finish. Seems logical, possible, something to consider.



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Another possibility... when I first bought the car, I put Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5w30 in it and ran it for about 4000-5000 (as I recall). this was kinda in the time frame that I was investigating more of what to do about how to clean it up. I figured the syn would do it some good while I figured out what to do... anyways. Maybe the EP penetrated the sludge in some weird way, making it not respond to ARX.

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I think what I might do, on my next oil change for this vehicle, is pull the valve cover, and at least clean the underside of the cover real good. So whatever goes into the engine won't be "fighting" as much gooo.. I don't want to disturb the sludge that's on the cam towers too much. It's not doing any harm. To me it's worth leaving there. (so I can play around with all the possible suggestions and help from bitog. lol)... maybe having the sludge on the underside of the valve cover removed will change the pattern of splash enough to get some flow over that sludge, or at east hit it from a different angle or something.
 
was just reading around in some other threads and came accros this:

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/s...e=15#Post802695

Frank:
So I guess since my last cycle and update, you have taken the position to avoid the "sludge fighting version" of GTX.. was my last update part of your reasoning? hehe..

I might go ahead and give another cycle a shot on ST. if the GTX with "sludge fighting" was "bad." then maybe my engine has only "felt" like it had ~1 treatment. hehe.

If I do this, I wanna make sure before I get started, is there any reason I should pick a particular weight oil? I like 5w30 in this engine(and for some reason, have accumulated a LOT of 5w30 ST on the shelf in the garage over the last few months, I think father in law using it in his oil leaking/burning prelude, lol).... but spring/summer is around the corner(we are having a nice freezing rain weekend now, but I'd imagine that will be about the last of the cold whether for this year), 10W30 is fine by me at this point. Whatever you think is the best ST weight to run for ARX. I'll run it both clean and rinse cycles.
 
At this point, don't spend anymore money on Auto-RX, it would have already worked by now (or so that's how Frank makes it sound). Just continue with 3,000 mile oil changes and after 10,000 miles see if anything has changed.

If nothing has changed, get some cheap 20w-50, and some kerosene/biodiesel, and blend it 50/50 (use 20w-50 because it will thin from the kerosene/biodiesel). Let the engine idle for 10 minutes, drain it out, refill with cheap oil, take it for a spin around the neighborhood, and then change the oil again to whatever you choose. I've known plenty of people who have done methods similar to this and never had any issues.
 
Quote:

Quote:

Give this a go:

http://cablespeed.com/~pablomail/newoilflush.htm

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Please acknowledge.

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interesting...BTW, receieved my Amsoil order very quickly....couldn't help but open the bottles and smell them....I think I'm in love! now if only it'd stop snowing here!
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I just can't help but think that if he had posted those pics and said "I've done three flushes with ABC or XYZ engine cleaner/flush...what do you think?", that not too many people would say "Good results!" or "Buy some more and keep using it!"

Jeff
 
mdocod. follow the viscosity recomended by the manufacture. Use Walmart SuperTech(non synthetic) change out that oil your now running and drive a few thousand miles.

The problem is not that Auto-Rx did not clean your engine.
The oil you used to be your rinse oil is your problem. It won't let the 'crud" flow to the filter. You know all this
so I have no idea why you pursue the long posts and photos .

Do it right and post your results.
 
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