Lucas Oil Stabilizer any good?

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Is this stuff really that good or just more snake oil? From reading the testimonials on the company's website it seems to work quite well. Also what kind of elements make up this stuff? All I know is that it is REALLY thick because it took probably 30 seconds to dump a bottle in my Jeep.
Jason
 
From what I have heard it is really just more snake oil. I have not heard about any problems arising from the use of this product but it has never seemed to help any issues a vehicle has had other than oil seepage through the cyls for that oil change.

I wonder what is in it? Why would oil need to be stabilized?
 
bandit,
It seems you shoot first and ask questions later
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And I am just kidding you but read into the quote below?

(All I know is that it is REALLY thick because it took probably 30 seconds to dump a bottle in my Jeep.)

Did you put a whole quart in the crankcase? Are you trying to save a near worn out motor?

Oh yeah, welcome to the site!
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I originally got Lucas because a friend of mine recommended it to me. Right after I got my Jeep this past summer it started to lose oil pressure either after about 30+min of moderate driving or after a couple WOT runs. There were a couple of times where the pressure dropped to 0 and the engine was ticking like a sick choo choo train. Needless to say I shut it down as soon as I heard it ticking. There were several other times it would drop to around 20ish and wouldn't go above that. I ended up flushing the motor out twice in one sitting with some engine flush which fixed the problem but I think I'm hearing a small rod knock now but only at idle. The Jeep hasnt lost any power or make any engine noise above 1k rpm but I'm afraid those oil pressure drops took its toll on it. Thats the reason I decided to try it. I had read several testominals on their website of people whose rod knocks were quieted down by Lucas. I guess time will tell what will happen to the motor but for now it does run 60psi when warmed up and driving and doesn't get any lower than 35psi at idle. I just replaced the oil sending unit so the readings should be at least somewhat accurate.

Patman gave me the link to this forum on the camaross site a few weeks ago. Thats how I found out about it. I've learned alot about oils just from browsing on here once and while.

[ October 09, 2002, 12:05 AM: Message edited by: BOBISTHEOILGUY ]
 
Well I am glad Patman passed this site along to you! Welcome aboard
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By chance is this a 304 or 360 ci motor? Any old way you look at it though,if you beleive it has a slight rod knock if it were mine I would repair it or park it now before if at all possible it costs more to do so later by the need for another crank or rods or possibly more .

If it is a 258 , a rod has windowed those blocks with out much warning which is about the same warning this motor has given you .
 
Hmm guess my signature didn't appear. Hopefully it does now. In case it doesn't appear the engine is one of the magnum 318's and the Jeep is a 94 Grand Cherokee with 123k. Since Lucas didn't seem to do anything much less score well on Bob's bearing test I guess I will go back to using Restore. That stuff actually made a difference in power on my old s10 blazer and a very small difference in my Jeep before I tried Lucas. It even reduced the amount of smoke at startup on the Blazer from worn valve seals. If I end up needing to rebuild the engine I will have the shop do a couple things like porting the heads and maybe a mild cam so I could possibly run with a 5.9Limited
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. But anyway I'm glad to be on this forum. Like I said before I have already learned alot and never realized oil companies changed their formulas so much so it's good to keep updated.
Jason
 
Glad you made it here Jason!

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This Lucas stuff just thickens up the oil a lot, I don't think it's much good for anything else. You're better off simply using a thicker oil to begin with.
 
Bandit, the sounds make the pressure reading believable. Can you drop the pan? It's not bad with the axle at full droop. The pump could be going south or you could just have a badly sludged pickup screen. With that many miles I'd believe either. May as well pick up a new pump before starting. ~$cheap

David
 
OneQuartLow, I don't think I could drop the pan even with the axle at full loop but I could be wrong. Next oil change I might just go ahead flush the motor out again just to be safe. I doubt my pickup screen is that clogged since I flushed it out the first time. If it was clogged I would probably be losing oil pressure at or right after a WOT run. Even at high rpms the pressure stays right around 60-65 and doesn't drop or fluctuate like when the bearings are worn out. I might just be making a big deal out of nothing but I could swear this noise is a small rod knock...
 
Just an obersvation:

You cannot stabilize an oil, since an oil oxidizes, evaporates, and depletes its additives.

One can only replace (oil change) or replenish some of the base oil and its additives, as in top-off or by adding after-market additives.
 
Bandit, you have to take off the starter but that's enough to slide the pan back. At that point you could see if the solvents have anything to fight and give it a good manual cleaning. The pump replacement would be simple, and eliminate that question. At 125K it'll appreciate the update.

