your favorite snake oils

inspired by the lucas transmission fix thread.

whenever i buy a car i like to pull a line off the fuel pressure regulator and suck a can of Sea Foam through. i've had some old bmw's act like i just rebuilt the motor by the time i was done.

when i bought my ranger for $100 it was running on somewhere between 2 and 3 cylinders. i used a can of BG 44K in about 10 gallons of gas. after about 10 miles there was no more misfire. by the end of the tank that 2.3 was humming.

what do you like to use?

I'm a big fan of Seafoam. I'd put it on my Frosted Mini-Wheats if I thought it would give my body similar results.

LubeGard. I haven't owned many automatic transmissions, but they've all LOVED that stuff.

LOVE me some seafoam. Love the plume of smoke it makes when I run a can through my car.

+1 for Seafoam

Chevron techron is a decent fuel system cleaner.it's recommended by Ford in it's owners manuals.

I've used Gunk brand Motor Flush with some success.And I've heard that CD2 oil treatment is good. My Dad has an older SBC with a rope style rear main, and Lucas Stop Leak cured the oil leak he had on the back of the engine.

Working in a store with a whole wall of 'fix-alls',I stay away from most products in that category. The number of them that actually do work is slim.

I work at an auto parts store, and always recommend Seafoam. I tell em it cleans injectors, intake valves, stabilizes fuel, removes water, evens tire wear, whitens your teeth, feeds the hungry, and works to help create world peace.

Not everyone gets my sense of humor. I've been told B12 Chemtool is the exact same stuff. CRC also has a motor treatment that has the *Compare to Seafoam label. Which tells me the MSDS is the same, and it's damn near half price.

there's a used car dealer in our town who specializes in $1,000 cars. he buys the STP oil treatment by the case. supposedly keeps the 'low-oil-pressure' warning light off.

i've never tried the stuff myself.

Does doing the "engine flush with ATF" thing count as snake oil? I did that once on a 140k Miata with typical Miata valve clatter, and it shut them right up.

I've done Seafoam. Meh, never noticed much of a difference before vs. after.

I can tell you what I don't love... other people's snake oil. I bought an E30 once that had a getrag full of sawdust and heavy weight oil. It kept the damn gearbox quiet for just about long enough for the guy selling it, I suppose. I did have a brief flirt with the idea of re-visiting the PO and giving him a G-260 suppository but in the end (pun intended)... I just took the screwing and moved on.

Restore oil treatment. I had a 454 with one cylinder that made low pressure. After ruling out the valves I dumped in one of those cans. After 1000 miles that cylinder went from 65 psi to 110 psi. I had to run a can of it through every third oil change but it really helped a lot.

I also LOVE seafoam

Every once in a while I'll dump a quart of diesel fuel in the crankcase before an oil change. You let it idle for 20 minutes, no throttle, just idle. The crap that gets cleaned out is amazing. Those bottles of engine flush are mostly kerosene and diesel anyway. I just can't see paying $8 a quart when I can dump 85 cents worth in from my spare diesel can.

Not sure this is a favorite... but it is new....

http://octanereport.com/tech/parts-reviews/2011/05/20/dyno-test-13whp-in-a-bottle-rsr-ran-up-oil-additive.html

http://www.importtuner.com/tech/impp_1012_rs_r_ran_up_engine_oil_additive/index.html

My favorite one was original Slick50... back in the early/mid 1980s Long story short... Volvo 122S - added Slick 50, did the prescribed pour and drive for 30-40 minutes. Came home and idle was 350 rpm above where it had been set prior to the use of Slick 50. First full tank of gas... mileage went from an average of 25, with 27 being the highway figure... to average 29, with 31 being the highway figure.........

belteshazzar wrote: there's a used car dealer in our town who specializes in $1,000 cars. he buys the STP oil treatment by the case. supposedly keeps the 'low-oil-pressure' warning light off. i've never tried the stuff myself.

a mechanic friend of mine calls it "compression in a can"

BoostedBrandon wrote: I work at an auto parts store, and always recommend Seafoam. I tell em it cleans injectors, intake valves, stabilizes fuel, removes water, evens tire wear, whitens your teeth, feeds the hungry, and works to help create world peace. Not everyone gets my sense of humor. I've been told B12 Chemtool is the exact same stuff. CRC also has a motor treatment that has the **Compare to Seafoam* label. Which tells me the MSDS is the same, and it's damn near half price.

If you'retalking about the stuff in the metal can, then yes it is awesome stuff. I used it waaaay back when.

44K.
Lubegard...Eh. I don't have a problem using the red bottle, but the bottles to change from Dex3 to everything else, I'd rather use the right fluid for the job.

