Lucas Oil Stabilizer helping

I guess the proof is in the pudding. No smoke on start up this morning. Good, bad, or indifferent it is doing something.

Vehicle is spec’d for 5W/30. I’ve tried 10W/30 and 10W/40. What’s next, 15W/40?
 
I guess the proof is in the pudding. No smoke on start up this morning. Good, bad, or indifferent it is doing something.

Vehicle is spec’d for 5W/30. I’ve tried 10W/30 and 10W/40. What’s next, 15W/40?
Instead of fixing the real problem you're masking it, without even understandimg what the real issue is. What can I say? Keep using Lucas, and good luck 🤞!
 
I guess the proof is in the pudding. No smoke on start up this morning. Good, bad, or indifferent it is doing something.

Vehicle is spec’d for 5W/30. I’ve tried 10W/30 and 10W/40. What’s next, 15W/40?
Do you understand the technical basis for the comments made here? I wonder, since using a 15W-40 would not be materially different than the 10W-40 you’ve already used.
 
Do you understand the technical basis for the comments made here? I wonder, since using a 15W-40 would not be materially different than the 10W-40 you’ve already used.
If the rings are sticky or worn out, put some sticky goo on them, and everything will be a-okay.
 
Just because you no longer see the signs of your rings eating themselves doesn't mean your rings aren't still eating themselves. A thick polymer may mask the issue temporarily, but the problem is still there and will continue to get worse.

The much better solution here is a better oil, preferably one with ester and alkylated naphthalene, that can clean the coked rings to free them up and condition internal seals that may be leaking.
 
Just because you no longer see the signs of your rings eating themselves doesn't mean your rings aren't still eating themselves. A thick polymer may mask the issue temporarily, but the problem is still there and will continue to get worse.

The much better solution here is a better oil, preferably one with ester and alkylated naphthalene, that can clean the coked rings to free them up and condition internal seals that may be leaking.
The OP should try the HPL Engine Cleaner probably. It might clean up his rings and other parts of the engine: https://www.advlubrication.com/coll...roducts/engine-cleaner?variant=40836981883073

I might run it for one OCI in my wife's 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe SE, just to "be safe". It's a GDI engine. That is, when I get it back from the body shop, it was in a minor fender bender.
 
The compression was pretty decent when I had it checked a year ago. So I don’t think that it is a ring issue. I was told that the valve guides were bad. I don’t quite understand the mechanics of that. My twin got the mechanics/carpentry genes.
 
Smoke on start up is more a valve guide or valve seal problem.

I don’t think you can clean your way out of that, but going really thick on oil might help with the leaking into the cylinders. There are some potential downsides to really thick oil.

What’s stopping you from replacing the guides and seals?
 
The compression was pretty decent when I had it checked a year ago. So I don’t think that it is a ring issue. I was told that the valve guides were bad. I don’t quite understand the mechanics of that. My twin got the mechanics/carpentry genes.
Try a high mileage oil, as I already suggested. If it's valve guide seals, it can sometimes bring them back enough that the smoking stops. Right now, you are moving molasses around, so not enough of it is getting on or around the guides to smoke. That's not a good thing.

Maxlife would be a good one if you can get it locally:

I'd give that a go in the 10w-30, if that doesn't work, step up to their 10w-40 or even 20w-50 (red bottle) if necessary.
 
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not enough of it is getting on or around the guides to smoke
Bingo!

The OP's valve stem seals are probably leaking.

I'd give that a go in the 10w-30, if that doesn't work, step up to their 10w-40 or even 20w-50 (red bottle) if necessary.
My two cents: Valvoline High Mileage Synthetic 5W-30 should work as well. IIRC has seal-swell esters. It might take a couple of OCIs to see the effects.

Maybe HPL's Engine Cleaner oil could also work in a slightly higher concentration.

Lucas is just a cheap oil thickener sold at a ridiculous markup.
 
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It seems logical, doesn't it?
In a normally functioning engine, I would agree 1000 percent. But as stated, my engine isn’t functioning normally. And a mechanical fix would not be worth the investment in a 31 year old vehicle with a rough body. They same could be said of gasoline additives. If your fuel isn’t working properly, buy a better fuel. Isn’t an oil that is heavier than spec’d just, in effect, a supplement that is trying to compensate for a mechanical shortcoming?
 
In a normally functioning engine, I would agree 1000 percent. But as stated, my engine isn’t functioning normally. And a mechanical fix would not be worth the investment in a 31 year old vehicle with a rough body. They same could be said of gasoline additives. If your fuel isn’t working properly, buy a better fuel. Isn’t an oil that is heavier than spec’d just, in effect, a supplement that is trying to compensate for a mechanical shortcoming?
Except that actual gasoline and oil additive packages are not what you think. They are precise formulations, tested, and certified/approved for their intended applications. And you won't be able to pour real additives out of a bottle at room temperature. That's how viscous and dense they are.

Lucas Oil Stabilizer is not an oil additive. It's an overpriced oil thickener from the same era when my grandfather, God rest his soul, was a boy. And he passed about fifteen years ago at 86 years old.
 
