Just picked up a couple bottles of Auto-rx for my 2003 BMW 530i with 87k on the clock. I suspect the previous owner followed the 15k OCI that BMW specifies so I want to clean things out. I also have a little lifter tick when cold so maybe it can help with that too. My question is about what oil I should use for the clean and rinse cycles. BMW says to use synthetic, but Auto-rx says dino is best. I was planning on using a mix (60/40) of Castrol GTX 5w30 and 10w40 to try and match BMWs viscosity as best I can. Would running on dino for these short cycles harm the engine? Would something like Rotella Synth 5w40 be better? Walmart here sells that for $17 for 4 qts. Also, would there be any harm in running the Rotella Synth as my main oil after the Auto-rx? It's actually cheaper than most other synthetics and it seems to meet all the requirements. Thanks for you help everyone.
First time Auto-rx'r... couple of questions
- Thread starter drevilkep
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Hello and
I can't say for sure which is the best viscosity for your particular engine but in general, you can use a dino oil or a Group III synthetic in both clean and rinse phases for AutoRx. Group III would include such lines as Pennzoil Platinum, Castrol Syntec, SuperTech (Walmart), Valvoline SynPower. Also the Rotella Synthetic 5W-40 would be ok as well. There may be others out there but that is what comes to mind right now
Hunt around on the site. Lots of good info here as to what oils work/don't work with Auto-RX.
I can't say for sure which is the best viscosity for your particular engine but in general, you can use a dino oil or a Group III synthetic in both clean and rinse phases for AutoRx. Group III would include such lines as Pennzoil Platinum, Castrol Syntec, SuperTech (Walmart), Valvoline SynPower. Also the Rotella Synthetic 5W-40 would be ok as well. There may be others out there but that is what comes to mind right now
Hunt around on the site. Lots of good info here as to what oils work/don't work with Auto-RX.
Please go to www.auto-rx.com and read FAQ your doing a cleaning (not a seal leak or sludge removal) you can use synthetic oil during clean phase.
It is just rinse phase you need to use non synthetic.
Super Tech Walmart is just fine for rinse.
While your on web site read data on Auto-Rx Maintenace Plan. above all dowload the application for cleaning engines
It is just rinse phase you need to use non synthetic.
Super Tech Walmart is just fine for rinse.
While your on web site read data on Auto-Rx Maintenace Plan. above all dowload the application for cleaning engines
Yup, I read all that. I want to get the maximum benefit from auto-rx so I figured I would use dino in both phases. Just wanted to make sure it would OK to use in a "Synthetic Only" engine. I'm not sure if there is sludging, but why not do it the "right way" just in case.
I'm in the 2nd and final rinse cycle using Auto-RX in my BMW. I have been using Shell Rotella 10w-30 (CJ-4) during the treatment. I feel it has worked great and it's HTHS spec of 3.66 cSt exceeds the 3.5 cSt minimum HTHS that an oil should have to use in a BMW.
Hammer
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devilkep= kinda figure that BMW couldn't give the recommendation for the prescribed OCI without it being a synth. Add to that all the other hoops that the BMW spec'd oil has to jump through. A cheap HDEO can surely manage a 3000 miles cleaning and rinse phase.
Use dino. Run it hot and hard, RX likes to be worked
That's what I figure. Unless anyone can give me a good reason, I'm going with the Castrol GTX 5w30/10w40 mix + Auto-rx for 1500 mile clean and 1500 mile rinse. By the, I will be at an "official" BMW OCI and I will let them put synth back in. Also, should I have any problem using Rotella Synth 5w40 as my main oil after the clean/rinse?
Rotella 5W-40 syn will work fine. Have used it for 10k mile oil changes in many BMW's with no problems.
And, I meant to second the motion to use the ARX maintenance dose with the Rotella syn. I've been using 4 oz in a 7 qt sump. This seems to be a great combo in that engine, although I have not done any used oil analysis reports to back that up yet. I will say that fuel economy is better using the Valvoline Maxlife synthetic 5w30 (meets BMW requirements), but probably would not run that one out past 7500 miles without testing first. Also, harder to find the ML syn.
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