The autumn season is a great time to run an Auto-Rx application, in preparation for the cold winter season. In the colder weather, it takes longer to get the motor up to normal operating temperatures. This means the fuel air mix spends more time in a rich mixture. This can lead to raw fuel dilution into the motors lubricating oil. By running an ARX cleaning rinse cycle now, cleansing the ring packs, providing for better ring to wall sealing, will help reduce blow by of raw fuel into the oiling system. This is particularly important for folks that do alot of short trips.
For the folks in the northern extremities of the northern hemishpere, this is particularly a concern. Some folks will run lighter weight oils to reduce parasitic drag on cold starts. But6 excessive fuel dilution will compromise the lubricating efficiency of the lighter weight oils when the motor does reach full operating temperatures. Fuel dilution, in the oil, can be a big contributor to sludge formation as well. Thirdly, cleaned up, key components such as cam lobes, ring packs, and cam bearings will minimize real cold start up wear, when oil takes longer to get pumped up to the top end.
This is all especially true for normally aspirated motors(carb), but still hold true for fuel injected motors. Its kind of ironic that in cold weather clean metal working parts are desireable to allow frictional heat to warm the oil as quickly as possible, while in the heat of the summer, clean metal parts are desireable to transfer heat into the cooling oil to reduce wear. Bottom line is that clean working internals are beneficial in both cases.
Lastly, Auto-Rx works best in runs at full operating temperatures. It's kind of like washing your greasy hands with warm water, vs. cold water. Auto-Rx also works best with good host oil flow. In my estimation, now is the right time for an ARX cleaning, if you haven't recently.
By Rick20
For the folks in the northern extremities of the northern hemishpere, this is particularly a concern. Some folks will run lighter weight oils to reduce parasitic drag on cold starts. But6 excessive fuel dilution will compromise the lubricating efficiency of the lighter weight oils when the motor does reach full operating temperatures. Fuel dilution, in the oil, can be a big contributor to sludge formation as well. Thirdly, cleaned up, key components such as cam lobes, ring packs, and cam bearings will minimize real cold start up wear, when oil takes longer to get pumped up to the top end.
This is all especially true for normally aspirated motors(carb), but still hold true for fuel injected motors. Its kind of ironic that in cold weather clean metal working parts are desireable to allow frictional heat to warm the oil as quickly as possible, while in the heat of the summer, clean metal parts are desireable to transfer heat into the cooling oil to reduce wear. Bottom line is that clean working internals are beneficial in both cases.
Lastly, Auto-Rx works best in runs at full operating temperatures. It's kind of like washing your greasy hands with warm water, vs. cold water. Auto-Rx also works best with good host oil flow. In my estimation, now is the right time for an ARX cleaning, if you haven't recently.
By Rick20
