300,000 Trouble Free Miles With 3 Additives

I am a believer in changing the "big three" (oil, transmission fluid, coolant) early and often to achieve maximum life of a vehicle. Experimenting with nearly every additive on the market over the years, there are very few I continue to use. After reaching 300,000 miles without any mechanical failures this summer I decided to document the additives I used and how often.

Here are the ones I use with a brief explanation...

Engine

• Kreen from Kano Labs - Use in the oil while driving. Dissolves hardened sludge and varnish leaving it in suspension to be filtered, then drained at oil change.
• Techron Concentrate Plus or Red Line SI-1 - Contains the modern additive Polyether Amine (PEA) proven by modern testing to be the most effective gas additive for fuel injector, combustion chamber, valve and complete fuel system cleaning.

Transmission

• Lubegard Automatic Transmission Fluid Protectant -Blessed by transmission rebuilders and auto manufacturers. Extends the ATF life, lowers heat, seal conditioners.
  

Coolant

• RMI-25 - A lubricant, cleaner and corrosion inhibitor for use while driving. Silicate, Nitrate, Borate and Molybdenate free for use with modern OAT coolants.

Dosage (What I recommend after years of experimentation)

• Techron concentrate Plus or Red Line SI-1 - 2 10 oz bottles in one full tank once a year a week before you change your oil.
• Kreen - 1/2 qt for last 1,000- 2,000 miles of an oil change interval every 30k.
• Lubegard - 1 10 oz bottle every other drain and fill interval or 30k. Check the LUBEGARD ATF Conversion and Refill Chart for the correct lubegard version for your transmission.
• RMI-25 - 1 8oz bottle half way through a coolant drain and fill interval or 15-20k.
  

Posted on 10:47 AM / 0 comments / Read More

What is in Seafoam Products?

Excerpt from the Seafoam website: Sea Foam was actually developed for the outboard motor and marine market back in the 1930’s. The inventor, Fred Fandrei, owned an outboard motor and it seemed as though every time he went fishing he would have engine trouble. The problems always stemmed from the gas and oil mixture, which became gummy and formed varnish between uses.

The thought of spending more time fishing than working on the motor prompted Fred, who was a District Manager for the Sinclair Refining Company at that time and had a good knowledge of fuel, to invent a product that would stop the gas/oil mixture from becoming stale. He worked with quite a few formulas before he finally found one that gave him the right results. His first test market was at Lake Freeman, in Indiana, near where he lived. When he went fishing, he would take along his formula in beer bottles and quart jars to sell to other fishermen.

Inspired by the products popularity, Fred decided to give it a name and put it on the market. His search for a name ended when a fellow fisherman who had moved to Florida called him and asked him to send some of that “Sea Foam” stuff. Fred liked the sound of it, so he christened his formula Sea Foam.

Summary: Seafoam is upper cylinder lube, some solvent, and fuel stabilizer created by a fisherman in 1930 to solve gas and oil problems he was having with his outboard motor boat. The rest of the story goes on to how Fred, then his son, and then an auto parts salesman marketed Seafoam as an engine treatment for for your car.

Seafoam

• Pale Oil 40.00 - 60.00 %
• Naphtha  25.00 - 35.00 %
• IPA      10.00 - 20.00 %

Summary: Seafoam is mostly a lubricant known as Pale Oil which is used for upper cylinder lubrication. The white smoke from "seafoaming" through a brake booster is huge quantities of pale oil wrongly referred to as "carbon" on YouTube. The solvent is Naphtha which is an an old school solvent, marginally effective for carbon deposits. IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol) was used as a fuel stabilizer and water absorber years ago. IPA boosts your octane levels, giving you more power and a better running engine while in use. Gone with the next tankful.

Seafoam Deep Creep

• Pale Oil 40 - 70 %
• Low Odor Base Solvent 30 - 60 % CAS# 64742-96-7 and 64742-47-8 
• IPA 10 - 30 %
• Carbon dioxide 3 - 7 %

Summary: Deep Creep is not Seafoam in a can, its Seafoam's equivalent of WD40 and PB Blaster. The Low Odor Base Solvent 30 - 60 % CAS# 64742-96-7 and 64742-47-8 = Kerosene.

Seafoam Spray

• Pale Oil 40.00 - 60.00 %
• Naphtha  25.00 - 35.00 %
• IPA      10.00 - 20.00 %
• Carbon dioxide 3.00 - 5.00 %

Summary: Seafoam in a spray can.

Posted on 3:17 PM / 0 comments / Read More

Which Fuel Injector Cleaner Works Best?

With so many fuel injector, fuel system cleaners on the market today, which works best? Lets discuss a few. But first, a short discussion about the additives in fuel system cleaners. Most fuel system, fuel injector cleaners contain an "upper cylinder lube" and a "solvent" in varying strengths. 

Upper Cylinder Lube
Lead was added to the fuel to reduce engine detonation (pinging), lubricate the valves, rings and cylinder walls of engine designs from the pre-1980's. When unleaded gas appeared on the scene, additives containing "upper cylinder lube" were widely used for older cars to substitute for the lack of lead. These lubricants were primarily high flash oils that could survive combustion and lubricate parts.

Over time auto manufacturers produced valves and rings out of harder alloys to reduce wear. Along came ethanol. There is no proof to support this, but it is widely thought that ethanol reacts with engine oil resulting in a lack of lubrication for the cylinder walls, rings and valves. So the fears of upper cylinder wear remain today, and so do high levels of upper cylinder lube in some products. Modern engines are designed to run on today's gasoline. Some are flex fuel, some have oil jets to add motor oil to cylinder walls, some run very thin oils that get to places older thicker oils could not. So today, the fear is not justified.

All engines today have catalytic converters to reduce emissions. Catalytic converter burn off exhaust gasses using exhaust heated catalyst media. Oil reduces the surface temperature of the catalyst media, reducing its efficiency. a high flash oil that results combustion temperatures will surely survive the lesser temperatures of the catalytic converter. That spells trouble and the spelling is P0420. For these reasons above a fuel injector cleaner that is low in upper cylinder lube is more desirable for a modern engine.

Cleaning Solvents

Since 1930 fuel system cleaners have used the additive Naphtha and Stoddard Solvent as the primary solvents to combat carbon deposits. Recent modern tests have shown that the additive Polyether Amine (known as PEA) is more effective at cleaning carbon deposits than the Naphtha and Stoddard Solvent based products.

Summary

A fuel system or fuel injector cleaner low in upper cylinder lube and high in PEA is the best choice for a modern engine. Here are a few of the most popular fuel injector, fuel system cleaners catagorized by % of lube and type of solvent:

Mostly upper Cylinder Lube, Naphtha or Stoddard Solvent

• Seafoam
• Marvel Mystery Oil

Mostly PEA Solvent, little or no upper cylinder lube

• Techron Concentrate Plus
• Red Line Si-1
• Gumout Regane (not other gumout products)

Posted on 8:23 PM / 0 comments / Read More