Would you use ARX, or just PP, skip ARX?

[HangerHarley]

If you had a car and were seeking to clean up the Rings, would you:

1) Use ARX with SuperTech, plain old Oil, 3 oc a Quart, for 3000 miles, maybe change filter mid-way, then run that same ST for 3000 miles, then use your Oil?

2) Just use Pennzoil Platinum? or

3) Some other route? (MMO, etc. ARX seems to be better?) .........

ARX seems tempting for cleaning Piston Rings and Ring packs. ST or Delo 400 can be used, if i read it right. People report great results, and even suggest taking the OCI to 5000 miles for best results in Initial and Rinse phase - add to hot engine, let idle 5 minutes, complete OCI. It also costs a lot.

Some people swear by PP. Leak-causing is my concern, unless PP generally doesnt do that.

And, i was going to use either PP or Castrol Syntec after ARX. If no leaks develop, i dont need a HM oil, or even Seal Conditioners, as ARX will hopefully have cleaned it all up.

Thoughts?

Cleaning up Piston Rings seems like a good place to start, in the road to my car's Oil.

 

[sciphi]

What car, what mileage, how used?

I've used ARX successfully in several cars. It's kept the engine in my 1999 Buick LeSabre with 84k mainly highway miles spotless on the inside, with no hints of varnish. I began using it at ~33k miles, when I got the car 2.5 years ago.

My friend's Saturn with 170k miles didn't burn as much oil when he topped off the burned oil with MMO, then ran it several thousand miles.

Either is a good idea. Both have done well in my experience.

 

[Trav]

16 oz Kano Labs Kreen for 1k in the oil will free them up in no time at all,providing they are only stuck and not worn out,in that case no mechanic in a can will help.

In my experience ARX is not effective at anything except loosening money from your wallet.They want you to run it for an eternity then rinse it,pray over it then do a voodoo dance at midnight waving a stick.Then they tell you the proof is in places you cant see,just belive!Oh BTW don't forget the maintenance dose to keep the Zen alive.
I don't have time for these antics my customers want results now not in 2+ years and so do i,Kreen delivers.
If you cant get Kreen go with the MMO it works over a full OCI and is a good product.

 

[Sayjac]

 

[StevieC]

I would use ARX as prescribed and use a Pennzoil product for the rinse phase. Once that is complete use a grade thicker Pennzoil product combined with a quart of MMO and use that to do the final rinse/flush. Works great for anything stubborn in the rings.

From what I have seen it works... Others on here aren't so sure.

Do your research and make your call!

 

[daman]

Ditch the AXR and use MMO

 

[StevieC]

Why?

 

[daman]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
Why?

Why not?

you can get plenty of MMO for the price and i'm sure he'll get the same results.

 

[StevieC]

I was just wondering why you chose to skip the ARX, if you had information to back that up. No worries...

 

[daman]

Nope just the wealth of information off the site here that states MMO works good so why buy that $$ AXR.

 

[StevieC]

You believe everything on the Internet? Have you ever seen proof that either works? Like Photo's or just posting rhetoric?

I mean don't get me wrong there are lots of people on this site that profess to know what they are talking about but can you trust it?

Just playing Devils advocate is all...

 

[demarpaint]

Having used both A-Rx and MMO I'd use MMO. Kreen shows lots of promise for a faster clean up though.

 

[Trav]

Here's the deal.You can order a qt of Kreen for $13 and get a free 13oz Kroil thrown in.I doubt anyone would dispute that Kroil is one of the best penetrating fluids on the market so its like getting the Kreen for free.
Nothing to loose by spending the $13 you get the Kroil,even if
Kreen did nothing at all (it does) you got your $13 worth anyway.

How many folks can try ARX for free with no strings attached?

 

[daman]

Steve no i don't of course but since you haven't been here MMO is a favorite here and lots have tried it with success.

AXR isn't the holy grail anymore Kreen is another good one

 

[beast3300]

I vote PP for 5k miles then MMO for the last 300-500 miles. I'm sure that will get alot of stuff out.

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: daman
Steve no i don't of course but since you haven't been here MMO is a favorite here and lots have tried it with success.

AXR isn't the holy grail anymore Kreen is another good one


Maybe I will go away for a few more months and by then ARX might be the holy grail again.

Things on this board seem to change like politicians promises.

 

[c3po]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
Maybe I will go away for a few more months and by then ARX might be the holy grail again


I do not see that happening, with the success Trav is having with Kreen I think that may be the next big oil additive for cleaning up dirty and neglected engines, and according to Trav it seems to work faster than MMO.

I also think with the new GF-5 oil's that are coming out there will be less of a need for a product like auto-rx. Pennzoil Ultra and Pennzoil Platinum already claim to clean up sludge and auto manufactures are coming out with engines that are less likely to be SLUDGE PRONE.

 

[ronrackley]

I'd use MMO in both the oil and gas for cleaning rings.

I had a 2000 Deville and, with about 110,000 miles on the odometer, its Northstar developed a pronounced knocking sound when started cold. I diagnosed the noise as a carbon issue and gave it a double treatment - from above and below - with MMO. I put a quart and a half of MMO in the crankcase with six quarts of Rotella 30 weight from Tractor Supply for a 20% MMO mixture and put double the recommended (8 or so oz per 10 gallons) in the gas tank with a fill up. It worked. Every day the rapping grew fainter until, after about a week, it went completely away. I never heard it again. I sold that car with over 160,000 miles on it and it ran great when I last drove it. I don't know whether it was necessary to treat both the oil and the gas, but I know that it worked and that it didn't hurt anything.

The only downside is that the MMO in the crankcase made the gasket leaks worse and put some drip stains on my driveway. Oil consumption went back to normal when I did a change after about 1000 miles.

 

[crazyoildude]

most of those northstars leak

 

[ronrackley]

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
most of those northstars leak


That certainly was my experience before I got our 2003 and 2005 ones. I never have to add oil to either one of them. Each drops down about 1/4 of the hatched area on the dip stick in 5000 miles.

My 2000 and 2001 Devilles used at least a quart every 2000 miles or so - with the high point being the 2001 going through a quart of PP 5w30 in about 700 miles when I tried it. Both ran great and got good gas mileage while using all that oil, by the way.

Cadillac must have done something to address oil usage by the 2003 model year, it would appear