Well I read a lot of success stories with this arx stuff so i thought Id give it a try. Im not a big believer on additives but this 98 prelude I bought is burning about a quart of oil every 1000 miles. And that is with babying the car around town and using high mileage castrol gtx 10w-40 over the recommended 5w-30 from honda. So Im willing to try an additive now and this seems to be the best shot. The arx just arrived today and I will be going to change my oil tonight and throw a bottle in there. So I will keep updating this thread with any news I have. If anyone has any tips or pointers please chime in anytime. Hope this works
ARX for oil burning 98 Honda Prelude
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Change filter too. Run it hot and hard
Auto-Rx is not an additive it is a non hazardous metal cleaner. An additive changes the viscosity/chemistry of the host oil . Auto-Rx uses oil as a carrier and changes nothing. Hope you read the application for your engine and the FAQ.
sorry, didnt think of it that way. anyway, hope it works. I read the faq's and application instructions and am reading other threads now. Hot and heavy huh? Do I have to drive like that the whole clean and rinse cycle? Id rather not since it burns so much oil and ends up all over my white bumper. Im also using a cheap oil from pepboys and its 5w30 now so Im assuming its gonna burn a crapload of oil now. Just to make sure too, I do the oil and filter change using dino oil with the bottle of arx. Drive 2500 miles and then change the oil and filter again with more dino oil to begin the rinse cycle. Then drive 3000 miles and change again. Is this correct? Am I missing anything?
Here's one thing you can do in the meantime:
Check to make sure there are no oil leaks, such as spark plug tube gaskets (just pop off the spark plug wire and check in the tube and see if it's covered with oil or not).
You're correct about the application process.
Preludes are wonderful cars when taken care of properly, hopefully ARX will do the job for you. I've used it on my Integra even though it didn't burn any oil previously, and it's a great product.
Check to make sure there are no oil leaks, such as spark plug tube gaskets (just pop off the spark plug wire and check in the tube and see if it's covered with oil or not).
You're correct about the application process.
Preludes are wonderful cars when taken care of properly, hopefully ARX will do the job for you. I've used it on my Integra even though it didn't burn any oil previously, and it's a great product.
This is my second 98 honda prelude, great cars. This one has 163k on the clock though and the oil consumption sucks. The previous owner replaced all the gaskets and seals except for the ones on the inside like valve seals and what not so there is absolutely no oil leakage whatsoever. The compression test wasnt too bad either. Hopefully this will help me out, even if it just cuts it down to a quart every three thousand I would be very happy
Why run 5W30 in an oil burner? Makes no sense whatsoever
just thought i should go back to the manufacturers recommended oil for the process. should i stick with 10w40 instead? im really hoping this stuff will help me so i can go back to a higher viscousity oil. I know with a thicker oil the start ups are a lot harsher on engine wear.
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Sprintman is from Oz. They use 5w-30 for door hinges ..and then only if a good 50 weight isn't available. The lighter the oil the more migrates into the upper ring area ..or so some SAE paper asserted.
RX it with 10W40, at least the oil/RX blend will actually be in the engine longer to do it's job, not blowing out the tail pipe in a blue haze. My 2c. Gary I have 5W30 in our Outback.
You did the right thing getting ARX. The stuff is absolutely amazing. Just stick to the directions and listen to Gary. Not that sprintman is wrong or anything. er umm I think Gary is right about this though, because ARX will stick to the crud in there to slowly dissolve it, and it is better that it gets into all the teeny tiny places a 5W 30 can get to.
Yes stick to the directions but DON'T use 5W30. Simple as and yes we have ben playing with RX in private and commercial entities for many years. Maybe Frank could chime in here?
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No biggie either way. If visc allows him to retain the original sump longer, fine. If it's beyond a certain level of dirty, I would, as Sprintman said, change out the filter (go cheap) ..even pouring the contents back into the engine. If I was more flush in the wallet, I would buy 3 bottles and just do 2 treatments over 4 OCIs ..and then use the third for the maintenance dose ..or perhaps even a third treatment if one thought there might be more to be gained.
