Oil additives like Archoil
 

I am sure this has not been talked about in the last week or so:D but did not see anyone mention Archoil. I do not use any oil additives but have been thinking of trying one in the 79 Truck. The engine is original and tired but still runs well. I use synthetic oil in it now and seems to help with oil pan leak but oil pressure fluctuates on gauge. I have seen a few Archoil videos and one by Jay Leno, he would not lie to me would he. There has to be something out there that has better lubrication properties to add to engine oil. I know a lot of oil lubricants are just smoke and mirrors but wanted to know if anyone has used something that added some improvement.
I recently found Triflow lubricant in a bottle and this lubricant blows away all previous lubricants I have used.

my twitchy oil reading was due to the Sender unit wiper/resistance wire gotten corroded. a new Sending unit is a good move.

Other than that, also twitchy due to low oil level: learned the hard way to NEVER assume the Sender is the only thingy causing twitchy readings.

Guys here must have great satisfaction seeing solid oil PSI reading from cold start thru driving and put away.

I don't think additives will help with fluctuating oil pressure.

Well archoil is supposed to help clean out sludge and has boron to provide more lubrication for less metal to metal friction. If it can clean sludge and provide less friction then theoretically it could improve lubrication hence higher oil pressure.

Go for it

The theory that an oil additive can do much greater things than the base oil, and an additive package that the oil company uses has never seen too much success.

If you want to keep sludge from forming initially you need to keep the oil as clean as possible nearly the same, or better, than it comes from the refinery. You'll never achieve that with a conventional oil filter.

If you want to minimize wear you'll never do that with a conventional oil filter.

If you want to remove sludge from an engine running any type of high detergent, or solvents can have disastrous effects. You need to remove the sludge solids from the oil gradually with a superior oil filter. That includes the sub 30-40 micron solids that pass right through a conventional oil filter.

Even if this Archoil works as advertised, what happens to the solids it removes from the oil system? They will continue to circulate because sludge is made up of fine solids that a conventional oil filter cannot physically remove. Broken down they will return to the oiling system to circulate until the oil is drained. All the fine solids that pass right through a conventional oil filter do the majority of engine wear. They can get in between any 2 moving parts in any engine. While they are between the 2 surfaces they abrade both surfaces, causing wear and clearances to increase.

Oil pressure is a product of a pump that displaces X volume into a corridor of engineered leaks. Those leaks are a certain specification when new, and as metal wears away they become larger clearances. Once the metal is gone the only way you can make more pressure is to put in a thicker oil the make more resistance, and pressure in the corridor. The other alternative is replace the worn surfaces to bring them back to the OEM spec. I've been doing this for 50 years, and this is the only way I have ever seen oil pressures increase.

No filter, oil additive or specially engineered oil can increase resistance to flow other than a higher viscosity fluid.

I don't want to get into a pissing match about it, but if any of what I said makes sense, than you can see what may be the outcome of disturbing the sludge in the engine could be. Motor honey, like STP will band aid a worn engine, but nothing can repair the wear of an engine that I'm aware of, especially if it's poured into the crankcase.

I've been running my own diesels, and gas engines with by pass filters now for over a decade, they work as advertised. I change oil at 30,000-40,000 miles, you can't do that with a full flow oil filter without disastrous results.

FWIW, I looked at the Archoil site, It sounds very much like Hot Shots Secret. FWIW, Hot Shots Secret makes pretty much the same claims as Archoil does. The company was in business for 5 plus years, and they stumbled onto something that would help engines even more than their special formulated oil, and additives.

I'll give you a hint, you don't pour it into a fuel tank, or crankcase. They found a poorly run company that was close to bankruptcy, and bought it to compliment their line of oils and additives This was shortly after 2008 when the US was in financial trouble, and businesses were dropping like flies.

The name of the company? Frantz Oil Filters, they bought the company lock stock and barrel and now promote Frantz Filters as much as they promote their additives, and oils. Frantz oil filters was the company I bought a franchise for selling their products before they sold out to Hot Shots Secret. My franchise wasn't recognized by the new owners, and if I wanted to sell their product, I would have to start at the bottom, and make a large pre purchase, same as I already had done before from the previous owner. Back to the subject.

