ARX in my 3.0 Caravan

[Oilgal]

I ordered it on Thursday afternoon, and it arrived Monday morning.

I did an OC an hour later. In went 4.75 qts Havoline Deposit Shield 5w30 and a generic fleet service Purolator filter.

Then I went for a nice 40 miles drive, and I know it sounds crazy, but I swear my oil pressure gauge already shows some results! The OP rises and drops back down slightly faster, and my OP is now slightly lower also. Aparently some cleaning is already taking place! I guess my 3.0 is really ready for it.

After reading the ARX website, FAQ and several ARX forum threads, I now realize that I made a mistake by immediately switching to Mobile 1 at 46K miles. All the Mobil 1 did, was plaster the sludge to interior walls, and keep it there. It wasn't until I switched to GRP III oil a few OCs ago that the crud began to loosen up and drain out. What a dope huh?

I am lucky I didn't clog up some journals or something with loosened deposits.

I feel very confident that ARX is very good idea, and I am very grateful for it.

Thank you Frank!

 

[Dr_No]

How did mobil 1 sludge up the walls of your enigne?!

 

[Oilgal]

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How did mobil 1 sludge up the walls of your enigne?!

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It didn't. The cheap dino used during the 5/50 warranty service did.

 

[Oilgal]

Really my post wasn't very clear was it? Here is a post from the ARX forum, which I think, sheds some light on what I was trying to say.

"If you already have sludge issues go to a non synthetic oil. Engines with sludge problems react negatively to synthetic oil when trying to clean out sludge. The complex additive package in synthetic oil has a polarization effect and holds oil to metal. This is not desirable when fighting sludge. The object is to liquify all contaminants and drive them to the filter. Non synthetic oil works well in achieving this."


I bought a 1995 Caravan, 3.0L V6 with 46K miles on it, just 4 months after the 5 years 'or' 50K mile warranty expired.

It had always been dealer serviced under warranty.

I stupidly, changed the oil to Mobil , immediately after buying it, and I did not do a flush first to clean the engine. I later discovered that Mobil 1 did not clean out the old deposits from the dealer dino oil.

 

[PW01]

How did you make this discovery?

 

[Oilgal]

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How did you make this discovery?

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Simple.

A knowledgeable friend, who is an engine builder and a terrific custom fabricator, advised me to switch from Mobil 1 to Valvoline dino for a while, because he knew about this, and he was right as rain as usual. I am glad he manged to get through to me, because I was very skeptical. I even said, "but it's Mobil 1 and it had to have cleaned everything out", and I was totally wrong, as is often the case.

 

[Oilgal]

That first time cleaned a lot of crud out. The oil drained was thick black goo at first. It always drained pretty clean while on Mobil 1, and so I thought my engine was clean.

So the first Valvoline OC did not really penetrate my thick skull.

I thought, mission accomplished, horaaaaaay! However I switched to GIII oil at that point, and it kept getting really dirty really fast. I was doing OCs every 6 weeks because of that.

My last OC, before I finally decided to try ARX, was a fill of Valvoline Maxlife synthetic, and like 3 days later when I drained it, it was as thick and black as it was after that first Valvoline dino wash.

That settled it for me. I put ARX and Havoline deposit shield in yesterday.

 

[Frank]

Does anybody need to read or have more understanding of why it works- better yet how it works? Auto-Rx is not black majic. If you have the background and experience of a "Terry Dyson" than
alter-add-subtract do whatever you want as Dyson can get it back to spec. I really think this post demonstrates the wisdom of following instructions for the rest of us.

 

[rshaw125]

I have never heard of a 3.0 with sludge issues. It must have been really neglected.I changed the valve cover gaskets on my 1995 3.0 and it was so clean after 170,000 miles I took pictures of it.It has had 4,000 - 6,000 mile oil changes with regular oil.This is a first. Maybe the PCV valve is stuck.

 

[Oilgal]

Quote:

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Does anybody need to read or have more understanding of why it works- better yet how it works? Auto-Rx is not black majic. If you have the background and experience of a "Terry Dyson" than alter-add-subtract do whatever you want as Dyson can get it back to spec. I really think this post demonstrates the wisdom of following instructions for the rest of us.

