Blew my o rings with too much Techron or Redline...

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I had tried insanely heavy dosage on my lawn mower like half Techron/ half gas; never got the results that I was hoping for!

I have also kept some test rubber parts in Techron for overnight just to see what happens. I think those were claimed to gasoline safe (neoprene?) rubber parts and they survived intact.

Highly unlikely that your dosing destroy the o-rings.
 
To the op. When using PEA based fuel system cleaners if woul help you to avoid your Italian tune ups. This does not help you. The reason PEA’s work in the chamber is they live in the 500F range. Your method will send EGTs way north of 500F ultimately killing your PEA before it can help you. PEA and very easy driving will be your best bet. Just enough to work is the right amount. More is not better. Running top tier fuels is really a good practice which will get you to 3X LAC. That is of course where fuels were more commonly treated before there was LAC. Treatment every 3,000 miles would probably be premature. Based on some detergent studies I have seen I would use a PEA based cleaner about every 1200 gallons of fuel assuming I would ignore the good advice of running top tier fuel that keep things clean.
That's great info HPL...thanks. Do you feel PEA additives work better when added before a long drive (where the entire tank of gas is used) or when used for normal short drives (where I assume the additive gets to sit on the valves after shut down a few times)?
 
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Absolutely, several different brands, quantities of each, etc. This isn't a very scientific way to measure something like this, just throwing this out there like "hey, this is what I did, and this is what happened."

The snipe at me in regards to causation and correlation was unnecessary btw, Arcographite.
Not a snipe at you per se, I get that all the time as I have am one to correlate and get flamed. Just like my example of a problem after I installed Techron. Maybe it was ready to act up or fail; maybe it was the bad gasoline that spurred me to add the Techron that cause the problem?

You could maybe get a fresh o-ring and soak it in a techron & gasoline mixture for a few days in a jar, and see if it gets pasty,
You could even tensile test it with a fish scale B4 and after.
 
Never had luck with Techron or any chevron product. I used a bottle as recommended in a 2014 Rogue filling the tank. Halfway through that tank the car became hard to start after an overnight sit from then on. Long Crank - as if there was a complete fuel line bleeddown.

Now, I find ifn a few tanks (of I have a perceived fueling "issue" just run top tier, of course) and it will clean up eventually

Surprised I haven't seen this yet, so I will do it ...

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Got a brother who calls me almost on schedule to explain this car issue he is having almost every 14 - 16 months. Every time I diagnose it as fuel related. He lives far away so he goes to a shop near his home. Each time he calls back with "man you were right!?" I keep asking him "what kind of fuel are u using?" not just any old convinience store stuff like Kangaroo brand or??? ( I know some are gonna scream at me with "all gas comes from same place") But they all do not have the same quality controls or additives etc... Tell him every time "please use Top Tier , Name brand fuel like Shell / Exxon / BP / Mobil etc... to avoid fouled up fuel system issues." Yet every so often he keeps running into the same issues that cost a few hundred dollars at the repair shop. Hard to admit but we get what we pay for. Since the 1970s I have not had a fuel system related issue with my classic cars , my trucks, boats or cars. I use the best fuels I can find. NO I DON'T HAVE THEM TESTED. 99.9% Shell gas goes in my vehicles.
 
I had tried insanely heavy dosage on my lawn mower like half Techron/ half gas; never got the results that I was hoping for!

I have also kept some test rubber parts in Techron for overnight just to see what happens. I think those were claimed to gasoline safe (neoprene?) rubber parts and they survived intact.

Highly unlikely that your dosing destroy the o-rings.
My guess is if the car was left to sit up and not started for a long period, those o rings were cooked and ready to fail anyway. I will say this is not a usual problem I hear people need replaced in numbers. It is bit strange but I don't think the OP did this to himself as he feels.

