Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Auto Rx; culprit in premature alternator failure, bad oil seals, etc.

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Auto Rx; culprit in premature alternator failure, bad oil seals, etc.

    These folks seem perhaps laughing up their sleeves at me lately; with a plethora of emails about a new formula, when usually they send one every other year or two-if sometimes a little more frequently.*

    The following link is to my thread begun September 8th, 2008 on the general subject of Auto Rx, after installation of their treatment.[http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=17178

    Done beginning February 10th, 2007 with 138,983 miles to initiate the first of two cycles, with the second rinse of the second cycle completed 142,046 with no legible date-though the first rinse of that final of two cycles was done 140,,536 miles March 14th, 2007.

    The data got recorded on the outer cover of the small notebook I keep in the car for recording milage figures each gas purchase that has suffered some moisture enough to make the figures a little hard to read near the bottom of the booklet.

    The current emails from Auto Rx, are coming lately; at the same juncture as my having to replace an oil soaked alternator, a chewed up fairly new alternator belt showing signs of heat damage from slippage against resistance, the oil seals on the front end of the crank and cam shafts behind the timing belt, the timing belt, and the idler pulley for the timing belt.

    Total expenditure about $750, including labor. Oil has also been apparently leaking out of any other place in the engine where leakage could be; far more so than previous to the Auto Rx treatment, with about 178,000 miles now. I began to notice the leakage symptoms around the same time as I'd finished the Auto Rx treatment; running two cycles of that, since begun with around 135,000 miles they recommend to do twice, if over 100,000 miles on the car.

    When purchased at 85,000 miles from the original owner June of '99, a jet helicopter mechanic with the Coast Guard stationed with his family in Eureka, CA; he'd apparently given the engine and engine bay a careful cosmetic cleansing, which looked pristine. Soon enough this became apparent as a sales gimmick; as an amount of oil seepage became visible, not too unusual to expect of a car whose timing belt cover was considerably heat-distorted I noticed changing the timing belt cover at around 100,000 miles.**

    These Auto Rx treatments are advertised to remove accumulated crude in the channels of the pistons the rings lay inside of; which no other oil treatment is capable of they say will assure the longevity of the motor like nothing else, greatly! So, perhaps replacement of a few seals, a prematurely worn alternator and the associated risks of the corrupted belts et al; is worth the whole event?

    I'm hardly wild about being made an unsuspecting guinea pig, even in something so relatively trivial-easy to imagine as psychological targeting and abuse because of rich and powerful former friends who hate the social safety net; since so much of my life is associated with covert eugenics as someone Romani, and a tedious, involving history of manipulations and abuses via the medical establishment since doctors told my mother her milk would poison her children so we were never nursed.

    Anyway, I'd welcome other opinions; particularly since a FordFestiva.com member of renown in oil expertise DarkDan, added a strong endorsement of the product when I'd been posting about trying same, with private messages to me.

    These messages from DarkDan follow in chronological order from the earliest to the most recent of the four total. He'd seemed definitely to encourage the procedure; I also recall commenting in the forum about Auto Rx positively. I'm not too swift with the "search" procedure; so perhaps someone who is could help out?

    If, and a big "IF" to imagine, if there is something to my theory; then this certainly seems a little over the edge?

    Anyway, here goes with the three messages to me. I'm leaving in the totality of each message; for authenticity and to show we were communicating about more than only the Auto Rx. Dark Dan seemed both an intelligent and entertaining correspondent; who'd also advocated strongly about the Stilko toilet paper oil filter I use, in the affirmative:

    My rich friend alluded to above, Daniel Hathaway; is someone when met May of '79 about ten years older than myself; whose mother Erica Hathaway had recently divorced his step-father in a settlement worth $20,000,000 including ten acres and a home with swimming pool in Ojai, CA they later got $10,000,000 for. His mother is mentioned in Indra Devi's most famous yoga book Forever Healthy Forever Young, for typing the manuscript. I met Dan the day I'd heard his truck with a hole in the muffler approaching from behind me so that I threw my left thumb in the air pedaling a ten-speed from Dallas to near Bonners Ferry via San Diego. Known for practice of "the Golden Rule" as they say; "the one with the gold does the ruling."
    '91 Festiva L/'73 Windsor Carrera Sport custom

    (aka "Jazz Bobstad," "The BobWhan," etc.)

    Art is the means whereby(a) society advances: Religion is the definition of the parameters of art. Poetry is the actualization of these...

