Starting 1st Auto-Rx treatment . . .

[Benzadmiral]

After reading all the glowing testimonials here and on other car enthusiast websites, I decided to give Auto-Rx a try.

Car: 1997 MB C230, N/A 4-cyl., 2.3 liter; does not leak or burn oil; has seen 3K - 4K changes on dino since I bought it in July 2004
Miles: 87,750
Oil: 4 quarts Havoline 10W-40, 2 quarts Chevron Supreme 10w30 (I had it in my stash, already paid for), plus 12 oz. of Auto-Rx
Filter: Mann cartridge
Fuel mileage: I gassed up just before changing the oil this morning, and got 25.89 mpg (!) in about 65% city driving, for the last 8 days. Of course, the pump may have shut off up to 1 gallon too soon, so it could have been as low as 23.5, closer to what I normally see.

Plan: change at 89,250 miles, approx. first week of August. Run Chevron dino, which I have more of, 2000 miles until about Oct. 15 -- which would have been my next oil change date without Auto-Rx. At that point, I'll decide what oil and OCI to go with.

What can I expect to see? Darkening of the oil after the clean phase, or during the rinse? I'm taking all the stories of improved gas mileage and engine smoothness with a grain of salt -- hey, a whole salt lick! -- but I figure it's worth a try. . . .

 

[Colt45ws]

Itll darken quicker during rinse phase.

 

[sprintman]

Make sure engine is hot and drive it hard!

 

[Doc8404]

my oil hasn't darkened any more than usual in the Galant.

 

[trixman]

With that big sump and naturally high oil pressure. Betcha it will not get too dark since engine is probably fairly clean to begin with.

Having said that, ARX is still a good little something extra for your baby.

 

[Frank]

You can't expect to see anything until you completed rinse phase. Cleaning has layed all contaminants on top of oil lubricated rotating parts. (like doing the laundry it will take a rinse to remove dirt on surface off of washed material)
sure you want the 'crud' in the filter and rinse does just that.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Frank,

Thanks for the tip. One question: how solid is the crud that Auto-RX rinses off? I normally extract my oil out through the dipstick tube; is this crud likely to clog up the (rather narrow) extraction hose? If so, I'll do the drain method after the rinse phase in October.

Or will the junk just be caught by the filter?

 

[Benzadmiral]

Update: At 1200 miles into the treatment, I'm seeing a slight increase in gas mileage, which is what I hoped for. My driving is no different: 65% city/35% highway, with the A/C on a lot of the time in 92 deg. F. summer heat. But combined mileage has crept up from just under 24 to about 24.5.

This morning I gassed up, and while I know that the pump you use may cut off too soon, thus skewing the numbers, I got 26.06 mpg for the last 10 days! (297.3 miles, 11.41 gals)

If the pump cut off 1/2 gallon too soon (297.3 / 11.91): 24.96 mpg;
If the pump cut off 1 gallon too soon (297.3 / 12.41): 23.96 mpg (no worse than before Auto-Rx).

I'm due to drain the clean phase oil around August 11, about 300 miles from now.

 

[sprintman]

See my PM...s

 

[Benzadmiral]

Changed out the oil this morning on schedule. (Sweating in The Swamp w/ a heat index of 92 F.! I swear this is my last summertime oil change!) The filter did look a little sparkly, but maybe it was my imagination, expecting to see crud from the engine. And the oil was dark, of course. Anyway, in went 6 qts. of Castrol GTX; due to run 2000 miles until about Oct. 15.

Gas mileage? Meh. I think the pump must indeed have cut off a bit early last time (see my post above). I gassed up today, same place, and got only 22.86 mpg for the last 10 days. I expect last time's mpg was closer to 24, and the extra A/C use this period brought it down by about 10%.

Ah, well. Except for the sweating, I'm having fun.

 

[Benzadmiral]

-- final, that is, because I no longer own the MB!

The transmission and A/C issues were bothering me a lot, and (admit it, boyo!) there was that sneaking desire for something newer. I lucked into an '03 Buick Park Avenue and traded the gold car with about 1500 miles to go in the rinse phase. I told the salesman (a good guy, by the way) that the oil was due for a change in about 1500-2000 miles, but the dealership will probably ignore that and change it before they sell the car. So much for a gentle clean and rinse!

However, while the car never gained much in gas mileage that couldn't be attributed to other factors, it ran as smoothly as always. Auto-Rx certainly didn't hurt. I'll consider using it on the newer car.

 

[Frank]

To bad you did not finish the application. Perhaps you can call the salesman and tell him to have new buyer finish it. Salesman won't get call backs and his buyer will tell everybody how good a car he got.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Frank,

I'll mention it to the salesman. In fact I told him that, if he had a buyer, to give the buyer my e-mail, and I'd fill the guy in on what a good car it had been and about the services that were done.