So, after much trolling around here, it seems there are some people who are true believers in additives.

So the question is:

Which addiitives do you like/trust?

Include brand/type/reason. This may help others in their search for quality products.

Here's what I've tried so far with good results:

Seafoam - used in crankcase, intake and fuel tank - while I'm not 100% convinced it did much in the fuel tank, it surely helped in the intake and crankcase

Lucas Oil Transmission Fix - This is with out a doubt the best I've used, it immediately made my trans shift better

Lucas Oil Upper Cylinder Lubricant - I just starting using this in my 09' Escape and 94' F150. It seems to have quieted both vehicles, the little bit of valve noise I could hear before is all but gone.

Lucas Oil Oil Stabilizer - haven't used it yet but, if it does what is says (and I continue with the luck of past Lucas products) I'll be using it in EVERYTHING!

Please post good bad or indifferent results - we'll let the reader decide.

 

you pretty much nailed it...

I have Never Seafoamed andvehicle I have had but in my part if you keep the oil clean and run good gas and use the cleaner additive in the gas the upper stays clean...

I have torn engines down I have run and the piston tops and valves were clean even after 200k...a little MMO in the gas and oil or ATF works wonders and now I use the Lucas Gas treatment so I would be curious to tear teh head off the 300-6 to see what it looks like....

coarse a light in the piston hole would tell a lot too...

I switch to all synthetics when I get them...unless it is a real rag

 

Transtune- Same folk that make Seafoam, for detoxing all things hydraulic. Used it in my transmission for a week/ then changed fluid to synthetic. Tranny operating temp dropped 20 degrees & smoother shifts. Ford tranny's arn't any worse than other tranny's. They they just don't respond well to neglect. Do you? I use it in a lot of stuff prior to servicing, like air compressor crankcases. all types of transmissions/ Machinery. Lucas injector cleaner, Seafoam, good stuff. Lucas Synth. oil stabilizer on everything, including Harley 1200CS. Anything "Lucas"does what it's supposed to within physical reason. I'm a Commercial/Industrial Machine field tech. My main job is keeping machinery on line & operational. When stuff has to come off line, stress levels goes up across the board. Stress is for kids! Gave that *hit up along time ago. The best mechanics are preemptive. The best way the keep the things in Pandora's box, is to never have to open the box! What this means is, many subparts are so integrated w/ others, that replacement of one subpart, disrupts other subparts, then *hit starts rolling down hill. and guess who's at the bottom of the hill? An example would be just replacing a pooched PIP sensor, knowing that the TFI module will soon follow. This is an electrical example,but mechanical parts use the same hill. When the weakest link is replaced, you now have a new weak link. That's why "Zen" mechanics use synthetics & certain well chosen additives. Keeps the box closed as much as possible. Fluids should be thought of as more a physical part of the vehicle, because at the molecular level, they are!

 

Man and I thought I was the only nut job that did that...??? I got Royal Purple in everything...even the lawn mower and weedeater....

Air compressor is still regular air oil but I gotta tell you I thought about draining it and adding synthetic to it and Lucas Climbing Gear lube...lol wouldnt hurt in a Splash system

 

Some of the machines I work on monitor their own bearing temps. That takes all the guessing out of whether a lubricant works & when it is starting to loose it's protective properties. Transmission fluid is for the most part, a carrying agent for it's additives. You can learn a lot about what's really going with you vehicle, and take preemptive measures if you purchase a cheap Laser Thermal Reader. For example, at operating temp., shoot the tubes coming out of & returning to the transmission from the tranny fluid cooler. This gives you tranny op. temp & effective efficiency of the cooler. You may not like what you see, but tells you what you need to do to keep the transmission from becoming a"Pandora's box", and that's exactly what they are. How many people have had reoccurring problems after the case has had to be cracked open? As I mentioned, I added Transtune to my transmission fluid and ran it for a week. changed to synthetic transmission fluid, and reduced it's operating temp 20 degrees. 40% increase in cooler efficiency. Anything above normal operating temp. degrades components. I believe 20 degrees above that temp, reduces your tranny's lifespan by 20%. A 40 degree increase gets really ugly quick, as degradation starts leaning towards exponential. The same basic principal holds true for any redundant machinery. I will check my #'s on the tranny failure rate increase/ temp. and will edit or add more info if needed. I think I have engine op. temp. #'s too. The info's on a link, but buried, so maybe I'll do a link w/ directions to the table. I spilled ccccoffee in my keyboard & some me key's are sticccking, so that would be easier than transposing. Correction: The correct % loss in Tranny life expectancy for operation 20 degrees above normal is 50%!

 

eh'

Transtune is good...beings the transmission is one of the most neglected parts of a vehicle...the gunk that builds upis what sticks the valves and make the clutches chatter...not to mention when the fluid gets old the pump pressure drops and when that happens wear happens more rapidly....

and when the keyboard gets dirty I just throw it in the dishwasher...cleans it all nice and new like...

 

Good stuff so far....

Anyone else? Any other brand/s of products out there that have acheived either good or bad results?

I wanna hear about it!

 

We know how to fix things. Frankly, at 53, I'm starting to get tired of getting my hands dirty, having to clean em, just to get dirty again. There's muck out there that would be perfect for permanent tattoo work! Anyway, about 10 years ago, I started morphing into someone that began thinking there were ways to avoid catistrophic failures and forecast & avert the occurance well in advance. If you like your truck even though you have to climb into the engine compartment every 3 months, you'll really like it when you don't have to take a wrench to it for a year or two at a time. With above average performance & MPG's. The other day, my wife said, "Either your Truck goes, or I go!"......................God,I'm really gonna miss her Homemade Chilli!

 

Now we know why you were offline so long!]<-JOKE-<

 

OK everybody, time for the "Snake Oil" Horror Story's!