I'm going to tag this thread just for the heck of it, as I'm a little shaky on putting any of this into my engines.

I've heard too many hydro-lock seafoam stories I suppose.

oldeskewltoy wrote: My favorite one was original Slick50... back in the early/mid 1980s Long story short... Volvo 122S - added Slick 50, did the prescribed pour and drive for 30-40 minutes. Came home and idle was 350 rpm above where it had been set prior to the use of Slick 50. First full tank of gas... mileage went from an average of 25, with 27 being the highway figure... to average 29, with 31 being the highway figure.........

What ever happened to that? I once ran an old full-size Cherokee 30+ miles during the summer w/o one single drop of coolant in the radiator. She was glowing like a hot ember when I raised the hood. I attribute her survival to Slick 50.

I use Berryman, $2.98, Seafoam is good but it used to be $4-$5 a can now its $7-$8 because it gets such rave reviews on every automotive forum on the planet.

I always liked Marvel Mystery Oil...

I don't use it and don't know if it works.

I just like the name.... Say it with me...

Marvel Mystery Oil....

Just sort of flows off the tongue...

Water in a coke bottle slowly dripped into a running carburated engine followed by slowly dripping Marvel Mystery Oil. Once I've done this then I dump some Marvel Myster Oil down the carb until the engine stalls out. Wait overnite then crank her up. Smokes really bad at first but its all good from there.

a401cj wrote:

oldeskewltoy wrote: My favorite one was original Slick50... back in the early/mid 1980s Long story short... Volvo 122S - added Slick 50, did the prescribed pour and drive for 30-40 minutes. Came home and idle was 350 rpm above where it had been set prior to the use of Slick 50. First full tank of gas... mileage went from an average of 25, with 27 being the highway figure... to average 29, with 31 being the highway figure.........

What ever happened to that? I once ran an old full-size Cherokee 30+ miles during the summer w/o one single drop of coolant in the radiator. She was glowing like a hot ember when I raised the hood. I attribute her survival to Slick 50.

Agreed, my family were Distributor's in the early mid-80's...the stuff works. PTF= polytetrofluoroethylene (hey...it's been 30 years and I don't feel like looking it up...close enough).

We even had the 3 1/2 hp engine on a small stand with plexiglass to show people that it worked.

curtis73 wrote: Restore oil treatment. I had a 454 with one cylinder that made low pressure. After ruling out the valves I dumped in one of those cans. After 1000 miles that cylinder went from 65 psi to 110 psi. I had to run a can of it through every third oil change but it really helped a lot. I also LOVE seafoam Every once in a while I'll dump a quart of diesel fuel in the crankcase before an oil change. You let it idle for 20 minutes, no throttle, just idle. The crap that gets cleaned out is amazing. Those bottles of engine flush are mostly kerosene and diesel anyway. I just can't see paying $8 a quart when I can dump 85 cents worth in from my spare diesel can.

Yup. Any car I get that is suspect gets a can of Restore.

My Dad had a sales rep put that Z-Max stuff in his beyond beaten old Cavalier. It actually worked, car ran better, didn't have a miss, idled smoother, and even had a little more pep.

I have put many a can (or three) of Motor Hunny in a used car I was trying to flip. That stuff works great til they change the oil. I now do charity work at orphanages to make up for all those cars I sold...

JFX001 wrote:

a401cj wrote:

oldeskewltoy wrote: My favorite one was original Slick50... back in the early/mid 1980s Long story short... Volvo 122S - added Slick 50, did the prescribed pour and drive for 30-40 minutes. Came home and idle was 350 rpm above where it had been set prior to the use of Slick 50. First full tank of gas... mileage went from an average of 25, with 27 being the highway figure... to average 29, with 31 being the highway figure.........

What ever happened to that? I once ran an old full-size Cherokee 30+ miles during the summer w/o one single drop of coolant in the radiator. She was glowing like a hot ember when I raised the hood. I attribute her survival to Slick 50.

Agreed, my family were Distributor's in the early mid-80's...the stuff works. PTF= polytetrofluoroethylene (hey...it's been 30 years and I don't feel like looking it up...close enough). We even had the 3 1/2 hp engine on a small stand with plexiglass to show people that it worked.

It was Teflon?

noddaz wrote: I always liked Marvel Mystery Oil... I don't use it and don't know if it works. I just like the name.... Say it with me... Marvel Mystery Oil.... Just sort of flows off the tongue...

Forgot about MMO! That stuff is great, I use it mixed with ATF instead of fancy gun oils.

50/50 blend of ATF and acetone