I went ahead and got 3 bottles of auto-rx for the 3 vehicles I have. My plan is to try it on the 1989 Jeep Cherokee 4.0 first. This is due to a couple of factors, not the least being it was due for an oil change anyway. It is also starting to seep from the rear main seal, and even if the product helps with that it will be worth the cost, anything additional will be bonus. The head was changed 2 years ago, so there is not much on the valves/rockers at this point. I have changed with a wix filter, new pcv and 6 quarts of wal-mart supertech for the cleaning phase. It sees only about 750-800 miles/month...so updates on the progress may be sporadic. I did notice that it now smokes a bit on startup, but I have seen here that this is not that uncommon. I'll keep an eye on the oil and run the full cleaning phase.
The other 2 vehicles just had the oil changed with synthetic, so I will wait for their next PM before adding the auto-rx with dyno-oil. They are a 2000 intrepid (with the 2.7....but it has always had mobil 1 synthetic in it) and a 1997 Dodge Ram 5.9.
If a second cleaning is warranted after the 12000 miles run on these 3, I'll order more at that point since the shipping was so quick. I ordered Friday and had the product on Monday.
The product has some great reviews, I am hoping to get the same results as I have seen from many.
Thank you for purchasing Auto-RX and welcome to the forum. Just follow the instructions and you will be ok on the rear main that is starting to seep after you finishing cleaning the engine you need to go 2 or 3 oil changes with non-synthetic oil to insure the seal gets cleaned well and gives it time reform I had to go 4 oil changes on 3.3 Dodge van to get the leak to stop and I continued the maintenance program after cleaning 3 years later still no leaks.
I had a lady with a 1976 Chevrolet Malibu where Auto-Rx stopped the rear main seal leak, how bad is your leak meaning how much oil are you using, good idea to change that PCV, also check the PCV hose if you have one as these can get clogged.
The seepage is about 1 quart for 1000 miles, so still not bad. In the long run, if I can get the leak to stop, I'll go back to synthetic. I have had good experiences with it for years in motorcycles and cars.
PCV tube is clear as well, but thanks for checking. I blow it out with air whenever I change the PCV since these had a known oil plugging problem on the tube. I just take it off both ends to blow it out so I don't get anything internal.
Last year I had the valve cover off on the Intrepid, and it was still clean....I can only attribute this to regular oil changes with mobil 1 since this is a known "sludge monster". But since it is known, I'll go through a cleaning on it as well. I'll run the dino oil for the 5500 miles on it to let the auto RX be as effective as I can, but it'll go back to Syn after that.
If it all works well, I'll likely go to the maintenance program after the cleanings on each of the vehicles. But with the # of miles I put on the cars instead of bikes, That will be sometime in the fall at the earliest.
FWIW...I worked professionally as a mechanic for many years, so I am well aware of regular maintenance being the true key to vehicles going many years. I am not opposed to an additive being a regular maintenance item if it works.
mavinwy Once you stop leak you don't want to go back to synthetic as additive package designed to hold oil on metal or seal. Go with a group111 oil and you should be fine.
Q: I've heard that synthetic oil can adversely affect my seals. Does Auto-Rx® help? A: We believe that high-mileage engines using synthetic/semi-synthetic or high mileage oil weaken the seal material and it loses its pliability.
In e-mails to people who have rear main oil seal leaks and want to use Auto-Rx® to try and stop them, we tell them to use non-synthetic oil to firm up the seal material after Auto-Rx® has cleansed it, as chemistry in non-synthetic oil makes seals harden just right to effect a tight seal. After your leak is stopped, you can use any oil you want
We question why anyone would want to go back to a chemistry that will start the process of seal material degradation all over again. A way around this problem is to use 3 ounces of Auto-Rx® with each oil change after a rear main seal leak is stopped. Now you are protecting seal degradation and can use synthetic, semi-synthetic, or high mileage oil without creating a new leak problem.
It might be an interesting test. There are several reasons I continue to use synthetic, and through my own documentation and testing I have found that I get better fuel economy with Synthetic, the oil temperature stays lower when towing, and as I stated above, the oil valleys stay cleaner.
Worst case scenario, I drop the pan and change the seal. It is not that big of a deal...I'd rather wait until the weather warms up to do it now since I no longer work at a shop with a lift and would be doing it in my own garage.
The oil stays at a lower temperature while I'm towing. Is that because the synthetic oil does not absorb as much heat as dino oil, or is it actually lubricating better? Perhaps it would be best to run a group III oil such as Pennsoil Platinum, which is really dino, but do to better refining of the base stock performs like a synthetic, in some regards. Might well be better for your ailing seals and still give you the choice of longer oil change intervals. I have no invested interest in Pennsoil products, there are many group III dino products that can be labeled synthetic.
Well, let's see what happens with the initial application first. I have at this point 5,400 miles to make a decision (2400 left on the clean, 3000 on the rinse) before I need to worry about it. Before I got this jeep is was rather poorly maintained (hence the head change) but I got it cheap and it is a good daily driver when the weather is bad. So it likely had cheap oil that was not regularly changed by the P.O. If the rear main seal is too far gone and leaks again after the application, I'll replace it as a repair that needs done.
Oil is one of those things that everyone has an opinion on, and when I turned wrenches, and even now...I just say to change it regularly with whatever works for you, because trying to convince someone to not use what they are happy with is a losing battle.
I appreciate the opinions and advice, this forum seems cool and the product has some great reviews. However, I researched it for 6 months before convincing myself to try it. Maybe I am stuck in my ways....but they work for me.
