mystery!

[brettd@tiac.net (Brett Dikeman)]

On a trip to the local auto parts store, I came across a can of mystery
oil(about $2-I was kinda surprised for such a large bottle of the stuff-16
fl. oz)

After putting in a couple of capfulls(very small cap-bout the width of a
nickel+1/4" deep), the engine started to purr like a kitten.  Added two
capfuls to 3/4 of a tank of gas.
Results:
seems like there's quicker response(seems like the turbo spins up faster)
fuel economy jumped from 24 mpg to 28.6-29 according to the computer(exact
same route-to school+back) after at least an hour of driving.  I know that
the computer is off, but I would expect the error to be linear(ie it always
reads over by 2 mpg or something), or at least be close to linear.  How
could so little mystery oil cause such a big change? BTW, the "after"
reading was with headlights on.  Before was not, so these numbers are
conservative)

Also, after this, I used some belt dressing spray to quiet the alternator
belt when it's wet outside.  Instead, once the dressing spray had
distributed itself all over the engine compartment, engine+paint on the car
in little black dots, it started to dry and the belts started squeeking
worse.  Any ideas?  This is very annoying since almost all other engine
noise is gone with the addition of the mystery oil+the only other noise is
the belt squeekage.  Ack!


This neat discovery with the oil leaves some observations+questions.
-Obs:this stuff smells like a minty/peppermint medicine syrup, almost like
some sort of cough medicine.  Volunteers to taste it? ;)  Just kiding,
duuuhhhh...

-Obs: MMO doesn't magically dissolve into the oil.  I poured some oil into
a small, thin bottle, and then added some MMO.  They seperated very quicky
into a red section and an orange/yellow section.  However, after swirling
it around vigerously(sp?!),  they mixed into a reddish yellow/orange+seemed
to stay that way.  So, my reccomendation is to take the MMO and mix it with
some oil BEFORE you put it into the engine.  Same goes for when adding it
to your gas.  Dilute it!  Otherwise, it looks like the MMO would just
collect  on the bottom of your fuel tank+ get sucked in all at once or not
at all.

-Seemed to quiet down the fuel pump a lot!

So here's the question.  For those of us with power steering that's not
always "power", would adding a small amount of MMO help things?   Ditto for
clutch?  I would say, "why not?"  because you could put mineral oil in the
engine and/or the hydraulic oil resv. very nicely(after all, that's
basically what the "ground" engine oil is anyway, right? So MMO should work
nicely with non-synthetic, mineral oil, right?  my only worry was the pump.
I wouldn't think there would be a problem with anything else, but I wanted
to ask everybody first.  Hope you can-my steering's pretty stiff...
How bout tranny fluid?  Or is that too "long term" for MMO?

I also assume that MMO can be left in the engine all the time+doesn't have
to be removed, yes?

One last thing.  Coolant.  What's the easiest way to get all the cruck in
the system out?  We have a prestone flush 'n fill kit, but I  don't know
where to put the adapter in the cooling system.   The tap is a T connector
with a garden hose connector on one end for flushing the system with ta
garden hose.
Is it safe to use the radiator cleaner?  How about some stuff I've seen
that contains a small amount of oil/lubricant for water pumps+such?

Thanks everyone,
Brett


brettd@tiac.net

Vegitarians eat vegitables.  Watch out for humanitarians!
"Originality is the art of concealing your source."
Who is General Failure, and why is he reading my A drive?
"How do nuns get to church?  Why, on the MASSbus, of course!"
Humans learn from their mistakes.  You will learn a lot today!
Hostes alienigeni me abduxerunt.  Qui annus est?