Mobil 1 better cleaner than AutoRx?

[Peted]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan

You're rapid fire here, peterdes

Quote:
From what I have read Auto-RX is basically a concentrated ester based oil. If so, why not just use a quart of Red Line.


Red Line has an aggressive additive package that shares some components with Auto-Rx. It's quite disruptive to surface formations.

Quote:
Very good thread, but it seems like the Auto-RX only really works in a neglected engine with sludge and gunk. Of course a Clean engine will not need cleaning...


Well, it shows that someone thinking that their engine didn't have something wrong with it because it appeared clean could be DEAD WRONG. It also clearly showed the effectiveness of the product at cleaning coked ring packs.

So..in your mind this proves that it's marketing bogus junk? Sounds like good reasoning skills to me

Don't believe it ..don't use it ..don't buy it. Really. This is absolutely the wrong product for you.



Just call me Peter.

That is why I am going to buy some and use it. Can never be too OCD about your engine. ha.

I'm not saying It is marketing bogus junk, just that it could be exaggerated. I didn't mean to offend anyone, just typing out loud.

I was questioning the product and I liked what I found after a few hours of reading. I love this forum.

 

[sprintman]

Peter, find an oil with no ester or PAO, run it hot and hard when the oil is hot (short trips useless) and if you think your engine is reasonably clean extend the clean and rinse phase. Again oil with no ester as a bare minimum.

 

[Gary Allan]

Quote:
'm not saying It is marketing bogus junk, just that it could be exaggerated.


While some products will mention disclaimers, I doubt you will see them in bold print anywhere. Frank states that it won't fix anything broken. It will just clean.

I also have to agree that there are few situations where it can't provide customer satisfaction. It's usually a matter of time and process variable. I'd have a hard time bringing up the 1/1000th of the times someone had a bad experience (or no benefit) with Amsoil in some promotion of the product.

Quote:
I didn't mean to offend anyone, just typing out loud.


As I said, you appeared rapid fire.

You compressed a lot of stuff in a few posts. You got a condensed response.

Not everyone will find value in any given product. I have found substantial ROI using this product on several vehicles. Any used car purchased will be treated as a routine procedure "whether it needs it, or not" ..and about every two to three years if I still own it. Most people end up spending over $100 when they buy a private sale used car. They'll play with purging it with Seafoam through the brake booster hose, throw in a set of plugs ..new cap/rotor, new filters, change the oil ...blah..blah..blah ..and perceive not one bit of difference before and after. Except for one failed wire, I've never perceived or measured any difference from a tune up ..yet I'm sure it paid for itself in avoided service loss/degradation.

I imagine that it's the protracted treatment length that builds up so much anticipation from people. Got simple formations? Shorter remedy length. More complex formations? Longer span to remedy.

 

[panthermike]

Originally Posted By: peterdes
Originally Posted By: Gary Allan

You're rapid fire here, peterdes

Quote:
From what I have read Auto-RX is basically a concentrated ester based oil. If so, why not just use a quart of Red Line.


Red Line has an aggressive additive package that shares some components with Auto-Rx. It's quite disruptive to surface formations.

Quote:
Very good thread, but it seems like the Auto-RX only really works in a neglected engine with sludge and gunk. Of course a Clean engine will not need cleaning...


Well, it shows that someone thinking that their engine didn't have something wrong with it because it appeared clean could be DEAD WRONG. It also clearly showed the effectiveness of the product at cleaning coked ring packs.

So..in your mind this proves that it's marketing bogus junk? Sounds like good reasoning skills to me

Don't believe it ..don't use it ..don't buy it. Really. This is absolutely the wrong product for you.



Just call me Peter.

That is why I am going to buy some and use it. Can never be too OCD about your engine. ha.

I'm not saying It is marketing bogus junk, just that it could be exaggerated. I didn't mean to offend anyone, just typing out loud.

I was questioning the product and I liked what I found after a few hours of reading. I love this forum.


Hope it works out for you. Just remember, highway trips(hot) are your friend. Just be patient, and as someone mentioned, if you think your motor is clean, extend the mileage a bit.

