First, let me give you some history of the car. It's a 1987 Nissan Sentra that I use to commute the 75 miles round trip everyday to work. We originally purchased the car late in 1986 and took extremely good care of it up until March of 1996 when we gave the car to my mother-in-law, with 36,000 miles on it.
In January, my mother-in-law passed away, and we towed the car back to Iowa from Colorado. The car then had 95,000 miles on it, and none of the miles that my mother-in-law put on it were easy. I'd be surprised if there 6 oil changes between the time we gave it to her, and the time we towed it back home. There was virtually no maintenance done, and when I started it up in Colorado it smoked like crazy (ring problems I suspect). I was prepared to either donate the car or part it out when we got it back.
However, being the tinkerer that I am, I decided that with the gas prices being what they were, if I could get it running decently it might make a good little commuter car, or at least a cheap "extra" vehicle. I changed some of the sensors, fixed the exhaust, and gave it a tune up. It ran better, but it sure wasn't like it was when it left us. The car still smoked some, and really didn't have much power at all.
So, I figured, what do I have to lose by trying this AutoRX stuff that everyone here raves about. Worst case, it might damage the engine and I'd junk it anyway. Best case it might actually improve the car. So, at ~96,000 miles I changed the oil and added AutoRX.
One of the items that I initially replaced was the valve cover gasket. There was a significant amount of sludge and varnish in the valve train when I had the cover off, so it would be interesting to keep an eye on it through the oil filler hole and see if there was any improvement.
At about 800 miles into the initial phase, I noticed the oil on the dipstick getting extremely dark. I was a little concerned about the color changing that quickly, but again, what have I got to lose? By 1200 miles the oil was extremely dark on the dipstick, and at the oil change, at about 1650 miles, the oil that came out was as black as pitch. Keeping an eye on the valve train through the oil filler hole, I could see a slight improvement in the cleanliness of the valve train, but not much. At the oil change, there was some improvement in the power of the vehicle, but nothing to write home about. I would still get passed on the Interstate by U-Hauls.
On to the rinse phase. About 500 miles into the rinse phase the oil started to turn dark on the dipstick. My wife commented to me about this time that she didn't see any smoke when I started it or pulled out of the driveway. I began to notice a significant difference in the power of the engine. At least I could keep up with the U-Hauls now.
On to the end of the rinse phase, which was Sunday. The oil came out pitch black, and looking in the oil filler the valve train looks extremely clean (other than a coating of normal motor oil on it). I have noticed a huge difference it the car. There is one intersection that I have to make a left turn onto a divided 4 lane highway, going uphill for about 1/4 mile after the turn. Before the AutoRX, I might be able to make 35-40 MPH when I reached the top of the hill. This morning after I made the turn I was at 55 MPH at the top of the hill. The car no longer smokes, it idles great, has good power, and is more like the car I remember. The car has no leaks, however it didn't leak before the AutoRX treatment.
Tomorrow on my way to work I'll turn it over to 100K, and expect to see at least another 75K on it before I'll consider junking it...again.
I can't say enought good about AutoRX. There are so many products that don't live up to their claims that it is refreshing when a product really does what it claims to do.
Now if only AutoRX made a product that would do for the body what it did for the engine....
In January, my mother-in-law passed away, and we towed the car back to Iowa from Colorado. The car then had 95,000 miles on it, and none of the miles that my mother-in-law put on it were easy. I'd be surprised if there 6 oil changes between the time we gave it to her, and the time we towed it back home. There was virtually no maintenance done, and when I started it up in Colorado it smoked like crazy (ring problems I suspect). I was prepared to either donate the car or part it out when we got it back.
However, being the tinkerer that I am, I decided that with the gas prices being what they were, if I could get it running decently it might make a good little commuter car, or at least a cheap "extra" vehicle. I changed some of the sensors, fixed the exhaust, and gave it a tune up. It ran better, but it sure wasn't like it was when it left us. The car still smoked some, and really didn't have much power at all.
So, I figured, what do I have to lose by trying this AutoRX stuff that everyone here raves about. Worst case, it might damage the engine and I'd junk it anyway. Best case it might actually improve the car. So, at ~96,000 miles I changed the oil and added AutoRX.
One of the items that I initially replaced was the valve cover gasket. There was a significant amount of sludge and varnish in the valve train when I had the cover off, so it would be interesting to keep an eye on it through the oil filler hole and see if there was any improvement.
At about 800 miles into the initial phase, I noticed the oil on the dipstick getting extremely dark. I was a little concerned about the color changing that quickly, but again, what have I got to lose? By 1200 miles the oil was extremely dark on the dipstick, and at the oil change, at about 1650 miles, the oil that came out was as black as pitch. Keeping an eye on the valve train through the oil filler hole, I could see a slight improvement in the cleanliness of the valve train, but not much. At the oil change, there was some improvement in the power of the vehicle, but nothing to write home about. I would still get passed on the Interstate by U-Hauls.
On to the rinse phase. About 500 miles into the rinse phase the oil started to turn dark on the dipstick. My wife commented to me about this time that she didn't see any smoke when I started it or pulled out of the driveway. I began to notice a significant difference in the power of the engine. At least I could keep up with the U-Hauls now.
On to the end of the rinse phase, which was Sunday. The oil came out pitch black, and looking in the oil filler the valve train looks extremely clean (other than a coating of normal motor oil on it). I have noticed a huge difference it the car. There is one intersection that I have to make a left turn onto a divided 4 lane highway, going uphill for about 1/4 mile after the turn. Before the AutoRX, I might be able to make 35-40 MPH when I reached the top of the hill. This morning after I made the turn I was at 55 MPH at the top of the hill. The car no longer smokes, it idles great, has good power, and is more like the car I remember. The car has no leaks, however it didn't leak before the AutoRX treatment.
Tomorrow on my way to work I'll turn it over to 100K, and expect to see at least another 75K on it before I'll consider junking it...again.
I can't say enought good about AutoRX. There are so many products that don't live up to their claims that it is refreshing when a product really does what it claims to do.
Now if only AutoRX made a product that would do for the body what it did for the engine....
