How far can I take this ARX cleaning cycle?

[Inliner]

I've hit 1500 miles on my cleaning cycle, but the oil still looks fairly clean. I have an Amsoil bypass filter installed and the oil is Castrol Startup (with about 3,000 miles on it now). I didn't realize until after I filled it with Startup, but this may be a semi-synthetic oil which could slow the cleaning process. Trying to get my money's worth, should I drain it or take it out another 500 miles?

BTW - my lifter noise vanished totally about 750 miles into the treatment. This is an '89 Audi 100Q with 165K miles.

 

[ConfederateTyrant]

I have a feeling the by-pass filter removed a lot of the contamination, which would keep the oil looking clean. I believe Frank has said that it is safe to take it past 1500 miles, but it's recommended to change it then because it will have a lot of contamination floating in the oil. I see no harm in running it till 2,000 miles total and then draining it and replacing by-pass and full flow filters. To my understanding the Castrol Startup has synthetic esters in it, which interfere with the rinse, but not cleaning, cycle, so be sure to use a basic petroleum (Super Tech since it's cheap) oil for the rinse phase.

 

[Inliner]

Right on. I've got some Trop-Artic designated for the rinse. Another 500 miles it is then. I'll check the flow from the bypass at that point. The bypass was installed shortly before the Auto-RX, and should be good for 15 - 20K miles, but depending how much cleaning went on, it could be stopped up already.

 

[m2200b]

I had the same problem as you but as I wouldn't have the car with the the clean stage after 500 miles and until 3000 miles, so I dumped it. Kid took it college and I have given up on the chances of an OCI before I see the car in December. Even with 500 miles I got good results as the oil dumped was snot black and used much less oil on 600 mile trip on highway to school.

You should use a dino not Trop artic blend on the rinse. Save the Trop-artic blend until after the rinse. Read the instructions again. Your set up ought to be able to go the max miles on rinse.

 

[gtx510]

TropArtic synblend is a dino/GrpIII blend, it should work fine with ARX.
Castrol Start-Up is polar so does that mean it has esters in it?
How about the new anti-sludge stuff? I was thinking of using that with ARX.

 

[Inliner]

Actually, it's 10W-40 Trop Artic. I should have specified. Only the 10W-30 is a synth blend AFAIK.

 

[Volvohead]

Leave it in for the full 1500. You'll be fine. You can use just about any oil for the clean phase. Don't push it too far, though, as you don't know how the filter is holding up.

For the rinse phase, you should use a very humble conventional formula devoid of all polarizing agents.

FWIW, sometimes you don't see dramatic effects in the drained oil right away, and it varies from engine to engine. I've seen black as tar first rinse oil, and then in a different engine seen nothing untoward until the second clean.

At 165K, you want to do two, or perhaps even three, complete cycles.

 

[bobo]

Follow the instructions precisely. The clean phase is 1,500 miles and the rinse phase is 2,000 miles. As Volvohead suggested, do two complete cycles.

I wouldn't bother with three.