  • #2
    Auto Rx; more drug abuse, so what about a placebo?

    REPLY #1/July 3rd, 2006

    Re: auto RX for my festiva
    Well a synthetic NLGI #2 grease will far outperform a conventional grease. It may not "save" wheel bearings, but it will extend their life. So it couldn't hurt to repack them. Look for a NLGI #2 grease instead of "all purpose" or #1.

    Comparing the cleanliness of your motor to other motors, yours is going to be very clean. However, you'd still be surprised at how dirty it can get.

    To fully clean the engine and the ring packs you're going to have to do a full cleaning phase and rinse phase. A 3 oz maintenance doze is really only enough to keep new deposits from forming.

    The first cleaning phase you can use the mobil1 you already have. So just add it in, drive 1500 miles, change all your oil/filters with conventional oil and do a 2000 mile rinse phase. Then, just for safety sake, do another treatment.

    Frank can't guarentee results if you don't follow the directions. Starting out on a maintenance dose with a dirty motor doesn't make much sense.

    You can use coupon ARXDD for a few bucks off. After hitting "Check Out" you'll be taken to the screen to fill in all your shipping info/etc. At the very top you'll see shipping method. Click it and change it to free domestic shipping.
    __________________
    BGG aims to close the information gap by way of innovative and insightful content specific to career, finance, and campus life, and challenges the employment gap by connecting our network of black women to lucrative career opportunities via strategic partnerships.

    AMSOIL dealer and window tinter.
    Trust me folks, you need www.auto-rx.com
    Go ahead and ask me why

    REPLY #2/August 13th, 2006

    Re: getting ready to do the Auto-Rx treatment
    Personally, I'd change all filters, toilet paper, and oil before adding auto-rx. Change all filters/tp for the rinse phase, and change it after you're done.

    Auto-rx is going to clean A LOT. Your filters and TP will most likely get near full capacity pretty easily.
    __________________
    BGG aims to close the information gap by way of innovative and insightful content specific to career, finance, and campus life, and challenges the employment gap by connecting our network of black women to lucrative career opportunities via strategic partnerships.

    AMSOIL dealer and window tinter.
    Trust me folks, you need www.auto-rx.com
    Go ahead and ask me why

    REPLY #3/August 21st, 2006

    Re: getting ready to do the Auto-Rx treatment
    K&N air filters suck.

    K&N oil filters are nice, but highly overpriced. I stick with Motorcraft, PureOne, Wix, and supertechs. Soon I'll be using some of AMSOIL's new expensive EA oil filters. Which are either the best thing to happen to full flow oil filters since sliced bread....or highly overpriced. The discontinued SDF filters were highly overpriced.

    If you look at that oil filter study I sent you you'll see they have a decent amount of media, and their flow is high.

    I'd still run the stilko. Frank is a chemist and not an expert on bypass filters.

    The bypass can only help in this situation. Many many people have used auto-rx while using other bypass systems.
    __________________
    BGG aims to close the information gap by way of innovative and insightful content specific to career, finance, and campus life, and challenges the employment gap by connecting our network of black women to lucrative career opportunities via strategic partnerships.

    AMSOIL dealer and window tinter.
    Trust me folks, you need www.auto-rx.com
    Go ahead and ask me why

    REPLY #4/September 24th, 2007

    Re: Auto Rx in '91 Festiva w/140,000 miles
    2 oz per quart if you have to replace a quart during a cleaning phase.


    If you're doing a maintenance doze schedule after your rinse phase you shouldn't have to add much. Maybe 2 oz every 3rd time or something. After all, auto-rx "sticks" to surfaces.
    __________________
    BGG aims to close the information gap by way of innovative and insightful content specific to career, finance, and campus life, and challenges the employment gap by connecting our network of black women to lucrative career opportunities via strategic partnerships.

    AMSOIL dealer and window tinter.
    Trust me folks, you need www.auto-rx.com
    Go ahead and ask me why

    *I also had an apparently similar experience with a product called SLICK-50; which used every ten thousand miles, chanced to cause an adequate enough dam on the lip of the flywheel seal of a '66 VW "square-back" sedan; I found when tearing the motor apart with 100,000 miles, had a scratch on the thrust bearing saddle which initially caused leakage of a quart of oil every tank of gas following my second rebuild occasioned because of failure to use anti-seize on the spark plugs I'd not known of then; so that corrupt ABC Motors in Centralia, WA the spring of '84 cross-threaded a steel repair insert of the $3 cylinder later causing my first of four rebuilds to fail with seized rod at about 17,000 miles.