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For crying out loud!

I AM FOLLOWING YOUR INSTRUCTIONS TO THE LETTER.

I only put in ARX just yesterday.

I have read most of the ARX forum and all of your application instructions.


My preceding posts merely relate my experiences prior to buying ARX which finally conviced me to try it. They are not about me trying a modified form of your application instructions.

Hey. I am new CUSTOMER who is doing the best she can, and I nether deserve or appreciate the attitude. Maybe I should go with LUBE GUARD engine flush next time eh?

 

[Oilgal]

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I have never heard of a 3.0 with sludge issues. It must have been really neglected.I changed the valve cover gaskets on my 1995 3.0 and it was so clean after 170,000 miles I took pictures of it.It has had 4,000 - 6,000 mile oil changes with regular oil.This is a first. Maybe the PCV valve is stuck.

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I just replaced the forward valve cover on mine two months ago, and my cams looked pretty clean. I get 19 "Hg at idle in Park. OEM spec for the 6G72 is 20 "Hg, and mine has 120K miles on it. I have not abused my engine. So maybe sludge is not the right word.

Maybe I should buy LC or Lubeguard Flush next time also.

 

[Oilgal]

Do you guys have a problem with a woman being here on your forum or something?

I am getting the exact opposite of 'the benefit of the doubt' here so far.

Were you mommies mean to you? Or do you have really evil ex wives or what?

 

[rshaw125]

I certainly think autorx is a positive move on your part. But usually people use it on the Toyota,VW and Chrysler 2.7s. When I took the valve covers of of mine there was varnish but nothing to wipe out.
I have changed my PCV valve 3 times and cleaned the tube etc out. Also the small filter in the air box.
I run it now on Valvoline Maxlife 5W30 and Purolator filters.It should be turning over 181,000 any day now.

 

[Oilgal]

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I certainly think autorx is a positive move on your part. But usually people use it on the Toyota,VW and Chrysler 2.7s. When I took the valve covers of of mine there was varnish but nothing to wipe out. I have changed my PCV valve 3 times and cleaned the tube etc out. Also the small filter in the air box. I run it now on Valvoline Maxlife 5W30 and Purolator filters.It should be turning over 181,000 any day now.

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We'll see about the ARX. I hope it works out.

I always ran Purolator Pure One filters and Mobil 1 5w30, until the Valvoline Premium dino flush and then switching to Valvoline Synpower a while back. My forward cam, was the same as you describe yours to be, when I replaced my forward valve cover two months ago. It just had a little varnish.

See my first two post in this thread, to see what caused the deposit build up in the block, and why Mobil 1 didn't take care of it.

This picture of my engine will give some idea of what I did improve my PCV system. My improvised front PCV vapor trap and rear catch can system works really well. I don't have EGR, and my lower intake, aluminum plenum spacers, 52 mm throttle body and hogged out ported plenum, are all ceramic heat dissipate coated outside and ceramic sealed inside by Pro Strip coatings. Ram air is fed from the reverse cowl scoop on the hood. I have a MSD 6A CD ignition system, adjustable fuel pressure regulator, FM under drive pulley, a hotter 5.9 Dodge coil, ceramic-titanium heat stop coated exhaust manifolds and 2.5" cat back. The van is lowered 1.5 inches by 3.0 Daytona front PR coils on Koni adjustable Caravan struts, Air Lift ride assist airbags in back on three leafs instead of five, Slotted dimpled front brake rotors with Hawk pads, Super Stop shoes with new Bendix drums in back, all braided steel brake hoses with DOT 4 synthetic brake fluid. My minivan isn't fast. But it is quick and handles really well. It is really fun to drive.

That's an old picture. I have improved things since it was taken.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

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I ordered it on Thursday afternoon, and it arrived Monday morning.

I did an OC an hour later. In went 4.75 qts Havoline Deposit Shield 5w30 and a generic fleet service Purolator filter.

