Okay I have more time,
First of all, I do not work on cars or anything. I research about the parts and their mechanisms etc etc. i am very much still a newbie and am just starting to dabble in changing my own oil.
I have a 2001 Toyota corolla. I bought it at about 92k miles on it. The sticker indicated that it had about 3k left on the OCI when I bought it.
When I first bought it I drove it here and there. A great deal of highway miles were put on it too. In the first 3k I went to NY from CT twice and traveled a 32 miles /day commute m-f for work. Needless to say I put miles on it quick. Before reading about oil and how to read the dipstick etc etc I had no idea that cars were even capable of burning oil.
In short, my car had burned through most of its oil and I drove around with a knock for roughly 4 days. I had no idea and had not even checked the oil anytime in that first 3k miles. It gets very cold up here and at the time I thought that the cold made my car knock.(yes I am silly). Near the end of the 3k miles(2.5k) I noticed that the oil light had came on occasionally or what I thought was randomly. I know now that it was not random but every time I hit the brakes from going relatively fast, the light would come on. Oil pressure low......
I talked to my mechanic(which I had planned on doing a while ago) and after I told him I had been hearing a knock he told me to not drive the car anymore until I get oil in it. I checked the oil and the stick was dry. VERY dry.....Enter the research.
I just bought this car and here I am having problems. I could have complained to the dealer, but my research and my budget said two things:
1) I could easily run into another car for the price range and have oil burn, because it depends on the track record of the upkeep.
2) I could not afford to buy another car and register it etc etc.
I had to fix this or band-aid this thing to buy some time.
Between now and then I had been refilling and using lucas, only to have to cap the car off every week and constantly change the oil
I read up about everything related to my car and oil. I noticed that I had the same car as leakyseals and that this problem was common with the pistons. I troubleshooted everything. The only thing I did not do within my ability was an Italian tune-up or a piston soak(which may have came if I failed with the kreen in the oil).
I found this thread and read the tons of reviews for kreen. I was not that convinced at the start because since that purchase I have been capping the oil off and using lucas(which from experience is not that good for my car anyways). Kreen was one of my last options before I was going to consider an engine replacement.
I have to thank everyone here and especially Trav and Leakyseals for their enthusiasm about Kreen. I got it in the mail about 400 miles ago and I usually at the 400 mile mark see some noticeable usage. This is my first treatment per trav's guidelines and my car has burned not a drop.
I turned my car on, added the amount(3 ounces per quart) while on. I let the car idle for about 25-30min. I noticed the car responded better. I drove it hard down an empty street and I must say that it was the best feeling I have had in the car since I bought it. I set the trip-o-meter and crossed my fingers. Here I am today creating an account just to talk about Kreen and to those who are considering it.......DO IT. You will not regret it. It is in a tier of its own. Kreen should not even be considered amongst the retail oil treatments in stores.
EDIT: I will update when I reach 1k miles and enter the second round of treatment.
