Engine oil additives avblend

[rsmerrick]

Has anyone used this product and what do you think of it avblend

[DaveF]

I used it about 20 years ago in my 182 and it was a complete waste of money. The cylinders needed new exhaust valves at the same rate they did before, and on pulling them we found rust on the cylinder bores below the bottom of the ring travel.

In the early '90s there was a guy who wrote prolifically on the subject of aviation maintenance. He pushed Avblend as if it were the savior of our engines. BS. It's just light machine oil and a solvent. And it turned out that the prolific author's brother had a significant financial stake in Avblend (or Avblend sales), a fact the author never disclosed in his glowing endorsements of the stuff.

I can't believe it's still sold.

[GAHorn]

Unless your engine manufacturer specifically recommends a particular additive by brand name.... save your money. Most of them are snake oil or alcohol. The only additive worth peanuts is Alcor TCP, and even TCP is not an absolute necessity (but will aid in keeping plugs clean and may help keep valves from sticking.)

[rsmerrick]

Thanks for the info I was reading a recent article in copa news letter the author seemed very sold on the product . I have relocated from northern alberta to summerland bc I keep the plane in penticton it runs a lot hotter here was looking for something to help keep her a little cooler

[GAHorn]

Additives will not solve a mechanical problem like cooling.
Check your baffling. Check for exhaust leaks (which might be heating up the oil draining back down to your sump through the pushrod-tubes) and check your oil temp gauge for accuracy. (Simple, long BBQ thermometer stuck down the dipstick tube into the oil can quickly reveal a faulty gauge.) Incorrect magneto timing can make it run hot, as well.
Remember that if you run straight weight SAE 50 oil your oil temp redline is increased to 240-F. (and warm oil is OK...cool oil is not.)

[ddr36d]

You might want to check out Camguard. http://aslcamguard.com I am using it in my 170B & 180. I have not reached overhaul on either engine so it remains to be seen what the results will be. Google camguard & you will find a lot of info including the test that Continental & Camguard are doing.
Don

[GAHorn]

I'm not convinced yet.

According to the GAN report, "While the additive is approved by the FAA, it is not yet on Continental’s list of approved additives."

According to Camguards own parent company general manager, their product: “is like buying insurance...”

Except it isn't.

[DaveF]

Everything that's worth inventing has already been invented!

[GAHorn]

When an additive increases the mfr's recommended TBO.... I'll be convinced.

[cessna170bdriver]

When an additive increases the mfr's recommended TBO.... I'll be convinced.

When the additive manufacturer will reimburse an owner for an engine that goes less than TBO, THEN it will be like insurance...

[wingnut]

I've probably told this story here before, but since the topic has again been presented I would relate the story again......

I am not endorsing the product even if I could recall the brand name. It's been 20 years. In the 90's I did a lot of airframe work for Capehart Industries, well known reputable engine builders. There have been many engine shops here in Mena over decades, and except for the business name, most had/have employed the same folks. Good knowledgeable men. Some business names that quickly come to my mind are, Blue Diamond, High Performance, Air Power, and the current still in business shop, a great shop, Mena Aircraft Engines.
My involvement was during the Capehart days. They were approached by a "magic oil additive" manufacturer, and were skeptical. However they went to town and bought 2 identical, new, 5 HP Briggs&Stratton single cylinder engines. They built stands for each engine, and installed a local fab inertia wheel on the cranks ( to serve as a test club of sorts). They put the engine manufacturers recommended oil in both, and the started and ran them both for the same length of time to break them in. I think it was a full tank of fuel each which was about 1 hour, maybe more. Been to long to remember the exact numbers. Then they drained the oil from both engines. Then they added the same manufacturer recommended brand/weight oil to both engines. The only difference was they included the addition of the "magic additive" to one of the engines. Then they ran another full tank of fuel thru both engines. They drained the oil from both engines at this point, and did not add any oil nor "magic additive" to either. The engine that had received the additive ran for 40-45 minutes before it seized. The engine that did not receive the additive seized at 7-8 minutes.

