Has anyone here installed "Auto-RX" in a noisy engine? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

86560SEL · #1 12-30-2006, 12:05 AM

I was thinking of putting some of this engine cleaner in my very high mileage MB and wondering if anyone here has tried it and has had good results.

There are user comments on the site that has used it and they gave it rave reviews- for engine and transmission improvements. On some other actual forums I have been in, others seem to have had good results as well. I am just wondering if anyone here has any comments on this product.

My Mercedes is so old and high mileage, I cannot justify spending too much more money on it, so I thought I would give this $20. bottle of miracle worker a whirl.

What do you think? Hmm?

Thanks.

JimF · #2 12-30-2006, 11:06 AM

I've used Slick 50, Prolong and other snake oil products like these. I ceased using these products when it was shown that they were basically useless . . . and actually could cause problems.

One of the problems to my car was an intermittant 'tick-tick' from one lifter on the right side of the engine. Unfortunately it wasn't due to a broken oil tube (Menu#19).

Started using Auto-RX (ARX) and have been using it since. It cleaned all of the 100K+ miles worth of sludge and most of the varnish from the engine although it's not marketed to clean varnish. ARX does remove sludge amazingly and I continue to use it now in the maintenance mode. My engine has never run better and is quiet.

Here's a link showing what ARX did to a '93 Nissan 240SX. The results were amazing especially the increase in compression for all cylinders.

Bigpete123 · #3 12-30-2006, 01:31 PM

man, if that's what his nissan engine looked like after ~120k mi, I wonder what mine looks like after 193k!!!??

My problem is that I probably only drive about 200 miles per month or so. I would have to take lots of road trips in order to ever get the cleaning done and let the engine get hot. But this product seems pretty cool, assuming that they didn't make that stuff up.

rchase · #4 12-30-2006, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 86560SEL

I was thinking of putting some of this engine cleaner in my very high mileage MB and wondering if anyone here has tried it and has had good results.

There are user comments on the site that has used it and they gave it rave reviews- for engine and transmission improvements. On some other actual forums I have been in, others seem to have had good results as well. I am just wondering if anyone here has any comments on this product.

My Mercedes is so old and high mileage, I cannot justify spending too much more money on it, so I thought I would give this $20. bottle of miracle worker a whirl.

What do you think? Hmm?

Thanks.

Something that could thicken the oil might insulate the sound and make it less noticeable. I had a car that I inherited that had a bit of a tick that bothered me and I used a "no smoke" product that a friend had been using in his 275K+ V6 Lebaron engine . The no smoke product quieted up the engine nicely. Rather than resort to that you could try the heaviest grade of oil in your car at your next oil change and see if that does the trick.

Im not a big believer in oil additives. If anything you could do more harm than good by blocking oil passages with a big blob of gunk that came loose in your "engine cleaning" process. If I intended on keeping the car I inherited (I sold it instead) I would have had the top end overhauled.

I have a friend who is a horologist (clock/watch repair). A clock in a way is very similar to an engine. While at a slower pace over the period of many years clock movements develop the same problems with "sludge and gunk" that car engines do. If you don't lubricate the movement frequently enough the oil that remains turns into a thick sludge. There are horologists that will fix this with a shot of WD40 and then clock oil. Eventually these movements are damaged even more by the cheap repair and require more work replacing parts during a major service. Since heads are somewhat "disposable" and are rebuilt this is not as big of an issue on cars. Having to remake parts on a 200 year old clock is a much bigger deal.

If you notice a trend in the cars I have in my list of vehicles they are all inline engines. This is mostly because I keep my cars for a very long time and plan ahead for engine overhauls. On an inline 6 or inline 5 one head is cheaper than two on one of the V8's. If your planning on keeping your car around for a while I would look into eventually having your heads rebuilt. Heavier oil, patience and a loud radio might buy you some more time though.

JimF · #5 12-30-2006, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rchase

I have a friend who is a horologist (clock/watch repair). A clock in a way is very similar to an engine. While at a slower pace over the period of many years clock movements develop the same problems with "sludge and gunk" that car engines do. If you don't lubricate the movement frequently enough the oil that remains turns into a thick sludge. There are horologists that will fix this with a shot of WD40 and then clock oil. Eventually these movements are damaged even more by the cheap repair and require more work replacing parts during a major service.

My horologist took my grandfather clock and did a complete 'service' after we had for 4 years or so.

About 6 months later it would just 'stop'. Starting it, it would run for a few days, then stop. Getting extremely tired of this, I took the clock apart and got the 'mechanism' outside on a jig (for support).

I used a degreaser to completely clean the clock's mechanism and then . . . .wait for it . . . . use a teflon based dry lubricant giving the clock's mechanism a good 'soak'.

