Snake OIl?

MarkB suggested adding Marvel Mystery Oil to my
gasoline to prevent valves from sticking.

MMV was popular decades ago.
I found a 5 gallon can with a little MMV in it.

This sounds like a good idea, especially if we
have an antique tractor that sits more than it
runs.

I'm willing to try anything, 2 cycle oil, ATF,
seafoam or diesel to gas or to crankcase oil.
What snake oil do you use?

Ethanol absorbs moisture. Most people hate
ethanol. Would adding ethanol to the oil help
remove condensation inside the engine. I'm just
brainstorming.

What do you add to your gas or oil to prevent
valves from sticking?

I don't want to have sticky valves again.

I think in the future, I'll have to put the old
girl to work or let it run at more than an Idle
to warm the engine up.

I've heard that MMO added to the fuel makes small engines start better. It's hard to tell, but I add 4 oz of MMO to 5 gals of ethanol free gas for my 4 stroke small engines, they all run well...

Years ago, a PHD that I worked for called me one day to come listen to his Toyota truck.
He thought is was about to throw a rod.
I drove out to his house and listened for about 10 seconds and told him to run to the auto parts store and buy some MMO.
The sound was in the top end.
He drove his wife's car to the auto parts store.
As I poured the little bottle in the oil it quit making the sound.
He was very impressed and always added MMO to his gas and oil from then on.
I bought the truck many years later and it kept running well.

(quoted from post at 05:16:35 09/22/23) MarkB suggested adding Marvel Mystery Oil to my
gasoline to prevent valves from sticking.

Ethanol absorbs moisture. Most people hate
ethanol. Would adding ethanol to the oil help
remove condensation inside the engine. I'm just
brainstorming.

I don't want to have sticky valves again.

Click to expand...

I would not put Ethanol in your motor oil. Try a little of the Marvel Mystery Oil. I have used it in the gas. I never was sure it helped but it didn't hurt. I put a prescribed amount in the motor oil of one vehicle just before an oil change to clean it out. It appeared to work because the oil was black when I drained it. I don't think that I would run it continuously though a smaller amount might not hurt.

We have a product here called Duralube. This product will unstick valves as you drive. I have seen what it can do and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. Just add to the oil and drive.

My 30+ year old Briggs & Stratton lawn mower would not keep running and when it did run, it had low power. I poured some Sea Foam in the gas tank. Still ran poorly. Came back 2 days later after it had time to do its thing, runs perfect now.

Most people around me love ethanol. It has reduced the cost of driving, winterproofed gasoline, added jobs and income and is locally produced energy.

A few big oil supporters make up lies about ethanol and keep the smear up. Whatever.

Ethanol is a bit different fuel so you have to be aware of those differences, but the most comparable thing we have to use in new and old internal spark engines to lower fuel costs, boost octane, produces leaner emissions, keeps fuel systems cleaner.

Why anyone would hate that is beyond me.

Seafoam is a good product, it can help clean up some not so great situations. Ive not really seen any results from any other snake oil products, but I guess Ive stuck with the one Ive found to work and havent used much of the others, my shade tree mechanic has a spray can of stuff to direct into the car engine, actually hooked into the fuel line to help clean things up that he liked. I believe the main ingredient was the basic one in Seafoam......


In general if one is having lots of issues there is an underlying problem that actually needs fixing. There arent any miracles in a can. An overhaul, a tune up, a fuel systems deep cleaning, actually using/ working the machine. The magic cans are kind of bandaids can get you by but not a fix 90% of the time.

Paul

A few years ago I started putting a little more than the label says of MMO in my small engine gas tanks and running them until it get to the carburetor before winter storage. I have had very few problems in spring getting them running again. Seems to keep the carbs from gumming up.

Alcohol based additives in engine oil will absorb a limited amount of moisture when the engine is cold. However the engine, when running is not cold! the engine oil is going to be in the neighborhood of 200 to 260 degrees F. This is substantially more than the boiling point of the alcohol. Alcohol evaporates easily at normal ambient temperatures. Thus the alcohol will evaporate in the crankcase, be drawn out into the PCV (even in a lawn mower) and burned as it disappears. Water in the oil will also evaporate and disappear as engines reach operating temps. Sticking valves are caused by three things or a combination of them: Deposits on the stem from combustion or coking of oil, Too tight stem clearance, Bent or warped valve stem. Good quality engine oil, changed regularly, is all that is needed. in most cases. Neglected engines have the most issues (duh). Valve stem seals on modern engines are used to regulate oil passage into the guide/stem interface. they also reduce pollution and reduce coking. Oil today is massively better than that of even 20 years ago. Keep engines from operating short run times as much as possible, and the water issue goes away. Jim

One day I had nothing to do. Had an old 4 cycle push lawn mower and a 2 cycle weed eater that had been sitting for years. Wouldn't start. Gave them the SF treatment and got both running. I use it in everything except my tractors and I use Power Services products in the fuel. However several years ago I bought a 1988 Ford tractor that only had 900 hours.

Got it home and did the fluids change thing. Put in new oil and cranked it up and in a heartbeat the oil was turning black. Drained it and felt through the drain hole and had about 1/4 of sludge on the bottom of the pan......if you let dirty oil sit for an extended period, all the contaminants that were in suspension fall to the bottom....proved that looking at a clear plastic container I had sitting around for many years....bottom was black, oil had pretty much returned to honey color.

