Small Block Chevrolet Engines like the 1 on my El Camino have looser tolerances than today's engines, meaning that with today's engines they can easily clog up with junk inside the engine, that is why it is so important for people with newer vehicles to use Auto-Rx. My El Camino which is a 1983 model is speced for 10W-30, I think that everything from the early 1990's on up is speced for 5W-30 or now even 5W-20. I know this is true because I have read many owner's of Crown-Vic's that are speced for either 5W-30 or 5W-20 have used 10W-30 and have had issues at about 100,000 miles with oil consumption or oil burning. Many of the engines out now are overhead cam engines whereas my small block has the camshaft below the cylinder heads. I once asked a knowledgeable mechanic what is the 1st thing to go on a small block, and he said the rockers because they are at the top of the engine and when crud builds up there is insufficient lubrication too the top end of the motor, I guess my point is that with Auto-Rx it will keep the motor clean so there is sufficient lubrication to the top end. This statement about top end lubrication also applies too me personally, at 340,000 miles I replaced all of my pushrods and rocker arms because I had 1 pushrod that was so badly worn it was just barely contacting the rocker arm, obviously it was insufficient lubrication, probably my lines where the oil travels had some junk inside. It is important to realize that in an engine the oil travels from the pan and then up throughout the engine, and what goes up must come down, meaning that if your oil return holes are a little clogged it will take longer for the oil to come back down to the oil pan. Replacing pushrods and rocker arms on a small block chevy is easy and not that expensive, replacing camshafts on these newer cars is probably expensive. Another thought is that today's engines run hotter and work harder, my El Camino has a radiator that is 31X19 and it holds almost 20 quarts of coolant with the oversize radiator that I have, these newer cars especially the smaller ones have very small radiators, your oil does 2 things, it lubricates and cools, that's it. My thought is Auto-Rx is cheaper than replacing parts in your engine. The way labor rates are at a dealer, I think it is $75.00 an hour, you could probably buy at least 4 bottles of Auto-Rx, if the engine repair job takes 8 hours, that is 32 bottles. With a Miantenance Dose of Auto-Rx on a new or newer car you could go 60,000 miles for an hour labor charge at the dealer. A 4 ounce Maintenance Dose would last 3 oil changes at 5000 mile oil changes that would be 15,000 miles. That 8 hour labor charge would by you enough Auto-Rx to go 480,000 miles on a Maintenance Dose every 5000 miles.
your oil does 2 things, it lubricates and cools, that's it.
Uh-oh, I'd get yelled at if I said this in an aviation oral exam, lol.
Oil actually does four things, which is why it is very important it is kept at the correct level and replaced periodically. It lubricates, cools, seals, and cleans.
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2000 Mercury Grand Marquis LS [ pictures | videos ] Dual Flowmaster Delta 40s / J-Mod / PI Intake Manifold / Marauder Air Box / 80mm MAF CVPI Zip Tube / Ported & Polished Plenum / BBK 70mm / 93 Octane Tune / Steeda Underdrive Pulleys
Frank can chime in on this 1, but if oil cleans then we would not need Auto-Rx because our engines would be spotless since oil does such a good job cleaning.
Oil cleans in the sense of moving metal shards from different parts of the engine to the filter. That's one reason for the oil filter. Being a pilot makes you understand engines a lot better, even without a mechanic background. We are required to know every in and out of the planes we fly, and the planes I fly have engines with the same principles as a car engine.
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2000 Mercury Grand Marquis LS [ pictures | videos ] Dual Flowmaster Delta 40s / J-Mod / PI Intake Manifold / Marauder Air Box / 80mm MAF CVPI Zip Tube / Ported & Polished Plenum / BBK 70mm / 93 Octane Tune / Steeda Underdrive Pulleys
First go to Google type in Metal Shards if you have this going on in an aircraft engine , let alone a car engine i fail to see what oil or anything else does to remedy metal failure. I would have a qualified mechanic replace worn parts .
Exactly metal particulates-contaminants-third party abrasives-dirt, all get carried to the filter. This is why on engines that are sludged we ask customer to invest a few dollars more and change the filter half way through the cleaning and rinsing cycle.
The detergent/dispersant package in oil exists to the extent that it provides the bare minimum protection to reduce harmful deposits. Fresh oil does little to nothing with regards to deposits that are firmly in place. Bear in mind that oils suggested life is predicated on what is considered optimal driving situations over the life of an oil change. But as we know now otimal driving conditions seemingly don't exist. Its alot like tire warantees. Many mileage estimates projected to the public are based on a spare tire getting equal road activity as the other 4 tires. But as we know today most cars come with little donut spares that are only rated for about 50 miles of use.
With respect to cooling oil does a very poor job of cooling if working parts as well as other surfaces are coated with varnish or sludge like deposits. Why else would major oil companies be launching ad campaigns on how much better their new products fair against oil contamination deposits. Some claim that there new formulations are 46% better than what. They don't say. To me that is an admitting that they are all that good. Other companies tote their products as being great about preventing sludge, but no mention of cleaning up already existing sludge. Their advertizing practices best lend themselves to the political world.
Everything you said is 100% true, I used Mobil 1 from 60,000 miles up to 200,000 miles, and then went to Amsoil synthetic from 200,000 miles up to 343,000 miles. They may be great oil's but I am still releasing junk from my engine. My thought is if you have a new car, cheap dino oil and a Maintenance Dose of Auto-Rx is better than a high priced synthetic oil by itself.