Then I went for a nice 40 miles drive, and I know it sounds crazy, but I swear my oil pressure gauge already shows some results! The OP rises and drops back down slightly faster, and my OP is now slightly lower also. Aparently some cleaning is already taking place! I guess my 3.0 is really ready for it.

After reading the ARX website, FAQ and several ARX forum threads, I now realize that I made a mistake by immediately switching to Mobile 1 at 46K miles. All the Mobil 1 did, was plaster the sludge to interior walls, and keep it there. It wasn't until I switched to GRP III oil a few OCs ago that the crud began to loosen up and drain out. What a dope huh?

I am lucky I didn't clog up some journals or something with loosened deposits.

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Sludge at 46K in a 3.0?

How often was the oil changed until 46K?
What oil brand was used?
Did the engine ever overheat/run hotter than normal?
How many years did it take to reach 46K?

 

[dbdeland]

The company I worked for had a Dodge Caravan 3.0 engine which I believe was a Mitibshie not sure if it is spelled right but is was sludged up at 46,000 miles and had to be replaced Dodge replaced it with a 3.3.engine also the oil changes were done by Dodge.Engine was replaced at no charge to our company.

 

[Oilgal]

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Sludge at 46K in a 3.0?

How often was the oil changed until 46K? What oil brand was used? Did the engine ever overheat/run hotter than normal?
How many years did it take to reach 46K?

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Maybe "sludge" is just too provocative. How about light block film deposits?

I bought it four months after the 5 years, of the '5 years 'or' 50K' warranty ran out, with 46K on the dial. I verified all records prior to purchase.

The dealer under the "5 STAR" warranty service, did all the maintenance for 5 years, using cheap dino and those infamous "mopar" re-branded cheapo fleet service Fram filters.

An old man owned it. Actually true bion. He kept it in his garage, but he drove it very slowly and mainly for short trips apparently, and the brakes told me was a brake dragger also.

No evidence of previous overheating. The cooling system was sound for stock. It has since been improved somewhat. I added a Derail thermostat controlled sandwich with a B&M oil cooler and a new aluminum radiator.

I believe even the valve guide seals are fine. The cam end seals (cam plugs), and forward [crank end] main seal have been replaced. The valve cover gaskets have never leaked, and it doesn't smoke a wisp.

It never got properly worked though, and so it was never even fully broken in. The rings, certainly, were not seated as well as I would have seated them. It is debatable, if they can be seated fully later, but I know they seat a littel better now than they did.

Ever read Motoman's website? He is not wrong. I believe that the Mobil 1, kept it right where it was when I bought it, for the most part anyway. We shall see. After ARX has done it's job, I will attempt to finish the break in properly, on good ol Valvoline Premium conventional.

It's a good motor. It just needs to be cleaned out so it stays good longer.

I hope that ARX will totally clean up inside: ring packs, micro deposits embedded in cylinder walls, the hla(s), journals galleys etc, along with all the film deposits in the block. This way I can improve ring seal etc, and have also a quieter and cooler running motor.

I hope this answers your questions.

 

[sprintman]

fwiw experience has shown a PureONE is not the best choice for an RX clean. Good filter but semed to block up quickly. Nice to have you on BITOG by the way. Cheers...s

 

[Cup of Joe]

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Do you guys have a problem with a woman being here on your forum or something?

I am getting the exact opposite of 'the benefit of the doubt' here so far.

Were you mommies mean to you? Or do you have really evil ex wives or what?

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I for one am happy to see an "Oil Gal" here at all

and taking great care of her now 12 year old mini, I salute U

If only my wife thought as much of a 12 year old mini rather then looking for the next new model on the lot.

Could your mini have deposits or even sludge? Sure, my now 55K mile mini I have owned since new has/had clear deposits visible through the oil cap and I being much like most here have changed my oil to excess at times. This to shall pass thanks to Frank.

 

[Cup of Joe]

I know its an odd thing to do these days but when we read what is written we find she is using a generic fleet service Purolator filter for the ARX. Pureone was during the M1 useage.