 

[Mystic]

Aside from my personal experience with Auto-RX one of the things that really convinced me to try it was what a guy who used to post here said. I don't know if he is a member here anymore or not. He said that he was a mechanic who specialized in Japanese vehicles like the Toyota. A customer had a sludged up Toyota car and he did not think that the engine could be saved. Auto-RX was added to the engine and after one or more Auto-RX cleanings the engine ran great. The guy was convinced about the usefulness of Auto-RX after that. He seemed very believable in his post.

My own personal experience is I tried Auto-RX in a Saturn car I used to own that had a small leak from a seal. After one or two Auto-RX cleanings the leak simply stopped. Nothing else had worked. It was hard to believe that the engine might be sludged up-I changed oil every 3000 miles. I also noticed that whenever I did an Auto-RX cleaning the oil would get darker than usual.

Perhaps Redline oil would produce similiar results. I don't know. We are talking about different esters and Auto-RX is designed to be a cleaner.

In any case if an engine is dirty $20.00 for a bottle of Auto-RX seems pretty cheap. If it makes a difference in the engine great. If not, you are just out $20.00. How much would it cost to have the engine disassembled and cleaned?

Exxon/Mobil is making claims that Mobil 1 HM oils will clean an engine that had been using conventional motor oil. If true an oil that will clean an engine seems like a good idea to me. All you have to do is change the oil and the Mobil 1 HM oil is a good oil anyway.

Choose, but choose wisely.

 

[oilboy123]

The effectiveness of Auto-RX depends on many factors.

Maybe the type of engine? Some engines run dirtier, or are dirtier than others to begin with.....

Actual cleaning vs perceived cleaning? Looking down the oil fill? How much cleaning occurs there?

How clean was the engine before the cleaning?

Maybe the engine did not need a cleaning to begin with.

I bought my Taurus vulcan used. It had 26K when I bought it. I ran Amsoil and now have 120K on it. At about 70K I had the ECM programmed and the engine started pinging. I also had a lifter tick. The RX cured both those problems.

If your engine is fairly clean and has no problems then you won't see results. If you have dirt that is causing problems for whatever reason you should see results. I have run RX in family and friends vehicles and mine was the only vehicle that I noticed two issues being fixed.

Funny how Amsoil could not clean my engine but the RX did? So I find it hard to believe that the Mobil could do better cleaning than Amsoil...........

 

[sprintman]

I ran Redline 5W30 in our Outback but RX did a better job afterwards. Currently using Havoline Eenergy 5W30 for this clean.

 

[c3po]

Motor oil lubricates and cools parts, it is not a cleaner.

I used Mobil 1 from 25,000 miles up to 200,000 miles. I then used Amsoil from 200,000 miles up to 343,000 miles. I then ran auto-rx and noticed the engine was running better and at the same time my oil filters that were changed had a lot of junk in them.

Mobil 1 and Amsoil should have kept my engine spotless, they both did not, maybe I was asking too much, I realize now that my belief that synthetic oil's keep engines clean was wrong.

I changed my rocker arms and pushrods at 340,000 miles, I still have the old ones and they had some light crud on there. With auto-rx in the engine since 343,000 miles I popped the valve covers off at 369,000 miles and they are spotless and look brand new, I am talking about the rocker arms.

Everyone can believe what they want to believe, but my observations prove that auto-rx cleans as well as it keeps and engine clean, and the job of motor oil is to lubricate and cool parts.

I ran a 1 ounce maintenance dose of auto-rx in my Dad's riding lawn mower engine, which is a Kohler, when I changed the oil it came out much darker then it did when I changed the oil that did not have auto-rx in it.

Auto-rx works if you give it time, you cannot use it once and expect results right away, you need to keep using it, meaning a Clean and Rinse followed by going onto the Maintenance Dose.

When I get some time I will post pictures of the old rocker arms versus the new ones in there now, seeing is believing.

 

[chevrofreak]

Originally Posted By: c3po
Motor oil lubricates and cools parts, it is not a cleaner.


I disagree with this a bit. I do believe that a good oil can do significant cleaning, but I do not believe that many of them will clean the piston rings.

