Do-It-Yourself Engine Oil Additive

1991 - Volume #15, Issue #3, Page #22

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There's a lot of controversy about whether oil additives work but one California farmer who thinks they do has found a way to make his own fora fraction of the cost of commercial additives.
"It's cheaper than any oil additive that you can buy and has worked great for me," says Dan Starr, Temple City, Calif., who makes a teflon-based additive for $2 per quart of oil.
Starr did some research and discovered that the basic ingredient for commercial oil additives such as Slick 50 and Tough Oil is a patented, trademarked DuPont product called "Real Stuff Teflon Paste Thread Sealant" sold by Hercules Chemical Co., New York, N. Y. You can buy it at most plumbing stores where it's sold as a pipe sealant. The product is a liquid but contains some large particles. Starr mixes four table-spoons of the product with one quart of oil and runs it through a sieve - a paint strainer or cheese cloth - to strain out the bigger particles, then pours it into the engine.
"I got the idea from a friend and found that it works as good as any commercial oil additive but costs a lot less," says Starr. "I've used it for a year in the engine on my 1970 GMC 1-ton pickup and recently drove it on a 6,000-mile trip to Canada with no problems. I've also used it in my 1979 Chevrolet van and a 1973 Chevrolet Nova equipped with a 350 cu. in. engine. I've noticed a big difference in running ability on all three vehicles. My home-made oil additive quiets down the engine and causes it to idle smoother and start easier. I only use it on old vehicles because I don't know how it would affect the engine warranty. I also don't know how it would work in cold weather areas. I keep a close eye for bits of metal whenever I change oil, but I've never found any. I use the strained-out particles on pipe threads or mix them with grease and use them to pack wheel bearings. I've even poured them into differentials on older vehicles, but not vehicles equipped with positraction differentials.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dan Stan, Box 223, Temple City, Calif. 91780 (ph 818 286-9535).

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Do-It-Yourself Engine Oil Additive ENERGY Miscellaneous 15-3-22 There's a lot of controversy about whether oil additives work but one California farmer who thinks they do has found a way to make his own fora fraction of the cost of commercial additives. "It's cheaper than any oil additive that you can buy and has worked great for me," says Dan Starr, Temple City, Calif., who makes a teflon-based additive for $2 per quart of oil. Starr did some research and discovered that the basic ingredient for commercial oil additives such as Slick 50 and Tough Oil is a patented, trademarked DuPont product called "Real Stuff Teflon Paste Thread Sealant" sold by Hercules Chemical Co., New York, N. Y. You can buy it at most plumbing stores where it's sold as a pipe sealant. The product is a liquid but contains some large particles. Starr mixes four table-spoons of the product with one quart of oil and runs it through a sieve - a paint strainer or cheese cloth - to strain out the bigger particles, then pours it into the engine. "I got the idea from a friend and found that it works as good as any commercial oil additive but costs a lot less," says Starr. "I've used it for a year in the engine on my 1970 GMC 1-ton pickup and recently drove it on a 6,000-mile trip to Canada with no problems. I've also used it in my 1979 Chevrolet van and a 1973 Chevrolet Nova equipped with a 350 cu. in. engine. I've noticed a big difference in running ability on all three vehicles. My home-made oil additive quiets down the engine and causes it to idle smoother and start easier. I only use it on old vehicles because I don't know how it would affect the engine warranty. I also don't know how it would work in cold weather areas. I keep a close eye for bits of metal whenever I change oil, but I've never found any. I use the strained-out particles on pipe threads or mix them with grease and use them to pack wheel bearings. I've even poured them into differentials on older vehicles, but not vehicles equipped with positraction differentials. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dan Stan, Box 223, Temple City, Calif. 91780 (ph 818 286-9535).

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