Is this engine a candidate for Kreen?

[steve20]

""...Almost any engine with 100k miles is a candidate as the ring packs will be coked up no matter the oil you use..."

Serious question---> not looking to start any cerebral swordplay. Do you or anyone else think the above is an accurate statement?

 

[Trav]

Quote:
Almost any engine with 100k miles is a candidate as the ring packs will be coked up no matter the oil you use..."

Maybe, maybe not. I ran an engine from day one on synthetic (real synthetic) and had the engine apart after 200K and had nothing in the ring area or anywhere else.
The ring grooves were spotless with no bore wear and ring end gaps were within new OEM specs.

No additives ever used and only one brand and weight of oil so its possible.
On the other hand i have seen a lot of engines dead and worn out by that mileage over the last 40 yrs.

The only concern i have with this engine is it uses a flat tappet can and is tuned meaning it may well have a bigger cam and higher rate springs.
If in doubt run a oil with better cleaning abilities, it may be a lot cheaper in the long run.

 

[SteveSRT8]

We routinely run larger American V8's to failure here. Mileages range from 200k to as high as 500k miles and almost all are disassembled by me personally and inspected here before going off to my BIL for remanufacturing at his shop or being sold as parts.

I have never seen any engine as clean as Trav described at 200k miles. Ever. Started tearing engines apart in 1968 with my Triumph TR-4, and have done quite a few since then!

Every single piston I have seen at over 100,000 miles of real world use has had deposits visible on it, and junk in the rings. Not all were solidly coked into immobility, but ALL were visibly soiled with deposits.

I believe that such an engine as Trav describes represents an exception, not a rule of thumb.

 

[Mud]

Originally Posted By: Trav

The only concern i have with this engine is it uses a flat tappet can and is tuned meaning it may well have a bigger cam and higher rate springs.
If in doubt run a oil with better cleaning abilities, it may be a lot cheaper in the long run.


If that's the one in the 57, yes, it does have a higher duration Erson cam/springs. And yes the combo has been tuned, cam degreed, carb set-up, vac advance curve set.

 

[Trav]

Quote:
I believe that such an engine as Trav describes represents an exception, not a rule of thumb.

Definitely the exception. Although Castrol RS (the red oil not available in the US) was well known to have some unusual properties.
I read something by Doug Hillary who had something to do with oil that it had Castor oil and esters in the base IIRC.
Super good oil but good lord what a price. I was paying almost $100 a gallon back in the 90's and it remains in that price range today if you can still find some NOS.

Another factor may have been the engine usually saw RPM's above 8,000 almost every time i rode it as the combustion chambers were very clean. also

I never saw any oil keep a new engine this clean before or since but PU has really peaked my interest.

Maybe a 30 min flush with Kreen might be something to consider.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: Trav

The only concern i have with this engine is it uses a flat tappet can and is tuned meaning it may well have a bigger cam and higher rate springs.
If in doubt run a oil with better cleaning abilities, it may be a lot cheaper in the long run.


I know your thinking here. An additive could compromise the film strength where he needs it most!

Totally agreed, as I lost a nice valvetrain to the new low ZDDP oils in 1998!

 

[steve20]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
We routinely run larger American V8's to failure here. Mileages range from 200k to as high as 500k miles and almost all are disassembled by me personally and inspected here before going off to my BIL for remanufacturing at his shop or being sold as parts.

I have never seen any engine as clean as Trav described at 200k miles. Ever. Started tearing engines apart in 1968 with my Triumph TR-4, and have done quite a few since then!

Every single piston I have seen at over 100,000 miles of real world use has had deposits visible on it, and junk in the rings. Not all were solidly coked into immobility, but ALL were visibly soiled with deposits.

I believe that such an engine as Trav describes represents an exception, not a rule of thumb.





Good to know--I haven't torn down or built an engine since 1992. Guys--what would be your correlation between deposits under the valve cover to deposits in the ring area? Like--would it be mostly true to say, if it's clean up top, it's clean in the ring land area--
What are your observations in the ring area at 150K miles or 200K miles ?
Steve

 

[SteveSRT8]

IME here the cleanliness of the valve cover area does not directly correlate to the rings/piston/skirts.

Our engines are always clean looking under the valve covers, but as they wear down they get more blow by which unavoidably cokes up the pistons a bit. We also have issues with carbon build up in the heads from tons of low speed (1500-1700 rpm) lightly loaded stationary operations.