Marvel Mystery Oil

[The patriot]

badams1,

it's been cooler here latley so that may contribute to the smoke, but I feel it's the MMO myself.

Eric

 

[Pit Bull]

I'm sticking with my Rotella DFA, but has anyone ever had a fuel system problem using MMO? I'm just wondering if these CTD's will burn about anything? Anybody try adding Krisco

 

[WyoJim]

illflem..... Based on the ingredients you listed, what is your opinion of it??

 

[illflem]

I'm not a chemist but know that NAPHTHENIC DISTILLATE is a heavy duty solvent and HYDROTREATED LIGHT DISTILLATE is just light oil.



The ingredients of Power Service are

HYDROCARBONS 45%, HYDROXY COMPOUNDS 55%, PIGMENTS 1%

Stanadyne's ingredients are the same except that the percentages are a little different and there is no pigment.

Both are a much different mix than MMO. Their ingredents cover a pretty broad range, probably to protect their formula.



The MSDS for Howe's only listed charcoal lighter fluid and jet fuel for products.



My opinion is that MMO has it's place for cleaning and unsticking things. It's sort of like how WD-40 will penetrate and quiet a squeaky hinge but the squeak will be back sooner than if you used regular old oil. It's a solvent rather than a lubricant. I feel for general usage folks are much better off using a designed for diesel additive. Plus you get the anti-gel properties that MMO lacks. The only harm from MMO is to your wallet, if it makes you feel good use it, but I wouldn't count on it much for increasing the lubricity that a 24 valve fuel system thrives on and in large quantities it may actually have a drying effect. My 2¢

 

[WyoJim]

Thanks illflem... . I value your opinions.

 

[PRout]

Ive tried a couple pretty heavy doses of MMO in mine, and honestly couldnt tell much difference in performance or smoke output. If anything, it may have smoked more than usual, but not much. It sure has a sweeter smell than some of the other additives.



One time I ran alot of MMO & Stanadyne together as a test. It ran possibly slightly smoother, but definitely did smoke more than normal. Engine noise was the same.



A friend of mine had an extra gallon of Delo 400 laying in the back of his truck after converting to complete synthetics, and wanted to get rid of it, so he put a quart in his fuel tank (a total of 4 times) and says that all that happened was it smoked a little more than normal, but ran fine. He claims it quieted his engine a little. I think the quieting affect is imagination. But just opinion.



Im thinking if you want to add pump lube, the way to go is add some 2 stroke oil. If you want anti-gel, get some standadyne.



Like it was mentioned above, MMO appears to be more of a solvent with very light lube charactistics. Maybe thats not bad, since WD-40 seems to be similar, and it has its cleaning affect as it loosens heavier oils & washes them away, but for pump lube, Id rather run some 2 stroke oil since we know it keeps engines alive.



Bottom line here is it looks like future low-sulfur fuels may be hard on our systems, and lubricity may be our main concern. Would be nice to have some data (as mentioned above) instead of "Mystery".

 

[rblomquist]

I've mentioned this in another post and at least 1 other member has experinced the same thing while using MMO: We lost our fuel sending units.



After trying MMO in a couple of tankfulls my fuel gauge went to Full and stayed there . At the time I had no idea it was related to MMO, figured it was just "time" for this weak DC part to go south. We'll long story short I was lazy and didn't get around to ordering a new sending unit and about the same time stopped using MMO for a couple of tanks and all of a sudden my gauge came back. Yeah, yeah I can hear folks saying dumb conincidence (which is what I thought) however, not 1/2 tank in to my next MMO "treatment" the gauge went south again. I went through 2 "clean" tanks of #2 and got my gauge back and since I stopped using MMO it hasn't acted up yet.



I don't understand it or say it makes any sense but somehow MMO DID foul my sending unit



p. s. Using Power Service now and I did pick up some fuel mileage and the truck does sound a bit quieter (didn't get that with MMO).

 

[dan_gilson]

There was a good thread about using you used motor oil for this a while back. I have been putting in fresh stuff until my next oil change when I plan in using the old stuff. It has been done for years but the big guys. Used motor oil is fuel that you have already paif for.