Here's the list of their products, compare theirs, against Archoils.

https://www.hotshotsecret.com/shop/

They seem pretty similar, accept Archoil hasn't started selling by pass oil filters, yet. Amsoil has been in the oil, and additive business for decades, about 15-20 years ago they also stumbled across something that really compliments their business, by pass oil filters.

:focus:

I've used diesel rated oil through the years to clean dirty engines. Case in point, '80ish Toyota short trip car. Smoked and used oil big time. Ran 5w-40 Rotella through it a couple of times and it cleaned up nice, no smoke, and oil usage was drastically reduced. Same with my '06 BMW 750LI DD, these are known oil burners and I use Rotella T6 5w-40 and consumption has been cut in half.

It's been a while since the board has had an educational briefing on the benefits of bypass oil filters.

Good info I cant stand on one side or the other. I am just asking basic questions to help my 51 year old 350 engine keep running for as long as it can. I can see what you are saying about filtering the oil from smaller contaminants, makes sense. I basically have low oil pressure at idle when truck is at normal operating temperature. While driving around the truck is at about 40 psi so I guess I shouldnt say fluctuating oil pressure just low at idle. I was just watching some videos and see people pouring all kinds of things in oil and gas tanks like Seafoam, Berrymans and now the other nano particle additives. I know a good portion of this is probably wishful thinking and trying to attract youtube followers. My dad had let this truck sit for about 5 years before he gave it to me so I know there is some sludge built up in engine. I am eventually going to change pan gasket and probably oil pump. I probaly can not go with lighter oil like 5W-XX and do not want to go with motor honey because I have seen what happens to that in the winter(well -30 lol).
https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod...1616093860.png

The only way an additive or detergents will improve a poor oil pressure condition is if the relief valve in the pump was hung up due to crud. Most likely the bearing clearances are wide due to wear, or the pump is weak, ort a combination of the two. Thicker oil will help slightly, but the only true way to correct is to overhaul the thing.

Less is more.
 

I don't believe any of these "mechanic in a can" miracles actually work as well as they say. My 4.0 Jeep has 257,000 miles on it. When I first got it opening up the filter revealed black particles in it and a very dark element. I did a few 1000 mile oil and filter changes. Now the filter is not as dark but no more particles. If you buy the oil/filters in bulk it will be cost effective. Putting in cleaners and additives may just worsen the problem by clogging up the oil sump. I had a 455 Buick on my test stand a few years ago that the oil PSI would go down when RPM increased. It made no sense to me. I pulled the oil pan an found the sump covered in red fibers from when someone must have wiped down the inside of the engine with a red rag. :eek:

The only thing about cleaning up sludge is the bulk of it is made up of the sub 40 micron particulate that passes through a conventional filter. It actually attracts itself to each other, and makes a deposit that grows. Reversing the process breaks it down and recirculates it, opening the process to more internal damage if the abrasive particles aren't immediately removed from the oil.

When you reverse the process that same sub 40 micron material goes back into the oil. It is abrasive, and will continue to circulate. Putting the same filter that allowed it to circulate and deposit in the first place doesn't do much in getting the interior of the engine clean. Flushing the crankcase over and over with fresh oil will remove it, but not before it has time to recirculate and abrade more engine internals, removing more critical material from wear surfaces.

Replenishing oil can get expensive, and time consuming. A better oil filter with fine pore media (by pass) will remove it first pass through, stopping the abrasion, and the need to keep buying fresh oil to flush it, and the labor to keep replenishing it.

Two ways to remove the particulate, one is much more efficient than the other, and may end up cheaper overall. The owner has to weigh it out, and make the decision.

Having dealt with sludge before many times, if you don't remove the particulate from the oil, it ends up in the screen, starves the engine, and ruins it. I've done it in my own cars, and customer cars. If you get aggressive you might stand a 50/50 chance of saving the engine. If you go slowly, your chances increase.

Just checked Walmart, high mileage oil is between $3.50 (store brand) to $8.00 synthetic name brand (Mobil1), so the adage that, "oil is cheap", is slipping away.

Still a crap shoot if you can clean it up, but removing the particulate ASAP from the engine when it is broken loose, tilts the scale in your favor somewhat.

