Lucas oil products-What's your thoughts?

[hank19-1]

I have a 93 Dodge Spirit that at 155,000 miles,it started to burn oil and when you would start it up in the morning it would put out this large cloud of oil. I thought that it should do this with this amount of miles. The next oil change I tried a can of STP but it didn't do much. My mechanic said to try the Lucas oil treatment and see if that would help. Well to my surprise it stopped the the morning oil cloud and the oil burning issue. It burns just a fraction of what it use to. Has anyone tried there ATF additive in a high mileage auto trans? Does it work as well as there oil additive? Thanks for the replys! John

 

[Doug]

I've been pleased with lucas oil products. I've used thier power steering additive and it smoothed out my PS alot. I tried it in the motor but didn't notice anything, most likely because my motor is still in good shape and doesnt need it. I've also used it in my manual transmission and it did help smooth out shifting, it goes into gear alot easier with the lucas oil.

 

[Jeeps&Fords]

I use their fuel conditioner and injector cleaner and have been very happy with it. I have not tried their ATF additive yet, but that may be soon...

 

[aldive]

I am not a fan of any product that goes in the crankcase except oil ( synthetic oil ).

 

[Glacier991]

Like Aldive, I am leery of additives and their claims, ESPECIALLY in ATF's. Many of them contain something that softens seals... which MAY have a saultary benefit in the short term but which can, over time cause them to fail. The only trans additive I have any use of is Lube Gard.

That said... once when I had a 20 year old auto trans exhibiting some flare... I added some seal softener - I think they called it "conditioner" (I added about half the recommended amount, and changed all the fluid in a few days, removing all the additive from the system.) Yes, it did help.

 

[410Fortune]

The Lucas oil adative (honey) is great for worn rings and seals, it is basically pure petroleum and will really bring back some compression, I ran ALOT of it in my old 2.9L when she had a ton of miles on it.

Lucas makes good stuff, all of it I have used I have liked. The fuel system and oil.
For ATF treatment I would look at Trans Lube in the red bottle at Carquest.....

Red Line watter wetter and Red line fuel system cleaner get my approval for that stuff, and BG makes some excellent oil flush and coolant system sealer.

 

[00XLS]

I've used the power steering stuff and its helped out mine alot. As for the tranny stuff I've used it but no real difference, mainly because the tranny was in good condition. I only put it in as preventative maint. but I'll try the lube guard or what not next.

 

[410Fortune]

Thats it, Lube Guard, in the red bottle

 

[hank19-1]

"Lube Gaurd"-What will it do?

My mechanic say's the only time you need to use the oil additive(Lucas) is when your engine is high mileage. What does the "Lube Gaurd" do for your tansmission? I'm changing my ATF in my 93 Explorer right now and with 115,000 miles on it I thought maybe some kind of additive would be beneficial at this time.

 

[410Fortune]

Lube Guard protects the parts inside your transmission and conditions seals, its proven to work and is a good product. Will not hurt to add it

 

[GJarrett]

I'm like aldive; I'm leery of any additives, but this thread came at an interesting time since I just learned several things about Lucas oil additives.

A man named Frank that I'm doing part-time work for used to be big into racing and drags and bonneville and stuff like that back in the old days; he knew Garlits and he held a record or two in certain drag and bonneville classes, etc. He met Forrest Lucas back in the sixties when that guy was sponsoring some small time race teams and was trying to get a big team like from NASCAR or Formula1 to pay attention to him. Forrest provided my friend Frank with all of his products and Frank initially thought he was just a super-salesman (race teams always get people trying to use their products) so he didn't use anything at first. Eventually Frank used the oil additive in his bonneville racer instead of STP and after a day's run the engine oil pan needed to be dropped for some reason. The mechanic was under the vehicle and started cussing like crazy after he dropped the pan. Frank asked him what was going on under there and the mechanic said "you've changed oil haven't you" and Frank said yes and why do you ask..... the mech said everything was so slick that he couldn't hold any of his tools at all and he had never encountered anything that slick in his life. Later on after several runs the engine was torn completely down on routine rebuild and for the first time there was absolutely no bearing wear or any other wear anywhere in the engine; they were able to put it back together with all of the same parts, which they had never done before.

