What happened to Arco graphite motor oil?
- Thread starter itsalex
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Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
That sounds like a bad PCV system - not the oil problem.
Not necessarily.
If you have the perfect conditions for sludge, any particulate matter in the oil can act as what amounts to a catalyst.
Particles of carbon, which is what graphite is, could very well form the nucleus of sludge.
That sounds like a bad PCV system - not the oil problem.
Not necessarily.
If you have the perfect conditions for sludge, any particulate matter in the oil can act as what amounts to a catalyst.
Particles of carbon, which is what graphite is, could very well form the nucleus of sludge.
I used ARCO Graphite in a 1978 Mazda GLC. Sold it to after 7 years to a guy I work. I just got tired of fixing rust holes.
He and his wife at the time ran the snot out of the car and it had approximately 170K on it when they traded it off. Car was 10 or 11 years old then. Oil must not have hurt it.
A mechanic changed the valve cover gasket which was leaking (even prior to the ARCO). I remember him wiping his hands and asked "what the H is this stuff". I don't think he appreciated it. I put the last quart I had into the manual transmission of my Honda Civic Si. Slicked it right up.
He and his wife at the time ran the snot out of the car and it had approximately 170K on it when they traded it off. Car was 10 or 11 years old then. Oil must not have hurt it.
A mechanic changed the valve cover gasket which was leaking (even prior to the ARCO). I remember him wiping his hands and asked "what the H is this stuff". I don't think he appreciated it. I put the last quart I had into the manual transmission of my Honda Civic Si. Slicked it right up.
I ran this stuff in 20W50 in my 1981 chevy citation 2.8 V6 for years, even in winter. Not sure of the exact miles on it at the time but was about 130,000 plus miles. I sold it to my uncle who ran it for a few more years. He sold it to a lady friend, ran it for a few years, who then sold it to someone else. That was either a good engine or a good oil. Everyone tells me that it was neither... only luck.
Originally Posted By: ridgerunner
I ran this stuff in 20W50 in my 1981 chevy citation 2.8 V6 for years, even in winter. Not sure of the exact miles on it at the time but was about 130,000 plus miles. I sold it to my uncle who ran it for a few more years. He sold it to a lady friend, ran it for a few years, who then sold it to someone else. That was either a good engine or a good oil. Everyone tells me that it was neither... only luck.
It wasn't luck....Chev. 2.8 V-6's were great engines that went for miles.
Seen a few that took a licking and kept on tickin'..........
I ran this stuff in 20W50 in my 1981 chevy citation 2.8 V6 for years, even in winter. Not sure of the exact miles on it at the time but was about 130,000 plus miles. I sold it to my uncle who ran it for a few more years. He sold it to a lady friend, ran it for a few years, who then sold it to someone else. That was either a good engine or a good oil. Everyone tells me that it was neither... only luck.
It wasn't luck....Chev. 2.8 V-6's were great engines that went for miles.
Seen a few that took a licking and kept on tickin'..........
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Originally Posted By: addyguy
Originally Posted By: ridgerunner
I ran this stuff in 20W50 in my 1981 chevy citation 2.8 V6 for years, even in winter. Not sure of the exact miles on it at the time but was about 130,000 plus miles. I sold it to my uncle who ran it for a few more years. He sold it to a lady friend, ran it for a few years, who then sold it to someone else. That was either a good engine or a good oil. Everyone tells me that it was neither... only luck.
It wasn't luck....Chev. 2.8 V-6's were great engines that went for miles.
Seen a few that took a licking and kept on tickin'..........
Yes. My mother gave hers away @ 210k due to UV damage to the dash and the headliner being shot. Used M1 from just about new for 1 year changes. The internals weren't clean, but the engine was quiet and only consumed 1/2 quart between filter changes @ 7500.
They geared it very well in the X-body. Strong running engine in that chassis up to about 80-85mph.
Other than being a somewhat ugly duckling, it was one of the best cars my mother ever owned. I flogged that thing relentlessly without thought. Only major component to fail was the bike chain in the trans. It stretched at like 180k or so, iirc.
Originally Posted By: ridgerunner
I ran this stuff in 20W50 in my 1981 chevy citation 2.8 V6 for years, even in winter. Not sure of the exact miles on it at the time but was about 130,000 plus miles. I sold it to my uncle who ran it for a few more years. He sold it to a lady friend, ran it for a few years, who then sold it to someone else. That was either a good engine or a good oil. Everyone tells me that it was neither... only luck.
It wasn't luck....Chev. 2.8 V-6's were great engines that went for miles.
Seen a few that took a licking and kept on tickin'..........
Yes. My mother gave hers away @ 210k due to UV damage to the dash and the headliner being shot. Used M1 from just about new for 1 year changes. The internals weren't clean, but the engine was quiet and only consumed 1/2 quart between filter changes @ 7500.
They geared it very well in the X-body. Strong running engine in that chassis up to about 80-85mph.
Other than being a somewhat ugly duckling, it was one of the best cars my mother ever owned. I flogged that thing relentlessly without thought. Only major component to fail was the bike chain in the trans. It stretched at like 180k or so, iirc.
