When the dura is in need of lubrication, usually it is supplied by the body. But if one is not producing enough lube on one’s own, DuraLube would probably not be my first choice to lubricate dura mater (tough mother). I’d probably opt for half normal saline.
Incidentally, this thread wasn’t too long after Dura Lube settled a big false advertising lawsuit with the FTC: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2000/03/motor.shtm
I’m suprised nobody mentioned it back then.
You’ll excuse me if I invoke something I learned from a co-worker many years ago. During a long reading of some smarmy company announcement, she kept pointedly holding her arm straight up over her head. When I asked her about it later, she said it meant…
“Save the watch; the shoes are gone!”
Precisely. Back when it was Slick 50 making all the claims, they’d put the goo in an engine, run it a bit to magickafy the wear surfaces, then drain all the oil out. By golly, the engine would run an hour, two or more with no oil at all. What incredible stuff!
Of course, if you choose an engine not sensitive to things like camshaft wear, it helps. But mostly, you never run the test on an un-Slicked engine… because it would run just as long without oil.
Frankly, there are tons of oil additives, with no real evidence that they do any good. Why wouldn’t fleet operators or state police vehicles use them? I remember that all sort of claims were made for synthetic oils-but most mechanics say that regular oil changes (with SAE certified oil) is all you need to do.
The amount of mysticism and woo around oil types and additives, as you can find on any motoring forum, approaches the ravings of high-end audiophiles and other religious beliefs. The notion that such a product is so new and spectacular (oh, and suppressed by Big Oil and Big Carmakers) that it can only be sold on an infomercial is just hilarious.
If it worked, they couldn’t make enough of it for the vehicle fleets of America, who will go to great lengths to reduce fuel use and reduce maintenance costs.
I’ve never tried duralube. I have tried Lucas heavy duty oil stabilizer. My car burns about half a quart of oil a month, so I normally have to add that much each month. The manual calls for changing the oil out every 5 months.
The last time I got my oil changed I had a quart of Lucas put in with the oil, and in the last 5 months (I just had the oil changed again last weekend) the car did not lose more than half a quart over the entire 5 months.
So that product worked for me on my car burning/leaking oil.
I knew I read racer72’s testimonial somewhere before.
I have tried a similar product named Motorkote.
My motorcycle has a very rough gear change action. I don’t know if it is normal for this specific model or simply my motorcycle has some kind of defect. Whenever I add some Motorkote the gear changes become silky-smooth. Only problem is that the effect doesn’t last for more than a couple of months. Whatever is in Motorkote does work but breaks down eventually.
I think using synthetic oil in a water-cooled engine is a waste of money. So I just use regular 'ol oil in my automobiles. However, I do use synthetic oil in my riding mower and lawn tractor. Those engines get pretty hot, especially in the summer, and I figure synthetic oil will hold up much better in these engines compared to non-synthetic oil.
Ironic how this decade old thread references Drive It Forever by Bob Sikorsky. When I read his book, it raved about the Inset Fuel Stabilizer, which is grade A hokum: Inset Fuel Stabilizer - The Skeptic's Dictionary - Skepdic.com
For regular humans, yeah, I suppose so. But I’m not so sure about zombies.
I notice the reviver of this zombie, Susan, Captain in the Royal Navy, has only made that one post on this Board. What she says must be true if they are willing to take time out of their apparently busy schedule to post it.
???
The ATF (automatic transmission fluid) “trick” can and had worked wonders on rotary engines. A common problem in high mileage rotary engines is a build up of carbon on the corner apex seals. Sometimes this build up will not allow the seal to set properly, causing a loss of compression. A common fix if to pour ATF down the carb or inject it into the spark plug holes on the fuel injected models with the ignition coil disconnected. Bump the engine and let the ATF circulate, wait 24 hours, reconnect the coils and fire it up. You’ll have the neighbors calling the fire department as the smoke produced out the exhaust will convince them the entire county is on fire, but there’s a good chance your compression levels are now restored! It isn’t unheard of to take a rotary engine from a junkyard, subject it to the ATF treatment and bring it back to life. ATF if great stuff for us rotorheads!
I have used dura lube for about 10 years. I have a 97 Ford Crown Vic with over 80K miles on it and it gets a solid 18 to 20 mpg. I also use Mobil 1. This product has proven itself to me over a considerable period of time. On a trip in 05 or 06 I used this product, with transmission treatment, and standard Havoline motor oil, in a 92 Ford Crown Vic and over the entire trip which totaled more than 1400 miles and the last portion included some extensive high speed driving I averaged 27.75 mpg.
Sounds like a '97 Grand Marquis I had- 20 mpg city and 27 mpg at 70+mph highway, consistent over 50,000 miles, using no additives or synthetic oils whatsoever. Same numbers stated by a friend of mine over the life of two Grand Marquis (same car basically as a Crown Vic).
I have a turbocharged Dodge Neon with 163,000 miles. It doesn’t use oil between changes and I’ve only ever put in conventional 10W-30 in it. In a modern engine, you don’t need any dodgy additives. In fact, I would say in a modern engine you absolutely don’t want to dump any additives in there. The engine was designed for and validated with the grade of oil the manufacturer tells you to use. Motor oil is an engineered fluid with rather stringent standards. You don’t need anything else inside your engine.
Oh- the 50k miles I put on the car I mentioned was from 123,000 to 173,000 miles.
I take one drop of Duralube and stir it into a 55 gallon drum of motor oil. I take 1 drop from that drum and stir it into 1 quart of oil. I take one drop of that and stir it into each quart of oil I put in the car. It’s very effective because even though there may not be any Duralube in the oil I add to the car the oil has an enduring memory of the Duralube and is just as effective.