It's garbage, snake oil, ruins engines, yada yada. The oil consumption issue was reduced drastically so molasses or not it worked. If I had a 30+ year old vehicle that was worth nothing (no offense meant) I'd use whatever worked for me. At this point nursing it along to keep it alive outshines everything else. I've used Restore on old beaters in the past and it kept them alive. We're not dealing with brand new engines in this scenario, desperate times call for desperate measures.
 
It's garbage, snake oil, ruins engines
That'd be a highly accurate description of Lucas Oil Stabilizer.

yada yada
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The oil consumption issue was reduced drastically so molasses or not it worked.
Less oil circulation is not the solution in this instance. It's a short-term fix that will ultimately destroy an already tired engine.

If I had a 30+ year old vehicle that was worth nothing I'd use whatever worked for me.
Considering how expensive everything is and how bleak and tortured the future looks, applying some common sense to keep an old and tired vehicle alive takes precedence over "I want to be right." All of us are here to help, not to argue.

Conclusively, the vehicle in question is valued at precisely "priceless" to the OP. I've been in the very situation where all I had was a 30-some-year-old rust bucket that some dim-whit mechanic destroyed by incorrectly performing a transmission fluid change. I was left stranded and walking to work for a few months until I managed to buy another POS vehicle (it had numerous mechanical issues that cascaded into problems that no oil supplement could "nurse") that kept me afloat for a couple of years, which allowed me to buy a brand new vehicle (nothing fancy, it was a base Mazda 3). I have never used Lucas Oil Stabilizer in any of those. No fluid can fix mechanical problems. A seal conditioner and an engine cleaner are about the last few things one can try before fixing the actual problem. When you need your mode of transportation the most, just "nursing it along" doesn't cut it.
 
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That'd be a highly accurate description of Lucas Oil Stabilizer.


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Less oil circulation is not the solution in this instance. It's a short-term fix that will ultimately destroy an already tired engine.


Considering how expensive everything is and how bleak and tortured the future looks, applying some common sense to keep an old and tired vehicle alive takes precedence over "I want to be right." All of us are here to help, not to argue.

Conclusively, the vehicle in question is valued at precisely "priceless" to the OP. I've been in the very situation where all I had was a 30-some-year-old rust bucket that some dim-whit mechanic destroyed by incorrectly performing a transmission fluid change. I was left stranded and walking to work for a few months until I managed to buy another POS vehicle (it had numerous mechanical issues that cascaded into problems that no oil supplement could "nurse") that kept me afloat for a couple of years, which allowed me to buy a brand new vehicle (nothing fancy, it was a base Mazda 3). I have never used Lucas Oil Stabilizer in any of those. No fluid can fix mechanical problems. A seal conditioner and an engine cleaner are about the last few things one can try before fixing the actual problem. When you need your mode of transportation the most, just "nursing it along" doesn't cut it.
I've been in those 30 year old junker shoes several times, even lived in my '65 Mercury station wagon for some time. Obviously, if the means were there to upgrade the OP would do so. Sometimes nursing it along is the only choice available. It appears to me that some have their noses in the air and have never dealt with just trying to stay alive. I recall picking up aluminum cans by the thousands to sell them in order to buy gas so I could work. Enough of this, I stand by my beliefs. I'm not saying the product in question is good, I am saying that it cut the oil consumption.
 
atleast with STP itl make you feel like richard petty lol!
You can use Lucas Oil Stabilizer as hair gel.

I've been in those 30 year old junker shoes several times, even lived in my '65 Mercury station wagon for some time. Obviously, if the means were there to upgrade the OP would do so. Sometimes nursing it along is the only choice available. It appears to me that some have their noses in the air and have never dealt with just trying to stay alive. I recall picking up aluminum cans by the thousands to sell them in order to buy gas so I could work. Enough of this, I stand by my beliefs. I'm not saying the product in question is good, I am saying that it cut the oil consumption.
I think we're in agreement that we do whatever we need to when it comes to survavival. Been there, done that, and if things keep going the way they are, I'll be back there with many others here.

My point is that I advocate to make smart choices and not reactionary ones. Lucas is a short term solution that at best leads to sludge buildup and at worse it kills your old engine. It's just not worth it.

And since I haven't seen the OPs engine, I'd try to clean it up first using this product: https://www.advlubrication.com/coll...roducts/engine-cleaner?variant=40836981883073

Follow the instructions.

Use a high mileage or Euro oil after that. Quaker State Euro 5W-40 is a very decent choice priced at $19/5 quart jug at Walmart. It's currently running in our 2017 Santa Fe. It's good stuff.

My advice, and what others have recommended have nothing to do with having our noses up in the air. We're genuinely trying to help the OP get more life out of his vehicle. And in the end, it might actually be worth fixing it.
 
I had toyed with the idea of upgrading in the near future. But as bleak as things look, not very likely even if I could afford it. I find myself being very cognizant of the overall economic outlook and find myself changing a lot of habits. I don’t unnecessarily idle my vehicle for any reason. This week, the bicycle will get new tubes and I will be pedaling to work. I had been contemplating a job change and that too may not be as the economic outlook sours! I may wind up putting new heads in the smoker just to prolong its life. Last time I checked, rebuilt heads were $300 each. $600 buys a lot of oil!
 
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