I used this in my 1968 Cadillac back in the 70s or 80s. I had no problems with it. I switched to Mobil 1 because it seemed "cooler", and possibly better. Both were considered rather avante garde at the time. Seems to me that there was another oil at the time that had some novel claim to fame? I seem to recall a Popular Science article that covered both of them. And the letter "E" comes to mind, for some reason. I think maybe it was an Exxon product? Anyone remember?
Last I heard, "people claimed" that it came out of suspension. And I've always taken "people's claims" with a grain of salt. I could see it having some special issues for people who don't change their didn't change their oil on a reasonable schedule. But they'd be causing themselves problems, regardless.
Edit: Aha! Here it is.
Last I heard, "people claimed" that it came out of suspension. And I've always taken "people's claims" with a grain of salt. I could see it having some special issues for people who don't change their didn't change their oil on a reasonable schedule. But they'd be causing themselves problems, regardless.
Edit: Aha! Here it is.
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This was under 25k/one year OCI's for a carb'd application. I think she managed to run about 15k all by herself and we swapped/shared the vehicle a good bit in its later life.
Now my Chevette that saw 300-400 miles a day?, the interior was bronzed. Not one accumulation anywhere. There you got to do routine checkups on the interior due to the dowel pin breakage that allowed the timing belt to lose its connection to the crank.
I'm not talking "sludge" as in mounds of stuff, just what you would expect with a normally maintained engine over that time span. You don't always get BITOG clean room standards in all engines under all usages..and without some other problem because of it, there's not much reason to require it. One year OCI's were unheard of with anything besides Amsoil and M1 at the time. For the most part, it's the same now. Now you can do it and have (in most cases) a visibly cleaner engine ..but in some cases, maybe not.
Now my Chevette that saw 300-400 miles a day?, the interior was bronzed. Not one accumulation anywhere. There you got to do routine checkups on the interior due to the dowel pin breakage that allowed the timing belt to lose its connection to the crank.
I'm not talking "sludge" as in mounds of stuff, just what you would expect with a normally maintained engine over that time span. You don't always get BITOG clean room standards in all engines under all usages..and without some other problem because of it, there's not much reason to require it. One year OCI's were unheard of with anything besides Amsoil and M1 at the time. For the most part, it's the same now. Now you can do it and have (in most cases) a visibly cleaner engine ..but in some cases, maybe not.
To add to the graphite topic- I recently pulled the sump off my Aussie Chrysler Hemi inline 6 engine the other day during a camshaft swap- this was the first time I'd ever had the sump off, and the first time it had been off since the assembly line in 1977.
Found 3 sticks of 3/8" wide x 1/8" thick x 6 inches long of solid graphite lying in the bottom of the sump. One was broken up a lot, and the whole internals of the engine were coated in a mix of graphite and engine oil. Its always been a good healthy engine, never given any trouble at all. I didnt put that graphite in there, and I'm only the second owner of the car since new.
I removed all the graphite and cleaned everything off. Refilled with Castrol Edge and added a tiny bit of Liqui-Moly because I like that stuff.
Found 3 sticks of 3/8" wide x 1/8" thick x 6 inches long of solid graphite lying in the bottom of the sump. One was broken up a lot, and the whole internals of the engine were coated in a mix of graphite and engine oil. Its always been a good healthy engine, never given any trouble at all. I didnt put that graphite in there, and I'm only the second owner of the car since new.
I removed all the graphite and cleaned everything off. Refilled with Castrol Edge and added a tiny bit of Liqui-Moly because I like that stuff.
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I used Arco Graphite for years in my '73 Dodge Dart (it had a straight 6 so I could have used maple syrup and it would have run to spec), 1983 Saab 900 and my Porsche 914 as well. The best test was the Saab which ran it from the time I purchased it to about the time I traded it. 114K miles and not a squeak from the engine.
It was really icky stuff though. Getting off my hands and the garage floor was not fun. But watching the black and silver streaks as I poured it in was hypnotizing.
I definitely fell for the pitch, but it did have the quality specs and I never had an oil-related problem.
B
It was really icky stuff though. Getting off my hands and the garage floor was not fun. But watching the black and silver streaks as I poured it in was hypnotizing.
I definitely fell for the pitch, but it did have the quality specs and I never had an oil-related problem.
B
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mopar-Max-Graphi...=item2a1f7087c3
Mopar Max Graphite
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-SAE-Arco...=item53edac2d62
ARCO 20w-50 "Fuel Efficient" boy oh boy
Mopar Max Graphite
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-SAE-Arco...=item53edac2d62
ARCO 20w-50 "Fuel Efficient" boy oh boy
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Holy old thread...
I ran Arco Graphite in my '75 Vega for a couple of years on annual oil changes when I was going to college. I didn't have any problems with it. I had read the Popular Science article on it and was sold on their story that the graphite was in suspension and wouldn't be filtered out. I thought it was good stuff.
As I understand by aeronautics practices, the graphite over aluminum + moisture in the air = corrosion in aluminum. But in a batch of engine oil? Would graphite corrode aluminum head in its gasket area? I don't think so. But the use of ARCO GRAPHITE stopped since the wide spread of aluminum heads in the 80's ... Wonder if that Was that cohincidence or related ...
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