    For apparently strange reasons, I'd experimented with the then heavily advertised SLICK-50 soon after that second rebuild; whose sabotage was done by the only place West Coast Motors, in Ventura, CA that offered VW motor align-bores I'd been warned against as likely to abuse me when I'd also been told they were the only source available by the person I worked with as elementary school custodians, helping me through the first rebuild...also a biker band bass guitarist who picked up rock playing moonlighting in Hong Kong bars during the Vietnam war era.

    **The seller had become visibly alarmed when I'd begun to display a degree of mechanical knowledge; who'd initially recommended against changing the timing belt at all, as if a silly procedure fundamentally unnecessary. He'd also made as a selling point his recent brake job; resulting in a frozen caliper pin causing a minor collision only my skills kept from being far worse since I side-scrapped by jumping the curb at the last moment a car stopped at the foot of a freeway off-ramp, I'd of otherwise rear-ended...coming to a stop by snapping off the "do not enter" sign from behind, on the left of the car I'd ended beside.

    A brutal victimization since I blew a false high breath test in my first moving violation that April 15th, 2001 since 1970 ruining a near perfect driving record with only three minor tickets and two convictions during high school or the first year after. I'd been going to sun on a beach at Trinidad, CA and now speculate the breath test was compromised since I'd taken a stiff belt off a just opened half pint of brandy as I pulled off the freeway; though the whole incident from start to end after four continuences was riff with corruption the regional courts are known for there along with many other aspects of society in Humboldt county when treating with the least advantaged of the area.

    I suspect the Festiva has sophisticated electronic controls capable of causing a brake failure; though when the local Ford dealership mechanic was willing to go to court and testify in my behalf that a brake malfunction caused the wreck I was in, he'd shown me the frozen caliper pin which had lacked sufficient lubrication. I stopped in there a couple weeks following the incident. The arresting officers were only interested in busting me for the alcohol though; and I was never charged with any traffic infraction. Too easy to imagine, is this website is another dummy facet of my continuing abuse; perhaps?
    Last edited by bobstad; 08-02-2012, 08:25 PM.
    '91 Festiva L/'73 Windsor Carrera Sport custom

    (aka "Jazz Bobstad," "The BobWhan," etc.)

    Art is the means whereby(a) society advances: Religion is the definition of the parameters of art. Poetry is the actualization of these...

    Comment


    • #3
      I want to point out this post from 2008, just to clarify something.


      Originally posted by wrestler3025 View Post
      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!
      Did this guy openly get his friend to buy a car with what sounds like a leaking headgasket?
      Hodginsa - Photography - Cars, people, everything.



      Festy is For Sale...

      Comment


      • #4
        Holy cow. Some of these tidbits or information or miraculous finds have to be condensed in such a way that people can actually understand what is going on.
        I don't buy additives period. Snake oil most every time unless you're looking to misrepresent or sell something that smokes like a chimney or otherwise isn't right.

        Comment


        • #5
          All I'll say is that I know Dark Dan personally and used that Auto-Rx stuff properly and did see some minor results (main bearing seal leaked less and I had less blow-by from my rings it seemed) on a B3 with around 260K on the clock.

          He's a great guy, does a great window tint at a good price and probably educated me more on why to use a good oil more than I'll ever have to actually know.
          1992 Festiva... BP-T, Escort G5MR, no crossmember, aspire brakes, Megasquirt, Toyota COP's, coilovers and 6 puck SPEC clutch!

          T3/T4 Turbo Power! G5MR and BP since '04!

          Comment


          • #6
            Dark Dan; is "on the dark side," at least a little?

            Originally posted by IdealSociety View Post
            All I'll say is that I know Dark Dan personally and used that Auto-Rx stuff properly and did see some minor results (main bearing seal leaked less and I had less blow-by from my rings it seemed) on a B3 with around 260K on the clock.

            He's a great guy, does a great window tint at a good price and probably educated me more on why to use a good oil more than I'll ever have to actually know.
            Dark Dan made an excellent impression on me, too; whose knowledge about oil and anything to do with lubricants-with a willingness to share his intelligence, seems cutting edge and exceptional. Though professional mentors, so to speak; can remind me of less savory things, too. People more empowered than myself; always give a person, pause.

