Thread: Engine additives

My suspicion is that Rick130 will be along shortly and he will tell you all you need to know.

Do i let SWMBO read this stuff.

gently explain to her that it isnt engine oil she's seeing on the driveway, its simply a by-product of the factory fitted rustproofing system

Mmm, I'm never very comfortable with adding anything to engine oils. (and the same goes for fuel additives too, which usually find their way past the rings into the sump and can be very nasty)

There's the potential for additive clash when adding aything to an engine oil, the additive package is usually pretty finely balanced so adding something has the potential to be counterproductive.

I'm just wondering what they use to soften the seals........? Some esters are very good seal softeners, lanolin esters in particular are excellent at this.
Or are they merely using a very high molecular weight oil or maybe a viscosity index improver (polymer), similar to crap like STP that just clogs everything up to reduce oil leaks and consumption ?
All additives like STP and Lucas stop leak do is mix with your existing oil, thicken it up, dilute the all important additive package that reduces wear, suspends muck, etc. etc. and reduce engine life, but they do reduce leaks in the short term.

Now Liqui Moly do make some good stuff, they make Lubri Moly engine oils, some of which have Porsche, MB and BMW official approval (meaning they've paid their money and have been officially tested by the manufacturer to meet/exceed their particular specs. Most oils have 'meets specs' where they are actually saying "should be OK, but they've never officially been approved")
Some of their oils are claimed to use suspended MoS2 (molybdenum disulphide) which I don't believe as moly doesn't stay suspended in oil, it precipitates out, but does mix well in grease.
There is a soluble version of moly that a lot of oil companies use and works very well. Maybe they are using that these days.

Bottom line, not knowing what is in it and how it works, "is it a seal sweller or just an oil thickener ?" I'd change the seals or gaskets or just put up with the leaks. There are very very few mechanics in a can.

I tend to agree with Rick on this.
Seals leak because of mechanical failure, worn sealing surface, weak pressure spring, cracks in seals from becoming hard. None of these symtoms can be rectified by micky mouse juice, they all require mechanical intervention.
chees
blaze