Slick 50 - FROM THE BEGINNING?

Slick 50 will not do much other than help your money slide more easily into
the pockets of the folks who make it. Consumer Repots among several groups
has tested it more than once and if flat out does not help. Of course, it
didn't hurt either but that's a whole lot of cash to fork out for what
amounts to an engineering placebo. Frequent oil changes, good quality
filters and the use of a quality motor oil will do more than anything else
to prolong the life of your car. Save the dough, buy more frequent oil
changes.

--
R. J. Talley
Teacher/James Madison Fellow
NAR #69594
NRA #133073736

"Rebecca Webb" > wrote in message
...
> First, a thank you to all who contributed to making my Ford Contour last
> to 156K before I traded it in.
>
> Now I've got a 2004 Ford Taurus, purchased in February at 20K miles
> (Certified pre-owned, 6 years/75K warranty). I'm ready for my first oil
> change. Having a debate with the dealer mechanic. I was going to have
> them put in Slick 50, which my dad insists is a great preventative: an
> engine lubricated with Slick 50 every 50,000 miles from the very beginning
> won't experience engine part break-down, he says.
>
> The dealer argues. Oil today (I'll be using 5-20) is so good, you don't
> need Slick 50 and will NOT suffer any engine part damage until... well,
> don't start using it until 80K, after your warranty expires, he says. My
> paranoid internal reaction: "You want me to neglect the slick 50 for the
> first 80K so that the second the warranty expires, I'll start having
> unceasing engine problems."
>
> Thoughts? I used Slick 50 in the contour from the get-go (bought it 3
> years old with 30K on it).
>
> RW

I have a some thoughts. First, I have rebuilt several engines, and there is
no way
Slick 50 will plug any oil passages. If the teflon particles were big
enough to
do this, it would plug your oil filter. Running crap like Quaker State in a
cold
climate, on short trips, year after year will surely leave a thick, waxy,
sludge
in your upper engine. I have seen it in engines I tore down.

Second, I have used nothing but Valvoline semi-synthetic in my old Ranger
with a 4 cylinder for the last ten years. It has 150,000 plus and doesn't
burn
a quart in 2,000 miles or leak a drop. No additives.

Third, the advice here about using almost any oil filter EXCEPT those junk
Fram filters is correct.

Fourth, if your father tells you it works and it seems to have worked for
you
in the past, why are you asking? Put the stuff in when the dealer isn't
looking.

pick one wrote:
> "Bob M." > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>"Tom Adkins" > wrote in message
...
>>
>>> Slick 50 will certainly not harm your motor, but there is no real way to
>>>tell if there is any benefit. If Pop insists on it, pour it in. Then you will
>>>both be happy.
>>>
>>> Regards, Tom
>>
>>Slick 50 and it's ilk will definitely harm your motor. The PTFE (Teflon) in
>>it plugs the tiny oil passages, effectively starving that part of the engine
>>for oil, greatly -increasing- wear.
>>
>>Plus, the makers of Slick 50 were busted by the FTC about 5 years ago for
>>deceptive advertising.
>>
>>The OP should stay away from it. Regular oil changes with regular oil, not the
>>$expensive Mobil 1, will work just fine. If you don't race your car, regular
>>oil will work just fine.
>>
>
> Slick 50 also almost did not make it to market because of this. Dupont did not
> want to sell the PTFE ( Dupont is the creator of PTFE ) to the makers of Slick
> 50 for that very fact and warned the makers to not produce the product for it's
> intended purposes. The makers of Slick 50 as far as I know sued and won, Dupont
> had no choice.
>
>

I stand corrected, big time. I wasn't aware of this. I don't use oil additives and
don't recommend them. I tend to consider additives as snake oil (useless) but I've
never heard about them actually causing harm. If a customer insists, I go along with
his wishes with the proper caveats.
Does anyone have documentation that Slick 50 or any other additive actually causes
harm in a motor?
Tom

> his wishes with the proper caveats.
> Does anyone have documentation that Slick 50 or any other additive
> actually causes harm in a motor?
> Tom


Cold causes the 'teflon' to fall out of suspension, also. DYODD.

On Wed, 16 Mar 2005, Rebecca Webb wrote:

> change. Having a debate with the dealer mechanic. I was going to have
> them put in Slick 50, which my dad insists is a great preventative: an
> engine lubricated with Slick 50 every 50,000 miles from the very beginning
> won't experience engine part break-down, he says.

Kee-ryste, here we go *again*. It is difficult to believe anybody
gullible enough to fall for Slick-50's cheap pseudoscientific bullcrap is
smart enough to keep breathing, but here we are.

There is no need to add Doctor MoJo's Motor Cream with Flex Fluoride and
Vitamin-E and Teflon (or Slick-50, or ProLong, or Motor-Up, or any of the
MANY other scam products on the market) to your engine. It will not
"treat" anything. It will not help anything. It can very easily damage
your engine by clogging small oil passages. Teflon belongs on the frying
pans in your kitchen, NOT in your engine.

> The dealer argues.

That's because he's seen your type of "I know better than trained
tribologists and engineers" fools ruin their engines and bitch
about it before.

> Oil today (I'll be using 5-20) is so good, you don't need Slick 50

The same was true 10 years ago, and 20 years ago, and 30 years ago.

> and will NOT suffer any engine part damage

You think you'll suffer engine part damage without Slick-50? Oh, my. You
are a marketing psychologist's wettest possible dream.

> My paranoid internal reaction: "You want me to neglect the slick 50 for
> the first 80K so that the second the warranty expires, I'll start having
> unceasing engine problems."

WETTEST possible dream.