            There are no doubt, probably things other than the Auto Rx; which could've created the symptoms, of all the greatly increased oil leakage. I think I presented the scenario as forcefully as I did; in order to get people to imagine the possibility of Auto Rx, being at least part of the problem. Not to mention SLICK-50, etc. Anything which cleans the grooves in the pistons, the rings are in as effectively as the claims for Auto Rx; would certainly seem to be a powerful agent, quite strong acting. That this could contribute to leakage, in some instances; does seem, at least feasible. They've recently changed their formulae; for what that's worth, too?

            One other thing about my Festiva's motor worth factoring; is that the timing belt cover is considerably heat-distorted. In my admittedly limited experiences; something I've never seen on other Festivas. Since the cooling fan didn't work at all when I got the car, I didn't notice for a few years; certainly there is the possibility the previous owner let the car get very hot, at one point. That would have to be considered, as something capable of increasing leakage. Perhaps the Auto Rx, in motors not already stressed as apparently the one I have, is; wouldn't contribute to leakage?

            All this hit me suddenly; once I got my car back from the shop with all the work done, two days ago. When I posted this thread, I'd had something else going on too; a need to get out of my apartment on time, for some music which is important to me.[http://www.tiptonssaxquartet.com [http://www.amydenio.com So, this thread lacked, if not polish; reflective time, with more relaxed contemplation.

            I was telling a neighbor earlier tonight; if you want to get me into a grouchy mood, just get me started talking about my car! Particularly if you are the type to initiate a conversation, while I'm greasy to the elbows; in the middle of working on the car. I always am amazed at the way people seem to presume, while working on a car; is when a person wants to have a conversation started.

            Cars seem to consume way more, than their fair share of my attention. I used to be an enthusiast, in my teens and early twenties; though getting close to four decades now, they are only a means to other ends. I'd far rather walk if that would do the job, swim, bike, even motorcycle...though this is the era of the automobile; and the place in the world, most devoted to them too. I try to be philosophical; but, can explode a little, too.

            Then, there is having to admit to the obvious; of there being so many others, far more knowledgeable about cars than me. While often very unmindful, of most of the other things I'm interested in. Oh well; right? Which obviously I guess; contributes to the paranoiac, as well.
            '91 Festiva L/'73 Windsor Carrera Sport custom

            (aka "Jazz Bobstad," "The BobWhan," etc.)

            Art is the means whereby(a) society advances: Religion is the definition of the parameters of art. Poetry is the actualization of these...

            Comment


            • #7
              Puddles enuf

              Originally posted by Bert View Post
              Holy cow. Some of these tidbits or information or miraculous finds have to be condensed in such a way that people can actually understand what is going on.
              I don't buy additives period. Snake oil most every time unless you're looking to misrepresent or sell something that smokes like a chimney or otherwise isn't right.
              This makes me think of having done a $600 overhaul, just for parts & machine work; during '84, on an air-cooled "pancake" VW 1600cc motor-including overhauling the Solex carbs. When that $600 represented more than my earned income that year; which thankfully California unemployment insurance helped out with, considerably.

              My first tank of gas after the initial fill-up vacating Ojai, CA was in Maricopa, CA heading north towards work in Okanogan, WA picking apples. Checking the oil, I noticed a puddle beneath the motor; and soon found I was leaking a quart every tankful.*

              Overhauling that rebuild 85,000 miles later, is when I noticed a scratch on the thrust bearing saddle next to the flywheel; which caused the leakage, done by West Coast Automotive in Ventura, CA that went out of business within the next couple years.

              At the time the only place locally doing align-bores; who were a VW specialty shop there, downtown near the 101 freeway. This seems typical; where anyone not a "pro" gets run through the mill, to discourage people maintaining their own rigs. No doubt there are pecking orders of all sorts; wherein people become more or less advantaged, based upon the exegeses existent.

              A whole level of stylization ensues, the sort of psychological abuse in many cases which rationalizes various types of victimization. Were actually efficiency a dominant criteria, most places would be like ghost towns; so unnecessary are the duplication of facilities-simply to give the facade of meaningful employment to a community.

              A person like myself hates to be unequivocal of course, so infrequently do I pursue these sort of endeavors; though, that in and of the situation, is what can frequently encourage anyone scamming a person's energies. No doubt the phenomena must evolve to match the time and circumstance; though remaining fundamentally intact, as long as capitalism rules....and more refined means of control, are lacking.

