Oil Additives

[Stirfryd]

Hello All,
Well I've exhausted all attempts to get my older Perkins 4-108 to stop with the white smoke and oil sheen on the water. The consensus is low compression on the aft-most cylinder (the injector that is wet). My mechanic says to just run the darn thing, occasionaly checking to make sure that I'm not making oil. The smoke mostly goes away when the engine is hot and loaded underway. All of that said, can anyone recommend an engine oil additive for an old and ageing motor? What about Lucas? As usual, I am indebted to anyone with an educated response.

Stirfryd
wanting to slip the dock next month but a little anxious about the iron Ginny!

[denverd0n]

I've tried just about every version of snake oil out there and have come to the conclusion that none of them make a significant difference. Sounds like you are going to have to pop for a ring job, at the very least.

And if you are leaving an oil sheen behind you, don't be surprised if you get one of those very expensive tickets some day. Then you'll wish you had just spent the money to fix the motor in the first place.

[zeehag]

mine sheens only on start up. my mechanic says my engine is healthy.
after runnng, that start up sheen is gone, disappeared, absent. is only on start up. my perkins is not actively leaking , either....watch to see if your sheen doesnt disappear after start up and while running. if it does, my mechanic says you are ok. run the engine.

[Snore]

I thought I had that problem also. Under load and over 2600 RPM I was getting smoke. Under 2400 no issues. Then one day I was down in Miami versus my local place for fuel. Son of a gun! She stopped smoking, and as (apparently) the last of the old fuel burned through it got better. Can now turn high RPMs without smoke.... That said I try not to push the old girl.

Not sure of the how's and whys- but that was my experience.

Bill

[Stirfryd]

You know, the fuel in it is somewhat old. I guess I'll try some fresh fuel. Other than that, the oil sheen on the water is not great, and I'm not missing another season for repairs like the last 5? This year I'm going to use the boat! So, maybe this winter I'll get to a ring job. Anyone have any experience with doing the rings? If the motor has to be pulled, I'm going for a full rebuild when the time comes. Only want to do it once!

[David M]

Oil additives don't repair mechanical problems. If they did the oil companies would already be selling oil with these additives.

You are doing the right thing by getting it fixed in the winter so you don't miss out on sailing your boat, even with Florida's great winter weather.

[Alasdair]

Try using FTC Decarbonizer from Cost Effective Maintainance. This product is used by the mining industry down here in OZ to extend machinary life and cut down on costs. I've used it on my yacht for some years now. Only time will tell how effective it is i guess. The way i see it is if heavy industry like the product it has something going for it. They have some other good proucts as well.

[Dynamo1181]

I have run two additives for 15 years. At one point The 4108 ran without cooling water(thru hull closed while we went for a walk) for 1 hr . It was a groos mistake on my part but the engine survived, less melted hoses and a warped thermostat. I used Restore (wall Mart carries) and I used a teflon product called Greased Lightning. It was the GL that saved the engine. I used Racor fuel additives. Snake oil or not, The engine purrs at 7000+ hrs. The head has never been removed although I have the injectors seviced and the pump rebuilt on occasion.
A

[dannobee]

White smoke could also be an injector problem. Did the mechanic swap the suspect injector with another cylinder, and did the problem move to that cylinder? Does it use oil? Is there fuel in the oil?

[Redcoat]

Try cleaning you siphon valve. The white smoke on start up is water if it clears up after running to temps.The #4 cylinder is the low end of the block and you could be siphoning water.