auto-rx... and clean filter

[souroull]

just changed the oil after running a-rx for about 1700 miles (delo 15w40)... and the filter is spotless... i mean cleaner than clean... its basically brand new..
now i suppose thats a good thing... right?
its a 97 bmw m3 and it got 95k on it

 

[LarryL]

I came across this on one of my cars and I guess the ARX turns the carbon and other junk into a liquid. If you have a pretty clean engine there may not be a lot of large particles present. Maybe Frank will join in....

 

[souroull]

not only there are no small or tiny particles... theres absolutely nothing.. i mean.. COMPLETELY nothing. the filter is brand spankin new.
yes i tore it apart, every single fin is clean

 

[LarryL]

To really figure it out you need a particle test because the stuff is being reduced to sizes that the eye cannot see without some help. Where's Frank?

 

[souroull]

quote:

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Originally posted by LarryL:
To really figure it out you need a particle test because the stuff is being reduced to sizes that the eye cannot see without some help. Where's Frank?

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i was wondering also...

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

I'm into the second rinse phase on a high-mileage (168k) Saturn. I did not cut the first filter open, but the filter from rinse 1 was filled with gritty black crud. The filter from the second run with ARx had a little grit in the pleat folds, but not nearly as much as the first rinse.

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

To make a point with my post above, I'd say either your engine is very clean already or maybe you'll see more debris in the filter after the rinse phase. A lot of posts suggest that more happens during the rinse than the OCI that actually contains ARx. I noticed the rinse oil getting dark a lot quicker than the clean phases.

 

[souroull]

well the oil that i got out of the car was black... and it has always been black .. well i think. i was using m1 10w30 prior to the delo400

 

[souroull]

paging frank

 

[uconn1150]

Have you used synthetic previously?

 

[souroull]

yeah but not with a-rx

 

[souroull]

does it matter?

 

[Frank]

Check your filter after rinse mode. Cleaning mode does not aleays drive contaminants into filter instead they lay on the oil lubricated rotating parts of your engine until rinsed off. This is always the case if you clean with synthetic -high mileage-semi synthetic oil (these oils polarize themself to metal)nothing else happens to rinse is done. Use non synthetic oil for rinse mode.

 

[Rich21]

When you state that the delo was black, was this the rinse mode? If so this makes sense. But if the oil was black, then the filter had to be somewhat dirty from the rinse.

 

[souroull]

quote:

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Originally posted by Rich21:
When you state that the delo was black, was this the rinse mode? If so this makes sense. But if the oil was black, then the filter had to be somewhat dirty from the rinse.

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this was going into the rinse phase, not after. and yes my oil (delo400) was black, and the filter was spotless. my oil has always been black after oil changes, be it synthetic or not. now why my filter was clean if my engine is "dirty" (black oil) is beyond me.
lets see how the rinse phase goes...

 

[Rich21]

Are you telling me that the filter element is not even stained? Is it possible that the oil is not even flowing through the filter? This makes no sense at all. Is it the correct filter for your motor. What type of filter is it?

 

[souroull]

its an OEM bmw filter, and then i pulled if out it was soaked in oil... the oil is flowing just fine

 

[Rich21]

Perhaps the blackishness is so fine that it freely flows right through the filter element. It would be comforting to me that no particles larger than the tighteness of the filter media are present.

 

[souroull]

quote:

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Originally posted by Rich21:
Perhaps the blackishness is so fine that it freely flows right through the filter element. It would be comforting to me that no particles larger than the tighteness of the filter media are present.

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i didnt know whether to be happy that my engine is clean, or to be ****** that a-rx did nothing.
still dont know... car feels the same as before (nothing was wrong with it)
a part of me wished that the oil filter would be full of black crap... so that i end up with a better runnning engine.