I just completed the 2d clean cycle of 1452 mi on castrol 5w-30 gtx, planned to go around 1600 but had to replace a blown brakeline so while I had it up on the ramps did the oil change. Oil didn't have the thick sludgy look of the 1st rinse nor were the particles found in the bottom of the drain pan the same size. After the 1st rinse I found particles 1/2 the size of a pencil eraser, this time everything was the size of a grain of sand or smaller. Noticibly absent were the hard abrasive particles from before. The particles this time though visible were not able to be felt between the fingers. Will drain & cut open the filter later this week to see whats in there. Oil consumption before starting arx was 1qt/500 mi, on the 2d rinse I added no oil and lost maybe 1/16" on the dipstick over 1452 mi most of which I believe is from a weeping valve cover so consumption is virtually stopped. During the first clean there were times it would burn a little oil and idle rough at startup, this is not happening on the 2d clean. I have used dino 5w-30 GTX for all phases of the arx treatment. Plans at this time are to run this rinse approx 2000mi then change oil & filter run another dino rinse and then change it over to synthetic for the winter months. If I am still getting much stuff out by then I will add another bottle of arx to the synthetic and run it all winter (about 3000 mi) & drain & do another rinse in the spring. I believe the ARX has made a big difference in the way this car runs.
2d arx clean cycle done, observations (long)
- Thread starter SteveU
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Glad to see that it worked so well for you. The rinsing action continues on for a while after the stuff is long gone. Keep us posted on your findings. I've had excellent results with this cleaner.
May want to just run the maintenance dose (3 fl. oz.) when you put in the winter synthetic.
93 Toyota Corolla 1.8L had 131,000 mi on it when I got it has just shy of 136,000 now. Was ran on dino from jiffy lube type places from new by inlaws until we got it this last Christmas. Currently about 100mi into the 2d rinse will be interesting to see what comes out on that change.
What type of driving do you do? Seems pretty common with the 4afe(1.6L) and 7afe(1.8L) engines to burn oil on the highway or in high load/rpm conditions. I might eventually try ARX to see if it will reduce my consumption a little. I get about 1/2 quart to a full quart/1,000 miles(depends on driving conditions and it seems to be a function of the age of the oil as well) with a 30 weight and with the 50 weight in right now I've got 2,000 miles and it's been about 1/2 quart, but the winter I will always have a thinner oil no matter what and consumption will be around then as it still used 1/2 quart per 1,000 miles with a 5w-30 even at freezing temps.
Keep us posted!
Keep us posted!
Yup, I'll chime in & ask you to keep us in the loop on how things go. I'm about 750 miles into the 1st rinse cycle of a double cleaning on the Neon, now at 192 K
miles.
MN Driver, most of my driving is to & from work about 12mi one way on rural roads with an occasional trip 50 mi one way again on rural & state roads. Used to drive semi so I avoid the interstate when possible. Cut the filter open yesterday, very black oil but no abrasive junk in the bottom. Will let the element drain for a couple days then check the pleats for debris. Stuart, I am at about 1700 mi on the 1st rinse in the wifes car with 172,000 mi & 1300 mi on the clean phase on my motorcycle so will have more results while working toward the next drain on my car.
Many times as the filter element loads up soils very small particles get packed together at the element. What appears to be large deposits are really the collection of many small ones. This is particularly true as certain areas of the element are blinded and the dirty oil is seeking the path of least resistance in which to flow.
Bear in mind that the large particles he found during the first rinse may have been there for years and may have been found there regardless of whether ARX was applied or not. Unless the pan was inspected prior to ever applying ARX, there's no evidence that those particles have anything to do with ARX.
Assuming the pan was cleaned during the first insepction, then anything found during the second inspection would definitely be attributed to ARX.
Phil
Assuming the pan was cleaned during the first insepction, then anything found during the second inspection would definitely be attributed to ARX.
Phil
va3ux,
The particles I observed in the oil drain pan were definitly from that drain. They were no doubt in the motor for a long time but I cleaned & wiped out the drain pan just prior to draining the oil. I have been changing the oil on my own vehicles since 1981 & have not seen the hard gritty carbon looking stuff before. When I first got this car I did a LC piston soak for 2 weeks then put a new filter on & added 20 or so oz's of LC to the oil then idled it 30 min & took it down the road smoking like a bandit. Changed that oil & filter & added the first bottle of ARX. This intermediate flush/oil change I did not clean the drain pan for so dont know what came out then.
The particles I observed in the oil drain pan were definitly from that drain. They were no doubt in the motor for a long time but I cleaned & wiped out the drain pan just prior to draining the oil. I have been changing the oil on my own vehicles since 1981 & have not seen the hard gritty carbon looking stuff before. When I first got this car I did a LC piston soak for 2 weeks then put a new filter on & added 20 or so oz's of LC to the oil then idled it 30 min & took it down the road smoking like a bandit. Changed that oil & filter & added the first bottle of ARX. This intermediate flush/oil change I did not clean the drain pan for so dont know what came out then.
Gotcha Steve. Thanks for clarifying. That definitely does sound quite positive then.
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