AutoRX or Lube Control or something else?

[prophecy]

I was looking around inside the motor today doing some checkups.. took the air filter out and i heard sand start pouring out of it. like an hour glass. and leaves were in there also. So I took it out and shake it all out for like 10 minutes to get it all out. Then later I open the oil cap and notice theres this thick looking grime. like grease thick. I touch it and its grity like sand. Then I stick my finger down into the engine where the oil goes in and swipe it. Come out with a finger full of this black muck. Its like I have an inch of it hanging off my finger and it just sticks there. What now? Friend said to get the engine flushed. He said when you take it to a place the vacuum it out and suck out all the muck.

I've been reading about Auto RX and stuff, looks like some good stuff.. It sounds like its some kind of compound that is easy on the seals and whatnot. I also read that most of the flush cleaners you get at stores are petroleum based and will be bad for the seals. If I did take it to a professional place how would I know if theyre going to use the petroleum stuff or the good stuff? Is there anywhere i can get the AutoRX locally or do they only sell from their website? If not is there anything just as good I can find locally at Advance auto or pepboys? I'm not sure I have time to wait for mailorder..

And they say on the site in the instructions to use regular oil when doing the rinse. I already have synthetic oil in the car.. will synthetic work the same? I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to go back to regular once you've gone synthetic. Also it says you change the oil filter without changing the oil, then you dump the AutoRX in. How do you change the oil filter without changing the oil. Doesnt the oil pour out when you take off the oil filter?

I've also read about Lube Control a little bit.. will it work better than AutoRX? Seems I've found some articles on here that have found muck inside the motor even after doing an AutoRX flush.

thanks

 

[Dark Jedi]

I find out here that yo ucan switch back and forth from syn and dino. after all as I was explained about it was yo ucan mix syn and dino as blends. so you can do it with no prob.


only some oil will come out as its up higher than the oil pan. so yo uwont drain all your oil. just some liek a QT I think.


as for the rest I dont know. =-)

 

[goodvibes]

Here's one I would do a quicky flush on and then an auto RX. I'd want to get the grit out asap. LC after that for every change.

 

[bfort44]

I would reccomend Auto-RX, well worth the wait from web site. It worked so well on my '03 Avalon with 15,000, I bought enough bottles for my grown kid's cars,as they had bought the cars used. The pick up on my car got much better, and as an added plus I started getting better MPG. Well worth the price of a bottle or two depending on the mileage of your car. Go for it!

 

[prophecy]

Its a 1993 325is, 54,000 miles. I'm just trying to think if the top of the motor where the oil goes is this bad, what is the rest of it going to be like. Is a flush even going to do anything for it.

 

[Russell]

What is the oil change history? 54,000 miles is very low mileage for a 12 year old car. It sounds as if the car had short trips without changing oil/filter often enough.

BMW engines generally do not sludge up if the oil/filter are changed regularly.

BTW, I am doing an Auto-RX treatment in my 95 525i with 115,000 miles as preventative maintenace. I am only 500 miles into the first step using M1 5w40 truck and suv synthetic. I will switch to a dino oil on the rinse phase.

 

[unDummy]

You can change the oil filter without changing the oil. The only oil that leaks is the filter capacity and any in/above the mount.

You should replace your airfilter and vacuum any dirt/leaves in the air filter box. Just banging it around and reusing it isn't considered maintenance.

You should remove the valve cover and inspect for sludge. If there is some, clean as much as you can and go from there. Make sure that the PCV system is working properly. Take a picture. If there is excessive sludge, I'd avoid a 'quick' distillate flush to avoid the so-called clogged oil pump screen.

If you are happy with the way the engine is running, then just start a more frequent oil change interval using a synthetic.

If you want a better running engine or think that it should run better, then definitely try one of the engine cleaning products.

 

[prophecy]

quote:

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What is the oil change history? 54,000 miles is very low mileage for a 12 year old car. It sounds as if the car had short trips without changing oil/filter often enough.

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It was a single owned vehicle from a lady that drove it to work and thats it. Then there was a period that it sat before they sold it to us.

quote:

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BMW engines generally do not sludge up if the oil/filter are changed regularly.

