Plan of action - suggestions/comments please :-)

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Hi folks. I stumbled on the site a few weeks ago while looking for some internet intelligence regarding lubricants...looks like I found a great place
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I have a recently "inherited" '93 Plymouth Acclaim. It has a nasty oil leak, which I have determined is coming from multiple places. I have been quoted in the $600 range to fix, and that price is definitely not worth the $1.29 per quart I have been adding about every 2 weeks.

Other than that, the car is great. It has 105,000 miles on it, cold air, great shifts, etc. After gleaning insight from this forum, I have formulated a plan of action that I wanted to throw out there.

First the facts. The manual specifies 10w/30, capacity is 4 1/2 quarts, and it is a year-round Florida car.

My idea was to change the oil to Pennzoil High Mileage 10W-40, do the specified AutoRX treatment (due to the high recommendations on here, as well as the page at http://www.auto-rx.com/pages/sealleak.htm ), and see what happens. It sure beats the cost of fixing the leaks (and if it doesn't work, at least some good has come from it.)

What do you all think? What oil filters are generally recomended for this application? Your insights are greatly appreciated.

Edit: Actually, maybe the Pennz HM wouldn't be good during the ARX stage. I have been reading over some posts in "Additives, Fuel,Oil, Cleaners" that state Semi-Synth/Synth/HM oils are not helpful with ARX when working on seal leaks. Hrmm

Thanks again
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Jim

[ March 11, 2004, 04:36 AM: Message edited by: Jim Gains ]
 
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Yeah, the Pennz HM might not be your best bet. Why not try some Pennz LL 15W-40 with that Auto RX treatment run? The extra detergency can't hurt and the heavier viscosity might help with the seals. Or not!

Where in Florida are you located?
 
I agree with Mike242GT, use a 15W-40 HDMO oil for both the A-Rx application & continued year-round use.

As a note, I'm running A-Rx in my son's sieve ... um, I mean "car" ... with Saab semi-syn 5W-30 oil, & it's still managed to stop 80%-90% of all the engine leaks. I'll run Delvac 1300 Super 15W-40 as the rinse oil (over the summer & fall), but then I have to go to a lower xW- oil for the winter.
 
I had a '93 Acclaim with a 2.5 in the early '90's and used Castrol 5W50 with very good luck. So a heavier oil will work for you if yours is a 2.5. The ARX treatment sure don't seem like it would hurt a thing either.
 
All the above. It the meantime, clean the engine up, quarter car wash, pressure washer, some spray cans and the hose, lots of rags and elbow grease, whatever. Then look for the highest place oil is oozing out. Fix it. Wipe up the oil. Fix the next one. Etc. Some of this will be fairly cheap hoses and gaskets. You can't if something is leaking if oil is running down from above.
 
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Auto-RX may fix rotating seals like the rear main but will not fix ones like the oil pan and valve cover gaskets. Otherwise sounds like a good plan.
 
I just read a post on Light Duty Diesel oils that a member had stopped his leaks using Pennz. LL 15W-40. Try that. That oil is not expensive.
 
Thanks for the responses everyone...it is very much appreciated. Great community here!

quote:

Originally posted by Mike242GT:
welcome.gif
Yeah, the Pennz HM might not be your best bet. Why not try some Pennz LL 15W-40 with that Auto RX treatment run? The extra detergency can't hurt and the heavier viscosity might help with the seals. Or not!

Where in Florida are you located?


Hi Mike..thanks for the Welcome
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! I will definitely check out the Long-Life 15W-40...thanks. I live in Seminole..near Tampa.

quote:

Originally posted by Eiron:
I agree with Mike242GT, use a 15W-40 HDMO oil for both the A-Rx application & continued year-round use.

As a note, I'm running A-Rx in my son's sieve ... um, I mean "car" ... with Saab semi-syn 5W-30 oil, & it's still managed to stop 80%-90% of all the engine leaks. I'll run Delvac 1300 Super 15W-40 as the rinse oil (over the summer & fall), but then I have to go to a lower xW- oil for the winter.


Hi Eiron. Thanks for the post. Very good to hear about the ARX in your case...here's to hoping.

quote:

Originally posted by KW:
I had a '93 Acclaim with a 2.5 in the early '90's and used Castrol 5W50 with very good luck. So a heavier oil will work for you if yours is a 2.5. The ARX treatment sure don't seem like it would hurt a thing either.

Yes sir..2.5 it is. Thanks for the insight. Any other tips you have gathered from personal experience with this beast?

quote:

Originally posted by Schmoe:
I'd concentrate on the leaks first, then Auto RX it. I don't think jumping to AutoRX right now would stop any type of leak. Experiment. Move up in viscosity and somehow keep a mental record on which leaks less.