Having dealt with these types of engine during my career and had some successes, and some failures. This is how I'd approach saving a sludged up engine, knowing what I know now.

I just want to clarify one thing. A by pass oil filter isn't anything magic. It will clean the oil of fine particulate that conventional oil filters can't remove, it won't restore worn engines, but can clean dirty ones.

You asked for opinions, so that's mine, along with the reasons why I'd pursue it in this fashion. Feel free to dismiss it if you feel differently.

Back to '79.
1. Synthetics were not being used yet by manufacturers
As roller motors were just around the corner.
2. Oils had some detergents , but lacked in Lubricate
3. Additives were STP.. LUCAS.. and " other Honeys"
4. So for the 79 in question, it went a couple decades before it had a more slippery oil. This could make more wear.
5. Cleaning out sludge is different than lubricity.
Seafoam may get things smoother , oil and intake.
6. With today's oils, few additives build film and help tolerances, but you may check out MOTORKOTE.
Go to you tube, search for Project Farm . This guy tests everything. His test on Motorlote was brutal, and it does the job of film build with lubricate.
I use it at every oil change.

That sludge will likely pass through a narrow passage and clog it or the oil pump making things worse. Engine machinist love anything that flushes the system as it gives them more business.
If you have low oil pressure drop the pan, take it to a machine shop and have them put it in the parts washer and throw in some new bearings.
Mechanic in a can wont fix excessive bearing clearances.

I used sea foam in my wife’s 79 TA gas tank once- never again. It cleaned the tank and lines leaving debris everywhere. A new tank, new lines, new pump and new carb later my fuel system is clean.

^ This. Fluctuating oil pressure is a sign of that something is amiss in the bottom end; it could be the oil pump itself or the relief valve. In either case, no “snake oil” is going to correct it. I’m assuming you have put a mechanical oil pressure gauge on the engine to confirm the oil pressure, yes? If so, where did you “tap” the oil pressure at? The oil filter adapter or on the rear of the block? If you go through pulling the pan to have it cleaned, see if you can find an old solid copper penny. Rub the penny on the crank journals. If they collect copper the crank will need to be ground and polished.

Just to be clear I am not looking for a new engine in a can. I was just asking to possibly add some longevity to my current engine. I figure it is just like my own aging body, I know there is no pill in a bottle that is going to give me my 20's back. That does not stop me from taking some vitamins and supplements. After 42 years and sitting for 5 years there is some sludge and wear to engine. I am leaning more towards cam bearings myself. This truck is my junkyard hauler, I take it every other week to junkyard. I also use it on occasion to take to the recycle center to drop off scrap metal and yard debris. Since I have had this truck it has not seen WOT but once. The truck passes CO state emissions every time and is pretty good running vehicle. If engine does bite the dust I would like to do a LS swap but CO emissions is a pain since everything needs to come from donor vehicle. So right now this truck is low on the priority list for any major improvements but we all know how quickly projects can change.
I like Project Farm on youtube, I like his comparison vids entertaining. He was the guy I watched using seafoam in his old ford truck 4 banger. I also watch visegrip garage and how he likes berrymans gas treatment. So that is why I wanted to see what others might have used and had success in using. Good read thanks

If this was my vehicle I would spend the money on an oil pan gasket and when I had the pan off I would pull the cover plate off the base of the oil pump and inspect it. It will give you an idea how much debris has passed the oil filter and gone through the oiling system.

If it has defined wear patterns and no deep scoring you could just replace the oil pump with a new one and feel comfortable that your idle oil pressure will be higher and nothing serious has gone amiss

If there is deep scoring in the plate you can be sure that some of those particles have made their way to a bearing or lifter. Only then would I contemplate going deeper into the engine. With the information you gave as to usage of the vehicle I would not likely do anything more than replace the oil pump.

Usually you can also remove the gears from the pump and inspect them.

Just be aware of the distributor drive shaft and its desire to obey the laws of gravity.

If your feeling cheap or want to pretend your a used car salesman just flip the scored plate over and reinstall it back on the oil pump.

I prefer to spend my money on physical solutions, not cross my fingers and hope solutions.
Just my opinions which have never gotten me a free cup of coffee anywhere!