Click here for a question and
the answer concerning use of Auto-Rx®
in a Rolls Royce Silver Spur with minimal
driving.
Learn
How Engine Damage Progresses in Your Vehicle
Oil seals are rubber and metal composite items.
They are generally mounted at the end of shafts.
They are used to keep fluids, such as oil,
transmission fluid, and power steering fluid
inside the object they are sealing. These seals
flex to hold a tight fit around the shaft that
comes out of the housing, and don't allow any
fluid to pass. Oil seals are common points of
leakage and can usually be replaced fairly
inexpensively. However, the placement of some
seals make them very difficult to access, which
makes for a hefty labor charge!
Auto-Rx® is compatible with ball
bearings, seals, etc. In fact, turbochargers
create a lot of heat and are quite taxing on the
oil or lubricant. Life expectancy of a
turbocharger is typically tied to oil failure due
to heat and would thus be a perfect candidate for
Auto-Rx®. Keeping the system clean is
key to life expectancy.
For engines that have heavy sludge or have extended miles on it, you should replace the PVC valve
with an OEM replacement. Make sure it is an OEM valve.
Varnish is nothing more than a cosmetic stain; it
does not affect the performance of the engine.
Auto-Rx® does clean off the varnish,
but due to varying engine designs, it is
impossible to give an exact timeframe. Be assured
that functional improvements have taken place when
Auto-Rx® is used according to
instructions.
Top
After you drain your oil/Auto-Rx®
mixture, the fresh oil will rinse away any
remaining residue from internal engine surfaces.
Although engine benefits have already taken place,
it will take another 1,000 miles or so (2,500
miles on a diesel engine) to fully remove the
residue, and it will be gone after your next
regular oil change. Depending on the amount of
contaminants removed, your oil may be very dark
after this rinse.
Top
"Dino oil" is an informal name for standard,
non-synthetic oil. It is presumed that the remains
of dinosaurs contributed to the formation of
petroleum thousands of years ago. Read Choosing an Oil for Use with
Auto-Rx®
We recommend simple,
non-synthetic oil (do not use semi-synthetic or
high-mileage oil) for this important step in the
Auto-Rx® Application. Synthetic oil has
a complex additive package that polarizes the
liquefied debris on the internal oil-lubricated
engine parts. The goal is to rinse this liquefied
debris from all the internal parts; a good "dino
oil" with its simple additive package does the job
very well. Read Choosing an
Oil for Use with Auto-Rx®
Top
It does not matter what type of oil you use for
the cleaning phase of the Auto-Rx®
application. However, for maximum results, we
recommend that you use plain, non-synthetic oil
for the rinse phase. Please see our application
instructions for complete details.
NO! The inexpensive solvent
flushes that you find in the auto parts store use
powerful solvents that can be destructive to your
engine and seals. These products are "shock
solvents." They can only be kept in the engine a
short time and have a tendency to break off large
chunks of sludge that can get trapped in the
engine oil passages. Clogged oil passages can
cause engine failure. Oil is also negatively
affected by the introduction of a solvent; it
changes the chemistry of the oil, whereas Auto-Rx®
does not. Auto-Rx® works slowly,
methodically, and efficiently and will take
approximately 1,500 miles to do its job. Engine
deposits are formed layer by layer; they should be
removed layer by layer. Auto-Rx® does
exactly that.
Top
Auto-Rx® will not damage any
oil-lubricated parts of an engine, including
seals. Auto-Rx® is a specially
formulated green chemistry (not harmful to the
environment) that cleans metal without using toxic
substances. It does not act like so-called
friction reducers designed to disguise mechanical
problems that need the attention of a professional
mechanic. In fact, 99 percent of the time, poor
performance will be caused by oil debris buildup
between piston rings. Auto-Rx®
addresses engine problems caused by brown carbon
(sludge).
Top
Using fresh oil is an option most of the time.
Exceptions would be contaminated oil, which would
have to be changed. Many people want to see the
color of the new clean oil after an Auto-Rx®
application, which is understandable. However,
another person may not want the added expense of
starting with clean oil. Oil does not wear out; it
just gets dirty. No oil, new or old, regular or
synthetic, cleans carbon off metal, so there is
nothing bad in old oil, just plain dirt. Auto-Rx®
is going to suspend the dirt in the old oil while
it goes about cleaning the oil-lubricated rotating
parts. Auto-Rx® has an additive package
built in its chemistry to perk up dirty oil while
it is in use.
Top
The maintenance plan is our Extended Performance
Program. It is your assurance that the gains you
received from your application will continue. Left
unchecked, contaminants and sludge will return.
