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Does anyone remember "Molycodl"?-mixture of molybdenum disulphide and colloidal graphite.
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OK, well I might be a gullible idot but I'm happy to give something a try before I pass an opinion on it
I have recently bought a Nissan P12 Primera 1.8 with 75,000 miles on the clock and it suddenly developed a loud knocking at around 2,000 rpm
We narrowed this down to the No 1 cylinder and it seems prety obvious it's either little end (gudgeon pin / bearing ) worn or piston slap - must have starved of oil or run very hot at some time.
Engine strip and rebuild is very costly - far more than value of car, so i'm using all the snake oil I can lay my hands on to defer a major expense (I'm 66 and due to retire soon)
I've bought a tin of Ametech and followed the instructions. I poured about a quarter of the tin straight down the plug hole into the combustion chamber of No 1 cylinder and the rest in the oil filler cap
Masses and masses of white smoke followed with a leisurely 45mph run of about 20 miles. No wondereful cure yet - knocking still there but it does say not to expecrt miracles too soon.
I recorded a short cli[p on my phone of the 'before' noise and in a few days I'll repeat it to se if there's any difference.
If someone can tell me how, I'll post these clips onto the site so people can form their own opinions
Best regards and wish me luck
John B
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Best regards and wish me luck
Good luck! Btw, Why did you pour the product directly into the cylinder?
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At least you're doing it in the right spirit - i.e., not assuming anything in the way of outcome.
But I had to laugh at this: "I've bought a tin of Ametech and followed the instructions. I poured about a quarter of the tin straight down the plug hole..."
Sorry - I shouldn't laugh.
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I have recently bought a Nissan P12 Primera 1.8 with 75,000 miles on the clock and it suddenly developed a loud knocking at around 2,000 rpm
We narrowed this down to the No 1 cylinder and it seems prety obvious it's either little end (gudgeon pin / bearing ) worn or piston slap - must have starved of oil or run very hot at some time.
If you seriously believe a can of "Snake Oil" can repair this kind of damage you deserve all you get.
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Have I been rude to you ? Then please don't be rude to me - I made it quite clear in my post that this is an evaluation of the stuff - you seem to be just knocking it because you can't see how it can work - I'm prepared to spend a little of my money to give it a chance and i don't deserve your rudeness !
So get off my case OK
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As I said - i followed the instructions.
Perhaps i should have made it clear I meant the spark plug hole, not just down the sink, but who knows ?? lol
There's not much point buying a product and then ignoring the instructions - if it all goes tits-up then at least the manufacturers can't blame me.
Send me your e-mail address and I'll scan and send a copy of the instructions "if you know the fault is with one particular cylinder - take out the spark plug and pour it directly into the cylinder"
Will give it a couple of days and take another recording - then at least we'll all have some actual experience to base our comments on, rather than just prejudice
John B
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If you honestly think that bottle of this magic solution can repair worn little ends etc then I am afraid there is no hope for you. If the little end is worn a strip and rebuild is the only solution, or get a replacement engine with no rattle.
Pouring a bottle of this wonder stuff into your cylinder and sump will not replace worn metal.
If the noise magically disappears it was not a worn little end.
Edited by skidpan on 16/08/2013 at 11:25
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Ok - I don't beleive in Snake Oil, but I do believe in legislation and the powers of the UK Trades Descriptions Acts.
I work in local government in an enforcement role myself and I can promise you that, if this stuff is a complete failure and the claims made cannot be substantiated, then it will get thoroughly investigated by Trading Standards. That's why I was careful to read the instructions thoroughly and follow them to the letter
That beats all the rhetoric and abuse doesn't it?
BTW - I'm not a complete idiot with my head in the clouds - I've already sourced and bought a low mileage engine from a scrapper, but hoped this treatment might just prolong the life of the existing lump so the car can get me from S Wales to Gatwick and back for my holidays.
It will be interesting to strip it down later to see the damage and the effect of the Ametech
Regsrds
John
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The UK Trades Description Act seems powerless to prevent a myriad of useless products - because advertisers very carefully word their adverts to give a subjective impression without claiming anything objectively.
