Question about properties of Moly DTC

[Sciguyjim]

I haven't seen or, to my knowledge, used this additive, though my Mobil 1 may contain some. I found a chemical structure for this compound and it looks like it can break down and release MoS2, the slippery black moly we're familiar with. I believe it has good lube qualities, especially for cold, dry starts, however I've never used MoS2 in my engine because I want to be able to see when repairs are needed and the MoS2 makes everything look like it's painted black.

My question is, when using the Moly DTC, does it coat the metal with a black film when it releases the MoS2? Or, since it is present in ppm quantities, is the black color not visible (in the microscopic pits with no extra to form a thick layer)??

I often don't drive my car for up to a week at a time, especially in the winter, and I'm told that these cold, dry starts may be the reason I always find metal caught by the magnets on my oil filter. I would like to know more about the appearance and effectiveness of this moly additive in the engine. I've always used Mobil 1 5w-30 year round so I don't have a lot of sludge to hide things and I'd like to keep the inside of the engine looking clean. Can anyone help? Thanks.

 

[BOBISTHEOILGUY]

There is some after market moly additives that will turn your oil black as soon as it hits the oil. This type of additive is not desirable if for nothing more than reasons mentioned above by you. All of the moly additives used in the design of motor oils are a soluble moly are clear and have no visable effects on the engine nor oil. Fact is, if you look at my latest picture on my harley I just pulled the cover to change a gasket and have been using a moly oil in it for better than 25,000 miles.

BTW, FYI, metal shavings were non existant on the magnet

[ October 14, 2002, 05:54 AM: Message edited by: BOBISTHEOILGUY ]

 

[BOBISTHEOILGUY]

For those interested there is more on the basics of moly on this page... Basics about Moly

 

[dragboat]

Jim
The Schaeffers product is near clear in appearance on the dipstick.Just a blueish hue. No black streaks at all on the wipe rag compared to some other oils available.

 

[MolaKule]

SciGuy -

This moly is the form of moly developed and patented orginally by Esso/Exxon/Mobil and then by Lubrizol; it was further stabilized by Mitchell, et. al. in his paper.

The moly is in solution with a surfactant (in the #132 version) and is almost clear when in solution.

 

[MolaKule]

SciGuyJim,

I doubt the you'll be able to see the Moly unless you do a scanning microscope study of the surface features of potentially high wear or high load areas.

It reacts much like the old standby ZDDP or ZDTP in that it is ionic and very polar and forms a three-layer surface feature of organometallic ferrous-sulphur-moly. In its dithiocarbamate form, it is highly stable.

Moly disulfide is often used in gear oil for those lower temp EP situations.

I can refer you to a number of papers and patents on moly formulations if you're interested.

 

[Sciguyjim]

MolaKule,
Yes, I would be interested in reading some articles.

Thanks everyone for clearing this up for me. I suspected that the organometallic moly compound was clear instead of black like the disulfide, but I didn't know if it decomposed into the black form to do its thing.