When has an additive ever helped you?

[macarose]

I have probably sold 3,000 vehicles at my dealership over the past five years, and around 5,000 over the last decade and change

There have only been three products that seem to have ever given me any type of real-world benefit.

Fuel System Cleaners - The better ones I use if I happen to get a vehicle that's been sitting for a year or longer. I typically will use Techron or 3M when they have a substantial discount and only have used in about a dozen vehicles that fit this description.

Guaranteed To Pass - I do business in an emissions county and I find that if I have a vehicle that flunks CO2, I can use this to get the carbon out. You sometimes have to use a second bottle and I'm not 100% sure if it's good for the catalytic converter.

Fuel Stabilizers - I use this for vehicles that are driven only once in a blue moon. These vehicles are used for movie shoots and during the winter there's not a lot of demand for them. So I do use that for those cars as well as the lawnmower.


What have been your experiences. I frankly think that the best oil you can put into your crankcase is API/SAE certified motor oil that is stated as the best fit in your owner's manual (or enthusiast forum). Same deal for transmission, power steering, brakes, etc. Just remember to follow the manual, visit enthusiast forums for any tips on potential weaknesses and trouble spots, and once something starts leaking handle it as quickly as possible.

Am I wrong? Your thoughts.

All the best!

 

[HerrStig]

Lucas "fuel system treatment" seems to keep my bike carb floats from hanging up. Their power steering stop leak extended the life of a rack for about a year by controlling a leak. Otherwise, Techron is the only other stuff I use which seems to do as advertised.

 

[Clevy]

Mos2,ceratec,tc-w3

 

[c502cid]

My 99 Durango 360 motor rattled like a banshee when the summer heat came on. Once I started adding MMO to the fuel it quit after a few tankfuls. Havent heard it in a couple of years now.

 

[eljefino]

Bar's leaks powder cures many ills, some of which were disappearing antifreeze instances that went undiagnosed. Just as well.

Intake gasket or heater core, sometimes, you just don't wanna know.

Techron cured a ping for me, but only while it was in the tank. Expensive way to roll.

I used some Cherry Grenadine tranny honey on a 4T60 and it upped the pressure just enough that the clutches were applied, so they didn't slip, so they didn't shed silt, so the filter stayed clear, so the pressure stayed up. I simultaneously put in an adjustable modulator to do the same thing, but the honey gets some credit too.

MMO cylinder soaks don't really help sticky rings or oil burning, but they do clear out the carbony crud and bring pep back.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

I used MMO years ago to clean out hydraulic lifters. Never heard from them again once I began using it. No ill effects.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

MMO, Techron, fuel stabilizer, heat (years ago) pump saver (for powerwasher. Seafoam. Transmission fluid..

I had a 86 Z28 and put a lot of questionable gas through it 20 years ago, on more than one occasion I put a few bottles of heat in it to cure water in gas issues.

Fuel stabilizer in the mower.

Briggs and straton pump saver in the power washer.

Techron in all my cars once a year (just peace of mind with todays questionable gas)

I went the Seafoam route for years and as far as cleaning goes I think it helped in the gas, but doing the piston/top end soak was likely more or a smoke show than anything..

MMO, I drank the koolaid for a long while and used this in the gas as well as the oil in the last 1,500 miles of a OCI. Im pretty well convinced todays high quality synthetic oil have enough cleaning detergents in them that its just not necessary. However if I was buying a super high mileage auto it might be something to consider for a faster cleanup.

Who remembers adding transmission fluid (1 quart) to a oil change to clean up a engine block ? I did this a few times as a teenager over 20 years ago.. better products, better oil, better additives are obviously available today.

Today, 7,500 mile OCI's Techron in the tank once a year (just out of OCD) Fuel stabilizer in my small engines.. that's about it..

OHH Slick 50 at $49.99 a treatment... did that once.. yeah..

 

[SteveSRT8]

We have used many here. Bars leaks is a great one. MMO never seemed to hurt anything we put it in. Various fuel treatments, too.

We also value Kreen a lot, as it works fast and is very effective IME...

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Diesel supplement TDRS by Amalgamated Inc.

Used it in my 335d.

I would eek out about an extra 2 MPG and the engine ran as smooth as silk.

I miss that car..

 

[Olas]

Isopropyl Alcohol has helped me with carb icing in extreme cold, SI1 has helped clear carbon, 2EHN has helped get more power and less black smoke when added to diesel, and MOS2 has helped MPG and idle smoothness in every engine I've added it to.

Also, malt vinegar makes a good substitute for screen wash in a desperate situation, but it makes the car smell like a kitchen.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Water for de-carbonising.

 

[DemoFly]

Lacquer thinner at a ratio of 1:8 to gas cleaned my catalytic converters enough to remove a catalyst inefficiency code for what's going on about 4 years now.

 

[danthaman1980]

After I had a rebuilt transmission installed 3.5 years ago, I developed a slow oil leak (seepage) at the rear of the engine. Only enough for a few drops a week, but still annoying.

Right around 2 years ago I used a can of Lubri-Moly MoS2 in the engine. Although I didn't notice any fuel economy or noise changes, the oil seepage mysteriously stopped. Haven't noticed the problem since then.

 

[BikeWhisperer]

When I had my 2005 Silverado, it started to have a small oil leak...likely from the rear seal. 1/2 qt of Lucas Engine Oil Stop Leak every oil change (usually ~7k-8k as per the OLM) stopped the leak and kept it from leaking till the day I traded it in. And I generally am not a user of Lucas products, but this did what it said it would do.

Lubri-Moly MOS2 has definitely quieted valvetrain noise on my OHC engines. Can't say I have seen mileage increases, but I am a believer in MOS2 in oil (and so are a few auto manufacturers).

 

[jcwit]

LugeGuard Red in a tranny that had shifting problems, it made it almost another 100,000 miles till a valve seat dropped.

 

[19jacobob93]

MoS2 - smoother, quieter engine and better fuel economy. Reduces surface friction so most likely wear too

TCW3 - smoother, less harsh sounding at high RPMs and better fuel economy

Lucas Fuel stabilizer - same as TCW3 but I felt a slight performance increase

Rislone - got 1/2 of a quart bottle of Rislone in the sump at the moment to help clean out the lifters, so far they are sounding much quieter so I'm hoping it is working

 

[qdeezie]

Bars for radiator and heater core leaks. That is my stuff!!!

Gumout Multi System Fuel treatment recently cured an occasional hard start problem and an occasional erratic idle I had on my Focus.

 

[gfh77665]

Stabil has performed excellently in my stored vehicles. Excellent!

Regane injector cleaner is used after one come out of storage, once the "old" gas is consumed. Seems like a good product.

Restore has been used as a "last resort" to milk another year or two out of an occasional vehicle on its last legs. It appears to work if you reapply every oil change.

 

[Donald]

Are we talking for the engine or for myself?

 

[RoadRaceJosh]

Lubro Moly LM2020 into the noisy-on-cold-start power steering of a 160k mile Dodge Neon.

I also used Rislone in that engine to reduce oil consumption from a quart every 300 miles to 1 in 1200-1500. Had I known about Kreen at the time I might have used it instead.