Taking just one of the bullet points of the Ametech website "The CSL™ particles fill scratches, grooves and other worn out areas between the piston and the cylinder wall in the engine" that may be an accurate description of the product but it's an undesirable property - in microscopic terms the wearing surfaces in an engine shouldn't be smooth - the minute ridges/valleys retain oil so that it's oil on oil friction, not metal on metal.
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Report No 1
Two days into the trial and 60 miles of relatively carefuld driving on the clock.
Is there any difference? Yes, I think there is - the knocking noise is certainly quieter and I think it is coming in at a higher rev range - but it's still there
Let's give it a few more days and hope tthe engine holds up long enough to give the car enough mileage to complete a reasonable test.
BTW - gotta run to Gatwick from S Wales next weekend for hols, then back again two weeks later- all motorway driving except for about 5 miles.#
If I disconnect the HT from cylinder No 1 the knocking goes away - once I get on the M-way , it being fairly flat and all, is there any reason why I shouldn't simply unplug cylinder 1 and drive on three cylnders?
Rgds
John
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If I disconnect the HT from cylinder No 1 the knocking goes away - once I get on the M-way , it being fairly flat and all, is there any reason why I shouldn't simply unplug cylinder 1 and drive on three cylnders?
Yes - the injector will still supply fuel which won't be doing any useful work so your consumption will go through the floor - the unburnt fuel will also wash off any oil or additive from the cylinder walls and thus accelerating any wear,. rapidly wrecking the engine totally !
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If I disconnect the HT from cylinder No 1 the knocking goes away - once I get on the M-way , it being fairly flat and all, is there any reason why I shouldn't simply unplug cylinder 1 and drive on three cylnders?
Yes - the injector will still supply fuel which won't be doing any useful work so your consumption will go through the floor - the unburnt fuel will also wash off any oil or additive from the cylinder walls and thus accelerating any wear,. rapidly wrecking the engine totally !
And doing the catalytic converter no good at all.
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I run a number of old cars and get great pleasure out of them. I could not afford to run them all, if it was not for the help of some of these aftermarket additives. I include not only Amtech Engine Restore, but yes also the fuel and injector cleaners , the radiator sealers, head gasket sealers, power steering additives etc.from various manufacturers. Most have provided a practical, cost effective extension to the old cars useable lives and a bit of fun and excitement ( will they or will they not work - most do , if you research them fully and in particular apply them as per instructions and common sense)
I do all my basic maintenance, but unsurprisingly issues arise where action is necessary. Most issues are the result of age, higher mileage and well known typical faults with individual models.
For example my Rover 827 suffers from excessive tappet noise , a well known fault with this model. I tried other oil additives which gave some improvement ( Greased Lightening Instant Engine Treatment ( PTFE) separately of course and Extralube ZX1 ( perhaps chlorinated paraffin). Yes I researched that PTFE can cause issues and is old school and that chlorinated paraffins might cause acidic corrosion.
Hydraulic lifter cleaner did not work, I chose not to use a flushing oil based on research, I was happy to experiment with various oils and grades ( mineral and synthetic) , unfortunately none of these worked. Over couple of years ownership I got a bit fed up with the noise and pedestrians looking and listening to my noisy car. I'd read about Engine Restore and like most people, was very suspicious about the claims. However, on reading one hopefully independant feedback on this additives success with an identical car with identical noise, I decided to give it a go.
I shook the additive can well and then used a tin opener to take the lid off and then additionally stirred the contents . I saw no sediment and I suppose I hoped that the particles were in colloidal suspension.
I then added Castrol GTX 15W40 semi synthetic oil a litre at a time and stirred in small amounts of the 400ml additive until both oil and additive were added to the engine in the correct ratio and amounts
I started the engine and the tappets rattled from cold as normal. After 5 minutes , the noise reduced and I went for 25 mile trip to and from work. On my return trip starting from cold , there was no tappet noise and I have not had any tappet noise since.