              *This was the second rebuild; the initial one failing due to a cross-threaded steel insert to repair damaged threads on a spark-plug hole about 17,000 miles into what had to've been an excellent first rebuild; a motor which pulled well past 70 mph in third gear, easily. Both align-bores were done at the same place; so apparently the second time around is when I'd been taken advantage of by them. Or, feasibly an error?
              Last edited by bobstad; 08-06-2012, 02:21 PM.
              '91 Festiva L/'73 Windsor Carrera Sport custom

              (aka "Jazz Bobstad," "The BobWhan," etc.)

              Art is the means whereby(a) society advances: Religion is the definition of the parameters of art. Poetry is the actualization of these...

              Comment


              • #8
                Bob, FWIW- My 30yrs of experience being an amature mechanic and engine builder has helped me form an opinion. If an engine is old or has high miles and runs acceptable, leave it alone. Too many times have I seen high detergent oils, flushes or cleaners added to a good running old engine.....only to result in opposite of the intended results.
                Mant times, the result was excessive blow-by, low oil pressure and leaking seals. If your car has such symptoms, it's due to mechanical wear. The additive did not cause the wear, but it did remove the carbon and sludge that was masking it.

                I'm not saying that Seafoam, Auto-RX or any other engine cleaning product doesn't work. I've have used them before with successful results. But, I've been on the losing end of such experiments as well. Sometimes the LAST thing you want is to clean out an engine if it has significant mechanical wear. You might be left with a perfectly clean worn out engine that has excessive clearances and wear. I compare it to taking a grinder to a fender that "has a little surface rust". By the time you take all the rust away, you have a rotten fender full of holes and in need of total repair.

                Another similar example is my kitchen faucet. I would estimate it to be at least 30yrs old, if not older. It's a Moen brand, and still works flawlessly with no leaks or drips. It does, however, have a significant amount of hard water stains and buildup, and is not the most attractive. My 13yr old son decided last week he would clean the sink out of bordom, and commenced to scouring the life out of the faucet with a brillo pad in an attempt to make it shine. When he finished, I complimented him on how nice everything looked, stepped up to turn on the faucet and was met with a small, focused stream of cold water spraying me in the face. It was spraying out of a series small pin holes in the top of the faucet gooseneck, which were the previous locations of said hard water deposits. My son asked if I was going to install a new faucet....and I told him that if I did, I would probably end up having to replace half the plumbing in the house. I grabbed a washcloth out of the drawer, wrapped it around the faucet to cover the pin holes and said, "Leave this on it for about 3 weeks. By that time, deposits will re-form and the holes will plug themselves". (I didn't tell him that I did the exact same thing myself about 3 years ago, LOL). In essence, my son got his first life lesson about plumbing in an 80yr old house: If it aint completely broke, don't try to fix it.......If you do, be prepared for 3X the work and 3X the expense it should be.
                Brian

                93L - 5SP, FMS springs, 323 alloys, 1st gen B6, ported head & intake, FMS cam, ported exhaust manifold w/2-1/4" head pipe.
                04 Mustang GT, 5SP, CAI, TFS plenum, 70mm TB, catted X, Pypes 304SS cat-back, Hurst Billet+ shifter, SCT/Bama tuned....4.10's & cams coming soon
                62 Galaxie 2D sedan project- 428, 3x2V, 4SP, 3.89TLOC

                1 wife, 2 kids, 9 dogs, 4 cats......
                Not enough time or money for any of them

                Comment


                • #9
                  So "old school" I simply forgot.

                  Originally posted by blkfordsedan View Post
                  Bob, FWIW- My 30yrs of experience being an amature mechanic and engine builder has helped me form an opinion. If an engine is old or has high miles and runs acceptable, leave it alone. Too many times have I seen high detergent oils, flushes or cleaners added to a good running old engine.....only to result in opposite of the intended results.
                  Yeah, I recall being advised working getting my initial chops on old clunkers like Model Ts & Model As, 30s, 40s & 50s beaters; that detergent oil was a death-wish.

                  Just out of high school, I liked playing "Untouchables" careening around corners on the outside wheels, with the inner two up in the air; driving a '37 LaSalle with knee-action shocks, suicide rear doors, a black paint job which looked out of a can with a house brush, and dual side mount-front fender spare tires. Even a cool little roll up blind for the rear window.

                  The old mohair upholstery in those rigs still seems about the best cars have ever had. Not to mention gauges the size of salad bowls.
                  '91 Festiva L/'73 Windsor Carrera Sport custom

                  (aka "Jazz Bobstad," "The BobWhan," etc.)

                  Art is the means whereby(a) society advances: Religion is the definition of the parameters of art. Poetry is the actualization of these...

                  Comment

                  Working...
                  X