engine oil treatment

   / engine oil treatment #1  

cchoate

Gold Member
Joined
May 12, 2002
Messages
381
Location
Near Buffalo, NY
Tractor
Kubota GL3430 HST
Does anybody use any of the oil treatments such as slick 50 in their diesel engines? I've read the ratings and I have yet to find one that is rated for a diesel. I do change the oil every 40 hours reguardless anyway. (Mobil 1 synthetic 10w-30 on a b7500)
 
   / engine oil treatment #2  
I'm sure there will be some differences of opinion on this one, but I don't use any of those additives in any engine. Their sales pitches sound impressive, and maybe some are, but I think they're just a waste of money. I've noticed the owners manuals on both my car and pickup (gasoline engines) specifically recommend against using them; some will do more harm than good.
 
   / engine oil treatment #3  
In 1982 I used some Slick 50 in my Mazda pickup truck. My brother-in-law was a South Texas distributer at the time. Put another 150k on the vehicle after putting the suppliment in. I could not tell if the slick 50 did anything at all.

Now I did change the oil every 3000 miles with Penn 10W-30 and a Fram filter.

Would I use an additive again? Not a chance.

I believe that proper oil change interval with quality oil and quality filters ( I no longer use FRAM, cut one in half and decide for your self) has more to do with longivity of an engine than anything else.

CCHOATE

After I wrote the above, a question started yelling at me from the back row of my brain. Please keep in mind I don't know anything about Kabota tractors and little about diesel engines in general.

In your original post you stated you were using Mobil 1 10W-30 in your diesel.

I use Mobil 1 5w-30 in both my gas engine vehicles and did not remember a diesel rating on the oil. So over to the Mobil site I went. Discovered Mobil 1 has a CF rating and Mobil 1 had no TBN level listed.

Is CF ok in a Kabota engine? Would a higher rated oil such as Delovac 1 ( Mobil's synthetic diesel oil) be better?
 
   / engine oil treatment #4  
I don't have the references any more, they were on my other computer. Slick 50 was ordered by the Federal Trade Commission to cease and desist from advertizing that their product increased power, engine longevity or increased fuel mileage unless they could prove it. So they quit advertizing that it could because it didn't. They nailed Split Fire sparkplugs, too. If you go looking for the order the name of Slick 50's company is Blue Coral, I believe. In other words, the stuff is snake oil.
 
   / engine oil treatment #5  
Oil additives are a completely unnecessary waste of money, and in some instances, can be detrimental to lubrication.
 
   / engine oil treatment #6  
<font color=blue>Slick 50 was ordered by the Federal Trade Commission to cease and desist from advertizing that their product increased power, engine longevity or increased fuel mileage unless they could prove it.</font color=blue>

I thought it went beyond that. I heard something about a class-action lawsuit against these guys because of destroyed engines. I guess the idea is that this stuff is supposed to coat engine surfaces to reduce friction. Apparently it does. The problem, as I heard it, was that it also coats the tiny passages that need to have oil flowing through them, and blocks them.

I may be wrong.. this is my memory of the situation.

HTH,
Bob
 
   / engine oil treatment #7  
You're right, I just couldn't come up with the references if some Slick 50 lover called me on it. It was Road Rider, I believe, motorcycle magazine that had the best article on that stuff. As an aside, Dupont didn't even want to sell Blue Coral the PTFE for Slick 50, they sued Dupont and the court ordered Dupont to sell it to them. Dupont insisted that the stuff was not intended for that application and wouldn't work, they were afraid that they'd get sued over ruined engines. I hope getting sued and being forced by the court to supply it is a good defence against being sued and having to buy a bunch of engines.
 
   / engine oil treatment #8  
The oil additives using PTFE (Teflon) are all bad news, it appears. The posts about the feds' ruling against Slick 50 and about Du Pont losing court battles to keep companies from buying PTFE to put in oil are correct, but there's more. At least one reference book on fuels and lubricants mentions cases of oil starvation from PTFE particles clogging oil passageways leading to engine failure. In some cases involving blown engines, PTFE was found on the tops of the pistons after forcing itself past the rings. At least one light aircraft crash is believed to be from engine failure from PTFE clogging oil passageways.

Studies showed damage to rings and ring lands from PTFE particles added to oil. Apparently, aligned one way the particles do their job as lube, but in a different alignment they can actually act as an abrasive and cause damage. Of course, just how these particles align when suspended in oil would largely be random.

People who have switched to synthetics after having used additives with PTFE have reported that loads of glop gets dislodged by the synthetic with its detergent effect. Guess where the glop came from.

The only oil additive I have used that really seems to work as advertised is Mr. Moly/Molyslip, which contains molybdenum, which is a genuine antifriction additive used in other oils and greases. Here are two websites, the first US and the second Canadian: http://www.molyslip.com I still use Mr. Moly Engine-Aide in my Mitsubishi D2000 II (= Satoh Bull). Teflon is a good product in its designed applications, but not in engine oil!
 
   / engine oil treatment
  • Thread Starter
#9  
From my understanding, "cc & cd" are no longer used and "cf" is now a higher rating for diesel engines. I am now glad I ask these questions because you guys have lots of great info. Thanks for helping me not waste my money on any slick 50.
 
   / engine oil treatment #10  
<font color=blue>"cc & cd" are no longer used and "cf" is now a higher rating</font color=blue>

True, and I think you'll find the most recent and highest rating right now is CH-4.
 

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