Mystery Marvel Oil and a varnished engine.

I finally gave up on my old standby, Quaker State oil, after I noticed varnish and gunge appearing inside the valve cover, on the dipstick, etc.

I decided to switch to Havoline to give it a try. Since I had a little room in the crankcase, I put in about a pint of Mystery Marvel Oil before pulling out for the Labor Day weekend.

I was not able to make any scientific measurements, but the engine seemed to be quieter.

When I drained the 3000 mile Quaker State, it was blacker than the hinges of hell.

Got a chance to look inside the valve cover, and it looked clean.

This is no definitive endorsement, but seemed to be a harmless experiment with reasonable results. I don't intend to run the Mystery Marvel oil as a regular treatment.

Now, I hope the Havoline will run as clean as the old Quaker State did.

If not, will keep on testing.

http://tinyurl.com/mjar
http://www.msdss.com/pdf/166770.htm
Mike
Mike Patterson
Please remove the spamtrap to email me.

My uncle did wierd things in his shop.

Every engine was assembled using ATF instead of motor oil on the rings and bearings.
He'd 'polish the bearing shells using clean lintfree cloth dipped in ATF before placing them in the block/rods. He never used white lube. Said it didn't liquefy fast enough, especially bad when breaking in new cam shafts. He always ran engines for the camshaft makers recommended time but at a few hundred RPM's lower - and always used a tach to be sure. For the first three oil changes, he'd use 2 quarts of
ATF and the rest of the crankcase fill the motor oil the customer preferred. He did those free as part of his price. I can't remember any of his overhauls coming back on him. I learned my skills training there as teardown/cleanup/install trainee. My cousins were very successful at the racetracks.

He was very successful in his shop. Old guys did things thatalways worked best for them.

"Larry Smith" wrote

Geez, Larry....you shouldn't have your real address on here anyway!
Unless it's some hotmail address that you can use as a dumping ground.

"Larry Smith" wrote

I don't know about automotive engines, but Marvel Mystery oil works great in radio control aircraft engines as an after-run oil.

One would think that this light oil should weaken the lubricating effect of the primary motor oil. I don't know whether it does or not.

On the bottle, they recommend replacing one quart of your motor oil with
MMO, routinely. I couldn't countenance that, so used a pint, and left it in the engine about 4 hours or 200 miles.

This is another situation where there is a need for actual and dependable laboratory information about the product. (Slick-50 was another. There is so much misinformation about that product it is unbelievable.)

Unfortunately, 'common sense' avails nothing with these products, and we normally have nothing to refer to except manufacturers (sometimes)
unsubstantiated claims, and equally unsubstantiated testimonials both for and against a product.

I managed to locate an MSD on MMO, and the information on it is even more surprising.

Are you going to either post it or provide a link to that MSD? It is legal public information, so there's absolutely no reason whatsoever to not post it.

"Larry Smith" wrote

I suppose you are right. Probably old dealer techs waiting to get a shot at you....heh heh...

As long as no damage was done...I guess some people figure that if you mention a product name on here you are attempting to endorse/sell it. Very strange.

An old uncle of mine once told me if the oil doesn't darken over time, it wasn't doing part of it's job in the engine.

Larry, MMO is high in solvents ... which is why it did a good job cleaning. However, you are almost sure to be experiencing accelerated wear during the time this stuff is in your crankcase. So, keep your interval as short as possible.

For cleaning, I prefer ester-based agents such as Auto-RX or Schaeffer
Neutra:
http://www.auto-rx.com/
http://www.schaefferoil.com/data/131.html

For the best in oil

No big deal.
Lots like old Tom who like to lay off behind a log and snipe.

Some of them get all boozed up and try to be cute.

Best to you, Ian

Maybe you should.

A small amount of MMO added to gas works wonders in helping to upper cylinder lubricate and keep overall engine clean. Some of it always gets into the crankcase with blowby. Just make sure you add a tiny amount that's all, 4-5oz per tank, and you'll be happy.

Have posted the link below. Wanted to do some reading on it first.
The unusual things I noted were the chlorinated hydrocarbons, namely orthodichlorobenzene and paradichlorobenzene.

I might not mind a bit of chlorinated hydrocarbon in the motor oil, as these things can be good solvents and, in some cases, even lubricity additives.

However, when adding them to fuel, I wince a little bit. They should clean carburetors and fuel injectors, but when they burn, they will emit hydrochloric acid and possibly other breakdown products.

It would appear that the MSD is incomplete or in error where combustion products are listed.

Received this message to my email address. Am not sure what the poster is trying to get across:

"