My Small Block Chevrolet has the 2-Piece Rear Main Seal that I replaced at 330,000 miles because it was leaking a little bit. There is now some wetness on the back of the oil pan, I did a little research and it seems that when the rear main bearings wear there is some play in the crankshaft which can cause some leaks and there is nothing a new rear main seal will do to stop the wetness. Obviously if there is some play in the crankshaft we cannot blame Auto-Rx for this, I am also going to check my oil pressure sending switch that screws into the engine block to make sure it is not loose. I do not know if I replace the rear main bearing maybe the wetness will stop, so if anyone has any knowledge about this I would like to here some thoughts. When I have the car on the lift tonite I should get a better idea as to what is going on. I am 1500 miles into the Clean Phase and will be changing the oil filter tonite because of the way the car drives. Remember too if you have a ripped seal there is nothing Auto-Rx can do for you. I am glad I did my research instead of blaming Auto-Rx for this problem. I will post back later tonite.
I wanted to report that I dumped the oil and I am now onto the rinse phase and the leak is barely noticeable and according to Frank that the leak should eventually stop, when I drained the oil I could see that the color of the oil resembled Auto-Rx a little bit, the oil filter was light and again I could hear the oil as I poured it into the engine going down into the pan. I picked up a bunch of Super-Tech dino oil for $1.88 a quart, the Pennzoil Platinum was like $6.38 a quart, I remember Frank saying that cheap dino oil was just as good as any other oil if you use it with a Maintenance Dose. I plan on running this oil for 3000 miles, then changing it and running another 3000 miles with no Maintenance Dose to make sure that rear main seal is as leak free as possible.
The rear main seal is barely leaking and I found my main leak, it is the valve cover gasket, I will be changing it on Friday and when this rinse phase is over I will be cleaning the engine of any oily junk on the outside of the engine of course, let Auto-Rx clean the inside of the engine.
When I had a rear main seal leak on a 4.6 engine Grand Marquis I had to continue using Dino oil for 3 oil changes before the leak stopped. Are you planning on doing this also?
I plan on using dino oil for a few more oil changes and may just stick with dino oil and not go to Pennzoil Platinum or Amsoil XL. I was at Wal-Mart and the Pennzoil Platinum was almost $6.30, whereas the Super Tech was $1.88, that is a little over 3 times the price. I always thought that it was right to use the best synthetic oil, but now I am a believer in cheap dino oil and keeping the engine clean. I wonder how many oil changes I should go before going onto the Maintenance Dose. I also think my valve cover leak was from a breather on that valve cover that probably needs changing, too much pressure can cause leaks in the valve cover gaskets or rear main seal. If synthetic oil is so great why did I have to clean so much stuff out of my engine. I really cannot blame the oil in a sense because for many years, like 6 years or so I was using a 180 thermostat and now I am using a 195 thermostat. Dino oil or even the Pennzoil Platinum seems to stay in my engine whereas the 100% synthetic seems to leak out, next year I may use regular dino oil for the winter and spring and then when it is hot in the summer the Pennzoil Platinum or Amsoil XL and then in the fall back to the regular dino oil, but no more 100% synthetic in the El Camino.
When on the Auto-Rx Maintenance Plan you can extend oil life at the very least 50% so if you change oil at every 3000 mies go to 4500 and it makes no difference how hard you drive your car. For myself i go 100 % or 6000 miles.
Auto-Rx will keep your oil cleaner longer and engine smoother. This is another reason to use the Auto-Rx maintenance plan.
Regarding oil a Group 111 plus Auto-Rx can hold it,s own with any synthetic or high mileage oil .
I figured out why this engine was leaking and now it is not. The breather was a little dirty, so I changed it. The other thing I did when I dumped my oil and filter 2 days ago was to put in 5.5 quarts of oil instead of 6 quarts. I measured how much oil came out of the engine and oil filter and put that much back in. My oil pan is unusual in that it has a trap door baffle to keep the oil in the pickup area, it is not like a regular oil pan, when I pull in to the driveway and hit the brakes the trap door shuts so there could have been more oil in the back of the oil pan near the rear main seal. I think I had too much oil in this engine because if I am draining out 5.5 quarts each time and adding 6 quarts there is too much oil in there, just my observation. The oil pan is a Canton Racing Oil Pan which is similar to a Moroso or Milodon Oil Pan. The engine seems to be running a little better to, I will keep everyone posted.
If you know your engine has sludge issues change the filter if you are just using the ARX maintenance program leave the filter on until the normal oil change.
I went through two clean/rinse phases as per the sludge removal instructions on my 94 Camry. Right now the oil has 2100 miles on it with the maintenance dose and it still looks clean.I am very surprised on a 15 year old car. I was planning on changing the oil every 3000 miles until I saw Franks post of keeping the oil in until 6000 miles.
I went through it because I know these engines are known for their sludge build up. The previous owner did a ton of stop and go in the city for about 12 years of the car's life. Actually I did see a little sludge through the oil filler hole,but I did not remove the valve cover.
Hello the Auto-Rx Maintenance Plan of 4 ounces every oil change will keep the sludge liquified and under control .
I would not try to lengthen my oil change mileage if my engine has sludge. Stick with the maintenance plan and drive knowing you saved your engine from failure by following the application instructions for "SLUDGE" on www.auto-rx.com
Frank is not recommending you go 6000 miles between oil changes I copied his post below. what he is saying is his personnal car he drives 6000 miles with the maintenance dose between oil changes. With your sludge issues use the 4oz maintenance dose of ARX with the recommended mileage of oil changes.
Daryl
When on the Auto-Rx Maintenance Plan you can extend oil life at the very least 50% so if you change oil at every 3000 mies go to 4500 and it makes no difference how hard you drive your car. For myself i go 100 % or 6000 miles.
I have a 2001 BMW 325i. This car is recommended to change oil every 5000 miles using synthetic oil.
After the sludge is cleaned out, I take it from Frank's statement, that if I'm on the ARX maintenance plan, I can change oil every 7500 miles using Group III non-synthtic oil with ARX?
My Small Block Chevrolet has the 2-Piece Rear Main Seal that I replaced at 330,000 miles because it was leaking a little bit. There is now some wetness on the back of the oil pan, I did a little research and it seems that when the rear main bearings wear there is some play in the crankshaft which can cause some leaks and there is nothing a new rear main seal will do to stop the wetness. Obviously if there is some play in the crankshaft we cannot blame Auto-Rx for this, I am also going to check my oil pressure sending switch that screws into the engine block to make sure it is not loose. I do not know if I replace the rear main bearing maybe the wetness will stop, so if anyone has any knowledge about this I would like to here some thoughts. When I have the car on the lift tonite I should get a better idea as to what is going on. I am 1500 miles into the Clean Phase and will be changing the oil filter tonite because of the way the car drives. Remember too if you have a ripped seal there is nothing Auto-Rx can do for you. I am glad I did my research instead of blaming Auto-Rx for this problem. I will post back later tonite.
I may have to take my words back, for whatever reason I have a slight leak at the back of the oil pan seal. My car originaly called for 5 quarts of oil, and at 333,000 miles I put on a different oil pan and now I need to put in 6 quarts of oil. On my last oil change, I only put in 5.5 quarts of oil, and there is no more leaks.
This oil pan has a trap door on it, so if the car is level the door closes and this may raise the oil level a little bit.
When I park in the driveway now, I have the car sitting on a part of the driveway that is aiming towards the front, keeping the oil from pooling up at the back of the oil pan.
This engine now has 367,000 miles on it, and it runs like a charm, thanks to auto-rx.