 

[drag racer]

Just my opinion.



I know others have posted about this practice, and while I agree with getting the most out of resources, I would think twice about doing it (at least with VP-44) because it is such a high precision unit, that FOD in the old oil that doesn't get filtered out could shorten the pump life.

 

[badams1]

The MMO GUY AGAIN; After reading all of the comments, I have decided not to use the Marvel Mystery Oil any longer. Mystery is the problem here. I do believe that good engineering practice should be to use a product that is specificly designed for a specific purpose. Cheap, is not a good reason for using a product and guessing or hoping that it works. I talked to one of the top product engineers at Shell Oil here in Houston and he told me that the Texaco premium is the only retail diesel fuel out there that has addressed the lubrication issue. He said that is what the premium means in the cost difference. Now for a competing company engineer to say that, it makes me think that it's true. I am using the DFA's that I bought for testing and am not using any mystery products again. Heres an issue that came up that makes me think that the MMO is not a good idea for deisel fuel. After only 6,400 miles on Amsoil 2000 15/40 and a gulf coast bypass oil filter I noticed my oil pressure going up to 90 - 100 psig when I started the engine on 70F days. The oil was so thick and black that it was obvious that something was wrong. When the bypass filter was pulled, it looked like a tar plug. Hey this ain't right. I think the MMO caused the excessive soot build up in the oil and caused the problem. Now that is the opposit result that I expected but it was an eye opener. Count the cost to add the DFA or use the Texaco premium, that in my opinion is what I learned from this lesson. :--) Thanks Guy's

 

[illflem]

badams, did you put the MMO in your oil or fuel? Doesn't seem like it would cause the problems you decribe just in the fuel.



Here's the thread on adding used motor oil to your fuel.

http://216.235.147.117/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=60693



My feeling on adding used oil is there isn't enough benifit from $4 worth of "free" low grade fuel that will plug your fuel filter to make it worth while. A designed for diesel fuel treatment is cheaper in the long run even if the used oil is free. Just because your body can digest cow manure does that mean you should eat it?

 

[curatchko]

Originally posted by rblomquist

I've mentioned this in another post and at least 1 other member has experinced the same thing while using MMO: We lost our fuel sending units.



After trying MMO in a couple of tankfulls my fuel gauge went to Full and stayed there . At the time I had no idea it was related to MMO, figured it was just "time" for this weak DC part to go south. We'll long story short I was lazy and didn't get around to ordering a new sending unit and about the same time stopped using MMO for a couple of tanks and all of a sudden my gauge came back. Yeah, yeah I can hear folks saying dumb conincidence (which is what I thought) however, not 1/2 tank in to my next MMO "treatment" the gauge went south again. I went through 2 "clean" tanks of #2 and got my gauge back and since I stopped using MMO it hasn't acted up yet.



I don't understand it or say it makes any sense but somehow MMO DID foul my sending unit



p. s. Using Power Service now and I did pick up some fuel mileage and the truck does sound a bit quieter (didn't get that with MMO).

:--) :--) :--)



This is unbelieveable that I'm reading this. I lost my sending unit this summer and it was after about 4 tanks of MMO... .



Wasn't sure what caused the sending unit to go bad, but luckily they are only 50 bucks give or take for the rebuild kit.



I'm glad I read this.

 

[Pit Bull]

Originally posted by illflem



Just because your body can digest cow manure does that mean you should eat it?

:-laf :-laf



illflem, that is one **** eating grin I can live without.

 

[rblomquist]

Originally posted by curatchko

:--) :--) :--)



This is unbelieveable that I'm reading this. I lost my sending unit this summer and it was after about 4 tanks of MMO... .



Wasn't sure what caused the sending unit to go bad, but luckily they are only 50 bucks give or take for the rebuild kit.



I'm glad I read this.

Curatchko,



I'm glad (well, in a way) that it sounds like you probably experienced the same thing as myself and the 1 other dude I saw posting about this. At least we have a really good suspect to stay away from.



I guess it paid me to be lazy no, it's probably cause I'm working 2 jobs a min of 12 hours a day



Hopefully some other poor sap will do a search on MMO before they dump it in their CTD based on an "old wifes tale" or what their grampa told them about how great the stuff is.

