Valvoline MaxLife- High Mileage Blend

[HoosierJeeper]

I'd avoid the Lucus stuff. It's just like adding gear oil to your engine. Cancels out the other additives in the oil too.

 

[tjkj2002]

Seafoam is a great product. Lots of ways to use it. It does wonders when you add it to the vacuum line, cleans out the carbon buildup in the intake. Really ticked off the neighbors when I did that one, monstrous clouds of smoke. I also add a bottle to my gas after an oil change. It seems like it really helps clean up the carbon deposits throughout multiple systems.

Seafoam is to harsh for plastic intakes and really is a terrible cleaner for that purpose.

To be effective you need to add the cleaner (16oz) over 40-45min period through a vacuum line as close to the TB as possible with the engine running at 1200-1400rpm.

If you see smoke it has not cleaned anything,that smoke is the cleaner being burned in the cats.

All those youtube vids showing the seafoam and brake booster line thing is a great way to hydrolock your engine and it needs to be drip feed(medical IV type of trip) over a 40-45min period.The higher rpm's(1200-1400rpm's) is to keep the cat temps and combustion temps up to burn off the crabon released by the cleaner.

 

[BillyG]

I watched a video of someone that had a sweet setup that looked like an IV drip. He had a valve spliced into the tube- just like the one I have on the water line going to my ice maker- so he could limit the flow.

I also watched a video of someone that just dunked the brake booster hose into the can and hydrolocked the engine. It made a cool bang sound before the engine stalled. Bent valve maybe?

 

[Charlesthe2nd]

Seafoam is to harsh for plastic intakes and really is a terrible cleaner for that purpose.

I misspoke and didn't mean to imply that I'm putting seafoam into the engine through the intake. I've added it to the brake booster line. They make a spray bottle of it that takes at least 15 or more minutes to empty, and I keep a rock on the pedal to keep the RPMs up. After the bottle is empty and the Jeep has sat for 15 minutes, it smokes very heavily. Not much smoke while adding it to the engine, only after.

What a bummer it would be to hydrolock the engine while trying to clean it.
I also replace the spark plugs after this treatment. I'd like to try the drip feed method to see if it does a better job of cleaning out the carbon buildup.

I'd avoid the Lucus stuff. It's just like adding gear oil to your engine. Cancels out the other additives in the oil too.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll stop using it.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

I didn't know that till I joined the oil forum! Honestly in your climate, a 5w40 or a 10w40 would be a good choice I think. Might help with the burning.

 

[BillyG]

I have used the spray can before and it is easier to use- no worrying about hydrolocking. Maybe there is a cleaning difference between the two methods but I would think they are accomplishing the same thing- slowly adding the Seafoam.

The Shell Rotella is a heavy-duty oil that can withstand the heat of a turbo, so it might be good where you are Charles. If you want to make sure that you have some seal conditioner, just get a bottle of ATP or Blue Devil. I run the 15-40 and Blue Devil in my wife's Subaru Legacy and that does not have a turbo but it helps with the weeping valve cover gaskets.

I only get the Blue Devil because I have to order the ATP as no stores carry it locally.

 

[tjkj2002]

I misspoke and didn't mean to imply that I'm putting seafoam into the engine through the intake. I've added it to the brake booster line. They make a spray bottle of it that takes at least 15 or more minutes to empty, and I keep a rock on the pedal to keep the RPMs up. After the bottle is empty and the Jeep has sat for 15 minutes, it smokes very heavily. Not much smoke while adding it to the engine, only after.

What a bummer it would be to hydrolock the engine while trying to clean it.
I also replace the spark plugs after this treatment. I'd like to try the drip feed method to see if it does a better job of cleaning out the carbon buildup.



Thanks for the heads up. I'll stop using it.

Adding seafoam to any vacuum line exposes it to the plastic intake.

 

[ltd02]

I've used Seafoam in the gas and it seems okay, but I haven't had any of this stuff in either of my KJ intakes. If I had a issue with carbon I'd go a different route. I have a 4.0L OHV Ranger that is notorious for carbon knock and I use Motorcraft PM3. There's a TSB on its use, applying it through the vacuum line at the bottom of the throttle body at a slow rate. It definitely helps the detonation. I do this twice a year. I have tried Seafoam like this once in this vehicle's intake and it did absolutely nothing except smoke. Might as well just use water. Recently I tried that Gumout One and Done with P.E.A. in place of a PM3 treatment and it worked very well so far. I'll have to see if the pinging is fixed for as long as the PM3 does. The PM3 is only for the intake and not to be used in gas. It smells like some sort of naphthalene containing solvent.

 

[tjkj2002]

Might as well just use water.

Believe it or not water is the best cleaner for carbon buildup if applied correctly.

