CRX Lee

Just a quickee, anyone had good or bad experience with the snake oil additives like Restore that is supposed to reduce oil use and blow by on a worn engine?

I got my sister an '89 Civic DX sedan with 125k miles a few months ago to be a cheap car and now it is burning oil fast reportedly from a tired bottom end (probably guides and stem seals too). I am looking for any temporary stopgap options as I know by Fall I will probably have to replace the engine for her. She is in Rochester, NY and will be coming here for me to go through here brakes this weekend and I'd like to find a way to buy a little time if possible. I would usually poo-poo this kind of stuff but we have nothing to lose but the cost of the stuff and could use a little more time.

Warren

Tried 20W-50 yet?

Warren

CRX Lee

Haven't gone the "fat oil" route yet but will if we need to as the last resort. Did move her from 5w30 to 10w40. Several companies offer oils for high mileage cars but I think that is only a seal swelling additive to stop or slow gasket leaks. This thing isn't leaking, it is burning every drop. She says there is a cloud if she punches it so that sounds like rings to me. I am going to dump her breather and PCV into a catch bottle this weekend rather then recirculate it and blow it down the intake manifold to be burned.

Back in college I had a mosquito fogger '78 Mazda GLC (1200 ccs and 48 hp -woo-hoo!) that I ran 20w50 and it was the final straw that killed it. I even ran Motor Honey goo in it but it just burned as thicker smoke and sat in the sump.

krshultz

One guy around here who has been driving on track for years, honestly told me Marvel Mystery Oil is good stuff. I tried it once to fix something i thought was an oil burning problem, but turned out to be a pretty big leak instead, so I don't have any useful before and after data.

I'd probably put thick non-synth oil in it until it blows up.

You might also hit up Phil Phillips - he's an Amsoil guy and may have suggestions/experiences.

CRX Lee

I use Marvel's Mystery Oil as air tool lubricant but it is pretty thing stuff although I hear it has good lubing characteristics.

Years ago I visited Roush Racing HQ in Detroit when they were still building the Winston Cup engines up north and they were using a mix of STP and Marvel's as engine assembly pre-lube.

krshultz

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CRX Lee &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I use Marvel's Mystery Oil as air tool lubricant</TD></TR></TABLE>

Interesting.

Back to your issue...I've always heard that these additives bond not only to the cylinder walls, but also tiny oil passages within the motor, which would be a bad thing. But, if you already suspect the engine has got to be replaced soon, I'd experiment. Why not? Maybe select one of the additives, and do a before-and-after compression test.

I will say that a 125K mile DX motor using that much oil sounds like a victim of neglect...

CRX Lee

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by krshultz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I will say that a 125K mile DX motor using that much oil sounds like a victim of neglect...</TD></TR></TABLE>

To me 125k on a Honda means that it should be just getting into it's prime but I am sure it was greatly neglected. It is an automatic previously ownedby a kid for a time so i am sure he wailed on it. It had many signs of physical abuse so mechanical abuse and neglect are pretty much a given. He dumped it at an auction, bought by our junk yard as a fixer then I bought it cheap. You take your chances but my sister needed a no monthly payment car.

I think I'll try the Restore stuff and see what it does. If it can reduce the smoking for 3-6 months then I'll do a fresh engine for it. Thanks for the inputs.

0philstireservice

Hi Lee.........For a street car the Restore might temporarily massage the problem. I have used it in customers cars for years, it is better than most "snake oils". It does work on some high mileage cars as a quick fix. If it was a race car or track car I wouldn't advise it, it would just dissipate and allow more damage to occur. In this heat we have been having I am using Amsoil 20W50 series 2000 racing oil. It actually gives you more protection as well increase horsepower and acceleration at high rpm's.....perfect for the high revving Hondas and Acuras.

XR4racer

Try some "Motor Honey" for a temp fix... helped on an old car a long time ago, but depends on how big the leak is.

JHill

A friend of mine used to work at a really cheesy used car lot, and they would use these "engine rebuild kits". They were little pellets that looked like rabbit ****, and they dropped them into the spark plug holes, which would melt and fill gaps when you started the engine, and viola, a car that doesn't burn oil for a while.

Lee, just trying to share a story really, I don't know if I would ever recommend this for someone looking for a real solution. But it is also something to keep in mind for anyone looking to buy a car from a cheesy used car lot!

Jim

CRX Lee

Will try Restore first, the Rabbit Pellets if that fails.

Thanks all

Austin

BG Products RF-7 if you can find it...works rather well..



BG RF-7 is a specially developed formula for engine oil which helps increase engine compression and power by increasing the viscosity index of the oil. It also helps seal rings to increase compression and reduce blow-by. BG RF-7 contains additives which keep the engine oil from oxidizing or thickening, and it protects internal parts from corrosive damage. It will help reduce oil consumption and exhaust smoke and will reduce lifter and valve noise. BG RF-7 is compatible with any petroleum-base oil.


Here is a link to find your local distributor, here, their injector cleaner 44K works damn well, as well as their Syncro Shift.

Austin

Eee Pee

Lee, read up on http://www.bobistheoilguy.com

Excellent Forums, and a lot of info there. A lot.

Austin

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Eee Pee &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Lee, read up on http://www.bobistheoilguy.com

Excellent Forums, and a lot of info there. A lot.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Good info...but they don't have any info on the BG products, main reason is that they're a little pricey, and they're hard to obtain as they're normally only sold to automotive repair shops, not to retail outlets...the local sales rep lives next to me.

Austin

Rodney

lee, im sent

SicNA94TegGsR

Yeah i have used the BG product in my 90 DX, and it did a good job when I was using it.

Eee Pee

Austin, any ingredient list on the BG stuff?