They Blamed MMO

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Finz
Yes, new radiator and all the fun stuff that goes along with it. Not a hint of high temps since radiator was replaced

The car is running very well... nice power, good MPG, no complaints except oil usage and, now a tick that is turning into a knock

I know you're a huge advocate of MMO - frankly, that's why I named the thread as such hoping it would peak your interest

I haven't changed the "red" plugs yet and can't say I noticed any significant difference from the last time they were changed... (20k miles ago..?)

I don't believe for a second that the plugs turned red because of the MMO, but it's just weird..

If I could show you the pics, I think you would all agree...? Maybe not



Like I said before I never had that problem, and from the sound of it the plugs are still fine. OTOH I never ran an engine under those conditions either, so the issue along with the MMO might have changed the color. The point is the plugs are still in service so no harm, no foul. My suggestion would be not to use MMO anymore if you feel its a problem.

I'd like to see the pics of the plugs.

Now lets see if this turns into an MMO bash and gets locked.

 

[suspiciousmind]

You might consider a "piston soak". Dump a 50/50 mix of acetone/atf (or concotion of your choice)through the spark plug holes and let it soak overnight. Put a towel over the empty plug wells and spin the engine with the starter (disconnect coil pack/cam angle sensor/etc first?). Drain the oil and refill.

Overheating can fry the oil control rings and cause them to stick leading to lots of oil usage.

 

[Falken]

demarpaint, I'd love to know what color my gas is at 640:1 of TC-W3.

I am wondering if a cop sampled my fuel if they'd have questions.

Up here in Canada home heating oil and farm gas and diesels are all colored to indicate the lack of a road improvement levy not being included into the price of the fuel.

I am sure TC-W3 coloring is very nasty stuff. It has to really be visibly colored when premixed.

I will pull my plugs in another 40,000 km or less I'll be sure to post pics on BITOG.

Also, I'd like to take a photo of my piston tops to see if there is a slab of carbon on them or if they are clean.

I use Shell gas or another Top Tier if I am stuck, and add 2-3 oz's of TC-W3 to every tank of gas.

The TC-W3 I am using now is Shell under the CT Formula 1 brand. It smells very ammonia, and gave me good accelerator response after a few trips.

Good stuff! Felt like when I add a whole bottle of Red Line Complete to the gas tank.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Falken
demarpaint, I'd love to know what color my gas is at 640:1 of TC-W3.

I am wondering if a cop sampled my fuel if they'd have questions.

Up here in Canada home heating oil and farm gas and diesels are all colored to indicate the lack of a road improvement levy not being included into the price of the fuel.

I am sure TC-W3 coloring is very nasty stuff. It has to really be visibly colored when premixed.

I will pull my plugs in another 40,000 km or less I'll be sure to post pics on BITOG.

Also, I'd like to take a photo of my piston tops to see if there is a slab of carbon on them or if they are clean.

I use Shell gas or another Top Tier if I am stuck, and add 2-3 oz's of TC-W3 to every tank of gas.

The TC-W3 I am using now is Shell under the CT Formula 1 brand. It smells very ammonia, and gave me good accelerator response after a few trips.

Good stuff! Felt like when I add a whole bottle of Red Line Complete to the gas tank.


Sorry I don't have any answers for you.

 

[demarpaint]

Finz- what color is the anti-freeze in that Honda?

 

[Finz]

I've heard so much good stuff about MMO and it's so incredibly cheap I figure what the [censored]?

I'll tell you this: broke out a lawnmower over 4th of July weekend which hadn't been used since... 1998 ish? Nearly ripped my arm off pulling on the cord as it was fighting me the entire time but finally got the sucker started. It was a sputtering fool - rough running, wouldn't idle with shutting down,... a mess

Threw a splash of MMO in the gas tank and by the end of the next day, a baby could have started this thing.

My only proof is that I still have 2 arms but since this is a personal experience, i am sold on this stuff

I have a gallon of TC-W3 ready to go as well but, as far as cleaning, I just don't know if it would lubricate AND clean?

Just a quick clarification on the plugs:
The car overheated last summer (2012).
This June (2013) i yanked those plugs out and the plugs I was to discard looked fine
It is the 4 plugs from this June that are red. a Month old... maybe 2,000 miles


Working on the pics - hope it's not anticlimactic when you see them

 

[Finz]

I'm totally doing a piston soak - got my 19mm wrench all ready to turn the engine

I was thinking of using Kreens but then I was reading about a guy who used his gun cleaning solvents...? That's a little ballsy for me.

So you like Acetone/ATF...? An oz or 2 down the well?

OK - here's the problem with BITOG: I read all these great things to do to a car and I love to tinker (My motto: if something ain't broke, break it so you can play with your tools)

Then I hit up Amazon, right? Buy a truck load of oil filters, specialty tools, O2 sensors, a scythe - for heaven's sake: what in God's name am I going to do with a scythe...?!?

So, I'm slowly but surely going to the poor house with a car that works fine but just has this stupid red tint on the plugs

Talk about OCD

But I AM going to do the piston soak

 

[Finz]

It's green anti-freeze. Been in there since last summer. My newer hondas, I'm told, require Honda's anti-freeze which is blue. But I didn't know about that back then so I just used Prestone 50/50

 

[demarpaint]

Finz-What color is the Anti-Freeze in that car?