 

[ltd02]

Believe it or not water is the best cleaner for carbon buildup if applied correctly.

Yes that's sort of what I meant. It's pretty well documented and I've actually read up on it and thought about trying it. Doing it right is the key. Water is a lot cheaper than Seafoam too. :gr_grin:

 

[Charlesthe2nd]

I didn't know that till I joined the oil forum! Honestly in your climate

Learning a lot from all of y'all. Glad everyone is willing to share their knowledge on here.

The Shell Rotella is a heavy-duty oil that can withstand the heat of a turbo, so it might be good where you are Charles. If you want to make sure that you have some seal conditioner, just get a bottle of ATP or Blue Devil..

It's safe to put ATP into your oil? Didn't realize that was a thing. I'm actually in the process of moving across country. Santa Cruz, CA > Portland, ME for a new job. What's the opinion on summer blend oil vs winter blend oil? In summer 5-15w-40 is the consensus for the engines over 200k?

Adding seafoam to any vacuum line exposes it to the plastic intake.

Point taken. Will not be using seafoam like that anymore. The Motorcraft PM3 seems like a good option that I'd like to try, seeing as those cans of seafoam over the years did diddly squat.

Believe it or not water is the best cleaner for carbon buildup if applied correctly.

Gonna feed the Marshmellow some high quality H two OH. Right into the intake right?? :happy175::winner_third_h4h:

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Wow...literally doesn't get more cross country than that!

I'd go 10w30/40 in the summer and 5w30/40 in the winter. Could even go with an 0w40.

 

[turblediesel]

Traditionally seal conditioners softened the seals making them expand and seem to seal; then they self destructed completely.

 

[BillyG]

Traditionally seal conditioners softened the seals making them expand and seem to seal; then they self destructed completely.

If the seal is in really bad shape then yes, using a seal conditioner such as ATP 205 could cause it to become too soft and fall apart. It also states on the bottle that if the seal is broken or torn then the seal conditioner will not do anything.

The Shell Rotella does not have any seal conditioners in it, so that was why I used a bottle of ATP 205 or Blue Devil. I would think doubling up on seal conditioners- HM oil and adding ATP 205 or Blue Devil- would do more harm than good.

Link to ATP website:
ATP Automotive AT-205 Re-Seal

 

[JeepJeepster]

The 5w-30 maxlife has very good shear strength, which is really the most important thing with oil. Ive been using it in my 94 I6 ZJ since 2003 or so... Currently at 256,000mi it doesnt have any dripping leaks.

For a good bit I used mobil 1 SYN in my KJ but now I use Valvoline SYN 5w-30. It leaks from every possible seal throughout the drivetrain...

Ive started using 5w-30 in everything. I like oil flow over oil pressure...

https://540ratblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/motor-oil-wear-test-ranking/

 

[HoosierJeeper]

There's a lot on that study over at BITOG ...it's an interesting one for sure.

Update: The new Valvoline additive packs are now Moly and boron based...they phased out sodium and calcium to help LSPI issues. Not really applicable to the KJ since they're not turbo'd and direct injected, but just an update.

 

[JeepJeepster]

There's a lot on that study over at BITOG ...it's an interesting one for sure.

Update: The new Valvoline additive packs are now Moly and boron based...they phased out sodium and calcium to help LSPI issues. Not really applicable to the KJ since they're not turbo'd and direct injected, but just an update.

Wonder if the 'update' has anything to do with this... Seems it hurt the film strength...

"5W30 Valvoline MaxLife High Mileage, API SN, synthetic blend (red bottle) = 108,045 psi
This is an earlier version that is no longer available. It has been replaced by a new formula version that now has GM dexos 1 approval. See below for the new version’s ranking position."

Im gonna go hunt down some posts on BITOG as Im curious what they say about his tests. If his tests are valid then its really wild how wrong 99% of the people are. Zinc being the biggest thing Ive noticed that people think is a must have... I wish I knew more about it...

 

[HoosierJeeper]

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3966884/1

Probably the biggest thread but there's a few others too

 

[tjkj2002]

Wonder if the 'update' has anything to do with this... Seems it hurt the film strength...

"5W30 Valvoline MaxLife High Mileage, API SN, synthetic blend (red bottle) = 108,045 psi
This is an earlier version that is no longer available. It has been replaced by a new formula version that now has GM dexos 1 approval. See below for the new version’s ranking position."

Im gonna go hunt down some posts on BITOG as Im curious what they say about his tests. If his tests are valid then its really wild how wrong 99% of the people are. Zinc being the biggest thing Ive noticed that people think is a must have... I wish I knew more about it...

Dexos is just SN rated oil which all oils you can pretty much buy these days are SN rated.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Actually the new Maxlife isn't Dexos, Dexos is now all synthetic.