[NILLINOIS]

I'd love to see the before and after pics Bitter. Pulling the valve cover is alot easier on the 7th gen than my 8th it seems.

[Bitter]

NILLINOIS, on Dec 24 2006, 12:53 AM, said:

I'd love to see the before and after pics Bitter. Pulling the valve cover is alot easier on the 7th gen than my 8th it seems.

when i goto change my oil in the spring i'll swipe some on a white paper and take a pic after 5 minutes, then do the same after 100 miles with 1/2 qt of ATF.

[datsa]

NILLINOIS, on Jul 26 2006, 04:17 PM, said:

I'm extremely fearful of those Shock Flush products, like Gumout Engine Flush, as I've read they can really screw up the engine or even kill it.

Some of these "shock flush" products contain kerosene, a great solvent but apparently harsh on gaskets and seals. I prefer Gold Eagle Oil Flush, which is basically a very thin motor oil with lots of detergents. In my own testing (drain oil without using Gold Eagle, then put in new oil, run car for 3K miles, then drain oil with Gold Eagle, remove valve cover and look at cams) there seems to be a bit more gunk in the oil that is coming out.

I understand the inherent risk of removing sludge, of freeing up blocked gaskets which would then leak, or of releasing sludge into engine channels that then plug up starving engine, but so far, no problems.
-Dave

[NILLINOIS]

datsa, on Aug 26 2007, 12:01 PM, said:

I prefer Gold Eagle Oil Flush, which is basically a very thin motor oil with lots of detergents.

I've never heard of it. How much does it sell for? I have about 500 miles to go until my next oil change. Usually i'll add a 1/2 qt. of ATF fluid and run it for 500 then change. I'll look for this brand.

[fishexpo101]

Gold Eagle Brand has been around as long as I can remember - they also own brands as STA-BIL Fuel Stabilizer (funky bottle), HEET Gas-Line Antifreeze, 104+ Octane Boost and more. Also a big repackager of storebrand chemicals.

[mitoyorolla]

Sorry to bring this back for the dead.

I am running auto-rx. I am 1600 mile into my cleaning phase. Already at 1300 miles i had to change my oil filter. It was heavy and solid. So i know that auto-rx is working. So far my MPG has gone up and my oil consumption is becoming less. My car is runnig stronger and smoother and the amount carbon build up on my bumber from my muffler is less. Once i start the clean phase of the auto-rx I should be able to see more improvements. If i get some improvement then i believe that auto-rx is working. Most likely i will run another application once i finsh with the first application. I want to see if the auto-rx will cure my oil consumption.

[NILLINOIS]

mitoyorolla, on Mar 17 2008, 02:46 PM, said:

Sorry to bring this back for the dead.

No problem. I know that in my 98, oil consumption went from 1/2-1 qt every 3000miles down to almost nothing after treatment. If possible, can you post pics of your oil when you start the rinse?

[Bitter]

the gf's family has a 98 escort with the 2.0 CVH engine thats NASTY under the valve cover. like a coat of tar on it all sort of...its nasty. the engine was popping the dipstick out, but seafoam cleaned enough out to stop that it seems.

think autorx would help clean up the rest of it, or is the 'tar' stuff too much for anything other than a manual cleaning? if nothing else she can run it through her car or i can run some through mine. neither are oil burners but im sure a little cleaning wouldnt hurt either.

[mitoyorolla]

NILLINOIS, on Mar 28 2008, 02:52 PM, said:

mitoyorolla, on Mar 17 2008, 02:46 PM, said:

Sorry to bring this back for the dead.

No problem. I know that in my 98, oil consumption went from 1/2-1 qt every 3000miles down to almost nothing after treatment. If possible, can you post pics of your oil when you start the rinse?

Sorry but could not get pics of the oil from the wash phase. But i did notice that the oil was black as i have ever seen it and the oil filter was heavier than when i changed it from the first 1300 miles. I have since started the rinse phase of auto-rx. I could tell right away that arx did work and look forward to the rinse phase to be over. It is still to early to tell if my mpg is effected or my oil consumption goes down. My feeling is that my mpg is gonna go up and my oil consumption issue might be come less. I plan on doing two treatments total. After the second treatment i hope to cure the oil consumption. Right now the engine sounds good and runs strong and i dont have to keep my foot on the gas as much. i definetly can feel the difference.