Anyway, I dumped in a 16 oz can of SF into the oil I drained out and put it all back in. Ran it for about 30 minutes at around 1000 RPM, shut it down, drained the oil (very black) and stuck my finger in the drain hole again....sludge gone. Put in fresh oil and filter and it stays clear initially like it should.

I should say, I wouldnt put ethanol in the motor oil. I dont know how that would negatively affect lubrication.....

What ever happened to Slick 50? Was it 15 or more years ago that was the miracle product, advertised on tv and in the box stores constantly? Always seemed they put more money into advertising than into the product.....

Paul

I don't think ethanol nor any additive meant to remove water from fuel will do much in oil. They work in fuel because the polar nature of the molecule let it bind to the water, but also bind/remain soluble in the fuel. They don't 'get rid of' water in fuel, they just allow it to be mixed/soluble with the fuel so it passes through the system and is burned up/kicked out with the exhaust, rather than having the separate and pool at the bottom of the tank or pickup where it's concentrated enough to freeze. In oil, it's not going to get rid of it, just make it soluble/mixable with the oil, which might be worse for the engine as you're diluting your oil.

I'm a fan of the Lucas heavy duty oil stabilizer for any ag engine, especially ones that sit over winter. It claims to coat all the surfaces in a nice, slick coating that prevents corrosion and reduces friction. I was sold on it after watching a demonstration at the International plowing match. You might have seen a similar demo: They had an old Cat diesel, they'd fill the crankcase with a mix of oil and their stabilizer, run it for a bit. Then the rep would drain the oil and take the oil pan right off, start it up and let it idle away the rest of the day with no oil pan and the crank/rods exposed. The claim was all the bearing surfaces had a good dose of oil stabilizer coating them which would keep them lubricated enough to run with no oil. Seemed like a pretty impressive demonstration to me.

We used Valve Ease in our Wisconsin V4 air-cooled engines 60 years ago. Wm Penn offers it today.

If you are not having valve sticking issues why are you thinking you will have them in the future? If you keep the oil changed and never shut off the engine until it is up to operating temp you should have no problems.

I had good luck 1) Adding RISLONE to oil to help sticking valve problems in long stored engines, that was MY experience Im sure others have different experiences. 2) Regular detergent based oil changes ESPECIALY BEFORE STORAGE is another tool I use. 3) Another tool that works for me is REGULAR EXERCISE CYCLES for extended periods with the engine under some load.

As far as gas additives for stored engines, I like Sta Bil plus a bit of low ash combustible Two Cycle oil like Mercury Quicksilver. Im NOT generally a fan of Snake Oils, however, the above worked well for me, maybe or maybe not you ?? Its fun to see other methods the gents here use

John T

(quoted from post at 06:52:00 09/22/23) Most people around me love ethanol. It has reduced the cost of driving, winterproofed gasoline, added jobs and income and is locally produced energy.

A few big oil supporters make up lies about ethanol and keep the smear up. Whatever.

Ethanol is a bit different fuel so you have to be aware of those differences, but the most comparable thing we have to use in new and old internal spark engines to lower fuel costs, boost octane, produces leaner emissions, keeps fuel systems cleaner.

Paul

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Allow me to disagree with a couple of your points. I don't believe it winterproofs gasoline as I believe that ethanol will absorb very little water. It does boost octane but volumetrically there is less energy in alcohol so fuel economy actually suffers slightly. Don't use it in chainsaw mix as it will cause fuel line deterioration. Learned by experience. Other than that it's ok.

(quoted from post at 06:57:06 09/22/23) I should say, I wouldnt put ethanol in the motor oil. I dont know how that would negatively affect lubrication.....

What ever happened to Slick 50? Was it 15 or more years ago that was the miracle product, advertised on tv and in the box stores constantly? Always seemed they put more money into advertising than into the product.....

Click to expand...

It wouldn't negatively affect lubrication. What it would do is evaporate by the time the engine got up to operating temperature. The boiling point of ethanol is 171.3F. Most tractor thermostats open at 180-190F.

People figured out Slick 50 was worthless snake oil and stopped buying it. That's where it went.

Putting Marvel Mystery Oil in the FUEL is just a waste of Marvel Mystery oil. Fuel doesn't lubricate the valve stems. Oil pumped up into the top end of the engine does.

(quoted from post at 08:51:29 09/22/23)

Putting Marvel Mystery Oil in the FUEL is just a waste of Marvel Mystery oil. Fuel doesn't lubricate the valve stems. Oil pumped up into the top end of the engine does.

Click to expand...

Well, actually I think (MHO) the fuel does lubricate the valve stems in a negative way perhaps so by adding something to the fuel may help the part of the valve stem that extends into the combustion chamber. Gasoline going by the intake valves definitely helps deep them cleaner. Direct injection engines can have trouble with valve and valve stem deposits and may have to have them blasted with walnut shells.

They make engine foggers and liquid that can be introduced into a carburetor before storage. There is one recommended for antique cars but I don't have the name handy.

Don't buy snake oils just run them more and your problem will disappear.