Fuel Additives to counteract modern fuel additives

[Tubeviper]

We all know that our 'old time' engines are not compatible with many of the modern fuel additives and that in many cases, such engines need "old time" additives such as lead in the fuel and ZDDP in the oil. A guy could go crazy trying to assemble the correct fuel additives and ignoring the bogus ones.

 

Therefore, I must ask - has anyone found a good one-stop shop fuel additive which will give an older engine what it needs and counteract the modern fuel additives which it doesn't need?

 

Thanks!   

 

[ggdad1951]

I just by non oxy clean gas....

[Don Coatney]

17 minutes ago, Tubeviper said:

We all know that our 'old time' engines are not compatible with many of the modern fuel additives and that in many cases, such engines need "old time" additives such as lead in the fuel and ZDDP in the oil. A guy could go crazy trying to assemble the correct fuel additives and ignoring the bogus ones.

 

Therefore, I must ask - has anyone found a good one-stop shop fuel additive which will give an older engine what it needs and counteract the modern fuel additives which it doesn't need?

 

Thanks!   

 

Why do you think any additives are required? These engines certainly do not need lead or zinc additives. Modern oils have more zinc that the oils available 50 years ago and with the low RPM's even with flat tappets no additives are required. Only thing required today is new rubber that will not be eaten away with the alcohol content of the gasoline sold today. If it makes you feel better go ahead and spend the money on the snake oils sold today. Your engine will not perform any better. In my opinion no additives are required.

[Dave72dt]

Other than the alcohol, what's in the gas that's detrimental?  If you think you need the octane, buy the unleaded high test.  If you want to debate ZDDP, lots of posts that hash and rehash the subject, often by the same posters and same conclusions drawn at the end.

[BigDaddyO]

But I've read the ads in my car magazines. There are several additives that you really need if you want peak performance. You should see the collar I have on my dog.

[JBNeal]

I bought several NOS rubber fuel hoses that install between the steel fuel line and the fuel pump...the ethanol in gasoline nowadays causes that rubber to break down, so those NOS rubber lines are quite useless other than to be cautionary tales.  The original fuel pump diaphragm will dry out fast, crack and fail when exposed to the ethanol additives in modern gasoline, but modern fuel pump rebuild kits include a diaphragm that is not prone to this type of early failure...the kit I installed in '04 on the 1-ton is still working, with that diaphragm  observed recently to have a few small cracks probably due to age.  I have had several knuckle draggers point out that I should be adding lead to my gas when I have filled up in the past, and when I ask which old buggy do they drive, they would proudly thump their chest with a Ford or Chevy response, to which I would smile and quietly chuckle...when they would bow up with their "how dare you besmirch my ride" response of "what do ya mean by that??" , I would point out that the Chrysler flatheads were designed to take a pounding, which would be met with a look of confusion and them fellas wandering away

[Tubeviper]

I don't care about performance at all. What I am talking about is loosing a fuel pump diaphragm or a valve to ethanol.

[Don Coatney]

2 minutes ago, Tubeviper said:

I don't care about performance at all. What I am talking about is loosing a fuel pump diaphragm or a valve to ethanol.

I don't think you will find any additive that will get rid of the corn oil that is added to the gasoline blends sold today. Best insurance is to buy new rubber parts that are alcohol tolerant. Or as ggdad said find and use only alcohol free gasoline.

[JBNeal]

Marvel Mystery Oil does great things

[cavisco1]

Why not just buy the alcohol free premium if the 10% alcohol regular worries you. There are 3 retailers within 5 miles of my house that sell alcohol free premium. Lead additives are also not needed. The old mopar flatheads already have hardened exhaust seats.

[TodFitch]

11 minutes ago, cavisco1 said:

Why not just buy the alcohol free premium if the 10% alcohol regular worries you. There are 3 retailers within 5 miles of my house that sell alcohol free premium. Lead additives are also not needed. The old mopar flatheads already have hardened exhaust seats.

I haven't checked, but I'd be really surprised if ethanol free gasoline for highway use was available anywhere within a 230 mile radius of my house (approximately the distance to the state border).

And even if it was, those of us who like driving our old Plymouths would either need to do a lot of research before each trip to see where ethanol free gasoline was available near our intended route. It is a whole lot easier to replace the old rubber parts that are likely to be ready to fail with new ethanol compatible ones and not have to worry about where to get gas. Cheaper too: The http://gasprices.aaa.com site indicates that premium is typically $0.50/gal more expensive. For me that is about $7.00/tank. Doesn't take too many tanks of gas to pay for a $40 ethanol compatible fuel pump rebuilding kit.

With respect to "fuel additives to counteract modern fuel additives" and the fact that ethanol reduces the Reid Vapor Pressure of fuel, contributing to heat related issues. I can see why you might want to remove it.

You might try water. Mix water into your fuel to get the ethanol to go into the water, then wait for things to separate due to different densities and then decant the gasoline off the top. I am suggesting this mostly as a joke: Not sure it would work and even if it does, it is way too much hassle to do every tank full. Better to adjust your carb float level, assure your fuel pump heat shield is properly installed and your fuel lines are properly routed.

[Jeff Balazs]

I have been using Chemtool Gas additive in every 3rd tank of gas as a way to reduce carbon build up. With the daily stop and go driving I face I have noticed a positive difference in the way the truck is running since I started using it.

I also added Water Wetter by Redline to the coolant. It had an immediate effect of running around 6 to 8 degrees cooler than it was before adding it.

These are products that I don't mind paying for.

Jeff

[Dodgeb4ya]

I use no additives and probably never will.

[NiftyFifty]

Ethanol hurts all rubber...even the stuff they say is good for it, as my buddies tri power holly power valves get eaten pretty much every year.  I use Marvel Mystery Lube in my rides, it works very well and can help with a lot of things...like dry valves or sticky valves. When I can, I run zero ethanol premium, but that's a bit rarer in my parts.  As for oil...why on gods earth people would cheap out there..I'll never know...it's like saying I had a surgery and lost a lot of blood so I'll just pump slough water in...just as good.  Nobody will ever convince me these engines shouldn't have zddp additive...but then again some of these owners are 45mph putterers who only put a few miles on their rides...mine gets a minimum 4-5000 miles a summer when it's working well.  I just use the STP additive, it's cheap and peace of mind...I also use the Marvel Mystery Lube in the crankcase as well..not a lot, but I notice a lot less valve noise with it, then without it.

[JBNeal]

Not wanting to stir up the oil debate again, but the cheap oil in the USA is light years ahead in formulations than the straight weight oil that was available back in the 50s...so proper maintenance with a cheap oil and a quality filter nowadays should yield a long lasting engine...Marvel Mystery Oil in the crankcase does wonders for the engine innerds, and the MMO in the tank, from my experience, has a tendency to stabilize ethanol treated gasolines so that it takes them longer to foul, as well as decrease starting times  

[BigDaddyO]

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