> Thoughts? I used Slick 50 in the contour from the get-go (bought it 3
> years old with 30K on it).

I would say it's never too late to stop being a willfully-ignorant,
paranoid, superstitious, manipulated fool, but it would seem you've bought
another Ford, so I may be wrong on that point. You can be *less* of a fool
by not pouring worthless and potentially harmful gunk into your engine.

Geeze, *GROW* a brain, then think about the claims they make for a bare
fifteen seconds, and you can figure this out all by yourself.

DS

On Thu, 17 Mar 2005, Backyard Mechanic wrote:

> > Now I've got a 2004 Ford Taurus, purchased in February at 20K miles
> > (Certified pre-owned, 6 years/75K warranty). I'm ready for my first
> > oil change. Having a debate with the dealer mechanic. I was going to
> > have them put in Slick 50, which my dad insists is a great
> > preventative: an engine lubricated with Slick 50 every 50,000 miles
> > from the very beginning won't experience engine part break-down, he
> > says.

> Lots of "Dad's" swear by Pennzoil and Fram Filters, too...

And "warming up" the engine for half an hour before driving off, and
revving the engine before shutting it down, and pumping the accelerator
while cranking the engine...

On Wed, 16 Mar 2005, Scott wrote:

> I have a some thoughts. First, I have rebuilt several engines, and
> there is no way Slick 50 will plug any oil passages.

Yeah? Then how come Chrysler 2.7s and Toyota 3.0s and PRV-V6s have such
chronic problems with tiny oil passages clogging even WITHOUT dumping
Teflon particles in?

> If the teflon particles were big enough to do this, it would plug your
> oil filter.

1) You're assuming the Teflon particles *don't* clog the oil filter.
2) Are you aware of what happens to the size of Teflon particles when they
are heated? Hint: It doesn't remain the same, and it doesn't decrease.

> Fourth, if your father tells you it works and it seems to have worked
> for you in the past, why are you asking? Put the stuff in when the
> dealer isn't looking.

Or, y'know, she could tell her father to keep his nose out of her car.

On Wed, 16 Mar 2005, Tom Adkins wrote:

> >>Slick 50 and it's ilk will definitely harm your motor. The PTFE
> >>(Teflon) in it plugs the tiny oil passages, effectively starving that
> >>part of the engine for oil, greatly -increasing- wear.

> I stand corrected, big time. I wasn't aware of this. I don't use oil
> additives and don't recommend them. I tend to consider additives as
> snake oil (useless) but I've never heard about them actually causing
> harm.

ProLong and others contain very high levels of Chlorine. The Chlorine is
what allows the retard at the flea market or the busty babes on the
late-night infomercial to do that V-block-and-bit demonstration where a
metal bit is applied to a motorized shaft via a lever. When ordinary
engine oil is used, the bit causes the shaft to grind to a halt, but when
the Magic Motor Medicine is added, no matter how hard the retard leans on
the lever, the shaft keeps turning. Chlorine is also very slippery when
you pour bleach on your hands and then rub your fingers together. Think
for a minute: What do you suppose Chlorine does to metals and other
materials found in engines?


If your answer was "Attacks and corrrodes it", go to the head of the
class.

Daniel J. Stern wrote:
> On Wed, 16 Mar 2005, Tom Adkins wrote:
>
>
>>>>Slick 50 and it's ilk will definitely harm your motor. The PTFE
>>>>(Teflon) in it plugs the tiny oil passages, effectively starving that
>>>>part of the engine for oil, greatly -increasing- wear.
>
>
>> I stand corrected, big time. I wasn't aware of this. I don't use oil
>>additives and don't recommend them. I tend to consider additives as
>>snake oil (useless) but I've never heard about them actually causing
>>harm.
>
>
> ProLong and others contain very high levels of Chlorine. The Chlorine is
> what allows the retard at the flea market or the busty babes on the
> late-night infomercial to do that V-block-and-bit demonstration where a
> metal bit is applied to a motorized shaft via a lever. When ordinary
> engine oil is used, the bit causes the shaft to grind to a halt, but when
> the Magic Motor Medicine is added, no matter how hard the retard leans on
> the lever, the shaft keeps turning. Chlorine is also very slippery when
> you pour bleach on your hands and then rub your fingers together. Think
> for a minute: What do you suppose Chlorine does to metals and other
> materials found in engines?
>
>
> If your answer was "Attacks and corrrodes it", go to the head of the
> class.



Thanks Daniel, I didn't know that. Like I said, I don't use oil additives , nor do I
advocate the use of them. I've always loosely OK'd their use by folks that insisted.
Now I have more ammunition against them. Thanks.
Tom

Daniel J. Stern wrote:

>
> On Wed, 16 Mar 2005, Scott wrote:
>
>
>>I have a some thoughts. First, I have rebuilt several engines, and
>>there is no way Slick 50 will plug any oil passages.
>
>
> Yeah? Then how come Chrysler 2.7s and Toyota 3.0s and PRV-V6s have such
> chronic problems with tiny oil passages clogging even WITHOUT dumping
> Teflon particles in?
>
>
>>If the teflon particles were big enough to do this, it would plug your
>>oil filter.
>
>
> 1) You're assuming the Teflon particles *don't* clog the oil filter.
> 2) Are you aware of what happens to the size of Teflon particles when they
> are heated? Hint: It doesn't remain the same, and it doesn't decrease.

I made the mistake of trying it in the early 90's. I don't think it
cause harm, but eventually I found some crusty brown stuff on the
oil filler cap and stuck to the filler hole threads on the valve
cover. I have the feeling it'll eventually solidify where it shouldn't.