I remember the original Mobil 1 (in the cardboard cans) was not compatible with regular motor oil. It came out of the can black. I once thought it had a bunch of graphite in it. Do any of you know what was in the original Mobil 1 oil?
What was the original Mobil 1
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I remember it being very thin but not black. Of course it turned black in my MGA and broke all sorts of stuff loose so I was afraid of it.
I pulled the dip stick and there was the big black clump of ?. I went back to regular oil from fear and misunderstanding
I pulled the dip stick and there was the big black clump of ?. I went back to regular oil from fear and misunderstanding
I thought the original Mobil 1 was a primarily PAO-based 5W-20 oil. Heard it leaked like crazy until they realized that adding an ester helped with seal compatibility.
Don't know about graphite in Mobil 1. The only graphite oil I recall was from Arco. I think there might have been another one marketed by 76.
Don't know about graphite in Mobil 1. The only graphite oil I recall was from Arco. I think there might have been another one marketed by 76.
Um, no...
You are thinking of Arco Graphite oil.
http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=003878
You are thinking of Arco Graphite oil.
http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=003878
The only one I know of that came out of the cardboard cans black as night was Arco Graphite. Really nasty stuff. I still have nightmares putting this junk in peoples cars by request on oil changes when I worked at an Arco gas station in high school. The can was also black.
Production stopped due to a problem they couldn't solve. How to keep the solids graphite chips in suspension.
Hydrocarbon (oil) and most synthetic base stocks are all LIGHTER than water, as in a specific gravity of less than 1.0 that is why they float on the top of water. Graphite has a specific gravity of greater than 1.0. With our normal gravity it will find it's way to the bottom of the container and stay there! This made for some really cool tough sludges in engines that caused over heating and restricted flows. You have to have gel strength in a fluid to suspend any higher specific gravity solids within it, when the movement or flow is stopped.
Original Mobil 1 was Mobil SHC and was never black.
[ June 08, 2005, 07:22 PM: Message edited by: Hirev ]
Production stopped due to a problem they couldn't solve. How to keep the solids graphite chips in suspension.
Hydrocarbon (oil) and most synthetic base stocks are all LIGHTER than water, as in a specific gravity of less than 1.0 that is why they float on the top of water. Graphite has a specific gravity of greater than 1.0. With our normal gravity it will find it's way to the bottom of the container and stay there! This made for some really cool tough sludges in engines that caused over heating and restricted flows. You have to have gel strength in a fluid to suspend any higher specific gravity solids within it, when the movement or flow is stopped.
Original Mobil 1 was Mobil SHC and was never black.
[ June 08, 2005, 07:22 PM: Message edited by: Hirev ]
Possibly. There are inklings that they reduced ZDDP levels to meet API SL (might have even been for API SJ). That era might have also been when they designed an oil with extended drains (i.e. high TBN) in mind, even if their marketing dept didn't recommend its use as such.
fyi
Mobil 1 came in metal cans. I remember it well. It was not black. I used it when if first came out.
From 1976...
Mobil 1 came in metal cans. I remember it well. It was not black. I used it when if first came out.
From 1976...
Hi,
Orelube in New York once marketed a black synthetic lubricant - about 1973!
I nearly took the agency for OZ and NZ in 1975!
Regards
Doug
Orelube in New York once marketed a black synthetic lubricant - about 1973!
I nearly took the agency for OZ and NZ in 1975!
Regards
Doug
The first Mobil 1 was a 5W-20 oil. It came out sometime in the 1970s-I can't remember the year. There were some probelsm with the first Mobil 1 or else seals in cars and trucks in existence at the time simply did not have the proper seal material for it. There were lots of reports of seal leaks.
I remember there was a lot of arguments pro and con about the new synthetic oil.
I remember there was a lot of arguments pro and con about the new synthetic oil.
I started using it in 1980 in my then new Toyota Corolla. It was 5W-20 in metal cans and was the common medium gold color of a lot of other oils. I never saw any of the consumption problems or leaks everyone seemed to be talking about.
Hi,
about April 1953 MobilOil "Super" was introduced in OZ and early in 1954 in NZ - in Gold cans.
