Or is it just another snake oil that clogs up the oil filter? Here's my situation; I have a '93 Tercel with about 110K miles. When I bought it, it had about 89K miles and it's let out a puff of smoke in the morning when I first start it since I bought it. It doesn't seem to smoke any other time. I have to add a quart about every 1K miles. I tried using Valvoine Max Life, but it did absolutely nothing to stop this problem. I've had several people recommend using Restore, but does it actually work? So many people in the forums have said that none of the oil addititves work. What's the real poop?
Does Restore actually work?
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Spend the money on a bottle of Auto-Rx instead. You will be surprised by the results IMO.
Personally, we have heard of good results on engines just short of failure, where the oil filler cap would fly off, from blowby . Restore stopped the oil cap from flying off. I'm not aware of any other benefit on that engine.
I think that you need new valve stem seals instead of throwing snake oil in your engine.
Bag the Restore.
Do a duel treatment of AutoRx and change to a good 15w40 with a dose of LubeControl. I have seen this work in the case of (now obvious) goobered up valve stem guide seals.
Do a duel treatment of AutoRx and change to a good 15w40 with a dose of LubeControl. I have seen this work in the case of (now obvious) goobered up valve stem guide seals.
Does that mean it'll work for what I need it for?
You'll have no problems running a 15w40 HDEO, particularly if it's summer. Sure, the 40wt may decrease your fuel mileage a bit, and may make your engine feel a tiny bit slugish at operating temp, but the thicker oil and high detergency of the 15w40 help you burn less oil.
I don't think a 40wt is particularly thick at all for a toyota tercel engine, it may actually quiet things down a bit in the valvetrain.
I don't think a 40wt is particularly thick at all for a toyota tercel engine, it may actually quiet things down a bit in the valvetrain.
As Chris pointed out, the valve seals are gonna be the culprit if you're experiencing smoke on startup. Simply put, they no longer function properly, letting oil seep past and deposit on the piston. On startup, the oil is instantly burnt off, producing the smoke you've seen.
The cause can usually be attributed to two things though.
1. The seals have became quite literally "encassed" in a layer of varnish, causing them to dry-up and no longer perform their one job in life.
2. The seals are actually "mechanically" bad, and no oil or additive in the world is gonna help you.
In my personal experience, I've never had the need to use ARX...here's what I do:
I realize a 10w30 might be a better bet, but you should immediately switch over to a high-detergent mineral oil (only thing widely available is a 15w40). Run this up until the fall. If you don't notice the smoking situation getting any better (detergents will clean up the seals), you can pretty much count on the fact that the seals are actually bad, and that you'll need a replacement to rememedy the problem.
The cause can usually be attributed to two things though.
1. The seals have became quite literally "encassed" in a layer of varnish, causing them to dry-up and no longer perform their one job in life.
2. The seals are actually "mechanically" bad, and no oil or additive in the world is gonna help you.
In my personal experience, I've never had the need to use ARX...here's what I do:
I realize a 10w30 might be a better bet, but you should immediately switch over to a high-detergent mineral oil (only thing widely available is a 15w40). Run this up until the fall. If you don't notice the smoking situation getting any better (detergents will clean up the seals), you can pretty much count on the fact that the seals are actually bad, and that you'll need a replacement to rememedy the problem.
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