This customer should have done as Richone stated. For myself i would hope he would have read the FAQ and known light might come on and if it did Auto-Rx was cleaning internal sensors. Light would have goe out right after rinse.
Dear XXXXX,
First I would like to recap the series of events leading to the check oil light warning that you are getting. It first began and that prompted you to do an auto-rx cleansing application. You then ran a fresh oil fill of 5w30 dino oil with a full bottle of Auto-Rx added. The vehicle was driven 2600 miles, with no oil light warning codes registered at the dash board. After changing out the oil fortified with Auto-Rx and refilling with fresh oil, the oil light warning on the dash board has reappeared. Then you brought the vehicle in for a technician to trouble shoot the warning code. It was the technicians decision to replace the oil sending unit as being bad causing an erroneous dash board warning light. The old sending unit was either not the source of the warning message or the new sending unit was faulty, which is unlikely.
Did the technician check the oil pressure while you had the van in for service? That should have been the first thing to check. It is highly likely that he did and that it was fine. What I really feel that may be occurring is that as deposits are being dissolved into the current host motor oil they may pass by these very finicky sensors, that might trip the warning code. This is a fairly frequent occurrence on heavily sludged, Volkswagon 1.8 liter motors. In all cases during the rinse phase of the application the light will go out and stay out as you accumulate the 3000 mile rinse.
I would ask the folks that performed the service on your van, if they indeed checked the oil pressure before changing out the sending unit. Typically they would put a mechanical gauge on the sending unit to verify proper oil pressure and flow. If so then you are likely getting a false code. That could be a weak wire or may be just that the code is hung up in the motors computer. You may want to try disconnecting your battery terminal for a minute or two and then reconnect. This will allow the computer to reset itself and go back through its diagnostics.
If your mechanic has verified that the system is pushing adequate oil pressure, then I would just drive on and the light will soon go out and stay out. Computers can be finicky.
I think I am confused. The letter you posted seems to have little do do with a rear main seal. I have had no issues with oil pressure or CEL.
3 days and 100 miles into the cleaning, I have only noticed the smoke which is expected if things are getting cleaned out and a slight increase in oil pressure on the gauge. (No idiot lights).
If it is in reference to the timing I posted earlier (5400 miles). At that tme I'll see if it needs a second treatment, or if a maintenance dose might be all it needs. Since the head is relatively new (15,000 miles) there is not much to clean on it.
As I said, your product looks good. I'll admit to being set in my ways as to how to maintain a vehicle, as many others are here as well.
Wanted to let you know now if oil or engine light comes on during your Auto-Rx Application what is happening.
Auto-Rx works if application instructions are followed . Sure it comes as no suprise how many buy Auto-Rx and get there application instructions from any place other than www.auto-rx.com with your background as a mechanic wanted you to understand how lights might come on and when they will go off. And it is not a signal of problems rather just Auto-Rx doing what it does best "clean' .
I had seen enough comments here on the forum that indicated CEL lights due to sensors getting cleaned that I would not have been concerned with that until the next oil change after the rinse phase.
As far as the oil pressure, with a gauge it should not cause anything too wierd to happen, but if it drops, the sending unit on this engine is very easy to get to, pull out, clean and replace if needed and I'll check that for plugging first.
I am thinking it will likely take the 2 cleanings, but with the # of miles I put on this one...it will take close to a year and a half to do both with the rinse phases.
OK...500 miles into the initial cleaning phase, and I must say that I am impressed. The Jeep is running smoother and starting easier. I am still getting some seepage from the rear main, but even that seems to be slowing some. The oil looks a little darker than usual, but not excessively so.
So, 2000 more miles, then to the rinse. We will see how it goes from here.
Depending on how dirty it is on the cleaning will determine whether to do a second cleaning, or just go to the maintenance dose.
Well, the truck came due for it's oil change this weekend...so I added a tratment to it this weekend as well. It does not get used as much as the jeep, so it may take some time to finish off the treatment for it (or see the results). We shall see.
1250 mile in to just the cleaning phase and WOW. If the rinse phase makes it even better, this could get real impressive. Being a Jeep inline 6, it has always gotten around 14 in town and 18 on the highway. Last tank I averaged 18.5 with all but 100 mile being in town. Just on fuel savings I'll pay for the product before I ever get to the rinse phase.
The leak is down to just a drop or 2 each evening, so it is certainly helping that which was the big goal.
I also ended up getting a 98 neon cheap because it may have some engine issues. If all the mechanicals are ok, I may dump the 3rd bottle I have into it and order a couple more bottles for when the intrepid is due for it's oil change. It'll be another month before it is due for PM, and the shipping is quick enough that it is not an issue to get them in that time frame.
That is what Frank informs customers Auto-Rx works if you work it and you have followed the instructions that is a great MPG increase and thank you for purchasing ARX I have always said it is a GREAT PRODUCT WITH NO SOLVENTS IN IT. Frank is a a great guy who belives in this product and he is always ready to talk or email customers that have questions not to many companys are that customer focused.
I did get the neon running over the weekend and ordered a couple of bottles to replace the one I put in it, and one for a second cleaning on the jeep (I am almost to 2000 miles on it, but with the neon's predicted 25/35mpg the jeep may see a lot less miles this summer)
In other news, the rear main seal leak seems to be down to almost nothing, however the Jeep had developed a miss that feels like it may be fuel related (May be changing a fuel pump net weekend) but there is no way that could be ARX related.
We now return you to the regularly scheduled forums....
Got them yesterday. Once again...Frank certainly does great with the ordering and shipping.
The neon is going to kind of become an eco-modding project. I want to see if I can get it over 40MPG average. With the results from the jeep, the auto-rx certainly seems like a good start.
