Marvel Mystery Oil and Sea Foam

[1985VK]

Hey has anyone ever tried it? Does anyone know what's in it or what they use as a substitute? The Yanks have it good.

 

[Fu Manchu]

Watch the video by Project Farm where he conducts measured trials of them. Interesting.
My inner Aussie still says keep it simple and service the car regularly with specified fluids.

 

[1985VK]

Watch the video by Project Farm where he conducts measured trials of them. Interesting.
My inner Aussie still says keep it simple and service the car regularly with specified fluids.

Yes i saw it. These products are more suited to simpler older engine technology and bumping up the fuel with these products in trimmers/blowers/mowers etc makes sense.

 

[Ginger Beer]

I've used Subaru upper engine cleaner on my VX.

It works well at removing crud in the intake tract that gets left behind from the PCV.

Is it needed in a system that isn't DI, I would say no.

Only reason I used it was to get a baseline to see how efficient my SAAS AOS was working.

You need to remember that people will make all sorts of claims to sell a product.

And people do love to consume irrelevant stuff because someone told them they need too.

In saying that, if you own a DI engine I would be all over the upper engine cleaner at every service interval, the amount of crud that builds up it the top end of a DI engine is insane, I do like the Toyota D4-S that has both port and direct injection, best of both worlds.

 

[gtrboyy]

Subaru Upper Cylinder cleaner is a decent product.....designed for engines that were prone to carbon & detonation issues.

Works well for the novelty factor if you've got high mileage car & want to smoke out the backyard/driveway to see if old bomb drives & idle better or just made it worse.

Old heads used to spray misted water down carbs of old taxis....diesel oil to clean gunked out emgine.....methylated spirits in fuel tank to get water out with fuel.

 

[1985VK]

Old heads used to spray misted water down carbs of old taxis....diesel oil to clean gunked out emgine.....methylated spirits in fuel tank to get water out with fuel.

Now they sell it in a can and call it "liquid engineering" ...

 

[lmoengnr]

I've used Subaru upper engine cleaner on my VX.

It works well at removing crud in the intake tract that gets left behind from the PCV.

Is it needed in a system that isn't DI, I would say no.

Only reason I used it was to get a baseline to see how efficient my SAAS AOS was working.

You need to remember that people will make all sorts of claims to sell a product.

And people do love to consume irrelevant stuff because someone told them they need too.

In saying that, if you own a DI engine I would be all over the upper engine cleaner at every service interval, the amount of crud that builds up it the top end of a DI engine is insane, I do like the Toyota D4-S that has both port and direct injection, best of both worlds.

How does the Subaru stuff compare to the old GM Top Engine Cleaner?

 

[Ginger Beer]

How does the Subaru stuff compare to the old GM Top Engine Cleaner?

Don't know, I had the Suby stuff laying around since I sold my 2015 WRX STI in 2018.

In other news, the 2015 WRX STI was the most uninspiring car I've ever owned, the AWD system was brilliant though.

 

[UTE042_NZ]

Marvel Mystery Oil is often used as an additive to replace Zinc Dialkyl Dithiophosphate (removed from oils because of catalytic converters) in older engines like Ford V8 and other flatheads that have solid valve lifter faces riding on cam lobes and/or run at lower oil pressures than modern engines (early Chevrolet straight sixes with dipper feed con-rods and/or solid lifters).

Seafoam is great for desludging an engine's oil and/or fuel systems BUT it can also result in massive leaks due to rooted seals that the years of settled sludge and/or carbon were actually hiding. Ok to use if you are thinking about pulling the engine down for a rebuild anyway.

 

[marty351]

Regular oil changes minimises sludge build up, but some people will always remain tightasses.
As for intake cleaning, good ol' carby cleaner or that Subaru stuff.