Was given a 2002 Passat 4 banger for a debt. I read up on the sludge problem, and using a flashlight did a quick look through the oil cap. Bad news.
Took it for it's first long drive and after about a half hour, you guessed it, the STOP ENGINE light sounded. I pulled over, let it rest 2 minutes, and all was fine again.
Started your first round (cleaning phase) of your product 400 miles ago with fresh Dino. No problems in town, but alarm has sounded twice on long drives - and then...
Yesterday drove for hour and a half. Nothing. Cool as a cucumber. Ramped it up to 85 for a while. Nothing.
I don't want to get my hopes up, but this is looking VERY good. I've not read a single bad review of this stuff, and have my fingers crossed. While I'm not tearing the engine apart (or even taking off the valve cover) unless I have to, I will report back along the way. Thanks for the great forum, and (so far) amazing product!
Thank you for purchasing ARX it is a great product with no solvents and becomming a new member. Just follow the instructions for sludge and check your filter often.
I would think it be prudent to follow the heavy sludge application on this unit with a sludging history. Run your cleaning dose for only 1250 miles. Dump oil and change filter. Then run a relatively short rinse cycle, approx. 1500 miles and dump the oil again.
I'm doing the sludge application, absolutely. It's funny, I've seen posts on the net complaining about the price of Auto-Rx, and/or the cost of oil changes and filters - seems to me like a SMALL price if I can avoid shop costs.
I would suggest you service the PCV system because it's most likely clogged and contributing to your sludge issues. Once you've finished with the ARX sludge application I'd suggest you stick with a VW approved oil and not run over 5,000 miles between oil changes. For added protection use 3-4 oz. of ARX at each oil change.
Thanks for the suggestion about the PCV valve, but I have a question: I THINK I've seen mixed advice about this, should I wait till the rinse phase is over (or even the second rinse phase if I do the process twice) or should I change it now? If I change it now would I have to change it again (fairly expensive on the Passat, but doable) when the process is done? Any input is welcomed
You can service the PCV system at any time, I would think the sooner the better. My hunch is that you would only need to change it once while you're doing your ARX routine. Each vehicle operates under different conditions but it would be a good idea to clean or replace the PCV components every 50,000 miles.
Just to give you one example why it's important to change the PCV valve:
On a '96 Civic that had an oil consumption issue I did a ARX treatment but wasn't able to notice any improvement. The oil consumption rate at this time was a quart every 1,700 miles. I decided to do a second ARX treatment, along with it I changed the PCV valve. I believe this might have been the first time it had ever been replaced. After the 2nd ARX treatment oil consumption dropped to a quart every 3,000 - 3,300 miles.
You will get your best results with a properly functioning PCV Valve, if the PCV Valve is clogged up those harmful vapors can hurt your engine, those vapors have acids in them. A clogged PCV Valve can also lead to oil leaks since the pressure has to go somewhere, that somewhere is usually going to cause oil to leak out of the seals.
50 miles into the rinse phase after a 1250 cleaning phase - going to do a 1250 rinse and then repeat the whole process, unless anyone here disagrees...
All has been pretty quiet on the STOP ENGINE front, except when I go uphill for extended periods - I live in Southern Oregon, and hit the Siskiyou Pass the other day: STOP ENGINE came on twice, but fine coming back down.
So - 2 questions:
Does anyone know if there's a particular reason the STOP ENGINE warning might only come on uphill? Is the turbo working especially hard then? Is the oil pooling at the back of the pan?
Also, peering into the oil fill, it doesn't look like much change in appearance - is most of the change in the rinse period?
Your comment about pooling might be correct as Auto-Rx is still cleaning and oil drain holes could be partially blocked. So going uphill this engine less lubrication. You won't see any change until rinse mode is finished.
Drive this engine hard and at a medium to medium high temperature for the rest of your cleaning cycle. Let us know results.
Just a word of caution: Never drive an engine with a turbo hard and then just turn the engine off. Always allow the turbo to cool down for a few minutes under those conditions.
You just described the professional answers and concern on this board . Some boards have been hijacked by former used tire buyers most of the advice is suspect at best.
So - an update. Typical Passat I guess. No problems for weeks, had just started the 2nd cleaning phase, things seemed too good to be true. Took a 200 mile drive, and about 100 in, OIL LIGHTS, STOP ENGINE ETC. - I was in the mountains and literally couldn't stop for about 2 miles, BAM, loud noises and no power, pulled off, and called it a day. Got it home, shop ran the codes and said timing chain was out, tensioner was toast, probably more, they're tearing into it tomorrow. $$$$$$$$$$
Just wanna say however, I still believe in your product, and will use it as time goes on (assuming this thing is not fatal). Thanks for all the input guys!
Sounds like the timing belt broke or the tensioner. The 1.8t engine is an interference engine so when the belt breaks, valves hit pistons and the head will have to be replaced or fixed.
How many miles on the car? The timing belt servive should be done around 70-80k miles and that includes the belt, water pump and tensioners/rollers.
With the clean phase go 2,500 miles but change the filter at the 1/2 way point.