[01loadedLE]

As for findind sellers of autorx ask on bitog because there are sellers there. Many people there use it and highly recommend it. Anything you ever wanted to know about it, oil, filters ect is there.

http://www.bobistheo.../ubbthreads.php

I along with many people use seafoam in the crankcase and it works great at cleaning everything out including sludge from other reports Ive read there and Ive never had problems with seals, ect and Ive seen no one else say they have either. Just pour in the measured amount stated on the can and let it run for 5 minutes, or up to 50 miles then drain the oil. Some people just leave it in since it evaporates.

[Sokudo]

I'm kinda bringing this back from the dead too; sorry. :ph34r: My 98 burns oil, and after reading this post, I wonder if it may not be a stuck piston; the car only had 70,000 when I bought it. But it's getting colder, and reading up on Auto RX, I've seen comments about it turning solid as the temp drops, so is it possible to use Auto RX in conjunction with, say, Marvel Mystery Oil?

[fishexpo101]

To find out for sure if you got stuck rings or not - you have to do a compression test. First a dry test, to see what the compression numbers look like, then one with a squirt or to of oil in the cylinder and see if the numbers improve. If the compression improves considerably - then you probably have stuck rings - a seemingly common issue with the 8th gen Corolla, especially the first two model years.

AutoRx has decent reviews from users, though I personally have not used it - so I cannot comment it if works or not. MMO also has decent results, though I tend to use it to fog parts with oil to protect from surface corrosion. Many have also reported reduced oil consumption with a high mileage motor oils, like ones from Castrol and Valvoline. I would not recommend mixing oil additives, that is just asking for trouble. Additives like AutoRx and MMO work great on dissolving deposits, but don't protect the engine like motor oil does - so adding them together could result in a lubrication protection issue for you car. Just use one or the other - but not at the same time.

Also, don't be tempted to run a higher weight motor oil to stave off oil consumption - it might work in the short term, but even over a small period of time, you will accelerate the oil consumption issue. Since you haven't fixed the issue, just hid it behind a thicker oil.

[Sokudo]

fishexpo101, on 22 October 2009 - 05:20 PM, said:

To find out for sure if you got stuck rings or not - you have to do a compression test. First a dry test, to see what the compression numbers look like, then one with a squirt or to of oil in the cylinder and see if the numbers improve. If the compression improves considerably - then you probably have stuck rings - a seemingly common issue with the 8th gen Corolla, especially the first two model years.

AutoRx has decent reviews from users, though I personally have not used it - so I cannot comment it if works or not. MMO also has decent results, though I tend to use it to fog parts with oil to protect from surface corrosion. Many have also reported reduced oil consumption with a high mileage motor oils, like ones from Castrol and Valvoline. I would not recommend mixing oil additives, that is just asking for trouble. Additives like AutoRx and MMO work great on dissolving deposits, but don't protect the engine like motor oil does - so adding them together could result in a lubrication protection issue for you car. Just use one or the other - but not at the same time.

Also, don't be tempted to run a higher weight motor oil to stave off oil consumption - it might work in the short term, but even over a small period of time, you will accelerate the oil consumption issue. Since you haven't fixed the issue, just hid it behind a thicker oil.

Is a compression test something I have to go to a garage for, or could someone who knows how to handle cars do it at home?

[fishexpo101]

Sokudo, on 26 October 2009 - 06:45 PM, said:

Is a compression test something I have to go to a garage for, or could someone who knows how to handle cars do it at home?

This can be performed at home, all you need is the compression tester. Fairly inexpensive, compared to having the work done at a garage. Should be well within the realm of your average DIYer - if you can perform normal maintenance (oil changes, coolant flushes, replace plugs, brakes, etc.) - a compression test would be easily handled.