Lucas gas treatment.

[Bill Seward]

I have been using a fairly heavy dose of Berrymans Chemtool in the Max, to try to clear out what I think was partially plugged idle jets. A few tankfuls, and a whole can later, the bike seemed to be running great. I have switched over to ethanol free 90 octane when I started the Berrymans treatments.

Well, I thought I would give the bike a dose of Lucas fuel treatment, and dumped a pretty heavy dose. This stuff looks like a thin sticky oil. The tank was full when I added it. That's when things went downhill. A while later, I went out for a ride. The bike ran fine for a few hundred yards, then the bike started missing, and lost all power. It wouldn't take throttle at all. I got it home, and noticed the exhaust was blowing a large amount of weird smelling smoke. I thought Godzilla finally bit the dust...

The next day, I started the bike up again, and it still ran like crap. I was slowly blipping the throttle, noticing that the smoke was getting less heavy. A minute later, the bike started taking throttle normally, and seemed to clear out. Now it starts instantly, and seem to run as it did before. All I can think of is that the Lucas sunk to the bottom of the tank, and didn't mix with the gas, and got pumped into the carbs. Once it cleared out, the bike started running fine.

Anyone ever hear of something like this?

 

[user 16790]

when you poured it in did you give it a good shake around, I have heard of fuel additives sinking but never experienced it myself

 

[Bill Seward]

No, I didn't.. That was my downfall.

 

[Fire-medic]

Don't fall for "if their mix ratio is OK, more is better!" What happened to you is the result.

That reminds me of one of the guys I used to ride-with, who had a Honda 350 parallel-twin back when they were new. He changed his oil to straight STP. He couldn't even get the kickstarter to turn-over the bike, when the electric foot was totally-incapacitated. He had to add gasoline to the crankcase to cut the STP, and then to drain it, after removing one of the engine side covers to allow the crankcase and engine to drain.

 

[Bill Seward]

The stuff must have run through or finally mixed. Bike runs fine now..

 

[gentsvmax]

The only "magic in a can" additive's I've used over the year's are BG product's 44K, MOA and EPR.
I think the MOA is the new STP , just my .02.

 

[Fire-medic]

I have a friend who liked to use STP as an assembly lube. It certainly stayed in-place when he used a paint brush to apply it.

 

[Pighuntingpuppy]

The only "magic in a can" additive's I've used over the year's are BG product's 44K, MOA and EPR.
I think the MOA is the new STP , just my .02.

I used to work for Volkswagen back in the day. Back then, the 1.8T engines had engine sludge issues. VW issued a worldwide fix based on the dealer I worked at and 1 in California. We had over 80 vehicles waiting on our lot alone for engine replacements due to oil starvation issues. A team of 10 engineers came out to our dealer and spent a couple weeks going through each of the cars we had on the lot. In the end, it was determined that 4 qts of conventional engine oil could not handle a turbocharged engine with a 5000 mile service interval. People were going by the book so this was normal. They made also one more determination. Pennzoil was not to be used in ANY of their engines. The excess wax in Pennzoil sludged up faster and contaminated the engine beyond repair.

Now why did I tell you that story, MOA.....I will never ever use nor recommend that product. On the back of the can in the contents of what it contains is heavy paraffin distillates. Basically wax in a can. After seeing what Pennzoil does to the inside of an engine....I stay away from them. Yes....I know ALL oils have wax in them. But Pennzoil goes out of its way to add a bunch more than every other oil out there. In my opinion, there is no such thing as a mechanic in a can.

 

[Fire-medic]

Dribbling a trickle of water into the carb airhorn of a running vehicle was a way to allow steam to scour the combustion chamber, before cars commonly-had fuel injection. Since water expands to 1700 times its volume going from a liquid to a gas, any deposits on the combustion chamber or valve heads would get steam-blasted. The effect could be similar to Seafoam, smoking exhaust, and some alarming noises.

There were several types of 'injection' before cars got fuel injection. Top-cylinder injection, using a light petroleum distillate like Marvel Mystery Oil, or Stoddard solvent, was supposed to help keep things lubricated, but setting the flow too-high, and you would just foul the spark plugs.

Alcohol and water injection were also used for forced-induction engines. It was supposed to help prevent pre-ignition.

I think it was Consumer's Union back in the 1960's that published their research on the Pennsylvania crude having more material that wasn't suited to engine longevity, which made it through the refining process. If you opened-up an engine using Pennzoil, it looked like someone who didn't change their oil frequently. Sludge. After I read about that, I started using Valvoline.

 

[gentsvmax]

Live and learn by the wisdom on the forum!

 

[James Howlett]

I've heard that Pennzoil changed the make up of their oil in the past few years. Though, I have always been partial to Valvoline, from what I've read, Shell products (includes Quaker State) are some of the best when it comes to value per dollar.

As to the issue that the OP mentioned, I've used a clothes steamer to unclog small engine carbs when all other cleaners had failed. Worked like a charm on a power washer that had been sitting for two seasons. When I used Seafoam in a 350 Chevy, it also was smoking and bucking blowing out a cloud that made grown men cry.

As you said, live and learn. And hope you don't blow up things in the process.