Sounds like a plan, Schmoe..thanks. I will bump the viscosity in accordance with the suggestions already posted and take it from there.

quote:

Originally posted by jsharp:
I think I'd at least try to fix some of the leaks before I used Auto-Rx. It's a good product but it's not a miracle. If you're not consuming any ( vs. leaking ) 10W-30 now I don't know why you'd want to go to a heavier oil. I doubt that would slow your leaking much in any case.

I think once the leaks are better under control I'd use the A-Rx with Pennzoil dino 10W-30 and switch to the high mileage version once the rinse is done...


Thanks for the reply, jsharp. As far as consuming oil, there is none that I can detect. No sign of smoke, or any readily visible exhaust for the matter. I have also read the argument going through some old forum posts that raising the viscosity might actually cause more leaking as you are raising the oil pressure, but it is a bit hard to separate fact from fiction. Thanks for your suggestion on the oils..much appreciated.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeW:
1). If you're in a position to fix some of the leaks yourself, and or get them done cheaply, do so. I would think a 10yo freebie car is a good car to learn to spin a wrench on, if your so inclined. I would also think that the 80/20 rule would apply to your problem. 80% of the leaks could probably be stopped with 20% of your time, effort and money, with the remaining 20% leaks taking the remaining 80%. Just don't bother with the last 20%.

2). Use the cheapest name brand certified oil, in the heaviest weight specified for the temperature range your running in. Put up with whatever oil consumption is left after the fixes.


Thanks MikeW. I have no fear of getting under there and having a go, but my time is very limited sadly. After years of playing with my old 302 Maverick and 351 Torino..I am kinda sick of it. I never was any expert, but I kept them going. I agree totally with you suggestions and maybe will look into grabbing a Chiltons and making some time.

quote:

Originally posted by labman:
All the above. It the meantime, clean the engine up, quarter car wash, pressure washer, some spray cans and the hose, lots of rags and elbow grease, whatever. Then look for the highest place oil is oozing out. Fix it. Wipe up the oil. Fix the next one. Etc. Some of this will be fairly cheap hoses and gaskets. You can't if something is leaking if oil is running down from above.

Thanks labman. Sounds good. In the meantime, I put a clean piece of cardboard under the car and let it sit for 24 hours. This gave me a general idea of where the leaks are dripping fun...although it might take some investigation as to where they exactly seeped from to begin with. Thanks again for the suggestions.

quote:

Originally posted by JohnnyO:
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Auto-RX may fix rotating seals like the rear main but will not fix ones like the oil pan and valve cover gaskets. Otherwise sounds like a good plan.


Gotcha. Thanks for the post, Johnnyo.

quote:

Originally posted by Schmoe:
I just read a post on Light Duty Diesel oils that a member had stopped his leaks using Pennz. LL 15W-40. Try that. That oil is not expensive.

Interesting…I will check it out. Thanks for pointing that out. Seems like the Long-Life 15W-40 is pretty popular here.

Thanks again for all of the posts...it is very much appreciated. After reading back through several old threads, I have often seen someone pop up asking for suggestions only to receive many responses and never say another word. I figure if you are going to ask people to take the time to help, don’t just disappear after you have received what you needed...at least acknowledge it! So thanks again, folks. Great forum, indeed.

Kind regards,
Jim
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I'd concentrate on the leaks first, then Auto RX it. I don't think jumping to AutoRX right now would stop any type of leak. Experiment. Move up in viscosity and somehow keep a mental record on which leaks less.
 
I think I'd at least try to fix some of the leaks before I used Auto-Rx. It's a good product but it's not a miracle. If you're not consuming any ( vs. leaking ) 10W-30 now I don't know why you'd want to go to a heavier oil. I doubt that would slow your leaking much in any case.

I think once the leaks are better under control I'd use the A-Rx with Pennzoil dino 10W-30 and switch to the high mileage version once the rinse is done...
 
1). If you're in a position to fix some of the leaks yourself, and or get them done cheaply, do so. I would think a 10yo freebie car is a good car to learn to spin a wrench on, if your so inclined. I would also think that the 80/20 rule would apply to your problem. 80% of the leaks could probably be stopped with 20% of your time, effort and money, with the remaining 20% leaks taking the remaining 80%. Just don't bother with the last 20%.

2). Use the cheapest name brand certified oil, in the heaviest weight specified for the temperature range your running in. Put up with whatever oil consumption is left after the fixes.
 
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