 

[Finz]

Originally Posted By: InhalingBullets
I don't believe the MMO caused the color change on the plugs. More than likely it is the oil getting past the rings into the combustion chamber and burning off during ignition. Particularly if the color on the plugs is a similar color to engine varnish. Do some of the plugs have more color than others?


All of the plugs are about the same - all evenly "coated"

It's not a varnish color which is a more golden color

This is more red - like a red/sandy mix

I'm on the home stretch with getting a pic in here - I think

 

[Finz]

demarpaint: The anti-freeze is green... Prestone 50/50 that was installed last summer.

Clean as a whistle

 

[Finz]

I've got to figure out how to make these pics smaller - my apologies

do you agree that this is more red than normal?

And after only a month or 2k miles max?

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: suspiciousmind
You might consider a "piston soak". Dump a 50/50 mix of acetone/atf (or concotion of your choice)through the spark plug holes and let it soak overnight. Put a towel over the empty plug wells and spin the engine with the starter (disconnect coil pack/cam angle sensor/etc first?). Drain the oil and refill.

Overheating can fry the oil control rings and cause them to stick leading to lots of oil usage.



What exactly is the ATF supposed to do. Please. In detail explain your logic

 

[Finz]

Originally Posted By: Rolla07
What is your logic with adding MMO to the engine oil? Why would you regret using Pennzoil High Mileage 10w40? I would try a high mileage oil on its own, and if it still uses, I would go with trying the Motor Oil saver, recommended by Clevy. See this link too: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/long-term-use-of-marvel-mystery-oil.145751/


Rolla07...

The car had this annoying tick. I read a lot about how such a ticking could be caused by a build-up around the lifters so I figured I'd give it a cleaning

Unfortunately, I can't speak for how well or poorly this car was maintained prior to me purchasing it as the service records were sporadic

From what I understand, Mobil 1 is a great oil for cleaning and I used this exclusively for the last 35k miles

But this ticking was constant and bothered me more and more

As for the Pennzoil High Mileage, I think that oil is wonderful but my choice in putting in a 10W-40 was not the smartest move I've ever made... Oil filler cap indicates 5w30 and I'm fairly sure this has been back-spec'd to 20

From what I understand, the HM is on the thicker side already and jumping up a grade was a one-two punch - maybe a bit overkill.

Now, as opposed to a tick at start up, there is a more pronounced "knock". Nothing at start-up but within a minute or 2, gets steadily louder. Not ear shattering but definitely there. I was anxious to get the MMO in there in an effort to reduce the 30 weight oil - I'm at about 20% MMO in the sump

I appreciate the help all... Unless somebody can see why those plugs appear red (to me), I think this horse is well and truly dead. I'm going to move over to the Oil section so as not to fill up this Fuel Additive section with anymore of my nonsense

Again, thank you all for the input

PS: I'll check out that link from Clevy

 

[46Harry]

I've seen the reddish coating on plugs in the past. From what I found, it comes from additives in the gasoline put in at the refinery, I've seen it mostly with Shell gas though gasoline from other refiners can do it too. It shouldn't cause a problem with fouling the plugs. I've used MMO in the gas for more years than I would care to remember and it never caused a reddish coating on the plugs.

 

[Finz]

Originally Posted By: 46Harry
I've seen the reddish coating on plugs in the past. From what I found, it comes from additives in the gasoline put in at the refinery, I've seen it mostly with Shell gas though gasoline from other refiners can do it too. It shouldn't cause a problem with fouling the plugs. I've used MMO in the gas for more years than I would care to remember and it never caused a reddish coating on the plugs.


46Harry - so you see what I'm talking about in the pic above? Reddish, right? Only even seen a more brown or ashen color before

Coincidentally, all of our cars use Shell gasoline - 87 octane if that makes a difference

 

[antiqueshell]

I think the main issue was that your engine was running hot with the radiator leak, and there could have been pockets of steam in the water jacket causing hot spots which may have allowed a small slow head gasket leak to occur.

MMO is not worth using in any vehicle under 35 years old or so.

The company has NEVER provided ANY independent certified tests to prove it does ANYTHING beneficial. The fact that they refuse to do this makes me suspect that the product is DETRIMENTAL to modern engines. People don't call this snake oil by accident.

Have the car cooling system pressure tested for a HG leak.
As well as a compression test.

 

[demarpaint]

That plug looks to me like it was getting very hot, and cooked deposits onto it. That would go hand in hand with the leak you daughter had. I would pressure test the cooling system and rule out a bad head gasket.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: 46Harry
I've seen the reddish coating on plugs in the past. From what I found, it comes from additives in the gasoline put in at the refinery, I've seen it mostly with Shell gas though gasoline from other refiners can do it too. It shouldn't cause a problem with fouling the plugs. I've used MMO in the gas for more years than I would care to remember and it never caused a reddish coating on the plugs.


YES! I remember seeing this some years ago also from some gasoline brands with no additional additives being used. This is not from MMO 100%.

 

[Roadkingnc]

The red deposits are usually cause by octane booster in fuel additives, not by mmo. Run some fuel through it with nothing added and it will go away.