engine and drivetrain Marvel Mystery Oil POLL!

[nickymono]

Ok guys, and esty,

I've got a leaky valve guide/stem seal issue I'm sure. Longish decel then gas = healthy puff o smoke. No smoke on accelleration. So sounds like the above diagnosis to me. I know the valve seals are a minor pain in the ass, and i'm not ready to spend the dough on rebuilding my head yet. So it begs the question...

I know people are generally against oil additives, or at least I am... but

Would Marvel Mystery Oil help "rejuvenate" my worn seals, as per the bottle's label? Or would it leave a buncha shit in my engine and clog my oil filter? Or both or neither!

I'll be back in two days after a 300+ mile trip. First trip in the 02. Wish me luck.

[c.d.iesel]

drain the oil and replace the filter.

refill with 4 quarts 20w-50 mineral oil +

1/2 quart of MARVEL MYSTERY OIL

HAVE A NICE TRIP

REPORT BACK AFTER 800 MILES

[gsr977]

drain the oil and replace the filter.

refill with 4 quarts 20w-50 mineral oil +

1/2 quart of MARVEL MYSTERY OIL

HAVE A NICE TRIP

REPORT BACK AFTER 800 MILES

Use caution: A similar situation with MMO brought about the agonizing end to my engine a few years back.

[c.d.iesel]

lubricants don't kill motors

decades of neglect do

[Napes]

A short while back a couple of people (including esty) said they'd had good results eliminating exhaust smoke in the situation you describe by following c.d.'s prescription, but using Lucas Oil Stabilizer instead of Marvel MO. Should be available at any chain auto parts store. I think I remember esty saying she's been using this method for 3 or 4 yrs (maybe more) and no smoke any more.

My wife's ' 76, which she drives around town on 2 to 8 mile trips most of the time, starts doing this after 3-4 weeks of in-town driving. Our cure - take it on 50+ mile freeway road trip, at speeds of 80-85 mph, and then, no more smoke.

Bob Napier

[ray_]

Is that because there's no more oil?

;-)

Cheers,

Ray

A short while back a couple of people (including esty) said they'd had good results eliminating exhaust smoke in the situation you describe by following c.d.'s prescription, but using Lucas Oil Stabilizer instead of Marvel MO. Should be available at any chain auto parts store. I think I remember esty saying she's been using this method for 3 or 4 yrs (maybe more) and no smoke any more.

My wife's ' 76, which she drives around town on 2 to 8 mile trips most of the time, starts doing this after 3-4 weeks of in-town driving. Our cure - take it on 50+ mile freeway road trip, at speeds of 80-85 mph, and then, no more smoke.

Bob Napier

[Guest Anonymous]

lubricants don't kill motors

decades of neglect do

What about the wrong lubricants? Kerosene is a lubricant. So ethylene glycol and sewing machine oil and WD40.

Your definition of neglect is different than mine. How do you maintain valve seals? Regular oil changes may extend their lives but it will not prevent them from becoming brittle with age.

Will bathing 30yo tires and rubber bushings in MMO restore them too? Does it have re-vulcanizing properties?

[Kidasters]

Try it. It might help.

Or not. Either way - it's cheap.

I did this to my engine when I first bought my car - for the same reason. Smoke decreased, but did not go away completely.

So - it might help a little. It won't make it perfect. I don't think it will ruin your engine.

Good luck.

Ken

[scoyote]

Can't readily find MMO here---but will second the use of the Lucas oil stabilizer

great for valve lash ticking on auto adjust lifters as well----Lots of snake oil out there --but this is a good product---scoyote

[esty]

we use lucas in all of our cars, tractors and lawn tractors....it very sticky & adds weight to the oil and i assume that's what slows it down from the top to bottom end when sitting and sucking on decel...

i don't know how or why lucas stabilizer works as well as it does, just that it does work very well in reducing oil consumption and smoke on decel...at least in my car

[Guest Anonymous]

we use lucas in all of our cars, tractors and lawn tractors....it very sticky & adds weight to the oil and i assume that's what slows it down from the top to bottom end when sitting and sucking on decel...

i don't know how or why lucas stabilizer works as well as it does, just that it does work very well in reducing oil consumption and smoke on decel...at least in my car

I have used lucas, STP, Bardahl and Casite Motor Honey for our old tractors and heavy machinery. But I do not use it in anything that will be consistently spinning at more than 2000 rpm, like the "modern" engines in my 02's. (If the engines were on their last legs and too worn to develop oil pressure, I might feel differently.)

It was a chemical engineer that explained the aeration factor of some of these additives. This article seems to confirm the existence of this issue and what he told me. (Toby: Internet=Truth?) Read for yourselves: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/images/lucas/lucas.htm

light color = trapped air.

[Guest Anonymous]

Ok guys, and esty,

Longish decel then gas = healthy puff o smoke.

No smoke on accelleration. So sounds like the above diagnosis to me.

leave a buncha shit in my engine and clog my oil filter? Or both or neither!

I'll be back in two days after a 300+ mile trip. First trip in the 02. Wish me luck.

You wright like a educated men. You learned a buncha knowledge. But 2 days - 300 miles+!!!

We are all sitting on the edge of our seat.

You are up dere wit Lindyberg and Nel Armbrustong.

[esty]

it's difficult to refute G_Yule's lesson but it's not enough to cause me to stop using what has work'd well 'for me' for a number of years...

i still have the original motor in my 76 and it's never been opened...i've driven it almost daily since 1978...true mileage is unknown because the odo stop'd working at around 50k miles in the mid 80's and wasn't repair'd til about 3 years ago

[Guest Anonymous]

it's difficult to refute G_Yule's lesson but it's not enough to cause me to stop using what has work'd well 'for me' for a number of years...

i still have the original motor in my 76 and it's never been opened...i've driven it almost daily since 1978...true mileage is unknown because the odo stop'd working at around 50k miles in the mid 80's and wasn't repair'd til about 3 years ago

Heck, I'll bet you don't beat the living hell out of your car either. And I wouldn't be surprised if you wouldn't get similar results with any other viscosity index improver, such as STP, let alone changing oil brands.

Tried Lucas product on noisy Getrag 4-speed 5 or 6 years ago. It definitely softened the noise but it also made the shifting extremely sluggish even in hot weather. Drained it in favor of some Moly lube B&M product for AT's and she's "quietly" shifted like new every since.

[gsr977]

lubricants don't kill motors

decades of neglect do

Actually in my case I believe it was the MMO that helped bring about this particular issue, yes the engine was old but I have seen 250k+ M10's that blow smoke profusely that run like a top. I have never seen piston rings breakdown like this one did after 1/2 -1/3 quarts of MMO was introduced into the oil and driven for half a day. It was obviously viscosity breakdown, and the MMO was added in with fresh oil.

Not trying to step on any toes here or bruise any egos, I just believe caution and restraint should be used in putting unproven additives into oil in attempts to fix larger underlying issues.