That was apx fifteen years ago . . . the clock hasn't stopped and to boot, it keeps perfect time!

rchase · #6 12-30-2006, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimF

My horologist took my grandfather clock and did a complete 'service' after we had for 4 years or so.

About 6 months later it would just 'stop'. Starting it, it would run for a few days, then stop. Getting extremely tired of this, I took the clock apart and got the 'mechanism' outside on a jig (for support).

I used a degreaser to completely clean the clock's mechanism and then . . . .wait for it . . . . use a teflon based dry lubricant giving the clock's mechanism a good 'soak'.

That was apx fifteen years ago . . . the clock hasn't stopped and to boot, it keeps perfect time!

There are two types of clock services. A lubrication and a full service.

A lubrication is just a light cleaning of the workings of the clock some minor adjustments and oiling. This is done on most "newer" clocks as they don't yet have the age on them to justify a full disassembly.

A full service involves taking the whole clock apart and soaking it in a cleaning agent that cleans all the oil and oxidation off all of the parts. The parts are then dried and inspected for wear. After any replacements are made all the parts are placed on a high speed clock lathe and are high speed polished to reduce friction. The clock is then reassembled and oiled and run for several weeks to make all the adjustments the movement needs to keep time.

Sounds like you just got the quickie lubrication and cleaning. What you did was very similar to the full service. The teflon lubricant is not the classic lubricant used to lubricate clocks but certainly sounds interesting. Typically clocks are only lubricated on the front and back plates of the movements rather than on all of the gears. Dust and debris tends to stick to oiled parts and causes more friction in the long run. The good thing about clocks is it takes a LONG time for them to start showing wear.

In addition to Mercedes cars clocks are another of my passions.

samiam4 · #7 12-30-2006, 07:21 PM

Humm..

a few points on clock servicing. I'm not sure about anything other than completely dissembling , cleaning, reassemble ,oil and adjust.

For your edification, many of these new clocks seem to have VERY soft brass plates- german ones. Not sure what hermle is using for oil, but it is not good. I think a california dealer was telling me he overhauls them before they are sold-that's how bad the oil is...

Typically shafts are not "polished". Polishing is doesn't leave a smooth surface because it acuents the defects in the surface, but yes many have done it wrong for YEARS by many self-trained clock ppl.

The proper prep for a shaft is to burnish it. This will leave a perfect smooth and hard finish. But one must make sure the shaft isn't chrome plated first=0).

Then you must properly clean the mating hole. Toothpick in a collet of a flexible dremel works nice with some oil. If you leave metal or dirt particles in the brass(soft so it will embed naturally), it will damage the shaft and lead to needing work soon.
Clocks are not really my thing, I'm more a watch guy- got a 54' Omega in the cleaning tank today.

Michael

86560SEL · #8 01-01-2007, 10:53 PM

Thanks. Sounds like its what the doctor ordered.

86560SEL · #9 01-27-2007, 10:48 PM

Thanks Jim. Well, I have ordered "auto-rx" and it came the other day.... I finally got around to put it in the engine this evening when I got home from work. As recommended, I installed a new MB oil filter to catch all of the debris that it is supposed to displace.... I will drive the 1000-1500 miles and see what happens. As mentioned, my 269K Mercedes, surprisingly has NO leaks, NO oil burning and NO smoking and I hope use of this does not start any of that. I do however have a "noisy" and "clacky" engine. The lifters (especially on the passenger side), will clack and chatter and I have what sounds like a knock, but only between 1500-1900 rpms on acceleration.

If it smooths out my engine, I guess I will move onto why my car is occasionally missing.... perhaps a vacuum leak, bad fuel relay, plug wires, etc.

I will not start driving the car until Monday... so the "work/cleaning" should begin then.

Since my car holds 8.5 quarts of oil, I had to pour in a entire bottle and part of another. It said 16 oz. for 8 quarts of oil and each bottle is 12 oz., so I poured only about 1/3 of the 2nd bottle in it. The rest will go into the tranny of my truck, which probably needs the tranny cleaned, since it has 103K.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimF

I've used Slick 50, Prolong and other snake oil products like these. I ceased using these products when it was shown that they were basically useless . . . and actually could cause problems.

One of the problems to my car was an intermittant 'tick-tick' from one lifter on the right side of the engine. Unfortunately it wasn't due to a broken oil tube (Menu#19).

Started using Auto-RX (ARX) and have been using it since. It cleaned all of the 100K+ miles worth of sludge and most of the varnish from the engine although it's not marketed to clean varnish. ARX does remove sludge amazingly and I continue to use it now in the maintenance mode. My engine has never run better and is quiet.

Here's a link showing what ARX did to a '93 Nissan 240SX. The results were amazing especially the increase in compression for all cylinders.