Now I know people could say well its just a thickener and you would have had the same positive result from a thicker oil and saved some money ( not true as I'd already tried thicker and thinner oils) or the stuff will end up in your oil filter or sump and cause problems ( possible but hopefully the manufacturers would not be in business if this was the case )
I would say to those people you may be right with your general concerns and I cannot account for the success, but I'm now enjoying motoring in this vehicle and so far I'm very happy with Engine Restore , mixed with a quite basic oil in a thicker grade. I doubt the car is worth £300, so please dont advise me that I should have overhauled the engine and replaced all the tappets . Also, no I probably would not have put it in a modern vehicle worth thousands of pounds but for me it was OK for my particular application.
I want to hear genuine feedback from people who have used these cures successfully and not just Engine Restore. I could tell you about my successes with Steel Seal and a blown head gasket on my Ford Sierra and I could also tell you about those products that have not helped. What I can say, is none of the well known after market additives have damaged my vehicles . For those on a budget, these additives often supply a last chance of keeping an old vehicle on the road
I hope this is of interest to some readers. Its honest , independant feedback from someone who actually uses the product. Its this sort of feedback that people in my position need
kind regards
Dick Turbo
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As far as Rover 800 is concerned the tappets only got noisy they didnt often cause bad running of the engine and could last longer than the car,various reasons why they were scrapped but not always because of tappet noise,the additive only cured the noise not the real problem
I would be very surprised if you heard anything different from those that tried it as most people would not admit it was a failure,but if it does work fair enough,but I wouldnt recommend any form of additive to anyone. seen too many failures over the years
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It's when tappets stop making noise that you need to start worrying!
My tappets sound like a bag of spanners falling down the stairs once the oil gets warm. At least I know I know the valves are fully seating. I don't see any point in attempting to medicate a functional engine.
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Tappet noise?
I never owned one, thankfully, but i remember well the tappet and other racket produced by Simcas and Chrysler/Talbot Alpines and Horizons, they made early Diesel Golfs sound positively refined.
How did they ever sell any.
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The Horizon was a 'Car of the Year' I seem to remember; there are always some people who take this as a recommendation. I had one myself for a year or so (bought used!) quite agree about the tappet noise, but it was cheap, reliable and quite economical.
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Hi Guys,
Especially Mr fix-it and Dick Turbo.
I have used Ametech Engine Restorer in three cars and have experienced a major reduction in oil consumption in two of the vehicles where this was of concern to me and also an improvement in fuel economy and subjectively smoother, quieter running.
The first use was in the engine of a 2002 Toyota Avensis 1.8 VVTi which after 4 years in my ownership had not used any engine oil for the first 50,000 miles driven but noticeably started to use oil after this mileage was reached and by 63,000 miles was using a litre of oil every 750 miles.
I read that this was a common problem with Toyota VVti engines, especially the 1.8.
Toyota were replacing half engines on the most severely affected cars but the catch was, the owner had to pay for the strip down and then wait for the dealer to diagnose the problem; then possibly incurring the full cost of the strip down and rebuild if the dealer did not consider the problem was within Toyota’s replacement criteria.
At the time even Toyota did not seem to fully understand what was going wrong.
I read that Ametech engine restorer works because it contains millions of micro particles of mainly Lead and Copper that are compressed by the pressure of the moving parts in an engine into the tiny scratches and gaps caused by wear, thus taking up the slack. Therefore reducing oil consumption and improving compression.
I also read that AER was recommended by Quentin Willson, a motoring journalist whose views I respect and so I decided to use it as a last resort.
I only used a 250ml can even though a 400ml dose was recommended for an 1800cc engine but within 800 miles, oil consumption had halved and fuel consumption had improved by about 8%.
Unsure how long this improvement might last, I decided to sell the car and buy a new Mazda 2.
I am still very pleased with the Mazda 2 but after it had been driven about 20,000 miles, due to unforeseen circumstances the car was barely used for 9 months.
After regular use was resumed and with 25,000 miles under it’s cam belt, I realised the car was now using oil at about 1 litre per 4000 miles.
I added a can of Ametech and oil consumption has since become negligible.
