I have a 99 Avalon that is going under the treatment. Some history...bought the car used with 40K miles. It was a fleet vehicle and knew its oil was changed regularly. Changed the oil to Mobil 1 synthetic and haven't had any problems since. @130k miles went to change the valve covers only to find crusty gunk in the upper parts of the head. Not horrible, but bad enough that, as careful as I tried, I must have knocked some off and made it's way into the pan. Oil pressure light would flicker and sometimes stay on, rev the motor and it would go off....sometimes. I did not drive the car for fear of toasting the bearings! Ran some motor flush(bad idea!!) for a couple of minutes, changed the oil and filter and haven't had any problems...till now. Rear main seal is now leaking, not much, drop a day. Just enough to piss you off. :) Before I replace the rear main seal with a new one(PITA job!!) I still need all that crud out of there or there is a chance I'll knock more out by replacing the seal. Having researched the sludge problem, wound up here! I plan on following the sludge application but will go back to a synthetic. Guess I'll have to use something other than Mobil 1?!
Yes you should shelve the M1 for now. To stop the rear main you will need to run dino in both the clean and rinse phases. I think in your situation I would follow the seal leak application. It is likely that your small drip will go away late in the first rinse phase.
You think a clean and rinse will cure the rear main seal? That means dino oil only or can I eventually go back to a synthetic? Just ordered 3 bottles...I have pictures of the front bank when I did the valve cover gaskets, so I'll continue to take pictures and document the procedure as miles accumulate...
-- Edited by Supranaut on Thursday 9th of April 2009 10:53:46 AM
A clean and rinse will clean the seal material (front & back) Auto-Rx will make the seal very pliable. It is the simple additive package in group111 oil that restores the pliability and stops the leak. If you go back to synthetic the complex additive package will start the leak again.
Go to www.auto-rx.com and download application for seal leak read the FAQ and the Auto-Rx Discussion Board.
Last but not least use the search engine on the home page type in seal leaks. You will have better understanding of process.
