Kestas
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Try a pool supply house.
Slick50 story (opinions wanted)!
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Yea, I had a 77 pontiac that had 4 million miles on from slick 50...........yea, right...!
Paul, (Monarch)
This added in edit. If you would care to reasearch cooling system maintenance, PH level and SCA additives are important. In the PSD Diesel engine these items are important and must be checked according to the MFG. manual. Just adding anti-freeze won't work. I just happen to have 2 of these engines.
Well I think that Penzoil/Quaker state bought Slick 50 and I've seeen them bundle Slick 50 with 4 quarts of oil to sell in an auto supply store. I can't think this is good for the oil companies reputation, but you can bet it will increase the use of Slick 50.
I have a similar experience... Used some product called "fin25+Teflon" after an engine flush. It was a smaller ~7oz/200ml bottle which made me to think the ptfe and whatever else in it shouldn't be excessive. Also it was advised on the bottle that not to use again before 60oookm after the treatment. After the treatment didn't felt anyting better or lesser noice etc. But that used car was new to me, so I wasn't very familiar to the engine's sound.
Some 10ooo kms later I overheated the engine to the point that it stopped on the garage ramp and didn't made the last 2 meters. Luckily I wasn't revving high, it was just a city commute. After this I overheated engine two more times, due to a broken fan, and a burst pipe, since learned to track the gaugage I stopped it before it stops.
After 25oookms and ~3 years nothing is wrong with the engine. It is as quiet and as peppy. No oil adding is ever necessary, and I change dino/semisynth 5w30 Mobil at every 3ooo~5ooo kms. Plenty of stop and go traffic. But at first engine-stopper overheating session it was a 20w50 that I mistakenly put in it.
It sometimes crosses my mind that was it that ptfe, was it that mistakenly put 20w 50 Shell SFgrade (5~10w 30 or 30w was recomended) or it would do just the same without it. Or may be people are exagerating the consequences of overheating, or else that old v6 is something real tough. Not sure, but do wonder.
This is an '84 Chev. Celebrity with 2.8 v8. Exhaust emmissions are very close to the specs., consumption matches with the EPA figures, can reach its top speed. But no comp. tests so far. At 170K km it was rebuilt (as pevious owner says). At ~190K its first overheating.
Some 10ooo kms later I overheated the engine to the point that it stopped on the garage ramp and didn't made the last 2 meters. Luckily I wasn't revving high, it was just a city commute. After this I overheated engine two more times, due to a broken fan, and a burst pipe, since learned to track the gaugage I stopped it before it stops.
After 25oookms and ~3 years nothing is wrong with the engine. It is as quiet and as peppy. No oil adding is ever necessary, and I change dino/semisynth 5w30 Mobil at every 3ooo~5ooo kms. Plenty of stop and go traffic. But at first engine-stopper overheating session it was a 20w50 that I mistakenly put in it.
It sometimes crosses my mind that was it that ptfe, was it that mistakenly put 20w 50 Shell SFgrade (5~10w 30 or 30w was recomended) or it would do just the same without it. Or may be people are exagerating the consequences of overheating, or else that old v6 is something real tough. Not sure, but do wonder.
This is an '84 Chev. Celebrity with 2.8 v8. Exhaust emmissions are very close to the specs., consumption matches with the EPA figures, can reach its top speed. But no comp. tests so far. At 170K km it was rebuilt (as pevious owner says). At ~190K its first overheating.
I have used Slick50 in cars since 1976 when we could only get it through home distributors because it was not sold in stores. I like it. Can I say for sure that my 4 cars that went over 300,000km (220,000 mi) would not have made it without Slick50? NO I can't. I can say this: I drive about 35,000 miles a year in temperatures running from -35 to +100 degrees. It's mostly highway but some serious traffic like a large moving parking for 30 minutes everyday. Oil change every 6,000 miles if I remember or up to 8,000 if I forget. I buy cars at about 50,000 miles and can't always speak for the previous owner's maintainance. I have never had an engine failure - the cars typically suffer some kind of rot due to the salt used in winters here or I just get tired of looking at the same dashboard after so long. My wife has run two different vehicles (also on slick50) without a fan belt until they were obviously hurting and she shut down - both ran fine afterward.
When I first got on to Slick50 they used to send you a 30-page copy of their "research data" free for the asking. As I recall all the testing was done in England/Europe and showed some slight gains in HP and wear but none of it was what I would call exhaustive research involving 100 vehicle fleets - it was more like many tests involving 4 vehicles at a time. I might still have it around if anyone is interested e-mail me and if I get enough emails I will dig for it.
I have run my wife's vehicles with and without it and can say for sure that the gas mileage is slightly better with it - about 10% maybe....it was most noticeable on our old Buick Electra Limited with the 455 cu. in. engine.
I use it in my main vehicle every oil change. It's only about $20 and for sure it is not doing any harm and I THINK it's doing good.
When I first got on to Slick50 they used to send you a 30-page copy of their "research data" free for the asking. As I recall all the testing was done in England/Europe and showed some slight gains in HP and wear but none of it was what I would call exhaustive research involving 100 vehicle fleets - it was more like many tests involving 4 vehicles at a time. I might still have it around if anyone is interested e-mail me and if I get enough emails I will dig for it.