It was the first 10w-30 multigrade oil released
and was about twice the price of Castrol XL!
It was a great product but had trouble staying over night in BlueFlame Chev sixes and Ford flat top V8s. You could almost hear it leaking!!
Mobil advertised it as:
"The Greatest Oil Ever Made - Its got the lot"
It was sold as having;
"...a 300% increase in Super-Detergent Additives"
"...a New Base Oil"
"Superior Anti foamant additive....."
"Improved oxidation inhibitor......"
"Latest anti-corrosive (anti-acid) additive....."
It advertised the major causes of engine wear as
Friction 51%
Abrasion 39%
Corrosion 10%
Have we now removed all of these wear causing things by now in 2005 - 52 years on?
Is SuperSyn really it.................????
Regards
Doug
about April 1953 MobilOil "Super" was introduced in OZ and early in 1954 in NZ - in Gold cans.
It was the first 10w-30 multigrade oil released
and was about twice the price of Castrol XL!
It was a great product but had trouble staying over night in BlueFlame Chev sixes and Ford flat top V8s. You could almost hear it leaking!!
Mobil advertised it as:
"The Greatest Oil Ever Made - Its got the lot"
It was sold as having;
"...a 300% increase in Super-Detergent Additives"
"...a New Base Oil"
"Superior Anti foamant additive....."
"Improved oxidation inhibitor......"
"Latest anti-corrosive (anti-acid) additive....."
It advertised the major causes of engine wear as
Friction 51%
Abrasion 39%
Corrosion 10%
Have we now removed all of these wear causing things by now in 2005 - 52 years on?
Is SuperSyn really it.................????
Regards
Doug
Funny- with the possible exception of the "zero weather start" thing (which has been more or less taken care of over the past 30 years), that same cover blurb could appear on an automotive magazine today.quote:
Originally posted by Mike:
fyi
Mobil 1 came in metal cans. I remember it well. It was not black. I used it when if first came out.
From 1976...
Arco Graphite was good, then bad, then good again.
Anybody remember that when Mobil 1 was first marketed, they said you could go 25,000 miles between oil changes??
Yes I recall something about that. I used it when it first came out around 1975-76. I soon after switched to Amsoil but someone I worked with continued to use it in his 1976 Ford LTD and went a long time between changes. We both traveled 500+ miles to work each week, so miles racked up fast and they last thing we had time for was changing oil. I went over 25,000 miles on my car more than a few times without any problems. I would put 100,000 miles on it 3 yrs.
That era might have also been when they designed an oil with extended drains (i.e. high TBN) in mind, even if their marketing dept didn't recommend its use as such. [/QB][/QUOTE]
I was surprised that the an oil comparision chart that I saw recently (somewhere on this site) listed all the recent Mobil 1 products (EP wasn't listed) as having TBN's of 5. Some of the other brand dinos had higher TBN's. I realize that TBN isn't everything but I expected Mobil 1 to be higher than Havoline dino and it wasn't. Was the TBN of older versions of M1 higher and has it been lowered as they came away from recommending
extended drains?
I was surprised that the an oil comparision chart that I saw recently (somewhere on this site) listed all the recent Mobil 1 products (EP wasn't listed) as having TBN's of 5. Some of the other brand dinos had higher TBN's. I realize that TBN isn't everything but I expected Mobil 1 to be higher than Havoline dino and it wasn't. Was the TBN of older versions of M1 higher and has it been lowered as they came away from recommending
extended drains?
Only real problem Arco Graphite had with consumers was that it was black when you put it in. Lots of conditioning to overcome on that one...
The other real problem was that the oil stained everything it touched black. For the installer/remover, this was a pretty big stumbling block. I know I would not want to deal with it, unless it was a "super oil" which it was not. For the end user, leaks that would have gone unnoticed, were now shown as if with a permanent marker. Made it look like it made leaks.
The other real problem was that the oil stained everything it touched black. For the installer/remover, this was a pretty big stumbling block. I know I would not want to deal with it, unless it was a "super oil" which it was not. For the end user, leaks that would have gone unnoticed, were now shown as if with a permanent marker. Made it look like it made leaks.
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