Use Group III oils if you've got a synthetic bug ..but for the time in service you may be spending a bit more money.
Use Group III oils if you've got a synthetic bug ..but for the time in service you may be spending a bit more money.
I agree with some of what you say but not all. A virgin oil analysis of an oil sample with the cleaning dose shows only a miniscule varience in TAN(total acid number). After all esters are slightly acidic in nature. The reason we sometimes see TAN impacted while running the cleaning dose, is from the contaminants that have been dissolved and are now suspended in the host oil brew. Oxidized oil deposits are acidic in nature. Although the cleaning esters of ARX are slightly acidic in nature, they are designed to be corrosion inhibitors as well. The minimal effect on TAN due to ARX is a non issue. The greater effect of TAN from cleansing acidic deposits is proof positive that ARX is working.
All,
Used oil analysis of many oils run with the cleaning dose rate of Auto-Rx have shown that none of the host oils charactewristic are changed physically, nor chemically. Viscocity and indexing are unaltered. The additive packages are still present in the appropriate levels seemingly unaltered by the small dilution of Auto-Rx in the oil. So the only reason I can see that folks want to call it an additive is that it gets dumped into the crankcase through a valve cover. If thats the definition then I would say that the motor oil itself is an additive.
The product ARX is a proprietary blend of three ester groups. One is fatty ester, lanolin type, that is the base of ARX. Raw material is derived from the washing of sheep hair. This unique ester has very good detergent properties and is reponsible for most of the cleaning of engine deposits that motor oil detergents can't clean. A second ester group is an aliphatic ester, which helps in the oil film formation. Esters of this group make up the base of many aviation oils. They prevent dry spots or fish eyes in the oil film formation. This is obviously important while flying many thousand feet above the ground. It is also vital during the cleansing of deposits in your ground level motor. The other ester group is a polyol ester. Although is primarily used as a thinning agent of the ARX blend, improving pour point, they are biodegadeable eco friendly extreme pressue agents. By green I mean cholorine free, phoshate free, boron free, etc.
I like to think of ARX as relif pitcher in baseball. When the starting motor oil has failed due to errors such as ecessive length of oil changes, you have got to go to the bullpen. The starting motor oil wears down over the life of an oil change, at the pesty price of an internal motor problem, why not go to the bullpen, ARX maintenance dose. If you have seal leaks and can not justify a horendous labor charge to swap out a cheap seal, then go to the closer, ARX.
Every motor crankcase can hold and extra 3-12 fluid ounces without overfilling, provided that it wasn't overfilled to start with. So why not make use of this idle space to protect the vehicle investment and keep it operating at full strength over its usefull life. Its like adding good cholesteral to the blood stream to remove bad cholesteral, and the oil filter acts like your liver. May be this is why it is called Auto-Rx. A prescription for a healthy motor.
Rick 20
Why would anyone want to use anything else?
Frank
All,
Used oil analysis of many oils run with the cleaning dose rate of Auto-Rx have shown that none of the host oils charactewristic are changed physically, nor chemically. Viscocity and indexing are unaltered. The additive packages are still present in the appropriate levels seemingly unaltered by the small dilution of Auto-Rx in the oil. So the only reason I can see that folks want to call it an additive is that it gets dumped into the crankcase through a valve cover. If thats the definition then I would say that the motor oil itself is an additive.
The product ARX is a proprietary blend of three ester groups. One is fatty ester, lanolin type, that is the base of ARX. Raw material is derived from the washing of sheep hair. This unique ester has very good detergent properties and is reponsible for most of the cleaning of engine deposits that motor oil detergents can't clean. A second ester group is an aliphatic ester, which helps in the oil film formation. Esters of this group make up the base of many aviation oils. They prevent dry spots or fish eyes in the oil film formation. This is obviously important while flying many thousand feet above the ground. It is also vital during the cleansing of deposits in your ground level motor. The other ester group is a polyol ester. Although is primarily used as a thinning agent of the ARX blend, improving pour point, they are biodegadeable eco friendly extreme pressue agents. By green I mean cholorine free, phoshate free, boron free, etc.
