Marin-
Sometimes I think *you* have bananas in *your* rocker cover...
Seriously, do you really lump MMO in with snake oil like Slick 50? One is a
miracle cure, and the other is an additive that helps old engines operate
smoother as they age and move into this time of designer fuels for which
they weren't designed.
I think stuff like High Tach, which keeps your gears gooey after the oil has
settled, has done a good job preventing my diffs, ODs, etc from wearing -
it's not used to restore a worn out piece of trash. Neither is MMO.
Just my .02
Alex Maiolo
Chapel Hill NC
----- Original Message -----
From: "Faure, Marin" <Marin.Faure@PSS.Boeing.com>
To: "'Land Rover Mail Group'" <LRO@works.team.net>
Cc: <MikeRogers@Mattishall.org.uk>
Sent: Friday, May 25, 2001 5:02 PM
Subject: LRO: Re: Marvel mystery oil
> Date: Thu, 24 May 2001 22:00:34 +0100
> From: "Mike Rogers" <MikeRogers@Mattishall.org.uk>
> Subject: LRO: Marvel mystery oil
>
> >Do any of you guys or gals know of a product called Marvel mystery oil? I
> bought a US gallon today for two quid as a cheap substitute for Red X
> (should have been 3.50 but the tin is badly dented) the label makes a lot
of
> claims for the benefits from adding it to both sump oil and fuel.
>
> In the thirty-plus years I have been driving cars, trucks, heavy
equipment,
> and airplanes, I have NEVER had a single professional mechanic say
anything
> good about any of the oil and fuel additives that are or have been on the
market.
> The only two additives that have ever been recommended to me by
professional
> mechanics are related to marine diesels. One additive is to kill or
prevent the formation
> of filter-clogging bacteria in diesel fuel. The other, also for diesel
fuel, is to restore
> the injector and injector pump lubrication properties that are
disappearing as the
> marine industry shifts to low or no-sulfur fuel.
>
> Some mechanics have told me that some oil additives, like STP, can
actually
> be damaging to an engine. Prior to hearing this, I put STP in my Land
Rover
> Series III shortly after I bought the vehicle new in 1973. The results
were instantaneous
> and so bad, that after driving the ten blocks home from where I had put in
the STP, I
> immediately changed the oil to get the STP out. The only use for STP I've
found is in
> the steering relay, where it's super-high viscosity provides sufficient
lubrication but
> does not leak out past my long-worn-out lower seal.
>
> A worn out, abused, or otherwise shot engine might conceivably benefit
from an additive
> like STP, Marvel Mystery Oil, Bardahl, Slick 50, Prolong, etc. in the same
manner that
> shoving a couple of (peeled) bananas inside the rocker cover of an engine
might quiet a
> noisy, beyond-repair valve train for a while. But all the high-time
engines I have ever
> encountered in person or have had described by their owners have
accumulated
> this time by being meticulously maintained, with frequent oil and filter
changes using
> a reputable brand of straight "dinosaur" oil. In none of the instances I
can recall did the
> owner or operator use an additive of any kind.
>
> According to the mechanics I've discussed this subject with over the last
three
> decades, some additives do nothing at all, other than increasing the bank
> accounts of their manufacturers. Others, like STP and Slick-50, have been
known to
> create damaging conditions inside an engine.
>
> Proof that the "miracle cure" of additives is pretty much a snake-oil
business lies in the
> fact that, to my knowledge, no vehicle or engine manufacturers recommend
their use. Many
> warn AGAINST their use. If these additives truly did deliver the benefits
they claim, vehicle
> manufacturers would recommend them because warranty claims would be
reduced, and the
> FAA would approve them for use in aircraft because engine reliability
would be improved.
>
> Some of these additives may provide short-term benefits under extreme
conditions. They
> may be of value to race car teams, for example, but race engines are run
under extreme
> heat and stress conditions for very short periods of time, after which
they are virtually
> rebuilt. Bananas in a rocker box will do a great job of reducing clatter
for a short time. Later,
> they will cause all sorts of problems, but if you're only interested in
what happens during the
> few minutes after you put them in, they are a viable additive.
>
> All that said, I do use an additive with my SIII. I use a
lead-substitute, now that leaded
> fuel is unavailable in my part of the US. However, this is one of those
additives that, to
> my knowledge, doesn't hurt anything. And I'm fully prepared to concede
that it doesn't
> accomplish anything, either. It's a case of "it may not do squat, but
since it doesn't
> hurt anything and it's cheap, I'll use it on the slim chance that it might
actually help a bit."
>
> In my experience, the bottom line from professional mechanics regarding
off-the-shelf
> "miracle" additives seems to be "use them at your own risk." I know there
are people
> on this list who use additives and will supply evidence of their
effectiveness. I'm
> certainly not in a position to deny their claims; all I can do is pass on
what I have
> heard over the years from people I've believed knew what they were talking
about.
>
> Other than the lead substitute and my one ten-minute encounter with STP, I
have
> never used an additive of any kind in my SIII. When the engine was
partially torn
> down in the early 1980s at about 125,000 miles as a result of a couple of
burned
> valves, the mechanic doing the job, a man who built V-8 and V-12
hydroplane engines
> as his primary occupation, was amazed at the lack of wear in my engine.
The crank,
> con rod, and cam bearings and bushings looked like they'd barely been
broken in, he said.
> I attribute this to the basic robustness of the 2.25 engine, and the fact
that from day one,
> I had changed the oil and filter every 3,000 miles as well as operated the
engine fairly
> conservatively, rarely exceeding 3,000 rpm or operating for more than a
few seconds at
> a time at high manifold pressures.
>
> _________________________________________
> C. Marin Faure
> Producer/Director, Boeing Video Services
> telephone (425)393-7721
> mobile (206)650-5622
> fax: (425)393-7741
> e-mail: marin.faure@boeing.com
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