Hi All,

 

 

Just a few questions about engine flush and some of the additives I saw when I went to A1 Discount Autoparts earlier (don't know if they're a chain or not). I went in to get a few bits and bobs to enable me to change the oil (tray for catching the waste in and all that) and also some lubricant for the climate control sensor fan in the roof which occasionally starts shreeking like a banshee or something.

 

So anyway I was completely boggled by the number of engine flushes, petrol additives, radiator additives (for blocking holes), transmission fluid additives (ditto) and the like.

 

I'm following Simon's (oilman) advice on flushing the engine and changing the oil, so since I don't know what's in there at the moment I'm going to flush with the new oil and then refill. However, one of the guys in the shop tried to sell me some engine flush which I politely but firmly refused, so I was just wondering if people use this stuff and if it's any good? Can it react adversely with some engine oils to produce a solid precipitate or other chemicals that are harmful to the engine? I've gone for fully synthetic Silkolene Pro-S 10w50 (I know not everybody likes this but I can always change it if it doesn't turn out to be up to much... slightly expensive experiment though).

 

Next question is about additives. My own personal and very uneducated opinion on these things is that using them to plug holes and leaks in whatever system you add them to is a bad idea: if they're thick enough to do that then they're thick enough to hinder the operation of the system (engine, transmission). Not only that but I can't see there's any guarantee that they won't react with your engine oil or transmission fluid in some way. These things do after all get pretty hot and as I remember from my days doing chemistry if you want to kick off a lot of chemical reactions guess what... just heat the stuff up. That said there are bound to be people on here who know a lot more than me so what do you lot have to say about it?

 

BTW I drive a manual TT if that makes any difference.

 

 

Cheers,

Bart

well dont use radweld or any horrible additives ... poor fella posted last night that he used an additive to stop his car smoking ... not a good idea ... I would recommend following Oilman's advice, he knows his stuff for sure ...

good question, am looking forward to replies as i have been thinking of adding 'slick 50' when i change the oil, have always used it b4 in other cars i have owned with no apparent ill effects.

No no ... dont bother .. leave it. all IMHO ...

Hi Chris, yeah that was the other thing that sparked this off in my mind: I read that thread earlier on. Poor bloke, that's going to cost mucho £££ to sort out. :( But my knowledge of mechanics is pretty poor (actually very poor) so I thought it was still worth asking around. Reckon I'll probably stay clear of them and stick with Simon's advice.

Cheers,

Bart

yea, you do that mate ... I have added zx1 before to my Zed when I did an oil change about 6000 miles ago .. no problems with that at all ....

 

sure someone will post up some good advice though

Dont bother with slick 50, modern day oils have all the

additives it gives you anyway, theres no need for it.

I flushed my z engine out twice in 2yrs, with normal

flushing oil from a motorists shop, then always re-filled

with magnatec. Never had any probs.

i flushed my zxtt engine with the forte engine flush, we use a lot of it at work on 'everyday' cars, we had a 106 pug, which wuold not pass the cat test, flushed & changed the oil, & it then passed the test! also had 2 escort 1.8 diesels flushed & they both start so much better (the rep will actually take compression readings before & after flushing, & in nearly all cases, they will have gone up), got to say though, i never noticed any difference on the 300, but it hasnt harmed anything yet!

I was talking to a mechanic about engine fliush and he said on high milage engine it can be a bad thing because it dislodges old oil that has helped to seal gaskets thus causing them to fail and causing oil leaks.

Don't flush or use nasty addatives as they are a waste of money and can cause more harm than good.

 

We had some tested a while back and the chemists comments were a good enough warning to stay clear - or at least they were for me!

 

General Remarks on Chlorinated Additives.

 

A number of ‘add-on’ additives intended to improve the performance of commercially available automotive lubricants have been marketed in recent years, under such names as ‘Xxtralube ZX-1’, ‘Metol FX-1’, ‘PPL Anti-Friction’ and ‘Activ-8’.All such products share the following characteristics with ‘X-1R Friction Eliminator’:-

 

1)They all contain chlorinated paraffin ‘exteme pressure’(EP) compounds first used in the 1930s in heavily-loaded industrial gearboxes, and in some automotive transmission applications, mainly hypoid gears.

 

2)They all corrode copper-based alloys at moderate temperatures, easily exceeded in all engine, and most transmission applications.This problem was recognised in the 1930s, and chlorinated compounds were never used in transmissions with bronze bearings or gears. No responsible manufacturer ever suggested using them in engines where their increasing activity at high temperatures could lead to piston ring corrosion and bore glazing. (For the same reason, modern ‘hypoid’ additives are not used in engines, even though they are much safer than any chlorinated additive.)

 

3)X-1R Friction Eliminator and its clones are based upon very outdated technology, which was abandoned by responsible lubricant manufacturers for automotive transmission uses in the 1950s. Chlorinated compounds still find applications in metal working, but their use is on the decline because of health and safety considerations.

 

4)When burnt, chlorinated paraffins produce corrosive hydrochloric acid, and organo-chlorine compounds including the highly poisonous phosgene gas. Apart from these corrosion and health hazards, with petrol engines the deactivation of exhaust catalysts is also a problem.

 

5)Unfortunately, these additives give spectacular results in simple EP test machines such as the ‘Falex’. As a marketing ploy, a demonstration of this type looks impressive to those not aquainted with the above facts. Also attractive is the low cost of chlorinated compounds, allowing profits of several thousand percent to be made.

 

Cheers

Simon

Best thing to do is go to a hi-tech Lab somewhere with a mad professor and get him to shrink you down really small, then you can actualy climb in the engine (wearing overalls of course) with a brush and some containers (also shrunk) to clean up the oil in there. Also very handy for making sure PCV pipeways are clear and working.

 

 

Anyone needs help with any other Zed problems, you only have to ask!

take it from me dont be adding any additives to your beloved zed,

 

i did and look what happend big ends are banging away like a diesel tractor with no oil :wack: :wack:

 

as i understand the zed engines have very high tolarences in the engines and are very well enginered adding additives will as you say block important oil ways and other nasty stuff,

 

when doing an oil change i normaly drop the oil fill up with cheap stuff, go for a quick drive, empty it again and refill with the good stuff,

 

what oil to use well the best stuff for the zed and this is really the best no matter what anyone else says is................ hmmm i dont want to start a war so i better not say :D :D :D

i was just about to ask about additives the thing is i've just had my new ecu fitted, I'm suppose to only run Optimax in it, what about i can't make it to a shell garage i can i do anything to boost the octane or whatever or is it not so important to run only optimax as i think.

 

Everyone else must have the similar problem what do you all do?

i think but dont quote me on this it is ok to run on non optimax if you are not running high boost, but if you hve to fill up with something else dont drive the car as hard!!