Auto Rx and Rear Main seal leak.

[Chris B.]

EDIT:
I just found ARX FAQ and I think I found my answer.But what do you guys think about what my Mechanic said in the lower part of my post?

Hello,
I was wondering if an Auto Rx cycle will stop a Rear Main seal leak in a 1997 Tahoe with 117,000 miles? It is starting to leak a bit. I did an Auto Rx treatment at 99,000 miles just to help clean up the engine as I bought it used. I have been using Lube Control sence right after the ARX at 99,000 miles. Truck runs great and I have been using Castrol GTX 5w30 oil with outstanding UOA's!

My mechanic advised me not to ever use a additive to swell seals. He said it would be a temporary fix and then the seal/leak would get worse.
What sould I do? Thank you!

[ May 09, 2006, 04:27 AM: Message edited by: Chris B. ]

 

[dbdeland]

Chris B.

I had a rear main seal leak if the seal is not broken Auto-Rx will work just use Dino oil for 2 or 3 oil changes before using synthetic I use 10w30 dino castrol oil and it works great.

Daryl

 

[jonny-b]

First of all, it seems like your mechanic isn't familiar with Auto-Rx and what it does. Auto-Rx simply put your seals in "like new" condition. Seals tend to shrink after several years, and Auto-Rx will fix them without the need of an uneducated mechanic. Maybe you should considder if this mechanic is safe to use? If I were you, I would change to a more updated one.

 

[earthworm]

I agree with the mechanic.
Auto Rx simply does not work every time .
A good mechanic will read the professional publications (Automotive News, Engineering, Motor Service)..
Is Auto Rx advertised in any of these ??

 

[Quest]

LOL john!

AutoRx is not a seal sweller and it will not cause any seal swelling.

All other cleaners such as 10-min engine flush(they are made of kero anyways), high-mileage oil, etc. contains additional seal swellers.

 

[Frank]

Auto-Rx does NOT swell seals. It cleans the seal material (both sides) actually refurbishing seal material. The simple additive package in NON SYNTHETIC OIL causes seal material to be restored to correct pliability. Provided seal not ripped or torn.

We don't make it a practice to spend our dollars on auto industry advertising. Look at price of stopping seal leak
using technical skills as opposed to chemistry.

 

[Mystic]

Auto-RX worked for me. I have owned a series of Saturn cars. One of them had a small leak on the engine seal. I tried Valvoline MaxLife oil which is supposed to have seal conditioners in it. The oil really worked well in my car (car ran smooth) but it did not stop the leak. I also tried a product that is supposed to stop seal leaks. It did not work either. But after I tried Auto-RX the seal leak stopped. I can't remember if the leak stopped after the first or second cleaning.

Auto-RX is one of a very small list of products that I now believe in. And I can say that Auto-RX is at the top of that list. Auto-RX is one of only a very few products that actually seem to work. I still believe in Lubegard products to some extent, at least the transmission supplements and the power steering supplement. And I still believe in Fuel Power which can even take the place of Auto-RX although I prefer Auto-RX. And I believe in Gummout Regane fuel system cleaner and BG44K fuel system cleaner. And I like to use synthetic oil for the winter time since it is a fact that synthetic oil will flow better in the cold. Since I like to change oil often I prefer conventional oil better for the rest of the year. Plus maybe Auto-RX will work better with conventional oil.

Beyond this small list of products somebody is going to have to show me in a convincing manner that anything else out there works.

 

[Mystic]

I do have a question for Frank of Auto-RX. I have one small Saturn car and I buy one bottle of Auto-RX a year. Is it better to do a cleaning once a year or is it better to use 3 oz. every oil chnage to keep the engine clean-and maybe do that plus a cleaning every 25000 to 50000 miles?

 

[Chris B.]

Thanks for the info guys.

So sence I did a Auto Rx cycle at 99,000 miles will 1 ARX cycle at my current 117,000 miles be enough or do I need to to 2 ARX cycles?

I use Castrol GTX. Is this a good dino to use with ARX?

 

[ConfederateTyrant]

Chris, the instructions call for two treatments only on the first time using Auto-RX in engines with over 100,000 miles. Since you did one at 99,000 then one more at 117,000 should be enough.

As for the Castrol, there is a thread going on about this, but as far as I can tell, the Castrol GTX is still a mineral (non-synthetic) oil and is what is necessary to use Auto-RX. Me personally, I'd use the Super Tech (Wal-Mart) oil because it's at least half the price of Castrol, and you'd have to change it at 1,500 miles.

 

[Rick20]

Chris, I agree one treatment now at 117K will be sufficient provided you have done good maintenance from 99K till now.

Regarding seal leaks(RMS). Spent oil is always working its way towards the ends of the crank. There is mechanism to reverse this tendancy. Therefor contaminants build around and namely under the seal to shaft interface. Eventually enough deposits lodge in this interface and cause a leak. ARX is the only product that I know of that will dissolve these deposits effectively, without swelling the polymer seal material. The reason for running a mineral oil after an ARX treatment is that mineral oils will have a tendancy to shrink the seal material enough to effectively seal the rotating shaft. The seal gets a second chance at finding the old memory. Of coarse there are cases where the seals has been rendered useless from being starved of fresh oil to cool and lubricate, whereby the polymer has been baked and the elasticity has been lost forever, in which the wrench is the only solution. But that is not the case in most cases where good maintenance has been performed. Ideally, using ARX as a preventative measure of keeping the seals deposit free is prefered. From what I read and hear many seals have been resurrected from the grave with the ARX seal leak regiment as well.

 

[dbdeland]

Volvohead,

Great post I agree with you 110%. I had a rear seal leak and my mechanic informed me it would cost $400 or $500 dollars to fix it after using Auto-Rx for about 2 months the leak had stopped I took it back to him and he could not belive this product worked he now sells and installs Auto-Rx

Daryl

 

[Volvohead]

I wouldn't dump on a mechanic because he hasn't heard of ARX. Frank readily acknowledges they don't spend mountains of money advertising it.

Knowledge of OTC chemical additives is not the litimus test for a capable mechanic. A good tech has his hands full just keeping up with TSBs and growing computerization of the entire vehicle and service process. Most mechanics are even more skeptical of "miracle additives" than we are, as they have to deal with the consequences of all the bad ones.

Despite it's good qualities and reputation, ARX is simply not a known product in most garages. Until it proves itself to them, it will be viewed by them as just another potentially harmful "snake oil", or at best as just another Rislone-type product. They still remember other widely known oil additives that caused serious trouble. We all know ARX is NONE of those things.

But as has been said, ARX will clean a seal at the interface, and not swell it or fill in worn areas. If the seal has worn or is damaged, torn or blown out, ARX will not remedy that. But if a leaking RMS is due to deposits, ARX can be beneficial.

A good approach is to try ARX and if it works, take the vehicle back to the mechanic, show him the results, and patiently explain how the product works as a SOLVENT-FREE CRANKCASE CLEANSER THAT SLOWLY REMOVES DEPOSITS TO THE FILTER. Those are terms and concepts they will better appreciate. Use those terms. Trust me on this, as I've spent a lot of time with wrench-spinners over the years. At that point, he might consider the product in a different light and even start using it.