I have run my wife's vehicles with and without it and can say for sure that the gas mileage is slightly better with it - about 10% maybe....it was most noticeable on our old Buick Electra Limited with the 455 cu. in. engine.
I use it in my main vehicle every oil change. It's only about $20 and for sure it is not doing any harm and I THINK it's doing good.
A couple of things that I have seen with and without teflon treatments.
Half a lifetime ago the service station that I worked at had an XB falcon ute with a very very worn 250 c.i. 6 cyl in it. Oil consumption on 20W-40 shell super SF (that's how long ago it was) ran at 2 litres per week. Nulon E10 worn engine treatment dropped it to 1/2 litre per week.
Teflon gearbox treatment in the 4Runner ended up as a layer of plastic on the bottom of the box, and a hard(ish) ball jammed in the drain plug.
Mum and Dad's Renault 16 did 360,000 km on Castrol GTX 20-50 with 5,000km oil changes without additives (last 60,000 was smokey start-ups). Their Nissan Pulsar (Holden J-Car engined)has 280,000km on Mobil 1, and uses 1/2 litre in the 10,000km between oil changes.
My brother's wife boiled the Chrysler Sigma (Astron 2000 engine) on the way to her work (20 miles away), and drove it until the temperature gauge came good again, then forgot about it. Drove it home without water. After replacing the head, it ran for another year before it expired - running recycled SE engine oil, no additives.
I use slick-50 spray lub to lubricate the bolts on my rifles, and am very happy with the smoothness that I don't get with other lubricants.
In short, I have no fixed opinion, but I don't mind experimenting a bit.
Half a lifetime ago the service station that I worked at had an XB falcon ute with a very very worn 250 c.i. 6 cyl in it. Oil consumption on 20W-40 shell super SF (that's how long ago it was) ran at 2 litres per week. Nulon E10 worn engine treatment dropped it to 1/2 litre per week.
Teflon gearbox treatment in the 4Runner ended up as a layer of plastic on the bottom of the box, and a hard(ish) ball jammed in the drain plug.
Mum and Dad's Renault 16 did 360,000 km on Castrol GTX 20-50 with 5,000km oil changes without additives (last 60,000 was smokey start-ups). Their Nissan Pulsar (Holden J-Car engined)has 280,000km on Mobil 1, and uses 1/2 litre in the 10,000km between oil changes.
My brother's wife boiled the Chrysler Sigma (Astron 2000 engine) on the way to her work (20 miles away), and drove it until the temperature gauge came good again, then forgot about it. Drove it home without water. After replacing the head, it ran for another year before it expired - running recycled SE engine oil, no additives.
I use slick-50 spray lub to lubricate the bolts on my rifles, and am very happy with the smoothness that I don't get with other lubricants.
In short, I have no fixed opinion, but I don't mind experimenting a bit.
Patman
Staff member
You add it every oil change?
Patman,
OK so "for sure" is a little too strong then. It might sound like fact when it is only opinion.
4 cars over 200,000 mi each - and no engine failures when I use Slick50 every oil change is only the real life experience (data) of this one humble user. Plus my wife's cars that get the treatment off and on but we sell them around 100,000 miles (no engine troubles OK) so lets not count them except the 2 that ran without coolant circulation until they coughed and she stopped - they didn't fail either. I think that the thread started out as real-life experience so figured this fit in well.
Put another way: all told I have a million miles over 25 years that says Slick50 didn't mess up my engines. And in the two serious overheats everything turned out fine.
Terry offers theory and opinion but didn't mention any real life examples of Slick50 causing real trouble. I don't disrespect his theory or opinion but a little data would go a long way there - it may well be that the makers of this product have thought about those issues and are carefully controlling particle size so as not to cause blockages and have addressed the clumping/sludge potential as well - or maybe they haven't.
Shifty
OK so "for sure" is a little too strong then. It might sound like fact when it is only opinion.
4 cars over 200,000 mi each - and no engine failures when I use Slick50 every oil change is only the real life experience (data) of this one humble user. Plus my wife's cars that get the treatment off and on but we sell them around 100,000 miles (no engine troubles OK) so lets not count them except the 2 that ran without coolant circulation until they coughed and she stopped - they didn't fail either. I think that the thread started out as real-life experience so figured this fit in well.
Put another way: all told I have a million miles over 25 years that says Slick50 didn't mess up my engines. And in the two serious overheats everything turned out fine.
Terry offers theory and opinion but didn't mention any real life examples of Slick50 causing real trouble. I don't disrespect his theory or opinion but a little data would go a long way there - it may well be that the makers of this product have thought about those issues and are carefully controlling particle size so as not to cause blockages and have addressed the clumping/sludge potential as well - or maybe they haven't.
Shifty
Patman
Staff member
I still don't understand why you add it each oil change? Why not just add Tufoil instead? It's cheaper and supposedly the same stuff.
If you believe the hype of Slick 50, then why don't you believe their claims that one treatment lasts 80,000km?