In my opinion this was not a scientific study worthy of proving anything, but it was interesting to watch and have some participation in. If they had repeated this "study", especially with more of the same engines, and other types of engines, it may have at minimum resulted in a conclusion that the additive product did have some properties that might reduce friction and/or continue to offer same when the real oil level was/became below specified quantity. They did disassemble both engines. I seem to recall that the engine with additive valve(s) seized and piston made contact with one, damaging the plastic cam and/or cam gears, but the crank and rod bearings although severely worn, would still rotate.
The engine that did not have the additive stop running because of seized rod and/or main bearings, and also had severe galling of cylinder/rings.
My memory of this event is sketchy, and I can't guarantee the info to be 100% correct. I do know the engine shop did start using the product in aircraft engines after the initial 3-5 hour break-in period.
Again, I'm not endorsing nor supporting use of these OTC products. I only relate this story because it was very interesting to me. I
A few years later I purchase a 1964 Chevy 3/4 ton truck with a 283 engine. It ran really well but burned oil at an excessive rate. So I started having Tina purchase Canolla oil ( yes, the cooking oil) by the gallon or 5 gallon bucket when she found it on sale. That engine used so much oil that I never changed the oil. I converted it from the old canister type filter to a spin on filter. I would change the filter every 2-5k miles and then just add enough Canola to bring it up to full on the dipstick. I used Canolla oil in that truck for 20,000 miles before I removed the engine, rebuilt it, and installed it a 1984 Chevy truck which I still drive as a farm truck today. It was my son Tanner that helped me rebuild it for his first truck. The crank was measured standard. So close to new limits we could not even use the .001 undersize bearings sold for minor wear.

[blueldr]

One of my friends that has a Grumann Tiger was having problems with stuck valves. He is a fussy mechanic and espically picky IA. He got touted on to CamGuard and tried it out. He got convinced and even put a number of his clients on the stuff, merrily singing the praises of Canguard to all that would listen, Even better than STP, BARDAHL, dnd all he others put togather.
Than one day I see his hangar door open so I stop off to see whats up. Lo and behold, he's pulling the valve stems out the bottom spark plug holes in his trusty Lycoming O-360. His face was so long that his voice had dropped an octave. Scratch one more snake oil remedy. I thought for a while there that he was going to take the gas pipe but he finally recovered. He no longer recommends any oil additive.

[flyboy122]

I asked one of old school IA's here at work about Avblend last year. He had spent some time with one of the oil companies' (can't remember which one, think it was Phillips) engineers, and had asked them about it. Their response was, "If it was any good, we'd be putting it in our oil!" Now, a cynic may chalk that up to the fact they don't have the secret mix, or just want to sell more oil, but a realist knows that cash talks. If this stuff really worked the major oil companies would have either licensed it or developed their own formulation years ago.

We've all seen demos where they drain the oil out of an engine and such. But keep in mind our engines weren't designed to run without oil for a couple hours. They were designed to run with oil for a couple thousand. Oil works at a microscopic level on a myriad of materials and conditions. We tend to think of it as recycled dinosaurs, but it is actually really highly designed and engineered for specific applications.

The best thing you can do to increase the longevity of your engine is fly it often, run it at the proper temps, and change the oil regularly.

DEM

[wingnut]

George wrote: "...........(and that is one reason which additives that claim to "clean" your engine is actually harmful..it removes that protective film from non moving parts and then adds potential harm by circulating it thru the engine......."

Another short story I bought a 78 Chevy truck that only had 70k miles. It had only been driven to church, literally. Church was only a few miles down the road, so engine rarely got up to a good temp. The engine had poor compression, constantly fouled plugs, and so when I pulled the valve covers I found it to be "coked" up. An older gentleman told me about a product called Rislone (not sure about spelling), but he ran it in everything. 1qt to 4qt ratio. He guaranteed it would "overhaul" my engine. It was worth a try.
It destroyed the engine. It must have contained mostly solvents because it dissolved crud so fast that it clogged the filter before the recommended "bring it up to ops temp, then drain oil and remove and clean oil pan". When I told the man about this, he allowed that he used it with every oil change, forever. I suspect if you used it all the time it wouldn't hurt anything, but in my case it worked way to good. I prefer Canola