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I didnt think they would either, it seems like the car was totally neglected or perhaps the suspicious odomter reading might be the reason its so caked. The front drivers seat is ripped to **** and I dont know how that could happen in 50k miles.

quote:

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BTW, I am doing an Auto-RX treatment in my 95 525i with 115,000 miles as preventative maintenace. I am only 500 miles into the first step using M1 5w40 truck and suv synthetic. I will switch to a dino oil on the rinse phase.

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I saw your post, I'm keeping an eye on that one. Using M1 5w40 for first step. Is 5w40 the best oil to use for the first step for Florida? Doesnt get real cold here.

quote:

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You should replace your airfilter and vacuum any dirt/leaves in the air filter box. Just banging it around and reusing it isn't considered maintenance.

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Yes, I vacuumed the box immediately. I banged the filter around more or less to see how bad it really was. I have not run the car since I found this garbage. Wouldnt want to be the pot making black kettle jokes. Not worth the engine. I'll start it when I get it cleaned out.

quote:

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You should remove the valve cover and inspect for sludge. If there is some, clean as much as you can and go from there. Make sure that the PCV system is working properly. Take a picture. If there is excessive sludge, I'd avoid a 'quick' distillate flush to avoid the so-called clogged oil pump screen.

---

This was going to be my next question. Should I take any of it apart. I think you're right and it would probably be a good idea to at least look inside. I just need to figure out what I'm doing first I guess. Off to read the bentley manual. Thanks guys for all the help.

Also, since the oil is this bad, would it be a wise decision to check other things? I got a new fuel filter and 2 oil filters, an air filter. Should I get some kind of fuel system cleaner I saw at advanced? Any particular brands that do well?

 

[Ken2]

"Here's one I would do a quicky flush on and then an auto RX. I'd want to get the grit out asap. LC after that for every change." I wouldn't. I'd be concerned that the quickly flush solvent would loosen chunks of this gunk that could clog the oil system.

Do use Auto-Rx on the sludge routine, two cleanings. It is OK to use the synthetic oil during cleaning, and be sure to use non-synthetic during the rinse routine. It is no problem to switch between synthetic and conventional oils.

Lube Control has a different purpose, Auto-Rx is just right for your engine, and don't mix LC and A-RX...let each do its job.


Ken

 

[prophecy]

Ken2 you bring up a good point, and I am worried this could be a problem. With all this sludge breaking loose and flowing through the system is it going to clog? Where does it all go? Does the oil filter catch everything? I've heard that it can cause problems for the oil pump with all the sentiment?

 

[Shaman]

ARX shouldn't clog your filter. I would also consider dropping the oil pan to see what is down there. WOuld be a good chance to see what else is going on. WIth the oil pan off, you can hit the oil pan with the strongest cleaner you want,and check out the oil pickup screen too.

 

[JHZR2]

Personally, I would do the following:

1) change oil/filter immediately to delo 400. Also replace air filter and fuel filter. Consider dropping transmission pan and doing a service on that as well as a coolant service with BMW BLUE COOLANT. Flush brake fluid, diff oil and power steering fluid. Order LC, FP and ARx. Drive no more than 250 or so miles

2) change oil/filter again with delo 400 and do the Mola's LC flush to get things going.

3) change oil/filter and use ARX, perform multiple changes and cleaning cycles per the heavily sludged and cars over 100k miles type instructions. Use either delo 400 or rotella syn 5w-40

4) do one more quickie change of ~2000 miles with delo 400.

5) choose either delo 400, shell rotella 5w-40 or M1 truck and SUV 5w-40, run with LC and FP.

6) do PM regularly, dont scrimp on the cost.

Hope this helps,

JMH

 

[prophecy]

Yay just got my autoRX today.. that was quick I just ordered Sunday I think!

Shaman.. I'll try and figure out how to remove the oil pan and check it out.


JHZR2 thanks for the advice..

Air filter already changed. I ordered the LC and FP today. 1 gallon of each. I have the new fuel filter, I have not put it in yet. I am not sure if I want to put the new one in before or after I put the FP60 in. After reading the site it seems like the FP60 is more of a fuel enhancement that will provide better quality fuel. It doesnt seem like it will clean the system out like the AutoRX will do for the motor. I'm sure there probably isnt the amount of dirt and grime in the fuel system as there is in the motor either though..