For most engines a maintenance dose of 3 ounces
with each oil change will maintain the benefits
you received from your Auto-Rx®
application. For those engines that are prone to
sludge, you should use 3 ounces as your
maintenance dose. After a full cleaning has been
completed, then you can maintain your engine on
just the maintenance dose in the future. For
more information on an oil-burning issue, please
contact us directly by email.
Top
We have seen customers get extraordinary results
after only one application of Auto-Rx®.
But for best results, we recommend that you use it
every 25,000 miles. Engines with more than 100,000
miles will need two applications of Auto-Rx®
as there is so much oil debris buildup that needs
to be removed. As an alternative to the 25,000
interval, you may add a maintenance dose of 3
ounces of Auto-Rx® with each oil
change. This will assure that sludge will not
build up after the initial cleaning and will
provide full-time protection.
Top
Absolutely! Auto-Rx® was created
specifically for the do-it-yourselfer. Anyone can
easily apply our product by following the simple application
instructions.
Auto-Rx® is a highly concentrated
combination of ester-based cleaning components and
has a thick consistency. Shake the bottle
thoroughly before use. If the bottle is intact and
the contents have not been contaminated by foreign
substances, Auto-Rx® should remain
viable for use. Auto-Rx® pours best at
room temperature.
Top
Auto-Rx® is a highly concentrated
combination of ester-based cleaning components. In
its concentrated form, Auto-Rx® is not
flowable from its container below 32 degrees F.
However, once dispersed into your host motor oil,
it has little to no effect on the pour point of
the host oil. In very cold weather, before
opening, hold the bottle under hot tap water for
10-15 minutes; then shake well. If the bottle of
Auto-Rx® has been subject to
below-freezing temperatures, you may need to
increase the time. In the meantime, warm the motor
to operating temperature. With a warm motor and
Auto-Rx® warmed to at least room
temperature, you are ready to proceed with your
Auto-Rx® application.
Top
Each bottle of Auto-Rx® contains 12
fluid ounces. If you have never cleaned your
lubrication systems before, it will take 2 bottles
for a passenger car under 100,000 miles. It will
take one full bottle to run the cleaning phase in
the motor. It will take one-half bottle to treat
the automatic transmission. It will normally take
1 to 2 fluid ounces to clean up a power steering
unit. This will leave you 2 to 3 maintenance dose
applications after the initial cleaning of the
motor. See the application
instructions for greater detail. If your
passenger car or light truck has over 100,000
miles, or has become sludged, it is recommended
that you buy three bottles and run the motor
cleaning application two times. The third bottle
should be used for the transmission, power
steering, and maintenance doses. In both cases
above, more than likely, you will have enough
product to achieve the maximum desired results.
Take advantage of our quantity discounts available
on the order page.
Top
On some engines, internal sensors for the engine
light. oil light, and temperature gauge will act
in an erratic manner during the cleaning phase. Do
not be alarmed as Auto-Rx is removing sludge found
on sensors but is NOT INDICATIVE OF A PROBLEM.
Gauges will return to normal operating condition
after the rinse phase.
Read Choosing an Oil for Use
with Auto-Rx® to answer questions
on conventional (Group II) and synthetic (Group
III) oils. When using Auto-Rx®, there
is no need to run a full
synthetic (Group IV) oil.
Top
The cleaning dose of Auto-Rx®
constitutes the addition of 3 fluid ounces per
quart into the crankcase. In any automobile motor,
this will not create an overfill problem with
regards to sump capacity. To even further diminish
the concern, the Auto-Rx® will get some
absorption into the deposits in the motor, such as
varnish or sludge deposits as it begins to
penetrate the binders of these deposits. Also the
Auto-Rx® blend of esters has some
polarity and will be attracted to clean metal
surfaces, and some amount of Auto-Rx®
will remain on these surfaces after the motor has
been turned off. We know of no automotive motor
design that cannot tolerate this amount of Auto-Rx®
added on top of a full oil fill. However, for
small four-stroke motor applications (such as
lawnmowers, snow blowers, etc.), please apply the
appropriate amount of Auto-Rx® for the
oil sump capacity. (Do not use Auto-Rx®
in any engine where oil and gas are mixed
together.) Auto-Rx® is the
same chemistry for engines as transmissions, but
the ratio changes. Transmission fluid is highly
viscous hydraulic fluid in a sealed unit; 6 ounces
of Auto-Rx® is all that is needed.
Please visit our transmissions
page for more information.
Top
White smoke is almost always associated with water
or, more accurately, steam exiting the tailpipe.
