Three years ago my boss sent me to the University mechanical engineering
library to research any and all information on oils and additives. At the
time we were trying to extend the oil change intervals on some 850HP natural
gas engines we run. In a nutshell, what I learned was that PTFE (*eflon)
cannot possibly "bond with the metal" ( the claim of the snake oil salesmen)
of a combustion chamber because the temperatures are way to low. Remember
that teflon is used as a high temperature anti friction compound. You can
add things to your oil to increase the Total Base Number and decrease the
Total Acid Number as these wear out, but this is not practical on a 4 qt.
sump. In fact it's not even practical on our 43 GALLON sumps!! Also, in a
liquid fueled engine, the oil becomes polluted (oxidation and nitration,
etc.) long before any of the additives break down. Anyway...these lead us
to the conclusion that changing the oil is the best protection, and the
cheapest. We currently run 2,000 hours between changes with straight 40
weight oil.
Geoff Branch '74 Meejut "Yellow Peril"
-----Original Message-----
From: Nory P <nory_midget@yahoo.com>
To: RBHouston@aol.com <RBHouston@aol.com>; JStock0540@aol.com
<JStock0540@aol.com>; spridgets@autox.team.net <spridgets@autox.team.net>
Date: Wednesday, June 02, 1999 12:56 PM
Subject: Re: oil addatives
>
>
>I know everybody puts down these additives and says
>they're a waste of money, but I'd like to relate a
>short story:
>
>The postman where I used to work had a Midget (bought
>it new in the UK while he was in the service, and
>shipped it home when he got out). Not long after
>Slick 50 came out, being impressed by the TV
>commercials, he added some with his next oil change.
>He apparently did not tighten the oil filter enough
>and, the next day, it began to leak. The leak didn't
>seem too serious, so he opted to drive the car to work
>(and back) that day, planning to fix it when he got
>home that night. Well, the leak got much worse,
>unbeknownst (love that word) to him, and by the time
>he got home and checked out the situation, he found he
>had no oil left at all! He had no idea how long it
>was running without oil, but he attributes the lack of
>any engine damage to his use of Slick 50 (just like
>the commercials said!).
>
>I, personally, don't use the stuff and never have, but
>when someone tells you of an experience like that, you
>wonder if maybe it wouldn't be worth trying, just to
>be on the safe side.
>
>YMMV
>===
>
>***The above address is for list purposes only. Please send private
e-mail, as before, to Nory@webtv.net
>-----NORY
>http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Way/9101
>Don't assume that because you have found one problem, you have found the
ONLY problem.
>
>
>
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