I know not to do this / sigh .... here goes. Since 1975 I have had a quart bottle supply of Marvel Mystery Oil in my shops/garages. NO ITS NOT THE SAME BOTTLE. :) I do not over use or abuse it. I use 4 ounces in my gas tanks about 3 maybe 4 times a year in all my ICE machines. NEVER added it to oil as some suggest. Ok BOMBS AWAY!!!! ;)
 
Think about it. Did the o-rings leak before you overdosed your fuel system with cleaning chemicals? It's is quite possible. If the leaks started after the treatment then not following product directions likely paid a big part of your problem. More is not better and that's why directions are printed on the bottle. Don't get bent out of shape over this Francis, you fixed it, you don't like the answers now it's time to move on.
The o rings were not leaking before this, everything was well-inspected beforehand and the o rings on the fuel pressure regulator were indeed replaced during the 4 1/2 year rebuild period. It's not that I don't like the answers btw, there was a moment where this turned into a discussion over IQ points, which pertains nothing to do with Techron, etc. I value anything that's actually constructive.
throw a set of rings in some additive and see what happens. My money is on ethanol fuel
I have also kept some test rubber parts in Techron for overnight just to see what happens. I think those were claimed to gasoline safe (neoprene?) rubber parts and they survived intact.

Highly unlikely that your dosing destroy the o-rings.
Not a snipe at you per se, I get that all the time as I have am one to correlate and get flamed. Just like my example of a problem after I installed Techron. Maybe it was ready to act up or fail; maybe it was the bad gasoline that spurred me to add the Techron that cause the problem?

You could maybe get a fresh o-ring and soak it in a techron & gasoline mixture for a few days in a jar, and see if it gets pasty,
You could even tensile test it with a fish scale B4 and after.
Since butyl reacts with PEA, but neoprene perhaps doesn't, then the answer of overdosing causing damage to o rings simply boils down to which o rings you have installed. If you're unsure and don't want to bother testing, simply avoid overdosing or just replace the o rings anyway to be safe. If butyl vs. PEA is up for debate, then I'll do the jar test but I'm not sure if that's even an argument.

Is this a fair consensus we all agree on?
 
Mixing different combinations of solvents willy-nilly could create some unexpected reactions (eg. mineral spirits is a better solvent than any of its individual components...there is a commercially available solvent handbook that gives some guidance on what to mix and what not to mix).
 
Good lord man. Just follow the directions.
Directions are for sissies, my car can take the HEET.

As I said, this was an experiment and I wanted to see what overdosing can do. Since butyl interacts with PEA (which I didn't know) then either use neoprene (or silicone?) o rings, don't overdose, or replace them all after you're done mucking aboot with chemicals.
 
Directions are for sissies, my car can take the HEET.

As I said, this was an experiment and I wanted to see what overdosing can do. Since butyl interacts with PEA (which I didn't know) then either use neoprene (or silicone?) o rings, don't overdose, or replace them all after you're done mucking aboot with chemicals.
Do you have any idea what you’re doing or are you just throwing stuff out into the ether to see what happens?

Your “sissies” comment about instructions shows you’re not only not serious but also not very smart. And your displayed knowledge about elastomers and chemistry contributes to that notion.
 
it would be an interesting experiment to get some o-rings (cheap) and put them half in and half out a few different mixtures of common fuel additives to see which ones swell the o-rings more than others.

That is a classic tale of the old chemical "stop leak" that would swell the seals up while the chemical was present but the seals would then shrunk when you stopped using it. The shrunken seeks and the leak was worse since the swelling squeezed more seal outside the bap or compressed it further.. That 'SORT OF' fits what he saw that when he went back to regular gas the o-rings shrunk and leaked.

I'm sure 20 year old rubber has a play in it if this is true since old rubber loses it pliability. They get hard and take a set. Old round cross section o-rings often have flat spots on them after years in service especially on a hot application like a car engine.

the question is, Are there any other wetted orings on the fuel pathway that you didn't change yet?
 
Do you have any idea what you’re doing or are you just throwing stuff out into the ether to see what happens?

Your “sissies” comment about instructions shows you’re not only not serious but also not very smart. And your displayed knowledge about elastomers and chemistry contributes to that notion.
I would have answered your question but then you made it obvious that you're baiting me, and not in the mastur way. Now overANALyze these words while you're at it..

it would be an interesting experiment to get some o-rings (cheap) and put them half in and half out a few different mixtures of common fuel additives to see which ones swell the o-rings more than others.
the question is, Are there any other wetted orings on the fuel pathway that you didn't change yet?
The o rings on the fuel pressure regulator were in fact replaced prior, others.. Some.. Not all. I'll do the test though when I have time.

Thanks everyone!
 
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Is it me, or does this thread read like some prior threads we've had here?
It's possible, I'm new here and found mostly other cases of overdosing (MMO and Xylene.) If this is a near duplicate, I'm sorry folks!
 
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