I had posted about the rinse phase oil staying so clean in my Bronco and I just assumed that it was okay. Now I have run the Auto-Rx thru my 04 Ford 4.6 Supercrew and have the same issue. The engine has 78,000 on it and gets the recommended 5w-20 blend at 5000 mile changes. The oil has never come out black but more of a honey tone. Even the inside of the exhaust pipe is still factory silver so the engine is not being beat to death with my driving. Now I have 500 miles on the rinse phase and the oil is almost clear on the stick. My question is do you think the Havoline oil is not a good oil for the rinse phase? This is the primary oil that I have been using in the Supercrew and the rinse oil for the Bronco. Here is what the dipstick looks like and yes there is oil on it. FWIW, I have let the oil drain for several hours when I had the Auto Rx in the engine for both trucks. Maybe I got rid of a lot of the junk then?
That is an excellent photo showing how pristine the oil looks even after 500 miles on it! I don't think your choice of oil has in any way effected your ARX results. From the description you've given of previous oil changes and the condition of your truck there simply might not have been much for ARX to clean out. Still you are only 1/4 through the rinse phase, the color could change later on.
I just completed a rinse phase on my V6 Toyota truck. The color of the oil on the dipstick only darkened toward the end. I was actually surprised to see that happen. I know others have noted very dark oil during the various ARX cycles but that's not been the norm for most of my applications.
I wouldn't go by the dip stick so much. During the cleaning phase in my Ranger, the oil on the dip stick looked pretty clear. Out of curiosity, I drained some oil and it was coal black.
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2001 Ford Ranger, 4.0 V6. Mobil 1 0w-30, Motorcraft FL 820s filter, 3oz Auto Rx
I had a 4.6 engine in a Grand Marq. that had 130,00 miles and the dip stick was about the same color but the ring pack cleaning is also important I had a rear main seal leak which the ARX stopped the leak after the 2nd cleaning and rinse phase the gas mileage increased to 3mpg after getting the engine all cleaned up and the leak stopped my wife decided she wanted a Chrysler Town/Country you know what DR Phil preaches if mommy is not happy no one is happy.
Your story reminds me of a story. Many years ago a friend of mine asked me to look at her car because it just wasn't running right after her dad had "fixed it". I traced the problem back to a spark plug with a cracked insulator. This was one of those vehicles that required you get to some of the spark plugs via the fender well - ugh! My friend was so impressed with how well the car ran afterwards she decided to trade it in on a new one. Thought if a smooth running engine made that much difference what else am I missing out on?
after getting the engine all cleaned up and the leak stopped my wife decided she wanted a Chrysler Town/Country you know what DR Phil preaches if mommy is not happy no one is happy.
Daryl
This is why my wife is only getting Hondas out of me.
As for the oil, arx cleans slowly. If the engine is fairly clean I wouldn't expect a crudded up oil right away.
