Originally Posted By: Clevy
Cera-tec is the ultimate additive.
It works the same as mos2 however it uses nano particles of ceramic to create the barrier and the layer is so hard you need a belt sander to grind it off. I have 6 cans of it and will only use it in a newer engine because its so hard to find.
That is the greatest additive on earth. I love the stuff.
It's better than mos2 and lasts 10 times as long between treatments.
Clevy could you give us an update.
We finally got the 2002 Polaris 325 ATV engine top end torn down and removed the connecting rod after getting 11.5 hours of run time at a fast idle on the engine running Liqui Moly Ceratec in Mobil 1 10w-40 High Mileage engine oil.
We bought this 'project' ATV with a known damaged engine due to being ran bone dry of motor oil when the guy blew an oil cooler line when running down the road. It turned out the crankshaft was chewed up as well as the connecting rod after being ran with the rod inserts spinning in the rod cap.
Picked up a used rod off of eBay and went back with Standard size rod inserts and a new set of rings after we smoothed off the crankshaft some 180 grit emery strips by hand with the crankshaft still in the ATV (did not split the engine case) then hit it a bit with 800 grit paper.
After about 10 total hours of idle time with it setting in an open shop I could hear a knock when getting on the throttle hard at no load.
While there was little hope it would hold up I was surprise after over 11 hours of run time as noted above that it still was making good power and on tear down the rod inserts were getting thinner but had NOT spun and the used connecting rod looked fine after about 11.5 hours. The crankshaft still has groves in it from the initial damage of running without motor oil but the groves now feel smooth in the direction of rotation but are still there if you feel from side to side of the rod journal on the crank.
The test of Liqui Moly Ceratec was a success in that the kids good some wrenching experience after two tear downs and one assembly and we know the Ceratec does lay down a smooth glassy looking coat in places of imperfections on inspecting the cylinder and cam on tear down.
We only had a window of about 6 hours where it was warm enough to tear down and look at the parts after the engine had idled for the 11+ hours with Ceratec in the oil at the rate per Liqui Moly states on the can.
Since Sunday afternoon we have now had two back to back ice storms and currently the lights are blinking and going off from time to time. The rain stopped a couple hours ago but tree limbs are popping as they freeze harder and the wind is getting stronger.
At some point (maybe March) since we are having a 'real' winter for the first time in many years I want to get some photos but not sure I have the equipment to do a good job. The glassy finish (on parts that saw a lot of pressure/friction) may rule out the use of a flash.
I can tell you the piston shirts still looked bad. Keep in mind we put the engine back together with the same 12 year old parts that are OEM except for the used rod and new standard size rings and rod bearings that it had when it was driven without motor oil running down a paved road until the farmer heard the engine knocking over the tire and wind noise.
While the cylinder seems to show some taper from but just the piston skirts it seems Liqui Moly Ceratec will NOT leave a ceramic finish on imperfect parts if the is not real friction/pressure between the moving parts of the engine.
We have picked up a very tight bottom end that includes the crank and connecting rod so when we get ready to 'quit' having fun tearing down and rebuilding we and put it back together with a good crank.
We have proved to ourselves that Liqui Moly Ceratec does as Liqui Moly states on their website. For an engine with a bad crank (rough and slightly under size) to run for 1,000,000 revolutions would be hard to explain with just motor oil in my mind. For the first hour it was a struggle for the engine and I expect that was when it was making a lot of metal.
Our control for the evaluation of Liqui Moly Ceratec is a 2001 with the same 325 Polaris ATV engine. We tore it down and put the same new rod bearings and brand of standard size rings using the same motor oil but the crankshaft was very good and the removed rod bearings showed no measurable wear after 13 years of a much harder life than of the 2002 until it blew the oil cooler hose.
The cylinder temps of the 2002 with the bad crank during the first hour of running hit 350F degrees the 2001 as our 'control' never went over 300F degrees but it only was idled for about one hour.
I guess we will put Ceratec in the 'control' ATV at some point but it will be after our Mini Ice Age.