I like to think of ARX as relif pitcher in baseball. When the starting motor oil has failed due to errors such as ecessive length of oil changes, you have got to go to the bullpen. The starting motor oil wears down over the life of an oil change, at the pesty price of an internal motor problem, why not go to the bullpen, ARX maintenance dose. If you have seal leaks and can not justify a horendous labor charge to swap out a cheap seal, then go to the closer, ARX.
Every motor crankcase can hold and extra 3-12 fluid ounces without overfilling, provided that it wasn't overfilled to start with. So why not make use of this idle space to protect the vehicle investment and keep it operating at full strength over its usefull life. Its like adding good cholesteral to the blood stream to remove bad cholesteral, and the oil filter acts like your liver. May be this is why it is called Auto-Rx. A prescription for a healthy motor.
Rick 20
Why would anyone want to use anything else?
Frank
I stand corrected.
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Well, there's no wrong weight. IF visc lowers his consumption, fine. The decoking doesn't take all that long in my experience. The stain removal is more time weighted, imo ..but also relies on lots of incidental contact with oil flying around just like it did to produce the nasties to begin with.
Than you Gary for the clarification. You're a good egg.
Originally Posted By: prelude2perfect
should i stick with 10w40 instead? im really hoping this stuff will help me so i can go back to a higher viscousity oil. I know with a thicker oil the start ups are a lot harsher on engine wear.
Hey Prelude,
I have a 91 civic which has been buringing oil since i got it. Like yourself i use a heavier weight than recomended by honda. And yes, it is rough on start ups. But if you let it warm up for a few minutes instead of gunning you will minimize the wear of cold starts.
When using Auto RX follow instructions from the website and from Frank.
As to what oil to use after the AutoRx cycle, if i was losing a quart per 1,000 miles, like you, i would use Rotella Synthetic 5W-40 from Wallyworld-- 16 bucks for 5 quarts. And in the summer i'd add a bit of motor honey to that to thicken it up. (Castrol 5W-50 would, of course, be even better but it's a lot of money for an oil which your just going to burn away quickly).
Because i have worn rings Auto Rx did not help my oil buring. However i still absolutely loved the effect i felt after using Auto Rx and don't regret using it at all.
"I felt like i just had a brand new engine installed for 20 bucks," i used to tell people.
It's good stuff and well worth using. But like Frank says, don't expect it to correct a mechanical defect.
good luck
should i stick with 10w40 instead? im really hoping this stuff will help me so i can go back to a higher viscousity oil. I know with a thicker oil the start ups are a lot harsher on engine wear.
Hey Prelude,
I have a 91 civic which has been buringing oil since i got it. Like yourself i use a heavier weight than recomended by honda. And yes, it is rough on start ups. But if you let it warm up for a few minutes instead of gunning you will minimize the wear of cold starts.
When using Auto RX follow instructions from the website and from Frank.
As to what oil to use after the AutoRx cycle, if i was losing a quart per 1,000 miles, like you, i would use Rotella Synthetic 5W-40 from Wallyworld-- 16 bucks for 5 quarts. And in the summer i'd add a bit of motor honey to that to thicken it up. (Castrol 5W-50 would, of course, be even better but it's a lot of money for an oil which your just going to burn away quickly).
Because i have worn rings Auto Rx did not help my oil buring. However i still absolutely loved the effect i felt after using Auto Rx and don't regret using it at all.
"I felt like i just had a brand new engine installed for 20 bucks," i used to tell people.
It's good stuff and well worth using. But like Frank says, don't expect it to correct a mechanical defect.
good luck
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It gets slowly liquefied. If you have pudding, it can actually load a filter fairly quickly. I always tell someone who has visibly heavy deposits to change filters often.
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