Can you say sludge?!?!
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Update:
Major dissapointment. I opened up the first rinse filter and it was completely clean. Not one spec of sludge. It looked just like the pre-AutoRX filter, except darker colored. I took pics, but don't have my cable here at work. I will post pics when I get home. I am still confident that the 2nd rinse will make a difference.
Major dissapointment. I opened up the first rinse filter and it was completely clean. Not one spec of sludge. It looked just like the pre-AutoRX filter, except darker colored. I took pics, but don't have my cable here at work. I will post pics when I get home. I am still confident that the 2nd rinse will make a difference.
Update:
I just changed the oil from the 2nd clean phase. I actually went over the 1500 miles, I ran it about 2400 miles, as I didn't have time to change it. I have used Cheveron Supreme for all phases so far, but am using Delvac 15w40 HDEO for the final rinse.
As far as the pictures after the first rinse, I have them here:
I see a very small amount of cleaning in the pictures. You can see the cams between cylinder 2and3, and 3and4 are cleaner, and overall, there appears that the sludge buildup is thinner. In one pic, you can see where I rubber the guide for the timing chain, and the sludge just wiped off, so the Auto-RX has loosened it up. The biggest difference I noticed, is the valve cover bottom used to be coated with a thin black layer of sludge, and it is almost all gone.
I just changed the oil from the 2nd clean phase. I actually went over the 1500 miles, I ran it about 2400 miles, as I didn't have time to change it. I have used Cheveron Supreme for all phases so far, but am using Delvac 15w40 HDEO for the final rinse.
As far as the pictures after the first rinse, I have them here:
I see a very small amount of cleaning in the pictures. You can see the cams between cylinder 2and3, and 3and4 are cleaner, and overall, there appears that the sludge buildup is thinner. In one pic, you can see where I rubber the guide for the timing chain, and the sludge just wiped off, so the Auto-RX has loosened it up. The biggest difference I noticed, is the valve cover bottom used to be coated with a thin black layer of sludge, and it is almost all gone.
Here are the pictures from the 2nd clean phase:
I am starting to see some bare metal now. I was hoping for more cleaning at this point, but I am still optomistic.
Here are the filter pics from the 2nd clean:
This is about what I expected, though I have had some strange results. There was a small amount of sludge in the pleats. A little more than from the first clean. There was nothing in the filter from the 1st rinse. So I seem to be getting the opposite effect that most see. Most people see the most sludge in the rinse filters. Though my engine is so heavily sludge, I believe I am going to see a lot in this 2nd rinse. The Delvac HDEO should help.
Expect another update in about a month or so. I may be running a 3rd treatment, but will wait until I see the 2nd rinse results before I decide.
I am starting to see some bare metal now. I was hoping for more cleaning at this point, but I am still optomistic.
Here are the filter pics from the 2nd clean:
This is about what I expected, though I have had some strange results. There was a small amount of sludge in the pleats. A little more than from the first clean. There was nothing in the filter from the 1st rinse. So I seem to be getting the opposite effect that most see. Most people see the most sludge in the rinse filters. Though my engine is so heavily sludge, I believe I am going to see a lot in this 2nd rinse. The Delvac HDEO should help.
Expect another update in about a month or so. I may be running a 3rd treatment, but will wait until I see the 2nd rinse results before I decide.
All I can say is ..as Frank for help ..and remember there is a 100% satisfaction guarntee ask for your money back ..or another free bottle as it seems 2 haven't done the job ..there is a first time for every thing !~
I can definitely see some improvement over the first one, I think another dose would result in great results.
I would not run the cheap dino any more than its recommended life of 3000 miles, in this ARX cleaning mode. I think you will find that in the following rinse mode this motor will show great improvement. May want to consider a third cleaning, or a partial dose with the next change out to keep the momentum moving forward, if the cleaning is not yet complete.
If it were my car, I would do as posted above and run it for 3,000 miles.
Why are you all recommending a 3rd cleaning? It should have done more cleaning by now. I would try something else.
AutoRx doesn't seem to get all of the 'varnish', as others have commented that Lube Control seems to do better on that. Lube Control doesn't seem to unstick rings, as AutoRx seems to do better at that. AutoRx seems to do well on what I'll guess could be called 'soft sludge', but it seems challenged by 'hard sludge'. Maybe a cocktail of LC and AutoRx is needed for 'hard sludge' ?
I'm on my 2nd Rislone treatment, using 1k oil changes with a qt of Rislone, as the 1st treatment got some rings unstuck and dramatically lowered oil consumption in one of my cars. I'll guess that it won't work any better, but at $3 to $4 a qt and being commonly available one could try it out. The danger is that with such thick sludge one could break loose a chunk and clog an oil line, something that AutoRx seems designed to avoid.
Maybe some more testing is needed upfront in order to determine what chemical tool is needed for a specific problem. In any case it appears that we need to consider a suite of chemical tools to deal with 'soft sludge', 'hard sludge', varnish, and stuck rings. Fuel systems will need a different set of chemical tools.
I'm on my 2nd Rislone treatment, using 1k oil changes with a qt of Rislone, as the 1st treatment got some rings unstuck and dramatically lowered oil consumption in one of my cars. I'll guess that it won't work any better, but at $3 to $4 a qt and being commonly available one could try it out. The danger is that with such thick sludge one could break loose a chunk and clog an oil line, something that AutoRx seems designed to avoid.
Maybe some more testing is needed upfront in order to determine what chemical tool is needed for a specific problem. In any case it appears that we need to consider a suite of chemical tools to deal with 'soft sludge', 'hard sludge', varnish, and stuck rings. Fuel systems will need a different set of chemical tools.
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If this were my car, I'd do a 1000 mile "flush" with a 50/50 mix of MMO/HDEO.......but that's just me.
I will probably just run a maintenance dose of Auto-RX or LC with some AMSOIL Series 3000 HDEO and let it continue to slowly clean. These engine seem to be prone to clogging oil passages, and I don't want to do any kind of solvent based cleaning. But, I still am giving Auto-RX a chance, as the 2nd rinse seems to be where most of the cleaning happens.
1sttruck,
Your explanation about hard vs soft sludge makes sense. If I were John I would not do a third cleaning with ARX. After two cleanings, ARX had its chance and has done whatever it can do. I would definately switch products. Maybe LC or Neutra. How about a high initial dose of LC?
This car is different than a lot of cars that get cleaned with ARX. It has been very well maintained with frequent oil changes.
Your explanation about hard vs soft sludge makes sense. If I were John I would not do a third cleaning with ARX. After two cleanings, ARX had its chance and has done whatever it can do. I would definately switch products. Maybe LC or Neutra. How about a high initial dose of LC?
This car is different than a lot of cars that get cleaned with ARX. It has been very well maintained with frequent oil changes.
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