I looked up Delo 400 online.. looks like some sort of marine oil? 15w40 ? Russel using that M1 truck and SUV 5w-40.. does it matter which oil you use for the autorx cleaning? The AutoRX site says that non-synthetic oil is best to use for the rinse phase. I have been told by many that you cannot go back to regular oil after changing to synthetic. Is this just a common misconception? You guys on here seem to say it is fine to do.. I just want to get this motor as clean as possible without blowing it up. Thanks for all the help.


By the way the scent of this AutoRX stuff has a strange resemblence of whiskey. Anyone else notice this?

 

[prophecy]

I just drained the oil and added the DELO 400 15w40. Put in a new filter. I had to remove the old oil from the filter housing with a turkey baster. The hole must have been so clogged with muck the oil wouldnt even drain out. There might be a bigger problem than I thought here. Maybe you can help.. I've never seen an open filter before..

 

[Shaman]

For the record, that isn't normal.

 

[mdocod]

so- were you told it was owned by an old lady? or did you buy it from her?

did you carfax it?

the milage sounds wayyyy off..

this much sludge.... in an old beamer engine... would only happen if the car was seriously neglected.. i'm begining to wonder if it was drove 50+k over those years, without a single oil change...

it's going to need major help...

start by changing the oil and filter with the delo recomended above.... do that a few times on short change intervals... I would then recomend a very small dose of a "cheap" cleaner for a hundred miles or so.. (like seafoam.. a few ounces in the crankcase with the delo for about 200 miles)...

then start ARX treatments.....

since you have an open canister style filter... check the filter frequently during the oil changes and cleaning cycles... anytime you see noticable amounts of contamination, replace the filter before it completally plugs up.

there might still be hope for the engine...

good luck

 

[prophecy]

I unfolded the oil filter today to find this.

I also did compression tests on the cylinders from front to back of the motor..

Cylinder# Pressure (psi)
1 -------- 140
2 -------- 155
3 -------- 135
4 -------- 140
5 -------- 155
6 -------- 150

the #6 spark plug was oiled halfway up. Apparently some oil is leaking in there. Friend said I'm going to need to replace the valve cover seal..

 

[prophecy]

Removed the valve cover last night to my disgust I found this.. the muckshow

The Cover.

After The filter I was expecting bad. Not this bad. Dispickable. End women drivers today.

I plan on cleaning at least the valve cover with a heavy duty degreaser and rinsing it out. anything else I should do before putting it back on and running the autorx cycle?

 

[wavinwayne]

I'd wipe as much sludge as possible off the top end, in addition to cleaning the valve cover.

After the ARX treatment(s), I'd suggest several short oil/filter changes using one of the big three 15w40 oils, either Rotella, Delo, or Delvac.

Best wishes going forward. Keep us updated on your progress.

 

[Quest]

In addition to Wavinwayne's suggestions, I would like to add on a tough cleanup regime comprised of the following:

(a)get some solvent and a scrub brush and brush the valve cover clean. Rinse it clean before you put on a never valve cover. Also consider replacing the spark plug tube seals.

(b)run a coolant leakdown test to ensure that your head gasket is intact and the soft, creamy sludge has nothing to do with head gasket issues.

(c) check and replace your thermostat if you find it to be faulty. You need to run your engine hot over a long distance trip with something with stronger cleaning ability such as Rotella or DELO. Be prepared to replace your oil filter elements every few hundred miles.

(d) when most of the soft sludges are gone after a couple of extended hot highway driving trips, consider running autoRx and replace the oil filter elements every 500miles until you are through with the AutoRx cleaning phase.

(e) replace the motor oil with dino "rinse" oil and never oil filter elements and begin the rinse phase. Monitor your oil pressure level and replace the filter element if you discover abnormal (low) oil pressure readings. You may have to replace your element a few times during the course of the "rinse" phase.

(f) repeat step (d) and (e) a few times until it's all cleaned (prepare to spend 2 to 3 bottles of AutoRx if I were you..

Good luck!