AUTO-RX(any experiences?)

[bobstad]

I drove to Seattle from Bellingham on the 5th, most recent of a few trips from here to there and back lately since moving to Bellingham from Eureka, CA; and I noticed coming back at around eleven at night on the freeway at seventy that my '91 Festiva 5-speed seems to have more power compared to what I'm used to.(155/R80-13 tires)

These are my first experiences driving on the open road lately without my car loaded heavily,(and/or not my domicile*) and since doing the AUTO-RX treatments; so that I wonder if the AUTO-RX may have anything to do with my seemingly stronger performance?

AUTO-RX is an engine oil treatment someone knowledgeable about engine oil at <www.fordfestiva.com> recommends,("darkdan") said to be especially worthy since this cleanses the piston rings effectively.(<www.auto-rx.com>)

I wonder if anyone using the AUTO-RX treatment for their Festiva(s) has any observations about their experience?(there was sludge when I drained my crankcase after the first of the two treatments; at about 150,000 miles on a car I got with 85,000 miles that supposedly never had anything but MOBIL ONE...at least until recently when I switched to NAPA's "fully synthetic" brand which at $4.99 is about $2.50/quart less than MOBILE ONE)

I use a STILKO oil filter;(mine is from San Diego, CA now made in the USA-not endorsed by Nelson Mandela as far as I know) an aluminum canister that is a spin on type, refillable using standard toilet paper as the element I change every 3000 miles, adding a quart of new oil then and never draining the crankcase.(there was a good amount of sludge when I drained the crankcase the first of the two treatments[recommended for high-mileage vehicles] definitely emulsification rather than toilet paper fibers-sludge may not be the perfect descriptive word, but like a fine light mud or delicate cooking grease maybe, thickened by cooling...veggie gravy thick, w/o lumps)

*a '66 VW Squareback sufficed from '82-'94 and the "Ford" is proving adaptable.(?!?) Sort of backwards, if you consider eugenics being prior to Nazism.

[getnpsi]

I used it on the aspire im currently driving now. When i got the car it was very sludged. chunks on the oil cap even. I never took the valve cover off to really see how it looked but did the auto-rx anyway. Since then ive used cheap walmart synthetic and no leaks. I was scared to use the really mean solvent based cleaners on this car in case it plugged up a passage. i no longer have any tick or slaps on starup like all mazdas are just assumed to do.

When i drained the oil the first time (day of purchase after a long highway jaunt) there were chunks coming out...before the auto-rx. the later changes had a differnt consistancy than regular dirty oil and now it looks fine. i did hack up a few oil filters and take pictures but dont remember what hosting site i had them on. By the way when i was doing both the auto-rx clean and rinse i was changing my spinon filters weekly just out of interest. the documentation says to do it once after 500 then another time before you drain and i think i did it at least one extra time during the clean and once during the rinse too.

I dont believe in leaving oil in the crankcase more than 20,000 miles, or a whole year. That's scary. I'll agree that makeup oil replenishes the additive package, but an acid chemical reaction is still making salts which i dont know if they all come out by filtering.

[bobstad]

taking a reasoned chance; is my bet on that STILKO

I got the STILKO before the Festiva.

I paid $5 for it at a hospice thrift store which an elderly volunteer there in Arcata, CA sold me when I'd gotten to talking with him about his rusty though amazing '67 Checker Marathon station wagon he was selling for $1800.

He'd put in a whole new motor and transmission, both of which were fitted with a complete AMSOIL lubrication set-up.(a Chevy 327 V-8 and 2-speed PowerGlide transmission)

This was in '98 so I forget exactly what his set up was, but which has some sort of aftermarket super lubrication system, which looked similar to the Franz type toilet paper system which is similar to the STILKO, but more likely I think was an AMSOIL made product.

This argues against the effectiveness of the STILKO which had been on his previous motor, sort of in a vague speculative way.(though the STILKO came highly recommended by this elderly gentleman whose home I visited where he'd had a very extensive shop in a gigantic older house as a mechanically minded hobbyist, probably retired by then for a couple decades or more was my impression)

When I got interested in putting the STILKO on the Festiva I contacted a man now in his mid '70s named Neil R. Wagenaar who lives in Chula Vista, CA who has been selling both the STILKO and the similar principle FRANZ units* since almost forever who says he hasn't changed the oil in his car since 1960.(whether or not its been up on blocks since then I failed to ask, feeling this might seem impolite?)

He has been super in sending me informative literature about the STILKO and also the necessary adapter to use on the Festiva instead of a GM 327 V-8, and the few other replacement parts I've needed.(they are now made in the Union of South Africa, and had a web site the last time I looked about four years ago)

The brochure he sent me which seems to date from around 1980 which is a photo copy I have, says the STILKO removes particles as small as 1/100 micron in size, up to six ounces of water from the oil, and provides more than 1000 times the filtration surface of conventional throw-away filters. Implied is that the STILKO removes contaminating carbon particles, prevents formulation of sulphurous acids,(by removing water) and traps other contaminants.

I was interested in the Franz filters when I was in high school(class of '69, so awhile ago) when one of my friend's fathers was an elementary school teacher with six children and also a part time jazz musician as a trumpet player.

He drove a '62 Plymouth with a slant-six and torque-flite transmission with the Franz filter system and used re-refined motor oil and never changed his oil, and used to show us the dip-stick which always looked like brand new very clean oil.

There is a web site <http://www.bobistheoilguy.com> where there are huge discussions over years sometimes about anything a person could think of concerning lubrication, and many of the contributors are very knowledgeable about these toilet paper filters; as is also "dark dan" who is one of the more intelligent people here at <www.fordfestiva.com> about lubrication in my experience at least.

Who backs me up in the way I'm using the STILKO.(I'm trusting my memory on that, as I have dail-up and need to be thinking about other things here sometime today or I'd check my correspondence with him as a member here, which was a few years ago now)

I've some other memories associated with my STILKO, but more appropriate for the Off-Topic forum, or even the Arena if that is still a feature here which I've never participated in.

Look for a post in a few minutes elsewhere, related to though inappropriate for this discussion forum.

*The FRANZ is a remote application requiring plumbing, but with the advantage you can use the whole roll of toilet paper instead of having to peel off about a third to get the roll into the STILKO spin-on canister, etc.

[freshtiva]

I been using a product called Rislone in a car I picked up last winter. It seems to be removing sludge as promised. Seems to have lessened some engine noises as well.

[wrestler3025]

I've used the Auto-rx in a few different cars. I put it in a friend's camry that I helped her look over before it was purchased, and it had an oil leak on the back side of the block. I put the Auto-rx in and washed the engine, and the next time she came and saw me, the leak diminished greatly. I did the next phase and washed the engine again, and No more leak:-) I also noticed that it removed deposits in the head (I looked in the oil cap hole) Good stuff!