 

[GLASMITHS]

For a gasser

Ok this is the way it was done 40 years ago. Since a complete tune up was done every 1000 miles or so (or less), the night before the tuneup you took a pint of MMO, with the air filter off, pour it in the carb until you got a good smoke going then dump about half in and it would kill the engine. Then pour the remaining in fuel tank.



The next morning you removed the plugs and did the points, etc put the plugs back in and went for a very Smokey ride. This was good for a long trip - more than 20 miles back then. I had a '59 Dodge with 383 HP, AUTO; anyway after about 3 years pulled the heads for valve job. There was nill hard carbon. Usually it was a big job to get all the carbon out. But not with MMO. However, I would not put it in my CTD... ... .

 

[Dennis Garrett]

Well, I read all the MMO posts, & decided to try it. I added it to the last two fill ups. In those 500 miles. I've done about 200+, 75-80 mph hiway miles solo. About 100+ miles around town, & about 100 or so more, towing a car on my trailer, most of it 75+ mph out on the pike. Today I ran over to Topeka, and noticed that tail wind feeling, except there wasn't any wind at all today. The truck just seemed to feel lighter & more responisve, at all speeds. I can't tell that it runs any quieter, but it does seems like it's running smoother. The way my fuel tank & gauge is set up, I can usually go 400 miles at the half way mark, Today, I noticed it at about 415, even with the towing on this tank full. At 175k, I imagine I do have some carbon buildup on the pistons & valves. This stuff might have softened up or removed some of that build up, who knows. Might be my imagination, but I know how this usually feels, & today it feels better. I might not use it at every fill up, but I think it might be a good thing to use periodically.

 

[HC]

Originally posted by Steve St. Laurent

Call me crazy but why not just run a product that is specifically made to add lubricity to diesel fuel? I run stanadyne performance formula personally.

AMEN!



Any good chemist could probably formulate something that would make my engine run quieter and probably get better mpg, but until somebody else tests it for about 500k on several different trucks to determine long-term effects, it's not going in my tank.



Stanadyne is the only one formulated by a company that makes injection pumps. That's what I want - one from someone interested in protecting the pump, not just short-term drivability improvements.



Those concerned about cost of treatment should check out Stanadyne's "Lubricity Formula", less than 1/2 the cost (per gallon) of the PF.



I have trouble understanding those who have chosen the Cummins, spent over $5k to get one, maybe twice that if heavily modified, and then want to save a few pennies and gamble on their investment by dumping used motor oil, 2 cycle motor oil, and other products of questionable origin into their fuel. I wish I was rich enough to do my own experiments in biodiesel with McDonalds used grease or something, but I'm not; someone else is going to have to do that type of R&D - I bought my truck to last, and I need it to do that, so no gambling for me.



Sorry for venting...

 

[Chipstien]

I was using PS Diesel Clean but decided to switch to Stanadyne after reading numerous post that swear by it. After 8 tanks of Stanadyne my LP started being erratic. Now I'm not so stupid to say that it was caused by the Stanadyne... merely coincidence.



Anyways, when I filled up on the current tank the station was out of Stanadyne so rather than use nothing I bought more PS Diesel Clean. Guess what... . after about ten minutes the FP gauge stopped bouncing and is back to idle ling at 14 psi. (had been idle ling at 12 psi).



Is this merely coincidence, maybe, or could it be that the PS has more lubricity, maybe that too. However, I think that I am gonna continue with the PS Diesel Clean and see what the LP does over the next several months. Then I will re-evaluate my choice of DFA's this spring.

 

[The patriot]

I like and use the PS diesel kleen.

I reccomended it to my brother. He's an owner operator. (double bunk Pete, 425 hi torque Cat, 15 speed)

On one perticular hill, he told me that after he added the PS, he gained 8 MPH!!!

He's owned and driven this truck a million miles. If he said 8 MPH, I believe him.

Eric

 

[pcarlson]

I found this while doing some other research, Utah State used Marvel Mystery Oil in their tests,



"Marvel Mystery Oil is used in this experiment because it is chemically similar to crude oil. "