Auto-RX - anyone here use it before?

I did a lot of research about a product called Auto-Rx http://auto-rx.com on the Bobistheoilguy forums http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/ . I have read nothing but good things about this stuff. I am VERY picky about my car and I am not someone who uses "miracle fix it in a can" products because I know better!

* On that point you should never use any type of oil "additives", oil treatments (if your oil needs an additive or treatment then change your oil!) or solvent based engine flushes in your car! Engine flushes tend to dislodge stuff in chunks where they then can clog your oil passages....

Anyway, with all the research I have done I decided to do an engine cleaning using ARx on my car. It had about 85k on it and was noticing it wasn't running quite as well as it used to. Well I'm now almost through my "rinse phase" and I can tell you it has made a difference! Mileage is up, power is up and the car runs better than ever! I think some of my lost power was from it cleaning the vanos (hydraulic based variable valve timing) and increasing compression by cleaning the rings. My oil after the "cleaning phase" was so jet black, it had definitely cleaned some gunk out! Anyone else here has ever done an Auto-RX cleaning?

Re: Clean your engine!

several times with good results.
did 3 treatments on an engine that was so neglected by the p.o that i thought it needed a rebuild.
got another 100k out of it before it got sick from burned exhaust valves.
fixed an oil burning 67 honda 305 with it too.
in 500mi it went from a bug fogger using 2 qt/50mi to using 1/2 qt in 500mi.

Re: Clean your engine!

How often do you regularly change your oil? Do you typically use synthetic? I have my oil tested on very change, a little overboard I know, but once I started I might as well keep going. Right now I use Mobil Delvac 1 but on my next change I will go to ELF 506.1.

Re: Clean your engine!

Brock said:

How often do you regularly change your oil? Do you typically use synthetic? I have my oil tested on very change, a little overboard I know, but once I started I might as well keep going. Right now I use Mobil Delvac 1 but on my next change I will go to ELF 506.1.

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I take very good care of my cars! I change my oil regularly and have used only true (group4) synthetic oil ever since I have owned the car. But my car is used; um I mean "pre-owned" so there is no way to know what the previous owner did. It's not like my car was completely gunked up and running bad, it was running good just not "like new".

Basically you pour the ARX into your oil (you don't have to change your oil if you still have 1500+ miles to go) and change your filter. Drive 1500 miles, this is your cleaning phase. Then do an oil/filter change using regular cheap dino oil (non synthetic) for your rinse phase. The reason for non synthetic for rinse is that dino oil doesn't cling to metal like synthetic (one of the many things that make synthetic better) so it "rinses" away all the stuff that's been cleaned. Drive 2000 miles then change oil/filter back to a quality full synthetic (Mobil1, German Castrol, Amsoil, etc.). The one cleaning should be enough for most engines unless it has high mileage (100k+) or very sludged up.

For some unbiased info check out the "Bob is the oil guy" forums (more oil info there than you would ever want to know!) : http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/

Used AutoRx on several cars. Good product. Good UOAs.

One of my co-workers tried that stuff on a Toyota 22RE motor with (IIRC) 150K miles. It cleaned the gunk out of the motor all right, but all that gunk promptly clogged the oil pickup, starving the motor for oil.

The next week he had to put a new motor in.

vtunderground said:

One of my co-workers tried that stuff on a Toyota 22RE motor with (IIRC) 150K miles. It cleaned the gunk out of the motor all right, but all that gunk promptly clogged the oil pickup, starving the motor for oil.
The next week he had to put a new motor in.

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Are you sure it was "Auto-Rx" and not some engine flush or other engine cleaner?
Thats the very thing that ARx is known not to do! Has he posted this experience on any forums? Did he contact the manufacturer of the product or anyone else on this???

Donovan said:

Are you sure it was "Auto-Rx" and not some engine flush or other engine cleaner?
Thats the very thing that ARx is known not to do! Has he posted this experience on any forums? Did he contact the manufacturer of the product or anyone else on this???

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Eh, I wasn't there, so for all I know it was something else... I'm just going by his story & what he claimed to have used, but it may have actually been Seafoam or MMO that he added to his oil (which would make more sense).

For the record, my co-worker in no way blames the oil additive for his engine failure. He says that it performed exactly as advertised, but that he was using it on an old motor that he knew was full of gunk and deposits, and that he knew that he should have dropped & cleaned the oil pan instead of just hoping that all the crud would make it through the pickup and get caught in the filter.

vtunderground said:

Eh, I wasn't there, so for all I know it was something else... I'm just going by his story & what he claimed to have used, but it may have actually been Seafoam or MMO that he added to his oil (which would make more sense).

For the record, my co-worker in no way blames the oil additive for his engine failure. He says that it performed exactly as advertised, but that he was using it on an old motor that he knew was full of gunk and deposits, and that he knew that he should have dropped & cleaned the oil pan instead of just hoping that all the crud would make it through the pickup and get caught in the filter.

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I would love to find out what product he did use! Always learning you know!
So far it has been a very positive experience for me. I do have a good test for it coming up though. I will be putting in my fathers Saab 900 turbo (186k). I have no idea how often he get his oil changed but I am pretty sure he doesn't spend extra for synthetic! Will see what it does with that high mileage engine.

So anyone else here have any experience with Auto-Rx? One thing I do disagree with is their recommended "maintenance dose" at every oil change. I think they are just trying to sell more stuff! I don't believe regular use of any additives is necessary or even good to put in your oil…

Yup, good stuff. Just expensive. Gotta be real anal about following their directions precisely, or you'll waste it.