I'm basically saying that SLick 50 isn't responsible for your high mileage. You are simply LUCKY that you still get high mileage even with that stuff in there. I bet a teardown of one of those engines would show some serious gunk.
I'm not insulting you here, just that if you read around on this site you'll find that there is simply no need for any of those snake oil type additives. Choose a good oil with a good antiwear package in it and there is simply no need for Slick 50. If you want protection from metal to metal contact on a cold start, choose an oil with moly in it. There are many to choose from now, more and more oils contain moly now than ever before.
If you believe the hype of Slick 50, then why don't you believe their claims that one treatment lasts 80,000km?
I'm basically saying that SLick 50 isn't responsible for your high mileage. You are simply LUCKY that you still get high mileage even with that stuff in there. I bet a teardown of one of those engines would show some serious gunk.
I'm not insulting you here, just that if you read around on this site you'll find that there is simply no need for any of those snake oil type additives. Choose a good oil with a good antiwear package in it and there is simply no need for Slick 50. If you want protection from metal to metal contact on a cold start, choose an oil with moly in it. There are many to choose from now, more and more oils contain moly now than ever before.
A recent posting stated -
"The Physicist (DR. Harold Shaub) who helped develop Slick 50 is currently working on another PTFE derived additive called "Techrobond" to replace ZDDP" which I think is incorrect. Harlold Shaub was employed by Exxon for some time before he retired and went to work for Slick 50. The product Slick 50 was well in the market place before he took up with Slick 50 management. I believe he was responsible for having them conduct several engine dynamometer tests to show some of the possible benefits of this aftermarket additive. He more than likely has helped to improve the product which has undergone many reformulations but he did not develop Slick 50 per se.
"The Physicist (DR. Harold Shaub) who helped develop Slick 50 is currently working on another PTFE derived additive called "Techrobond" to replace ZDDP" which I think is incorrect. Harlold Shaub was employed by Exxon for some time before he retired and went to work for Slick 50. The product Slick 50 was well in the market place before he took up with Slick 50 management. I believe he was responsible for having them conduct several engine dynamometer tests to show some of the possible benefits of this aftermarket additive. He more than likely has helped to improve the product which has undergone many reformulations but he did not develop Slick 50 per se.
Patman
Staff member
No, once moly bonds to the metal it sticks there.
Bob has a great writeup on moly here:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/moly.html
So - is a moly treatment snake oil or the real deal?
Patman
Staff member
Moly is the real deal, but you're better off getting it already in the oil than adding it via a moly supplement.
First off: Merry Christmas!
Look don't think I believe all the marketing hype. Back when I started using this stuff (1976) there was no marketing to speak of - it was all word of mouth. I bought it from a guy with a homemade "SliCk SO" sign on his lawn. You could not buy it at Canadian Tire until 20 years later. And I did send away for the supporting research data before I used the product. The data I got didn't totally convince me but I don't mind an experiment so I tried it. I liked it.
Yes a teardown would be the thing but I am a shadetree mechanic with limited time. If someone here wants to teardown an engine I am willing to donate my current 3.3L Olds Cutlass FE3 when it reaches 300,000 km which will be very soon. I am shopping for the replacement car right now. It's running fine but I know I have a rad and a steering pump in my future - have reached that nickel and dime stage plus things are just plain breaking like door hinges etc.
I am all ears if anyone has a really good simple program that I could use instead of this stuff. I don't want to try some other snake oil (Tufoil?) because I am happy with the snake oil I have. So tell me - semi-synthetic/full synthetic/filter brand/frequency etc.
Oh yeah. I'm new here so help me out. How many 200,000 mile teardowns have been done for any particular oil program to see how they make out over time?
Look don't think I believe all the marketing hype. Back when I started using this stuff (1976) there was no marketing to speak of - it was all word of mouth. I bought it from a guy with a homemade "SliCk SO" sign on his lawn. You could not buy it at Canadian Tire until 20 years later. And I did send away for the supporting research data before I used the product. The data I got didn't totally convince me but I don't mind an experiment so I tried it. I liked it.
Yes a teardown would be the thing but I am a shadetree mechanic with limited time. If someone here wants to teardown an engine I am willing to donate my current 3.3L Olds Cutlass FE3 when it reaches 300,000 km which will be very soon. I am shopping for the replacement car right now. It's running fine but I know I have a rad and a steering pump in my future - have reached that nickel and dime stage plus things are just plain breaking like door hinges etc.
Oh yeah. I'm new here so help me out. How many 200,000 mile teardowns have been done for any particular oil program to see how they make out over time?
Not a worry on auto engines. The PH is checked using test strips from NAPA and is performed on heavy duty diesel engines. The freeze point is checked along with Nitrite and PH levels. A PH level of 8.0 to 9.5 is allowable. Above 9.5 a correction is required, and below 6.5 should have DCA or SCA additives added.
This is not done using Texaco LongLife coolant or Dexcool.
If the strip test shows questionable freeze point protection, a test with a refractometer is required.
This is not done using Texaco LongLife coolant or Dexcool.
If the strip test shows questionable freeze point protection, a test with a refractometer is required.
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