Upper cylinder lubricant - worth using or just a con?

[<152587>]

Never steamed a B&W but can confirm its use on Doxfords to lubricate top piston.

 

[Poignard]

A diesel engine will burn anything that can go through the pump and injectors! Simplistically speaking, engine oil is just thicker fuel oil! A hydrocarbon is a hydrocarbon!
S

You're right there. Until last week (when I fixed it) my engine was happily devouring the contents of the sump!

There have also been diesel engines that will run on coal dust, sawdust and even rice.
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1893&dat=19281127&id=kPMoAAAAIBAJ&sjid=29MEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5236,3682431&hl=en

Page 7

 

[vyv_cox]

In the early 70s I worked for Shell Research in Egham although I don't think anyone there was doing research on fuel. It was at the time of the miners' strike and the 3 day week and for a few weeks my working days were Friday, Saturday and Sunday because the site had no leccy during the rest of the week.

Richard

I was at Thornton. Engine research started there in WW2 and just before my time there was a twin-engined aircraft, a bomber I think, tethered to the ground just inside the gate.

 

[RichardS]

I was at Thornton. Engine research started there in WW2 and just before my time there was a twin-engined aircraft, a bomber I think, tethered to the ground just inside the gate.

Ah yes. I never went there but I used to work with raw materials despatched from Shell Thornton, Shell Carrington and Shell Pernis. I think the latter was in The Netherlands but I never went there either!

Richard

 

[Bilgediver]

I'm sure I saw that gauze atomiser thing on Tomorrow's World! There was also a gadget that sprayed a water mist into the carburettor that was supposed to work wonders. It also seems to have never come to anything.

Anyway, thanks to you and the others. I think I'll save my money!

What brought it to mind was that on big marine diesel engines (eg Burmeister & Wain) we had a system to inject some kind of lubricating oil directly into the cylinders above the piston. It was a long time ago but I seem to remember this was not the same oil as used for general engine lubrication and I think it was a reddish colour. Made me think of Redex.

Water and water methanol is used on some diesels to improve performance.

The cylinder lubrication on marine diesels is used to inject lubrication onto the cylinder wall as unlike smaller engines in marine cross head engines the crankcase oil is isolated from the bores by a diaphragm and so there would be no oil for the piston rings if this was not provided, The injection can be timed on some engines so it takes place as the piston head passes the injection point. This is the ultimate upper cylinder lubricant.

 

[JumbleDuck]

When I first joined the research company of a major oil company I was working in a laboratory next door to a man who assessed every product that was supposed to improve upon the standard fuel or lubricant's properties.

I once added up all the things which it was claimed would add 10% to my Herald's fuel economy. Fancy spark plugs, fancy coil, redex, K&N air filter and so on and so on. It was quite easy to get up to a 100% increase.

On an old engine I suspect that just about anything gives an improvement as its fitting normally corresponds with a general cleaning, re-timing and so on ... but of course you can just do the general cleaning and re-timing and so on for the same benefit without wasting money on the gadget.

For the nadir of water-injection lunacy, the story of Stanley Meyer and his water-powered car makes an excellent cautionary tale.

 

[ianj99]

Just add some ZX1 to the fuel. It will protect the pump and injectors as well as the cylinders. Its meant for the oil, but is recommended for fuel, and vehicle power steering systems.

It particularly useful for reducing wear during the first few minutes after a cold start.

http://team-zx1.com

 

[Skylark]

Used to be popular in olden times. Anyone remember the conical squirty cans of Redex at petrol stations?

What a fantastic picture. Halcyon days of being a 16 year old in 1970. I used to put loads of Redex into the tank of my Lambretta. Clouds of smoke and that wonderful smell. Happy days!

 

[JumbleDuck]

What a fantastic picture. Halcyon days of being a 16 year old in 1970. I used to put loads of Redex into the tank of my Lambretta. Clouds of smoke and that wonderful smell. Happy days!

Years ago I did up an ancient Morris Minor for a friend to use as her first car. After she'd had it for a while she got in touch to say that it was running rather roughly, and she thought it needed "some pink medicine". I went along, removed the air filter, started the engine and ceremonially poured two or three teaspoons full of Redex into the downdraught carb. The car spluttered, belched out huge quantities of black smoke and then settled down to run much more smoothly than before. There was satisfaction in a job well done, of course, but it was nothing compared to the satisfaction of seeing the look on my friend's face when she realised that I actually was giving her car some pink medicine.