Frank still uses the stuff in all of his vehicles and swears by the power steering additive and the ATF additive too. I was fascinated by his story and can't argue with his results; he's still driving a Chevy pickup (350 V8) working on 400,000 miles with the original engine and transmission (no rebuilds) and it's running like new, not using oil, and the tranny is still just fine and a strong shifter.

 

[nascar_intimid]

lucas all around...thanks very much for the info this clears a lot of questions up for me

 

[jeff96]

i am weary of additives also. But it sounds worth a try, maybe i'll try it on my beater.

 

[glfredrick]

Most additives are nothing more than snake oil... There are really no chemical fixes for mechanical issues, but there are a couple additives that hae shown themsevles to be worth a try in certain situations and Lucas is one of them.

From what I know, Lucas gets its "slipperyness" by adding a component banned in regular motor oil, but used in gear oil. There are some concerns that Lucas "foams" in engine oil, but I can't say that I have observed that myself.

My one and only test with Lucas in engine oil came in my 2.9 Ranger motor, which developped the signs of a sticking or collapsted hydraulic lifter one time on the way to a trail. The engine developped a loud tap that sounded like a lifter slapping the cam. I stopped and added a quart of Lucas and have not heard the sound since. Not much of a testimonial, but in that case, it did something for me.

I have used the Lucas power steering additive and auto transmisson additive with some success - but both managed to swell seals to the point where they ultimately need replacement. Lucas Auto transmission additive did allow my A4LD to make it all the way to Moab and back to Kentucky last spring when I blew the front seal after only about 300 miles of our journey.

I am a fan of the proper Luber Guard in the electronic shift auto trannsimssions. Almost every rebuilder in the workd recommends it. It was originally developped to convert lower Mercon transmission oils to Mercon V specs.

Just like Aldive said, I have had the best luck with pure syntetic oils - and no additives at all.

Oh - and STP is best used for tapping and threading - or for lathe cutting oil - not in engines. I have NEVER seen an engine that was improved by adding STP, but it does work out pretty well for a cutting oil, as it is heavy and stays put.

 

[Yomie]

I've also used it in my manual transmission and it did help smooth out shifting, it goes into gear alot easier with the lucas oil.

Doug, did you use the ATF additive or the regular oil additive in your tranny?

 

[ShinySideDown]

Lucas is in all of my motors. we also use it for assembly lube on new motors, and its GREAT.

chevy 4.3's usually develop PROBLEMS (which result in replacement about 112 - 120 k.)
my S-10 has 169,000 miles on it. (hard ones, as i abused it everyday for work, with usually 6- 10 starts, hot and cold, on a daily basis, for the last 50k of its life so far.)

The 4.3 in the S-10 is still running good. it has internal issues, due to the fact that it is pushing compression back over into the coolant system, but ISNT burning antifreeze. (its not a headgasket, were suspecting a cracked head, but its running too good to take apart!)

My other good one is my 91 Mercury tracer LTS i had.
it had the mazda dual overhead cam motor, 5 spd, and four wheel disc brakes.
I bought it to abuse at 172K for $500.00, with a slight knock.

took it home, dumped lucas in it with a tuneup, then drove it LIKE I STOLE IT for 40K miles. (usually cruised at 85MPH, beat the hell out of it for 2 yrs.)

Turns out the Knock was a spun bearing, which lived on until i scrapped the car at 201K because the alternator was bad, and i didnt feel like trying to replace. that was the icing on the cake, and I then retired her from service.

No one believes that car lived. NO ONE.

They can get my money any time.
hope this helps!!!

 

[Doug]

Doug, did you use the ATF additive or the regular oil additive in your tranny?

I've used the regular lucas oil in my transmission with some mercon V from napa.

 

[Yomie]

I've used the regular lucas oil in my transmission with some mercon V from napa.

Cool, thanks. I've been wanting to put some in my tranny to help quiet it down a little. i didn't know if i should use the ATF stuff or the oil stuff.

The oil says it is 100% petroleum and will blend with any other type of oil

 

[Glacier991]

My only advice is that ATF has friction modifiers to provide certain fritction qualities... I'd be wary of using anything not specifically designed for AT use...

 

[explorerscope]

My trans has been slipping like crazy . I tried 12oz Lucas slipp treatment and it worked. I dont know for how long it will last.