Auto-RX in 94 Celica

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Hezz

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Hey everyone, long time lurker finally posting. Just bought a 1994 Celica for an occasional commuter/play car. It has 146k on it and has had dubious maintenance. I put a timing belt, water pump, front brakes, and most of the rear suspension in it in the month I have owned it.

The car ran a little rough when I got it, after tightening a loose sparkplug and changing the (original) PCV valve it has smoothed out and is running strong, returning 30MPG on the last two full tanks.

I ran a bottle of Techron through it in the last tank, changed the transaxle oil tonight with Valvoline synthetic GL5, and changed the oil (Supertech 10w30 and purolator). Have a couple bottles of Auto-RX on the way, going to run at least one clean and rinse cycle and see if I can see/feel/measure any difference. I am a skeptic by nature, but the number of good reports on Auto-RX has piqued my curiosity enough to try it.

Once I have the cleaning going I'll keep y'all posted. The oil I drained was dark brown and thin, but not gas fouled that I could detect with the sniff test. I'd guess it'd been in there a while.
 
If you can, run a compression test before you start the rx cycles. Then do another one when done. It would be interesting to see what happens...
 
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146K - That thing is just getting done with break in. It's got another 200K if you treat it good. You've come to the right place for that.

Good luck with the ARx - I go with the MMO and flushes, but it's all good.
 
I have read extensively about it, I have seen the negative reports as well as the positive. I am not inexperienced with MMO, or with car maintenance and repair in general. Am I gullible to buy it? Maybe. Is there such a thing as a placebo effect? Undoubtedly. Do I think there may be something to AutoRX cleaning the rings up a little? I hope there is, and if it makes a difference, or doesn't, I'll let you know. I don't think trying it makes me brilliant or stupid, it just makes me willing to spend 40$ on an experiment. I have never used any additives on my Maxima that we have put 175K on, just Mobil 1 every 5-6K. It uses half a quart between changes, and I have no complaints about it.

The Celica is my toy, I enjoy the car and I thought it would be fun to see what happens, if anything. I have enjoyed reading your posts in here, and Gary Allan's, and Moribund, and sprintman, etc... don't hit me with so much snark all at once though. I might think you don't like me.
wink.gif


I do have new plugs and wires coming in a few days, I'll see if my old compression tester will reach down those freakishly long tubes to get some numbers.
 
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Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I would add 8oz MMO in the crankcase now and run it for 2-3k miles, then drain it and use ARX in the next oil change.


I may eventually play with some MMO, I want to use just the arx first to see if anything happens or if it's the same as putting diet Coke and Mentos in there. If I run the MMO now and something does happen I won't know what caused it.
 
Why is Celica your toy but Maxima is not? Isn't Maxima at least as capable as the Celica (unless it is Supra) if not better?

- Vikas
 
Hezz,

Good luck with the newly purchased Celica. Should be fun little car to motor around in. At 30 mpg pretty economical as well.

I believe that you are on the right track. Don't be discouraged by the sharks.
 
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Why is Celica your toy but Maxima is not? Isn't Maxima at least as capable as the Celica (unless it is Supra) if not better?

- Vikas


The Maxima is quicker accelerating, but handles, shifts, and steers like a pickup in comparison. Also, it has become my wife's car over the years. The Celica fits me better at 6' 5" tall, and is just a joy to drive, even if it isn't a 1/4 mile monster. The Maxima is also driven regularly all year, the Celica will see only recreational driving in the summer, and a short commute in the winter.
 
Originally Posted By: sprintman
As long as you use ester/PAO free oil, run it hot and hard for as long as possible you will get a great result. We have been for 5 years or more.


I put in the SuperTech conventional for just such a reason, and I have an extra jug for the rinse. If I have low oil consumption when I am done I'll probably switch to Mobil 1 or a similar synthetic and change the oil once a year whether it needs it or not. :D

(I'm expecting to see 3-4k a year on the car)
 
Originally Posted By: Hezz


I have read extensively about it, I have seen the negative reports as well as the positive. I am not inexperienced with MMO, or with car maintenance and repair in general. Am I gullible to buy it? Maybe. Is there such a thing as a placebo effect? Undoubtedly. Do I think there may be something to AutoRX cleaning the rings up a little? I hope there is, and if it makes a difference, or doesn't, I'll let you know. I don't think trying it makes me brilliant or stupid, it just makes me willing to spend 40$ on an experiment. I have never used any additives on my Maxima that we have put 175K on, just Mobil 1 every 5-6K. It uses half a quart between changes, and I have no complaints about it.
....


Be confident with Auto-RX. Every test done with Auto-RX that included actual measurements produced verifiable results with improvements. The product works, hence the money back guarantee. Anyone who said it didn't work for them didn't provide any useful measurements to backup their claims.
 
Originally Posted By: ZZman
What will you use to verify results?

Visual?
Compression?
Feel?
Fuel economy?
Oil usage?


I am hoping to get good compression readings, I always track mileage with every tank, and I will be measuring oil consumption. If the oil turns black or slimy, or smells like peanut butter, I'll let you know. I do have the filter I just took off still, may cut it open just to have a baseline. It will be of limited real value because I don't know how many miles it's been since the previous oil change. Only have 1k or so on the car since purchase.


I am not in a time and place where I can be as thorough and scientific as many would like, but if the results are so minor that I can't detect them then I would argue that they aren't significant results.
 
Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Originally Posted By: ZZman
What will you use to verify results?

Visual?
Compression?
Feel?
Fuel economy?
Oil usage?


Here's my home grown snake oil presentation.

Clearly not a case study to be referenced

Very nice work Gary!http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/images/icons/default/thumbs_up.gif I wonder how doubling the dose w/ doubling the mileage would work? I just finished my clean phase of 4500 miles of which 2500 was 4 6hr runs and 2 3hr runs at 80-85 mph good and hot! Wish i had the compression test done. All i have is my butt dyno and my word. What a difference from when i started. Sorry for the High jack!
 
Not too many people can run a car like that, especially in the NY metro area. I wonder how the results would be for a typical soccer Mom?
 
I'm sure it's down to a given dwell time at temp. It would make sense to cover all the bases of varied usage in the 2500/3000 normal recommendation.


That double dose was an experiment in my long list of distractions here (most of them started pre-Amsoil sponsorship). I had such good luck with the product with several engines.. and can never leave well enough alone. Naturally, it piqued Frank's interest ..at least to the point that he gave me a good break on product to do it. Obviously I wasn't in it to get cheap product since he was sending it to people in other states. There's only so much Auto-Rx one household can use at one time. Finding Dan and Dave (fueltankerman and dnewton3) were gems in both their willingness to do the work (valve cover removal and in Dave's case, run compression checks) and lack of belief in anything other than routine maintenance. If Dave didn't have the compression issues due to that random overheat ..well, it really wouldn't have accomplished much.

I looked at these experiments as a personal triumph in discovery. Pulling something out of my behind ..in a BITOG "hold my oil bottle and watch this" manner ..and having it bear fruit. It made a few of my days being an initiator and cooperative partner in these things.

The common and relentless drama that keeps clouding discussion of this product puts me in an odd pickle. I can't discount the value of the product. I've seen it in my own usage and with others. It's about as far from snake oil as one can get, imo. I don't really want to go out of my way to overcome the baseline "anti" antics either. That means you're not discussing the product anymore. You're arguing.
 
Originally Posted By: ADFD1
Not too many people can run a car like that, especially in the NY metro area. I wonder how the results would be for a typical soccer Mom?


I would believe it would take longer to clean an engine under those conditions. A-RX takes time to work.
joe
 
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