Should I Auto-Rx now or wait awhile?

[miked2]

OK against some very respected advice, I purchased a car on ebay. I know, I'm crazy but I think I got a good deal. Tha car is a 2004 Mercury Sable LS with over 97,000 miles on it. Only time will tell what kind of deal I got.

The car was originally leased to someone who put 90,000 miles on it 18 months. Hard to believe I know, I did a VIN # check on it. My theory was there were a very high percentage of highway miles on the car (unless it was used as a taxi).
Anyway, it has a 24 valve/Duratec engine; the same as the car it is replacing. I know the engine is durable.

So, finally the question; should I change the oil as I normally would using Motorcraft Syn-Blend 5w-20 & a Motorcraft or Wix filter or use dino, a new filter & Auto-Rx?

The thought here is with a regular oil change (no ARX) I could get at least a hint on how well the car was maintained.

This is why I am a member here, I need opinions. Thanks, guys (or girls).

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

UOA first?

 

[TurboJim]

Remove a valve cover and see for yourself if you need to AutoRx it or not.

That many miles in that short of time would make me believe it hasn't had too many oil changes. They couldn't afford the down time.

 

[MN Driver]

5,000 miles a month isn't too hard to do, less than 3 hours of interstate driving on a daily basis would do it, or somebody who is a courier across country, or possibly a pizza driver. I just helped a friend patch a radiator hose that had sprung a leak with duct tape as all of the auto parts stores are closed on sunday and he needed to limp it home, he is a pizza driver and after discussing cars with him, his 14 hour a day engine runtime with pizza delivery has got to be pretty bad. A lot of low speeds and idling along with many WOT runs to get pizzas where they need to go, I asked him the other day and he changes his oil every month and he guessed that it was about 5,000 miles a month or so. ...On a dino oil with extensive idling, I can't get the guy to change it any sooner or put even a cheap synthetic in it for those conditions, under the valve cover cap doesn't look horrible, but super clean either. If he was a highway driver with a long commute to work or had other long distance highway runs then it probably hasn't been to bad. I don't know how somebody got a lease that would let them go through such high mileage in that short of time, he must have paid tons in mile overage.


Back on topic, I would put some dino in there and drive a few hundred miles, take off the valve cover and take a look at things, the clean oil will make any dirty spots stand out more than the dirty oil that I assume is in there, and if you want to use the AutoRX you've got the dino to work with. Taking off the valve cover will give you the best idea of whether or not the oil changes have been up to par. If you have a digital camera post pictures and we can tell you what we think.

 

[chucky2]

Personally, and this is because I usually overkill things, I'd go get the cheapest dino SM rated oil, run that 500 miles or so with a Motorcraft filter, then change to your good dino 5w30 of choice and a Wix type or Motorcraft filter, and run that 3,000 while monitoring for consumption; of course, make sure the PCV valve is good before doing this (use a Motorcraft replacment if it needs one, aftermarket PCV's are rumored to be sketchy).

This way, you can monitor consumption over 3,000 miles and you did a "rinse" before putting in the 3,000 run of oil.

Then, take a sample for a UOA and just do the same oil and filter again. When the UOA gets back (in a week probably), providing everything looks decent - like Iron is not 900, Lead 400, and Insolubles 5.9 - you can just dump the Auto-RX in and start your cycle.

I know, I know, a little overkill...but this is BITOG...

Chuck

 

[Derek178]

From all the reading I have done, auto- rx can only help. I say go for it.

 

[Frank]

A Clean Engine Is A Healthy Engine. Do two applications
of Auto-Rx before you spend needless time and money on
"what if's" you will alter the wear factor of all these miles by using Auto-Rx and allow your oil to lubricate every nook & cranny as metal is clean.

Oil does not lubricate through dirt,contaminants, sludge.
it just jumps to next area of clean metal.

 

[mburnickas]

I would personally run only (1) and see how dark the rinse oil is.

 

[Rick20]

I would also consider running a dose of ARX in the trans and get that fluid changed out.

