Zinc Additive

[mopar73dge]

Has anyone used any zinc additive in their older engines? would Marvel Mystery oil be an alternative?

 

[moparnation74]

Just run an oil that is designed for classic cars....VR1, Joe Gibbs, Brad Penn, Lucas.....

 

[WileERobby]

Zddp

 

[mopar73dge]

ok thanks for the advice

 

[mopar73dge]

What 45.00 for one QT of Lucas! I don't think so I think I will use the additive instead.

 

[mopar73dge]

That was for a 5QT jug...

 

[Bruzilla]

I used Marvel Mystery Oil for the first time when I fired up the 440 I got for my car. It had sat for 10 years, and was pretty grody inside. I added four quarts of regular oil and one of Marvel, and ran it for about 30 minutes. I drained the oil and it was just BLACK with crud that had been inside the engine.

I added four more quarts of oil and another quart of Marvel, ran it again, and the oil was dirty but much cleaner.

I did it again, and the third time the oil was about clean, so Marvel works great for old engines that have been sitting and getting lots of crud forming inside.

 

[monaco66coupe]

I buy the lucas zinc additive part#10036 8 ounce bottle,a case of 12 for under $100.00 You can buy it online for 10 bucks a bottle, good for two oil changes. and 4 ounces will raise five quarts of regular oil to 2000 plus parts per million. In 1968 1050 minimum was required. To help cold starting I use rotella diesel 15-45W as well. It resists drain down, and the lifters are much quieter, even at -10 degrees. Five quart bottle is 14 bucks at tractor supply. so an oil change is in the 25.00 Range. I have been doing this since 2008 with no problems with any of the engines.

 

[PurpleBeeper]

Yes I have & ZDDP (zinc dialkylthiophosphate)...yep, that's a mouthful..... is a zinc compound that temporarily (say 6 months) fills in little scratches in your bearings mainly, but probably cylinder walls/rings too. It has been used for MANY years, though I believe I just read a technical article that says it might not play nice with catalytic converters or diesel DPF filters...can't remember exactly, but our cars don't have either of those.

You can buy it as an additive OR you can just use "high mileage" oil you buy at the parts stores (it already has ZDDP in it) and the stuff works. It reduces bearing wear too & has some other uses at reducing wear in all kinds of other things where metal rubs on metal.....say metal rollers in a steel sheet metal processing plant for example.

I've analyzed Marvel's Mystery Oil.....it has like 20+ ingredients in it and does a lot of interesting stuff. It is VERY old-school chemistry. The one negative I see about it is that it's got a chlorinated solvent in it which will eat at aluminum. My stepfather (40 yr diesel mechanic) used to use that on everything except his corn flakes...he LOVED it.... but I wouldn't recommend it as an oil additive for your motor. Stick with ZDDP containing oil or straight ZDDP additive in my opinion.

 

[Yatzee]

Has anyone used any zinc additive in their older engines? would Marvel Mystery oil be an alternative?

Brad Penn is about as good as it comes but they were recently purchased by another company whose name I can't remember. New name same oil.

 

[69a100]

I have never had a problem in the 35+ years of using a can of STP oil Treatment with every oil change. If it's good enough for Andy, it's good enough for me!

 

[Dennis H]

Lots of advice and opinions here. I use Amsoil Signature Synthetic 10-40 in the 440. High zinc, and additives to massage seals. 0-30 in the modern Hemis.

 

[The Rebel]

Now called Penn Grade. Here's the link to the discussion: http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/brad-penn-fyi.134066/

Brad Penn is about as good as it comes but they were recently purchased by another company whose name I can't remember. New name same oil.

 

[67belvedere/225]

we use lucas in all are british cars we service , and i use it my slant six
never had any problems , and we just repair vintage british and older european cars since 1992

 

[RT K_line]

The last diesel shop I worked at was a lucas dealer and I would recommend their oil and additive. The owner had an older 7.3 and serviced it with lucas and never had an injector or high pressure oil pump changed in almost 30 years. Unheard-of to me at the time. So yes I like Lucas products.

 

[mopar73dge]

I am glad I asked thanks for all the replies. I have always used Marvel on my rebuilt since after the break-in on my 318 over the last 55000 miles. Once you know there is something better or discover a better way you tend to want to do it. Thanks for all the information, I will start using Lucas additive and see if there is any noticeable difference other than the difference you can't see which is needed for the health of the motor.

 

[monaco66coupe]

I had a 383 go bad back in 2008 after 500 miles, so I learned the hard way. I used to start the cars in the winter dreading the lifter and other noise at -10 or so. Now, the cars start right up, have no lifter noise even at that temp, and the oil pressure comes up right away. and when they warmed up, they have the nicest singing sound to them, like they want to go,go,go!
Now, some 108 octane thrown in, and the 440 sounds like 1967 all over again! That throttle response is awesome. hey it is only 6 bucks a gallon! ARGH!

 

[tommyg29]

Yes, what they said.
If your engine is anywhere near original (no rollers etc), you MUST use oil with zinc in it, and zddp is probably the most popular additive. A lot of the good old school stuff that used to be in oils that our engines were designed in mind with, have been phased out for various reasons, and most typical modern oils will badly starve certain wear areas. Ive heard of engines ruined very quickly without the right additives.

 

[khryslerkid]

You can over do the zddp also. Like useing an zink additive with oil that already has it.

Either use regular oil without and add the additive or just use oil with it already in there. I'd prefer the latter. Oils like Brad Penn are specially formulated and adding something else changes all of that.

 

[747mopar]

I've used the treatments from Lucas and their oil as well with no issues but recently switched to Schaeffers. We use their lubes at work and have been really impressed with the results. I've noticed a big improvement in oil pressure drop once warmed up in comparison to the other "top brands". I'm actually thinking about going back to a factory pump now, maintained 50-70 psi is overkill and the 50 psi is when it's pulled down to 1,700 rpm in 6th!