blueridge

After reading a lot about this product here and at Bob the Oil Guy, I decided to order some for my 104K '01. I added the following on 11/18 per Auto-RX instructions:

One bottle in the crankcase after oil/filter change
1/2 bottle in the transmission
2 oz in transfer case
2 oz in rear differential
1 oz in power steering

I'll report what I find, it should be noted that the transfer case and rear diff were change by Lexus in April. I did the transmission pan drop two months ago, and power steering change one month ago.

I'm interested what I'll find in the transmission with clean magnets to start from. I'm not concerned with engine sludge, pulled the valve cover a month ago and it was clean.

S5sRX

I just got a 2001 RX300 and was planning the engine treatments of Auto-rx. I used it in my Passat (which has a lot of sludge issues) and it worked great.

I am anxious to see how it works on your transmission. I've been reading a lot about transmission issues with the RX and since I just bought this used, I thought I might try to clean and protect it before anything happens.

blueridge

340 more miles to go before I get it out of the transmission, transfer case, rear differential, and power steering. I'll take pics!

I initially only wanted to do the engine, but for the better deal on 4 bottles plus considering the glass transmission on the 300, I figured it couldn't hurt to drop some in there plus the other areas mentioned.

As I said in my first post, I just dropped the pan a few month ago so it will be interesting how much, if anything gets cleaned.

hitthepin

I'm really looking forward to seeing the pic's of the trans oil.

I have one question though, if you pulled the valve cover off and there was no sludge, why do the Auto-Rx treatment?

blueridge

Ha! Good question...Maybe it's because I can't leave well enough alone! I figured it was only the front cover that was pulled so I really didn't get a VERY good look, but it was mostly the mileage on it that did it for me. I didn't apply the "heavy sludge" treatment but the regular one for vehicles over 100K.

Benjamin T

iTrader: (2)

it does more than just clean sludge, i can rejuvenate oil seals as well. i had used auto-rx on my old GS to stop a rear main seal leak that i had and it worked.

i haven't tried it on the transmission though, but i was told that auto-rx is more effective using T-Tec equipment that is available at most trans service shops.

hitthepin

Fair enough. I'm much the same way. I ran the Auto-Rx treatment last year even though I was pretty sure the engine was "fairly" clean. A regular member here was cool enough to cut open the filter and there wasn't much sludge.

I hope you post your pic's in thread so I don't miss it.

TunedRX300

It also slowed my oil leak, glad to see another member to get the same result.
I am the firm believer that if a seal is hardened by sludge, the seal conditioner in the engine oil can't function well. Removing sludge will do wonders on the engine and seal.

blueridge

Over the past couple of days I've changed out the rear differential and transfer case fluid and flushed out the power steering fluid. I replaced the rear diff and transfer case with Royal Purple and noticed a great deal of improvement. There was only a small amount of debris on the plugs and felt it wasn't worth taking pics.

The transmission fluid has about 4K on it with the Auto-RX going in 1K ago. During the change 4K ago, the pan, magnets, were cleaned and filter changed. During this time I changed to Amsoil ATF.

I have to thank Lexmex for the ideas on fluids, oil etc here. Of all the things I've done to this RX, I must say: The Royal Purple gear lube has been the most noticeable, especially on acceleration.

Below are the pics!

blueridge

Left: Torque converter drain plug
Right: Transmission drain plug

blueridge

Same drain plugs cleaned with the debris on the paper towel. Much more gunk on the torque converter plug. Transmission plug was nearly clean.

blueridge

Transmission pan magnets prior to cleaning. I only have two, I've seen others here that have 3?

blueridge

Close up of one magnet. Note some small metal sticking up, when I changed the fluid and cleaned the magnets 4K ago, the metal was too fine to notice.

blueridge

Magnet two close up

blueridge

Magnets cleaned with the debris showing on the paper towel