Starting ARX - Posting to purge soulful doubts.

[Flashlightboy]

My post title makes no sense but that's just the way it is in my world sometimes.

I started an ARX treatment tonight and I'm not sure what I'm going to accomplish but I'm hoping that something good will happen.

'97 Explorer with 45k on a rebuild. After the first 5k it's been on a steady diet of 5k M1 5/30 and I'm on my third fill with GC using the M1-301 filter. About 20k miles ago I developed a single lifter tick that lasts only a few seconds after start up. It doesn't happen everyday but say 4 days out of 7 and it isn't the "phish phish" of the injectors. Only does it first thing in the morning.

Everytime I change oil I peek in the fill hole like a pervert but quickly turn away in case I see something I shouldn't. The valvetrain is absolutely spotless. No gunk, no sludge and nothing that looks even remotely evil. It looks sweet and nice like pancakes and syrup on Sunday morning.

Besides the tick I've been burning 1/2 qt every 2500 miles. I don't have leaks, drips or other holes were holes shouldn't be. It's just been burning oil at this same rate for 15k miles or so.

I'm hoping that ARX will clean up the tick and fix the burning problem but my peeks in the fill hole show a spotless engine. I'd eat my pancakes and syrup off the valvetrain.

That's my story. It isn't the flashiest or filled with love, lust or hate. It's just like a loaf of white bread: nice and yummy but nothing terribly special.

[ August 10, 2004, 12:52 AM: Message edited by: Flashlightboy ]

 

[427Z06]

Let me guess, you use a flashlight to peek in the fill hole like a pervert?

 

[Palut]

quote:

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Originally posted by 427Z06:
Let me guess, you use a flashlight to peek in the fill hole like a pervert?

---

Hey watch it!! I use a flashlight to peek in the filler hole!

Back on topic, if dirty rings are the cause of your oil consumption, the ARX may help clean them up and reduce consumption that way...

 

[Flashlightboy]

427Z06,

I was hoping for some love but instead what did I get? Some guy from Texas making fun of my board name. Geez, I've got a wife for that and now someone in another time zone thinks I don't have enough grief in my life.

Don't you have a BBQ that's missing you or hasn't Jerry Jones done something that requires your IMMEDIATE attention?

 

[Gary Allan]

quote:

---

I was hoping for some love but instead what did I get?

---

That's what I say to the girls at the "club" when they ask me if I'm having a good time.

"Are you having a good time?"

"No!! I'm here for LOVE!!"

The odds of finding it in either place (the club or BITOG) are unlikely. But go ahead and try.

 

[427Z06]

Flashlightboy, all kidding aside, your experiment will, at least to me, prove very interesting. Now excuse me, gotta' go, 'cause I think Billy-Bob is burnin' the tarnation out of them there ribs.

 

[Bruce T]

Flashlightboy, since you have no oil leaks from any seals, then you probably have dirty or bad rings.

If they're dirty rings as Palut mentions, then ARX should do the trick. You should wait and see if ARX fixes the problem before you do anything else. Don't worry, just wait and see. If they turn out to be bad rings (rings that never seated properly into the cylinder walls), then nothing short of another engine rebuild can fix it. Oil will continue to leak around bad rings and burn in the combustion chamber. I hope this isn't the case. I wish you luck.

[ August 10, 2004, 11:32 AM: Message edited by: Bruce T ]

 

[Flashlightboy]

Bruce,

Thanks for the cheering me up. I feel a whole lot better now just like stepping on a fresh hairball at 2 AM.

 

[Bruce T]

Sorry, no one wants to be the bearer of potentially bad news. Have you noticed any loss of engine power or smoke coming out the exhaust? This could indicate some sort of ring problem.

[ August 10, 2004, 11:46 AM: Message edited by: Bruce T ]

 

[Flashlightboy]

Nope, none of the usual bad signs. No smoke, still getting the same crappy SUV mileage since day 1, no loss of power or dirty/oily exhaust pipe. Maybe it's just a burner.

I am due for an O2 sensor replacement - haven't done them yet and they are 147k miles old! Double plat plugs have 45k on them and the wires nearly 100k. Hmmm. Sounds like a busy Saturday in my future.

 

[Dan4510]

O2 sensors need to be replaced every 60-90k miles. They get lazy and cause a rick mixture that costs gas mileage.

Dan

 

[Flashlightboy]

Bruce,

I've been under this truck many times (oil changes, antifreeze, and fuel filter changes) and there are no signs of an oil leak. Zip, zilch, nada. I'd feel a little bit better if there were.

 

[Bruce T]

I'm at a loss if there are no obvious signs of either leaking or burning. I don't think that's necessarily bad news.

[ August 10, 2004, 01:55 PM: Message edited by: Bruce T ]

 

[deepsquat]

One quart every 5000 milse is NOT considered burning oil, by most manufacturers

 

[Bruce T]

That's good news, having no bad signs. Maybe the engine naturally consumes a little oil when it's driven hard? I don't know. Maybe someone with more knowledge than me could step in here.

 

[Flashlightboy]

Dan,

That's what you think! Ha-ha.

I've already thought of the poor mileage and I'm making up for it by overinflating my tires by a bazillion gazillion pounds. You say 32 and I say 132.

OK who wants to take another shot at me! Let me preemptively say that turning off the engine while coasting to the light is vastly underrated and doesn't get the credit it deserves.

Bruce,

This is just highway driving and about 25k miles a year. I think that's just one of those things. If the truth be told it's the ticking that irks me more than anything else but if ARX cuts the consumption in half I'll let out a hoot that'll be heard beyond the Mason-Dixon line.

[ August 10, 2004, 12:15 PM: Message edited by: Flashlightboy ]

 

[Bruce T]

Yes, the ARX should definitely help with the ticking problem (cleaning the valve train), although I'm still mystified by the oil consumption. It's gotta be leaking or burning oil somewhere in the engine.

[ August 10, 2004, 12:47 PM: Message edited by: Bruce T ]

 

[Gary Allan]

quote:

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One quart every 5000 milse is NOT considered burning oil, by most manufacturers

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I would say by "any". This is nothing to be worried about ..at least to the point of obsession. My SBC never used oil ..my BBC always did.

I doubt that this amount of oil consumption would show up anywhere as a "problem" (plugs, blowby residue in the throttle body, etc.). This is well within "normal". Twice as much would as well, IMHO.

Life is good

 

[Bruce T]

Flashlightboy, Deepsquat and Gary Allan are exactly right. Sorry I missed it. According to most manufacturers, excessive oil consumption is more than 1 qt per 1000 miles. They set a high standard so they pay fewer claims.

Personally, I think the standard should be 1 qt per 5000 miles. Just like you, I would have checked everything out. I realize some engines are designed to burn oil when driven hard, but it's still something to keep an eye on.

[ August 11, 2004, 02:19 PM: Message edited by: Bruce T ]

 

[Flashlightboy]

Bruce,

Thanks for the comments but I think I may be starting to beat the dead horse.

My first engine probably burned 1/2 qt every 5k and I've come to expect that from the rebuild. Other engines burn very little oil and I've become accustomed to that.

I do want to add that this isn't a hard driven engine. With the 5 speed auto tranny the tach hits a whopping 2,700 RPMs at 75 mph.

Finally I'd like to see manufacturer burning standards but how does one say that a quart in 5k is acceptable when other manufacuters (Honda for example) burn practically nothing. Such a standard would force manufacturers to use better quality parts and assembly practices.

UPDATE on the ARX: I'm 16 miles into the treatment phase and still have that tick. I'll check it tomorrow.