 

[miked2]

Thanks for the opinions guys. I am going to try a little bit of everything, starting with a simple oil/filter change. Run that for 2500 miles (that will give me an even 100K), do a UOA, then start my Auto-Rx treatment. This way I can monitor the oil use & see how quickly it gets dirty.

As far as the ARX in the trans, aren't you supposed to get the trans flushed as part of the procedure? That scares me a little bit.

 

[gkincaid]

Just out of curiosity, what did you pay for said vehicle? I love these cars and am just curious of you what your final bid was.

As for the ARX, Id say yes. Order you a bottle or two of ARX and run one of them through the entire clean and rinse phase. Based on your results, Id either run a second ARX treatment or just use the 2nd bottle as the maintenance dose.

Even with 90Kplus, and all of those being highway miles, Id still run at least 1 ARX through it.

 

[ConfederateTyrant]

miked2,
Just out of curiosity, what scares you about the transmission flush?

 

[Rick20]

I'd be more scared that the fluid in the trans is original. If so then it is highly recommended to run the ARX dose for 1000 miles to dissolve deposits in the torque convertor before purging.

 

[gtx510]

I'd siphon 2-3qts out of the trans and add new ATF + ARX.
Flushing the trans later is just messy, not too tough.

 

[miked2]

gincade,
The final bid price was $5745, it also cost me $520 to ship it. So far, so good. It looks good & runs great. I have a 96 Sable with 92,000 miles, which I bought new. I have not repaired anything major on it. I really like that car, very comfortable, solid, dependable & safe. I wanted something similiar. On the surface, I seem to have made a great deal but, "only time will tell".

ConfederateTyrant,
I have read several posts at Automotive Forums over the past few years of horror stories after transmission "purges". That is actually what I meant, not "flushes". Sorry about the confusion. I would think removing a transmission line from the radiater in order to change the fluid would not cause any problem. However, "purging" using a machine to force new fluid into the trans is more likely to cause problems.
I honestly don't know very much about the internal workings of a transmission except there are hundreds of parts requiring very small tolarences to work properly.
One thing I do know is in the near future, I will be dropping the pan & replacing the filter.
If is is like my 96, I will get aprox 8 new quarts (Mercon V) out of a possible 13 or so.

 

[ConfederateTyrant]

miked2,
The purges won't cause any problems if the machines do not force fluid into the transmission. T-Tec, if I am not mistaken, uses force from outgoing fluid to push incoming fluid, so basically it goes at the transmission own power. When you drop and the pan and replace the fluid, add 6 ounces of Auto-RX, that along with new fluid will recondition seals and remove debris. Then do another filter replacement and a full fluid purge.

If you know how to remove the line yourself, that would be even better. As then you could pump out one or two quarts at a time, and then shut off the car, add the same amount of fluid, and repeat. Better than letting a machine risk damaging your transmission.

 

[Rick20]

Perhaps there is option to install a drain plug in the pan while it is off. This would give you the ability to change out a few quarts at a time with relative ease. In any event 1000 miles of running with 6 oz. of arx will at least dissolve oxidized deposits if this is orginal transmission fluid at 97K on the clock, before draining. Don't leave the sins behind.

 

[miked2]

ConfederateTyrant,
I was not aware how the T-Tec worked, that sounds like a safe way to exchange fluid. Thanks for the info.

Rick,
My daughters 99 Saturn has a drain plug & a spin filter on the transmission. What a novel idea, huh? I've always wondered why all cars don't have the same? I have read somewhere that some new cars don't even have dipsticks. Where are their heads?

 

[mburnickas]

correct. My wifes GM does not a dipstick for ATF and my fathers exploder does not.

They say "sealed" and need to take to sealer, opps dealer. But with a little help from online forums like this one, none are 100% sealed.

I know my lexus has a ATF strainer (metal filter) and you do not replace it, only clean it. But for $22 I toss it out. A complete fluid flush is 30 minutes. Just did it las week with Amsoil. After 30K miles the fluid smelled new and looked new.