 

[Nickdfresh]

It's amazing that I had a Honda Civic that was spotless and varnish free after almost 100,000 miles with about the last 30K of that on Mobil1 5/10W-30 - yet ARX doesn't seem to be able to remove even that...

And the idea that motor doesn't clean is counter-intuitive to everything I've experienced. As is an addiction to a $20 a bottle product that needs to be repeatedly and extensively used to clean - in addition to being used as an additive...

But to each his or her own...

 

[ADFD1]

A good oil will keep an engine clean, if reasonable OCI's are done. The problems come in when people who are in moderate to severe service driving conditions think they can extend OCI's to the "normal" driving categories. That spells disaster and gives any oil they use a bad rep.

AD

 

[jonny-b]

I don't understand quite. Please educate me!

I have been driving an old Nissan Laurel 2.8 diesel more than 67000 kilometers(41600 miles) since the last time I changed oil.
However, I changed the oilfilter after some 40000 kilometers.
My wifes small 1.3 liter Mazda have been driving some 51000 kilometers since the last oilchange.

Also changed the oilfilter on this one at 40000 kilometers.
It doesn't feel like this is to long, since the oil I use, seem to be very good.
Both cars have reduced their oilconsumption some 60-70% since before their last oilchanges.

 

[dbdeland]

This post is from another website good information.

There is no incompatibility with Auto-Rx and Mobil 1. However, M1 is a group IV, PAO oil base type oil. PAO oils require an addition of esters to hold the oils additive package in suspension. These esters are also polar or attracted to ferrous metals. These esters tend to compete for surface metal, as do the cleaning esters in Auto-Rx.
To answer your question, yes you can. But for maximum cleaning and rinsing I would recommend that you run Auto-Rx with a Group III synthetic oil such as Pennsoil Platinum, for example, for absolute best results. After the cleaning and rinse, if you want to return to Mobil 1, I recommend running a maintenance dose of 3 fluid ounces with each oil change. UOA shows us that the maintenance dose helps the performance of M1, from both lower wear metals, and greater detergency, as well as neutralizing acid build up in the oil from unburned fuel seeping past the piston rings.

Hope this is helpful to you. Any further questions, please reply.

Rick20

 

[sprintman]

Exactly what I have been saying for years. RX works properly with an oil with no ester or PAO content.

 

[ZZman]

I believe a good oil will clean also. You just have to make sure the OCI's are reasonable if the engine is really dirty. If the crud overwhelms the detergents/disperants then the crud will fall out of suspension and back onto the metal surfaces defeating the process.

 

[kr_bitog]

Originally Posted By: dbdeland


But for maximum cleaning and rinsing I would recommend that you run Auto-Rx with a Group III synthetic oil such as Pennsoil Platinum, for example, for absolute best results.


AFAIK, I remember Frank only encourage Pennzoil mineral oil (Yellow Bottle) and not PP. Not sure if that changes

 

[wannafbody]

However, M1 is a group IV, PAO oil base type oil. PAO oils require an addition of esters to hold the oils additive package in suspension. These esters are also polar or attracted to ferrous metals. (end quote)

that explains the higher Iron readings with M1 and some engines-especially ones that ran conventional in the past.

 

[Peted]

Originally Posted By: kr_bitog
Originally Posted By: dbdeland


But for maximum cleaning and rinsing I would recommend that you run Auto-Rx with a Group III synthetic oil such as Pennsoil Platinum, for example, for absolute best results.


AFAIK, I remember Frank only encourage Pennzoil mineral oil (Yellow Bottle) and not PP. Not sure if that changes


That is what I remember reading as well.

 

[Gary Allan]

Frank encourages plain jane conventional to avoid complications. It's the most sensible choice for the duration of use. Using a $6-7/quart PAO is a waste over that duration, and has elements that are going to slow/compete with the product's properties. It's in sufficient concentration to work, but why complicate the process at increased costs?

 

[ADFD1]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Using a $6-7/quart PAO is a waste over that duration, and has elements that are going to slow/compete with the product's properties.


When used as a maint dose, it won't compete with a PAO oil? Will there be any benefit adding it to a good PAO oil as a maint dose? After a cheap dino clean rinse. Or use the PAO oil alone after the clean up and rinse?

Thanks,
AD