Vehicle is a 1996 Ford Explorer 4.0L OHV V6, 137000 miles. It burned no oil but had some leaks prior to being treated to ARX.
The valve cover gaskets were replaced previously and no significant amount of sludge existed in that area.
After less than 300 miles in it's first cleaning application I'm observing these three things:
1) A drippy front seal is now completely dry. Other, more minor leaks remain further back; they may be faulty static seals or perhaps the rear seal. I won't know the origin of those until I can have a look under there.
2) Some of these engines would develop localized cooling system hot spots/vapor pockets caused by low coolant pump volume, mine being one of them. A TSB was issued for this. The fix was an improved (and expensive) pump and bypass plumbing, probably no longer available from FoMoCo. Evidently this hot spot is near the temp gauge sender, causing an on-and-off warning light and gauge fluctuation; apparently not a serious issue, but an annoyance. These symptoms have now ceased. My theory is that ARX has cleaned the metal on the crankcase side of this area, thereby permitting the oil to carry some of that heat away. Perhaps there is no actual cooling system fault with these vehicles... perhaps it is a contaminant issue that Ford was able to overcome by installing a more robust pump!
3) A whistling sound, coming from the intake duct or airbox is noted when leaning on the throttle. Now, I agree that such sounds are not considered normal, but it tells me that the engine is now drawing a higher volume of air, presumably due to improved piston ring performance.
Also, the engine seems smoother and more powerful but I have no way to actually measure that. It could be my imagination. I wish I would have thought to perform a compression test before treatment began.
I am the most surprised that all this happened so quickly... thanks ARX!
Mike
Update: I may have jumped the gun regarding item #2 above. When I drove this vehicle today the issue was still present. However, the problem may be on the decline... time will tell.
-- Edited by oldgoat on Wednesday 13th of July 2016 06:26:04 PM
First 300 miles of Auto-Rx In Engine Oil "MIGHT" clean up a sensor not engine metal or engine parts. Mike give us a report when you have finished your application.
If your using hydraulic oil ( transmission-power steering) 300 miles would show results as transmission-power steering oil is highly vicious Auto-Rx would start cleaning these closed systems at once.
Engines use a motor oil much higher viscosity
Rich & myself appreciate your enthusiasm
-- Edited by Frank on Thursday 14th of July 2016 08:29:43 AM
Thanks for the initial report on your application. I wasn't aware of the cooling system issue on the Vulcan 4.0. Keep us informed on the temperature warnings. If it is erratic, sometimes does, sometimes doesn't, then it is possible that the sensor is on its way out. Or even perhaps the thermostat is sticking and not fully opening up for you sometimes.
We has a guy a couple years back that overheated a vulcan motor from a cracked head gasket. After replacing the gasket he was down on compression in a couple cylinders. He was able to bring the compression back up in those cylinders in short order, although not within 300 miles. I think he was in the 750 mile range to free up the rings.
Also, have you checked or replaced the PCV valve? Sometimes they can stick or under perform and allow for excessive positive crankcase pressure., which ultimately can force some oil leaks. Most rotary seal leaks healed from cleaning occur somewhere in the 2000 to 3000 mile range. The rear mains are usually the toughest due to higher heat, close to the firewall, and the exhaust collectors in close proximity.
All those things you mentioned are in good working order.
The thermostat was replaced when I did a cooling system service and the PCV valve is new as well.
The cooling system overall is not getting hot. According to my OBD scan tool the ECU is seeing perfectly normal temps even when the gauge says otherwise.
I replaced the sending unit for the gauge and have tested the gauge itself.
It is just this little isolated spot near the gauge sending unit that sees too little coolant flow that is the issue. Some owners even report hearing a rumbling sound (boiling) coming from the cooling system when the gauge says hot, although I do not observe that.
