nate_88

does LC20 keep your engine that clean? where can you buy it?

HOHN

The LC20 is remarkable stuff in the oil. The thing that really sold me on it was my experience with it in my 1997 Nissan Maxima.

With over 140K miles on it, my Nissan had ALWAYS been run on a premium synthetic: amsoil, Mobil 1, or (mostly) Redline. I thought the engine was pretty clean, because these are premium oils with superior high-temperature performance.

I tried the LC20 somewhat on a lark because I had read so many glowing reports of its performance on www.bobistheoilguy.com I also noticed that my dipstick had some varnish on it over the years, as did the valvetrain (springs, retainers, cam followers, etc). While there was no thick sludge in this VQ30 Nissan engine, it was varnished pretty much everywhere.

At first I tried some petro Rotella 10w-30 in my Nissan, thinking the higher detergency would clean it out. It didn't.

So the next oil change, I stuck with the Rotella (in my Nissan gasser) and added the LC20 in accordance with the directions for "initial dose".

Within 500 miles I noticed the oil turning black-- much faster than it normally would.

Within 3000 miles, the oil was REALLY dark. But EVERY LAST HINT OF VARNISH WAS GONE!! The dipstick looked like it had been mirror polished. The end of the dipstick had two rivets in it, and the craters in these rivet heads had previously been filled with deposits. NO MORE-- the deposits were entirely removed and I could see shiny bare metal.

Satisfied that the LC20 worked as advertised (and how!), I added it to my truck's oil. Now my Cummins had a lot lower mileage on it, and I think the inside of the engine was already pretty clean. Again, I noticed the oil darkening faster than normal, but not as severely as with the much older Nissan.

Here's my summary of the LC20:
1) It cleans the inside of the engine very well-- without harsh solvents or anything that can't stay in the engine indefinitely
2) It keeps an engine clean when used at the "maintenance" dosage of an ounce or so every 1K miles.
3) If an engine's dipstick or pan can be gummed up, how much worse are the piston ring grooves? I think this area of the engine probably benefits most from the LC20.

I have to order my LC20 directly from the website, as I'm not aware of any local distributors.

I'd encourage a person to try it from himself, and report back what he thinks. I'm personally a hugely satisfied, fanatically enthusiastically pleased customer

Justin

HOHN

I have used the FP60 in both my gasser Nissan and my CTD. This product is designed for both gas and diesel engines. It contains similar cleaning agents (though milder) as the LC20. They have similar smells (and they smell great, in a must-be-18-to-buy-canned-air-at-Wal-Mart kind of way)

Results with the FP60 in my Nissan were favorable. My idle speed when from being erratic to rock solid. Cold starts were much better, and the engine quit dying after its first cold start.

Results in my CTD were positive, but much milder. I noticed less noise from the VP44. Less smoke and a little more "response" but nothing drastic.

One thing that DID happen was my fuel guage quit working after I overdosed my truck with FP60. I have no idea of the FP60 "caused" the failure by cleaning something or if the timing is purely coincidental.

About this time, I parted with my truck for a year or so and my Dad didn't use any FP60 or LC20. My fuel gauge is still not working. It's on my "fix it" list.




I'm now using the Fuel Power product that superceded the FP60. I don't know if they still make or sell the FP60. I went with the Fuel Power because the formulas are optimized for gas or diesel (separate formulas). Also, the diesel Fuel Power is bio-based, and the recent study of fuel lubricity showed that biodiesel is far superior to the other fuel additives tested. I conclude then, that the bio-based Fuel Power is also a very effective lubricity enhancer.

In addition to the lubricity, the Fuel Power should clean as well as the FP60.

So far I don't have many miles on the Fuel Power diesel formula. I also don't have much of a baseline since I've only had my truck back for two months, I had a bad APPS, It's super cold, and I'm living in a new place with new traffic conditions.

So I suspect that the Fuel Power is another excellent product from LCD. But as of yet, I can't point to any evidence of that at all. When I get more of a baseline and more miles on my truck with the new stuff, I'll be able to give meaningful commentary.

Thus far, I can't really offer anything concrete on the Fuel Power other than this: it has good cold weather resistance to gel up for a bio-based product. I left the bottle of Fuel Power in the bed of my truck when temps dove near zero. The product was still a liquid and was just starting to show some crystallization at VERY cold temps. When diluted in the tank, I can't see how it would offer any additional risk for gelling.

Sorry I can't give anything better yet.

Justin

nate_88

HOHN, don't be sorry, that was a pretty good testimonial if i must say so myself! i think i'll run with the sludge remover and lube guard through a few more oil changes and get an update. then i'll try out this LC20... or maybe i'll try it sooner haha. thanks for the information HOHN, i really appreciate it. sounds like that stuff is pretty amazing, and i'm always looking for a way to make my truck last longer!

vp_mopar

ok this is gonna sound really dumb.... but i just bought my truck a week ago, 2000 4x4 CTD, how many quarts do you guys put in?

sorry new to the diesel world

casey

HOHN

It holds 11.

Lotsa guys dump in 12 qt (gallon jugs, right?) and call it good. I've never heard of a problem from those who overfill by that extra quart.

The "low" mark on the dipstick is 10.5 qts.

Nice mopars in your sig. I had a '69 Coronet that I wish I still had.

nate_88

Did that change in 2000, because my full line is at 10 quarts

90dodge

Idornak,
I ran Delo 15 40 in my 1st gen up to 220K. and never burnt a drop of oil. Than back in 2005 when I transfered from washington State to here in Florida I topped every thing off with Amsoil. I got 21-22 mpg on the whole 3300 mile trip. But with that Synthetic oil I started burning it. It has smaller malacules (cant spell) than dino oil, so gets in where the dino oil dosnt
So I switched back to Delo, and added a gal of Lucas oil stab. and dont burn a drop. But I just started using Rotela with the Lucas. So 170k might be a lil to much on the clock to use straight syn. But its worht a try, just thought I would shear my thoughts.

Bob

HOHN

No, I just have my info wrong

SuperDave4x4

Very nice HOHN! I think I'm gonna pick up some LC20. My truck as 166,+++k on it and I'm not always on time for my oil changes.

Also KermaTDI sells the stuff. They have a listing of the KermaTDI locations on line.

nate_88

Hey, at least your other info was good!

ldornak

Anyone else have any comments or experiences on switching to synthetic after 170K miles?

HOHN

Here are some suggestions:

-- The LC20 mentioned above can clean out the engine really well. You could try this and see if you get any leaks from "false seals" as the gunk is dissolved.

-- You could transition to synthetic in graduated increments. For example, make one of your three gallons synthetic next oil change. Then 2 of 3, etc. This assumed you don't have any qualms mixing different kinds of oil (as I do not).

--You could just go for the gusto and go straight to synthetic. Honestly, I think you could do this and be just fine. The probability of some kind of major leakage or other problems is quite low.

Is there any particular reason you are switching to syn after 170K miles?

JH

nate_88

Maybe run the LC20 to clean out the engine, put in an additive to recondition the headgasket and other seals, then run synthetic?? what do you think HOHN?

HOHN

I don't think a headgasket can really be reconditioned.

I think Valvoline has a MaxLife oil additive that may be helpful for seal conditioning.

Sounds like a good plan to me!

JH