What I don't like about flushing on high-mile (unknown history) engines is:

1) If there isn't a sludge problem you're just messing up the lubrication ability of the oil. (More of an issue with recent engines.)
2) If there is bad sludge/deposits, breaking them loose for a ride through your engine isn't doing much good. It can be fatal if a chunk gets stuck in an oil passage.

Either way it's shooting in the dark and is causing unnecessary wear. Dropping the pan will tell you what's happening for a couple hour's trouble.

Back to the symptoms...
You said it dropped to zero during normal driving (after warm) and after WOT runs. Was the normal driving on level ground? Where do you fill oil to on the dipstick? I'm thinking possible cavitation/foaming. If it happens again can you stop & pull out the dipstick to check for bubbles?

I'd consider a fresh oil pressure sender & maybe T-ing in an accurate mechanical gauge for comparison. It'd be nice to know if the sounds & pressure are absolutely linked. But you have a better feel for that than I.

So much for shotgun email diagnosis.
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Good luck!

David
 
OneQuartLow, I'm not sure how flushing the engine then draining out the old oil right after you turn it off could hurt the lubicity of the new oil that you put in after that. I also thought the whole cause of the engine losing pressure was because some sludge got lodged into some oil passages or the pickup screen and that by flushing it out you could eliminate the big stuff.

Hmm I might try to drop the pan since it doesn't appear to be that hard without taking off the axle. I'm really sure the pump itself is in good shape as the engine gets 60psi when driving warm and 35 warm idle in 95degree weather. This is according to a new oil sending unit I put in about a month ago. When I flushed out the engine my original plan was to drop the pan but I was under time constraints at the time and didn't have time to even figure out what I had to do to drop it. There's probably still some stuff in there but it's obviously not affecting oil circulation at this point. I also replaced the worn out drain plug with a magetic one in case I had some metal shavings in the pan from the oil pressure losses. But anyway, we're kinda getting off topic. I'll keep you updated on this whenever I get around to dropping the pan and so forth. By the way since I flushed the motor, I have raced the Jeep a few times back to back occasionally and accidentally hit the rev limiter once at 5300. Either way you look at it this certainly is a testament to how durable the 318 is that is for sure.
Jason
 
quote:

Originally posted by mebanditws6:
OneQuartLow, I'm not sure how flushing the engine then draining out the old oil right after you turn it off could hurt the lubicity of the new oil that you put in after that.

That's the safe way to do it. Still, the residue will affect the following oil to some degree. Shouldn't be significant relative to the pressure problems. Anyway, shouldn't have mentioned it. I'd be more concerned about (2) with an older engine.

quote:

I also thought the whole cause of the engine losing pressure was because some sludge got lodged into some oil passages or the pickup screen and that by flushing it out you could eliminate the big stuff.

Low pressure (indicated) can have many causes. Bad senders/gauges/wiring, aeration, clogged passages, an unseated oil line plug, bad pump, plugged pickup screen, etc. Some have real effects while others are red herrings. If your sounds follow the indicated drop then I'd agree the pressure problem was probably real.

One or more solvent flushes may get sludge out, if that's the problem, but harsh flushes have issues. A couple hours to inspect the bottom end is time well spent. Flush one chunk somewhere bad and you can starve/spin a bearing.

Just more questions that come to mind:
Have you seen low/zero pressure since your last flush? Bubbles on the dipstick? Are you getting clean drains after the flushes? What did the drained oil look/feel like each time? Did you open the old filters?

You're right, this has drifted from the Lucas topic but it's definitely lubrication-oriented. Let us know how it goes.

David
 
wht do u guys think of marvel mystery oil i usually use a half quart at every oil change is this stuff any good i use it on a 351 ford engine
 
quote:

Originally posted by jc1990:
wht do u guys think of marvel mystery oil i usually use a half quart at every oil change is this stuff any good i use it on a 351 ford engine

JC, here's a previous discussion that hit on MMO and Rislone...

Marvel Mystery Oil or Rislone?

They're basically solvents. Most seem to say if you have viscosity problem pick a different oil to start with instead of mixing up your own. If you're trying to clean the engine then that's better done at the end of the previous oil's life instead of modifying the new.

David
 
I've learned a great deal from all the posters at this site.

It seems to me that if I have a lubrication related problem. A problem that makes me think I need to add some product to my motor oil to stabilize, thicken, thin or what ever.

Then I'm using the wrong oil to start with.

Am I being too simplistic?
 
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