Oil treatments.

[Suldat]

There has been alot of hype about treatments that will "fix" your old engines poor compression, and stop oil burning, some of these that I have seen seem like nothing more than a higher grade oil, do any of them work long term, and how well (if at all) do they work?

[Sluttypatton]

At best they wont cause any harm, at worst they will damage your engine. For instance, teflon should never be added to motors because over time it will damage your motor. I have never encountered a magic fix-it additive that actually worked. Don't bother with them, if they worked, why would anyone take their cars to mechanics? Ever seen a mechanic dump slick 50 in a motor? Probably not.

[ghostguy6]

They're TOTAL CRAP! they are for the most part, designed to make you think the problem is fixed when really all you did was cover it up for the time being. Engine Stop Leak for example causes the gaskets to swell up to 20 perecnt larger, which may actually stop a slow sweat but if used on a regular basis will cause the gaskets to become so swelled that the sweat will become a full blown leak. There are additives which claim to extend the life of your oil by revitaliving your oil, what a load of shit! if your oil is that old that it has broken down no additive is going to save it, go spend $20 and get an oil change dont waste $15 on some useless additive that may give you a 1000 extra km at best. Engine flushes(detergents (naptha mostly)added to the oil to remove varnish build up) are ok if used sparringly. basically what you do is add solvents to the oil run the engine for 20 min or so then change your oil. This works fine for the most part but remember some of the solvent is always left behind, ready to start breaking down your new oil once you restart your engine.If you dont change your oil and leave the full amount of solvents in, you will be looking for a new engine.( a good way to convince your girlfriend to let you install the bigger, badder beast youve had your eye on)

[Suldat]

I am asking this because I have a 92 Ford Explorer with God only knows how many miles on it (the OD only goes up to 99,999mi and then goes around) and it smells like burnt oil when it runs, I was hoping that there was some way to restore the compression. Oh well do yall know of any good motor-tranny swaps for an explorer?

[ghostguy6]

If you were to do an engine flush it might help clean the carbon build up off the valves. have you actually done a compression test? and if so what were the results? It may be you just need a vavle job or new compression rings.