Auto-RX Desludging a 4.3L

[DINO55]

Hey Tony, It's nice to see you drop in on us once in a while...

[the87hyper]

I thought the fram filters were a no no? You've got me really wondering, you said your gas mileage changes as the temperature changes. Is this possible, i thought the computer adjusts fuel / air ratios to give the same all the time. Is this just something the looks good on paper, but in reality there are differences in miles per gallon vs. temperature?

Originally Posted by BlazerLT

Welp, the cleaning phase is finished.

I ran 2000 miles seeing I went over the 1500 mile suggested interval while going through a long 7 hour drive and I could not stop to do anything on the highway.

To finish off the cleaning phase, the engine underwent a 850 mile drive within 2 days. Lots of long easy going highway running at 55-60mph on cruise.

Oil pressure is up, and I know it is time to give this baby some new oil and a filter. She deserves it.

So here we go.



The oil seemed to get dirty earlier on in the cleaning phase and then start to get a little cleaner as the miles piled on. This could be because the initial cleaning of the AutoRX and the filter taking several passes to clean the oil up a bit. Oil looks low here because the truck is up on ramps when the shot was taken.



For only having 2000 miles on the oil, the oil draining out of the filter was really dark to borderline black and didn't flow very well even with the engine completely warmed up to temperature before the change.

Oil filter was replaced with a Quaker State (Purolator) oil filter and a 4.5qt load of Formula Shell Conventional Clean Engine Formula 5w30. Got it really cheap for a US$17.50 for a case of 12 from Costco. I didn't want to go bargain basement with the oil.

The oil was changed and the engine was fired up and WHAT A DIFFERENCE!

Oil pressure was down by 1/4 and valve train noise was slim to none. I was sitting outside of the truck and could hear the fuel pumping whining like they do on GM trucks and I thought I had a problem but then I noticed that I could hear it now because the engine had quietened down that much. My baby was crying for an oil change.



So the oil was changed and the Fram Extended Guard Filter was drained and set on the workbench for disection. I used a hacksaw and in 5 minutes it was cut open. It was amazing just how much oil was still in the oil filter. I still had about 250ml drain oil through the new cut and that is after I drained the filter for 20 minutes into the oil drain pan. Sign of a good ADBV.



First thing is first, this oil filter is built like a brick poop-house. Solid, rigid and heavy. Here is the can, and the filter draining some more. The silicon ADBV was intact and the filter was in perfect order.



For 2000 miles, the oil filter sure was dirty and dark compared to the light orange color is has in its new and dry stock form. Let's rip it apart shall we.

To do this I took a hammer handle and bashed the metal end caps off instead of wasting time cutting it gently off. It worked and in 20 seconds, I got this.



The fibrous synthetic filter media is backed by a support screen mesh which was REALLY strong but easily peeled off of the media for closer inspection.



Although there was no visible chunky sludge, this didn't surprise me at all. The engine has been taken care of. But the filter media was actually pretty well plugged up with fine grit and liquified sludge. Wanna see? Think I am lying, well, wait no longer.





Just scraping the inner seams of the filter media unearthed embedded sludge and grit in the filter. The whole filter was literally plugged with this stuff throughout.

A good sign that the sludge was liquified properly and deposited in the Extended Guard's large filtering capacity media.

To anyone doing a cleaning cycle, USE THIS FILTER! Its' capacity far surpasses and standard paper media filter for cleaning and removing elevated sludge levels in the oil.

I switched to a Quaker State filter for the rinse cycle to lower my oil pressure and allow proper oil flow with my remote oil filter setup. Since the swap, pressure is down for sure.

And now, the other noticed differences

Other than the lower engine noise, fuel economy is higher than I have EVER witnessed in 3 years owning this truck.

With the EXACT same road trip and fuel used, my max fuel economy this time of year was 21mpg.

For this trip, on the way to my destination, I got 24MPG! On the way back, I got 23MPG!!!

The economy difference between going there and coming back was probably from the air temperature being 10c lower than it was when I was going down to my destination.

But still, this is an improvement.....

The Rating for this truck is 18MPG city / 21MPG highway. The truck weighs 4600lbs.

I will keep you updated seeing the rinse phase is still to come.

I will keep you posted.

[dmbrisket 51]

Originally Posted by the87hyper

I thought the fram filters were a no no? You've got me really wondering, you said your gas mileage changes as the temperature changes. Is this possible, i thought the computer adjusts fuel / air ratios to give the same all the time. Is this just something the looks good on paper, but in reality there are differences in miles per gallon vs. temperature?

frams are no no;s, but for a few hundred miles while testing they are ok to use, why spend the extra on that napa gold or wix that every one should be using when your going to trash it in 500 miles?? and yes the computer does compensate for temperature, the colder the incomming air the more molicules in a given area (also called parts per million ppm) so the more gas (parts per million) needed to keep the moter from running to rich in the summer or lean itselfe out in the winter... make any sence???

[BlazerLT]

Originally Posted by the87hyper

I thought the fram filters were a no no? You've got me really wondering, you said your gas mileage changes as the temperature changes. Is this possible, i thought the computer adjusts fuel / air ratios to give the same all the time. Is this just something the looks good on paper, but in reality there are differences in miles per gallon vs. temperature?

The only Fram filter you can use is the Fram X2. It is nothing like the other Fram pieces of garbage.

[dmbrisket 51]

ive heard of the x series, never seen one anywhere

[BlazerLT]

Originally Posted by dmbrisket 51

ive heard of the x series, never seen one anywhere

It is also known as the Extended Guard.

[dmbrisket 51]

hmm, sorry still a ???.. but thats ok, im happy with napa

[BlazerLT]

Originally Posted by dmbrisket 51

hmm, sorry still a ???.. but thats ok, im happy with napa

Napa are Wix I think. Still a good filter.

[s10blazerman4x4]

Yeh they are.

[BlazerBoyLT98]

They are made by Dana who makes WIX

[dmbrisket 51]

6 to one, half a dozen to another

[BlazerLT]

Originally Posted by dmbrisket 51

6 to one, half a dozen to another

No really, there ar some good ones out there and also some good ones that are really over-priced.

[wolfox]

X2's can be found on the shelves at Wallyworld in hermetically sealed "Pringles" cans. But, Wix/NAPA Gold oil filters are the good stuff too. I used Wix up until I got the engine flushed out and clean. Spun on an X2 and filled her up with magic green oil. She'll go as long as April of '06 or so and I did this last month.

[BlazerLT]

The only thing I notived is that the X2 did cause some flow restriction and my oil pressure reading were quite high in the winter.

[wolfox]

I will have to see what happens for myself. So far, no start up noises, nor high pressures at startup. But then, the coldest it ever got so far while on this combination of lube and filter was 40 degrees. The *deep* freeze doesn't start in my neck of the woods until Jan~Feburary. And even then - it *might* touch 20 degrees at its worst.