It is odd that we would not see it during a cold
startup and do see it after the motor has
semi-cooled down. As you know, the motor is
ingesting airborne humidity with every intake
stroke. Many times, the exhaust system loads
itself with water after the motor is shut down,
simply by the pipes cooling and the water vapor
condensing. Upon restarting the car, as the
exhaust heats up, the water in the exhaust
vaporizes and exits the tailpipe as steam. Perhaps
if you were to watch the exhaust on a cold start
in the morning ,it would go through the same steam
phase as it does after your highway run. The
difference being that it takes a lot longer to
build up the heat from dead cold. With today's
catalytic converters that re-burn unburned fuel
from the combustion process, 3000 degrees at the
converter are achieved. I doubt that the exhaust
system has lost its heat totally during a
45-minute shutdown. However, back near the muffler
and tailpipe area, it is likely to have cooled and
condensed some moisture. Then, when you start the
car, some very hot air from the convertor area
quickly flows to the back end of the exhaust at
restart. If you have no head gasket issues,
whereby water/coolant is getting into your oil or
being sucked into the combustion chamber, then I
would tend to think that you may not have any real
issue. If water was being sucked right into the
combustion chamber, it would be smoking white all
the time. If you have water droplets on the oil
dipstick, or a frothy mess, then you have a head
gasket issue. A used oil analysis could also tell
if you have coolant leaking into the oil.
Top
There are many automobile engines that have worn
or fouled stem seals without any appreciable loss
in compression. Normally, a stem seal's lack of
integrity results in burning oil caused by oil
seeping down into the combustion chamber, usually
causing a plume of blue smoke during cold starts,
acceleration, or deceleration. Many cars run just
fine with less than perfect valve stem seals. But
frequently, with more than desirable amounts of
oil being burned in the combustion chamber, it
becomes much more likely that the piston rings
will become coked up from poor fuel efficiency.
When the rings, particularly the top two
compression rings, get bonded together, they
cannot work independently and compression suffers.
If this is your case, then you can expect great
improvement from an Auto-Rx® cleaning
and rinse. Also, many times with oil burning from
poor stem seals, deposits form at the interface of
the valve and its seat at the head, resulting in
poor sealing and lost compression. Auto-Rx®
would help here also. Auto-Rx® can also
clean oil contaminants from the polymer valve stem
seal material. After cleaning, they sometimes
rebound to good functionality.
Top
Yes, hold the bottle under hot tap water for 10
minutes. Shake well, and it will be as good as
new! When poured into the oil reservoir, Auto-Rx®
takes on the viscosity of the motor oil. It does
not change the chemistry of the oil.
Worn metal is caused by little or no lubrication.
Auto-Rx®cannot repair worn metal, but
it can remove existing contaminants to allow oil
to lubricate fully, thus altering the effects of
worn metal.
Top
Go ahead and add the Auto-Rx® to the
existing oil. Please read the information
concerning approved synthetic oils for use with
Auto-Rx® here.
Top
The answer is yes if your goal is to clean out
deposits and contaminants in a relatively
well-maintained machine. Auto-Rx® will
certainly enhance a full synthetic's ability to
clean while performing its primary objective of
lubricating. Most oils have only the amount of
detergency to maintain a clean system, but not to
clean a dirty one. So what happens is that, if you
put clean oil in a dirty motor, the detergent
package gets consumed long before the scheduled
oil drain, and what initial cleaning occurred with
fresh change, you give back at the end and maybe
more over time. Auto-Rx® will give the
host oil, many times over, the cleaning capacity
of the host oil. The oil is still capable of
lubricating while the Auto-Rx® slowly
clean the deposits. However, if you are attempting
to address a rotational seal issue, such as front
or rear main seal or cam seal, then I would
suggest using a dino oil and following the instructions here. If
you have a very high-mileage, dirty motor, it will
need two or more applications. I would suggest
dino again for the sheer cost of running
back-to-back cleanings. Auto-Rx® cleans
a bit faster when run with dino oil because
Auto-Rx® is composed entirely of esters
that are polar and have somewhat of an attraction
to metal. With dino oils, there are no other large
quantities of polar materials, and Auto-Rx®
has little competetion for the metal surfaces. In
full synthetics, typically you have a PAO
lubricating base combined with esters to hold the
oil additive package in suspension. These coupling
esters will compete with Auto-Rx® for
space on the metal surfaces. I also note that many
Group III dino derived/refined base oils are
marketed as full synthetic. Auto-Rx®
will work with these, as well. So, in conclusion,
yes, you may run Auto-Rx® with a full
synthetic and enjoy good results. However, if you
have rotational seal issues, dino would be your
choice. Also, other exceptions may apply to
various applications. Please read the information
concerning approved synthetic oils for use
with Auto-Rx®.
Top
Copyright 2002-2013. Auto-Rx, Jacksonville Beach, FL USA. All rights reserved.
Site contributions by Daniel Weisner et al
