Well my wife and I bought a 1999 Lexus RX300 about a month ago. Having investigated the oil sludge/gelling problems with this V6 engine from Toyota, we decided to buy the car based on it's maintenance history. It was a one owner car and the lady kept everything in a big folder. I can account for almost all the oil changes from new until now. Most of the work was done at the Lexus dealer. Even though it has a great maintenance history, I still wanted to be pro-active given the problems this motor can have. After reading and being a member some of the Lexus forums, I came accross this product and decided to give it a try. I will document all results on this site for others in the future. I will also let clublexus.com and lexusownersclub.com know about my experiences to help others out. I will be starting treatment this weekend and I have taken some pitures for documentation. This is what I bought: 1- 2 bottles of auto-rx 2- 1 pcv valve 3- 5 quarts of cheap oil 4- A bunch of oil filters
I took some pictures of the dipstick and inside the oil cap. You will notice a lot of oil varnish on them. I also took a picture of the mileage. This should be a great experience and I will pull the dipstick out and take more pictures every 500 miles or so. I will also take pictures of the oil that I will drain and cut open oil filters. On a funny side note, Mr. Millers operation is in my home town here In Jacksonville, Florida. I work in the Ponte Vedra area and if Mr. Miller wants to look at or add to my quest, I can meet up with him anytime. This should be a lot fun!
UPDATE: 01/23/10: OIL CHANGED WITH AUTO-RX . NEW PCV VALVE INSTALLED. MILEAGE 99520.
-- Edited by scottone928 on Saturday 23rd of January 2010 02:30:01 PM
-- Edited by scottone928 on Saturday 23rd of January 2010 02:30:26 PM
Seems you have everything ready to start cleaning out the sludge. Make sure you read the Maintenance Application as you will need to start it it after you have finished your Auto-Rx Application. Please read "Do you Drive A Sludgemobile" located on home page of Auto-Rx Web Site. Last but not least utilize the search engine on the Auto-Rx Web Site (home page) type in sludge and you will get valuable results.
I disagree with your statement "Cheap Oil" oil is oil its the additive package you pay for ( and don't you pay) Auto-Rx in a "a Group 111" oil has better characteristics than one might suspect.
Seems you have everything ready to start cleaning out the sludge. Make sure you read the Maintenance Application as you will need to start it it after you have finished your Auto-Rx Application. Please read "Do you Drive A Sludgemobile" located on home page of Auto-Rx Web Site. Last but not least utilize the search engine on the Auto-Rx Web Site (home page) type in sludge and you will get valuable results.
I disagree with your statement "Cheap Oil" oil is oil its the additive package you pay for ( and don't you pay) Auto-Rx in a "a Group 111" oil has better characteristics than one might suspect.
Follow the instructions and all will be well. ps read the FAQ it answers many if not all of the questions that might come up.
Personally, I think you find the dip stick will clean up quickly, likely in the first 500 miles or so. There is plenty of oil flow down near the bottom of the dipstick. On another note, the upper dipstick and oil fill areas are likely stained from oil/gas vapors for the most part. Auto-Rx has very low volatility even at full operating temperatures. Therefor Auto-Rx will likely not reach these areas. So I would not be discouraged if the oil filler area does not clean up much. I think this area is also baffled so that splash fed oil in the valve train will not reach this area.
However the working guts of your motor will resemble what you see at the lower end of the dipstick. I think you are very smart in cleaning up this motor with 99K on the clock.
Scott- You do know this pix (of the fill area) does NOT shown the internals of your engine? your pix is normal for these engines since oil does not adhere to this area. 100 to 1 your engine is fine since you are looking a a baffle on toyos..
-- Edited by sludge on Friday 22nd of January 2010 08:57:19 PM
Yes I agree with you. That is why my main interest is in the dipstick. It will be right in the heart of the oil. The varnish on it is rock hard. I took my finger nail and could not scrape any off.