In this car I have not noticed any improvement in either the quietness of the engine or an improvement in fuel consumption.
I have also put a can of Ametech into the engine of my wife’s Citroen C2.
Now after 800 miles the engine is subjectively quieter and smoother and the fuel consumption has objectively improved by 7%.
We have owned the C2 for 9 years and as the whim of a motoring enthusiast, I have kept all receipts, and calculated the fuel consumption mathematically between every fill up, not relying on the trip computer; having said that, the trip is usually within 2% of the maths result.
So to anyone thinking of using this product but worried about adverse effects, I have yet to find any.
£20 for 250ml sounds steep compared with a 5 litre can of oil but if the improvements last for 12,000 miles, in the whole life cost of the vehicle, the sum is negligible.
So to the jokers and cynics, I respect your right to your views but my actual experience tells me you are wrong.
To Mr fix-it and Dick Turbo, we have found a modern liquid technology that we know actually does what it says on the tin!
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I never owned one, thankfully, but i remember well the tappet and other racket produced by Simcas and Chrysler/Talbot Alpines and Horizons, they made early Diesel Golfs sound positively refined.
I also never owned one but dad had a Talbot Horizon 1300. He was most put out one day when he went for fuel, it was back in the days when a man would fill the car for you. The attendant simply said "sorry, we don't sell diesel". Would not believe that it was a petrol.
Thing was, in reality it was not a bad car. Reliable, economical, comfortable, spacious and cheap to buy. Just had a rattly engine.
As for Dick Turbo and colrics posts I suspect they are simply trying to market yet another wonder product.
Truth is, once metal has worn away no oil additive will replace that metal, its that simple.
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I too remember the Simcas and Talbots from that era and actually owned a 1974 Simca 1301 Special once. The latter has the dubious honour of being the only car I ever had to buy a 'short engine' for. If I remember correctly it had a centrifugal oil filter and an umbrella type handbrake . Lovely comfortable car , like most french vehicles, but very rusty and rattley..and in my case smokey too. Never purchased another French car since, after that experience.
I must smile a bit at ''Skidpans''comments and the conspiracy theory that Colric and I are trying to market another wonder product.
There's not many marketing people who own a 20 year old Rover and a 22 year old Ford Sierra and other 'old bangers' and who work shifts ( look at the time on this post) and are knocking on 60 years of age. No I'm just keen to exchange success/failures in the use of chemical additives to assist similar , like minded enthusiasts, ... not a smooth suited Adman trying to con good readers on Honest John
I showed the post to my wife and she laughed. Like me she's just happy the Rover is quieter and that she's not so embarrased to go out in it anymore. These Rovers are great, this one is an 827 Coupe with the big 2.7 L Honda engine and the luxurious leather interior and wood trim. Bit old fashioned like me, but I hardly ever see another one , so quite exclusive and cost nothing to buy. Only downside is the petrol consumption , around 25 mpg plus of course those tappets ..but I dont have to worry about those anymore now
Anyway, thanks for the feedback, from everyone.
Dick Turbo
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The reason you do not see many 827s is because they sold so few and for good reason .
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Good post Dick Turbo, i remember fondly my 827 Si, facelift saloon with a manual box, one of the best cars i have ever owned, and the only FWD car that i liked.
Engine silent and very fast, but then it had been a Police driving school car so had benefited from proper servicing in the old Bills workshops, and it showed, none of that main dealer hit and miss cheapest oil we can find shenanigans, nothing went wrong in my ownership though the servicing, by me now, continued in similar vein to previous.
My own view of Rovers is that Honda was the best thing that happened to them, and quality went up in leaps with the tie in and some very good cars produced, unfortunately greed saw the sale to BMW, Honda were out, and the rest is history.
S'funny how some people can't miss an opportunity to twist the knife when Rover are mentioned, badges are funny things, here today gone tomorrow, Hyundai are a case in point, Pony and Steller the butt of clever boys jokes (just like Skoda), then all of a sudden they gain fashion status and the 'right on' motoring hacks start to praise them, all of a sudden they're the best thing since Y Fronts.
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