Current Rx Clean Phase Ongoing - and a question

[Michael Polutta]

Today as I started my car to come home I heard the first tangible sign that the Auto-Rx is loosening some crud in my engine - one of the HLAs started tapping like mad. My car is a 1989 Mazda MX-6 GT (2.2L turbo) w/ 194K miles. So, hurray, I want all 12 of those HLAs to be COMPLETELY clean when this is all done!

The question - I opened the oil filler hole when I got home and there was some oil smoke coming up. I got concerned that it might be steam, a la head gasket, but it totally did not seem to be water-based. Could this signify anything truly amiss, or is it just (really) hot oil from a 4-banger turbo motor? Please advise, and thanks.

 

[Michael Polutta]

To clarify - the smoke was coming from inside the valve cover, not outside the engine.

 

[Russ]

It is getting fairly cool outside, so if you pull the oil cap off the engine that is still at operating temperature, it'll have no choice but to give off steam (200 F or so inside the engine vs. 50-60 F ambient temperature). Seems perfectly normal to me.

 

[Michael Polutta]

Russ,

Thanks for the reply. However, this was definitely NOT steam. Steam and smoke move/behave differently. This seemed to be oil smoke (vaporization?). Also, I have always had a coating of thick oily soot inside the filler cap, ever since I can remember - and I'm the only owner this car has ever known.

BTW - the Delo 400 15W-40 in there now is the only non-synthetic I've ever put in the engine. M1 (15W-50) and Syntec (5W-50) before now, with an occasional Redline (10W-40).

 

[Gary Allan]

I have to ask ..how many times prior to A-Rx have you had cause to inspect your oil filler cap right after shutting down the engine? I mean, it's not something that I commonly do ...until I found A-Rx and had some insatiable desire to see how neat things looked under the cap.

Typically you won't see much happening during the cleaning phase. My oil just got a varnished look to it fairly quickly ..some noises stopped ..some changed. The rinse phase was where stuff had a major impact in the "apparent" effects dept.

Aside from some leaking seals due to cleaning, I've never heard of any neg side effects of A-Rx. The symptoms span the spectrum however ..so

It's kinda unsettling to see something "new" happening. (visions of Joe Izusu saying, "Trust me")

 

[Michael Polutta]

I do not think that it is smoking due to ARx. I'm just asking if anyone else has seen smoke inside the valve cover? And if so, what does it mean?

I don't often check the engine just after shutdown, but I do occasionally. I do try to clean out the inside of the oil filler cap at every oil change (at least).

I do admit that I'm trying to spy on the valvetrain more frequently to see what ARx is doing so far.

 

[Matt_S]

I've seen this on several cars I've owned. It's just certain components of the oil, or maybe the RX, vaporizing and is exactly the reason you have a PCV valve. It's no biggie. It doesn't mean anything's wrong.

 

[Dr. T]

It's completely normal to see this with any oil if you open the oil fill cap when engine is hot. That's what's happening in your engine all the time anyway...guess why do you need auto-rx...and why I hate water-weight lubes (eg.5W-20)...ahhhh