It survived about six months, by the way, before being written while parked on a steep hill in Cotham by some pratt's failure to put his handbrake on fully.

 

[Floyd Raser]

Years ago I did up an ancient Morris Minor for a friend to use as her first car. After she'd had it for a while she got in touch to say that it was running rather roughly, and she thought it needed "some pink medicine". I went along, removed the air filter, started the engine and ceremonially poured two or three teaspoons full of Redex into the downdraught carb. The car spluttered, belched out huge quantities of black smoke and then settled down to run much more smoothly than before. There was satisfaction in a job well done, of course, but it was nothing compared to the satisfaction of seeing the look on my friend's face when she realised that I actually was giving her car some pink medicine.

It survived about six months, by the way, before being written while parked on a steep hill in Cotham by some pratt's failure to put his handbrake on fully.

That reminds me of the "Redex De-coke": Whip the plugs out, squirt Redex down into each cylinder, cover the plug holes, turn the engine over a few times to get the stuff up to the valves, leave for a period of time (over night?). Next day turn over again to get most of it out then get it going and expect a fog! Or something like that; never did it myself but sound like fun.

 

[steadyeddy]

I put STP in my engine drove up the M2 motorway and blew a hole in the piston ,cost me a gold seal engine,£70.00 fitted myself the good old days.:encouragement:

 

[lw395]

Years ago I did up an ancient Morris Minor for a friend to use as her first car. After she'd had it for a while she got in touch to say that it was running rather roughly, and she thought it needed "some pink medicine". I went along, removed the air filter, started the engine and ceremonially poured two or three teaspoons full of Redex into the downdraught carb. The car spluttered, belched out huge quantities of black smoke and then settled down to run much more smoothly than before. There was satisfaction in a job well done, of course, but it was nothing compared to the satisfaction of seeing the look on my friend's face when she realised that I actually was giving her car some pink medicine.

It survived about six months, by the way, before being written while parked on a steep hill in Cotham by some pratt's failure to put his handbrake on fully.

Every Minor we owned had an SU not a downdraught carb.
The standard of fiction in this place is deteriorating.

 

[Heckler]

Every Minor we owned had an SU not a downdraught carb.
The standard of fiction in this place is deteriorating.

Mustnt let the truth get in the way of a good story!
S

 

[Norman_E]

My 1963 school summer holiday job was serving petrol at a chain of local Shell stations where I filled in, two weeks at a time for staff members on holiday. Shell Mex was 4 shillings & 5 pence halfpenny, ordinary Shell (about 4 star) was 4 shillings & 9 pence and Super was a heady 5 shillings and a halfpenny a gallon. I made as much in tips as I did in Pay, and lots of motorists took "shots" of Redex at one old penny a go. The mechanic at one garage gave a car a "decoke" by revving the engine whilst I squirted redex into the carb. Huge clouds of smoke, very black at first, but less so after some of the carbon had been burned out.

 

[VicS]

Mustnt let the truth get in the way of a good story!
S

Just does not know his Morris Minor from his Austin A30 perhaps

 

[theoldsalt]

From memory Redex always produced clouds of white smoke, not black.

 

[lw395]

From memory Redex always produced clouds of white smoke, not black.

Anyone with any sense only added it at night!

 

[Birdseye]

What do you think?

My engine is a BUKH DV10, in case that makes any difference.

It worked in the old days when glazing and sticky rings etc were problems. For that reaso it might be of use on an old engine like a Bukh. Wouldnt be any real use on a modern high speed diesel with plated bores etc.

 

[Bav32]

Too much nostaga
Me thinks the best idea would be to put the Redex squirter up on Ebay and see how much it makes.
Anyone remember when they introduced the two stroke squirters? Shell I think.
What a difference that made to just using an eight to one engine oil mix in the old seagull.
Still dreadful mind you; OK less dreadful.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Every Minor we owned had an SU not a downdraught carb.
The standard of fiction in this place is deteriorating.

Hmm. Interesting. It was definitely a Moggy (SSU437, though astute readers will realise that this was not its original number) and I thought it had a Zenith. Probably just faulty memory, though, as it was about 25 years ago.

A bit of googling suggests that some Minor at least had a sloping carb with a horizontally mounted air filter, so I could indeed be remembering pouring the redex down an 'ole. Anyone got an early 1000 who can confirm?