Adding up the automotive additives
If an engine or transmission has mechanical problems, “miracle” additives aren’t likely to cure them
For every fluid your vehicle uses, there’s a shelf full of additives at your local auto-parts stores. Need a boost for your fuel? They’ve got that. Something to help a weepy transmission? No problem. Your SUV’s engine burning oil? No worries. But all that glitters on a display shelf isn’t gold.
Engine oil additives
One of the most common reasons for a car owner looking for an engine oil supplement is to slow down or stop its loss. Before selecting any additive for this, you need to find out why the engine’s losing oil. Is it a leak? Easy enough to determine by the stains on your garage floor or driveway. Or is it an internal problem? Worn pistons, rings, valve seals, or cylinders or a combination of all of the above? Worn cylinder head valve seals almost always provide a bluish coloured puff of exhaust on the first startup of the day but at no other time. Worn pistons/rings/cylinders provide less tell-tale tailpipe emissions. Fortunately the old ultrathick oil treatments are dying off the shelves. These slow-as-molasses syrups really only increased the engine oil’s viscosity (think thickness) and can clog smaller oil passages, leading to much more serious problems than losing a litre of oil every 2,000 km or so.
Oil seal conditioner additives may solve front or rear main crank seal leaks if they’re caused by dried out seals. This issue can be found on older engines, especially those in vehicles that sit idle for prolonged periods of time. If an engine is leaking oil between the back of the block and the front of the transmission, chances are good it’s a rear main seal. If it’s leaking from immediately behind the front main crank pulley, it’s most likely a front main seal. Either way, trying a $15 bottle of seal conditioner once is a pretty cheap way of testing a theory.
Those engine oil additives marked “noise reducers” are better left on the shelf. If an engine has internal mechanical problems or wear causing noises, extra miracle lubricants aren’t likely to cure them.
Oil flush treatments can be beneficial to older engines with histories of a lot of slow, stop and start trips. They can help to remove sludge build-ups but make sure to follow package instructions. These additives aren’t meant to be left in the motor, but only to stay in a short time and then be removed with a fresh oil and filter change.
Transmission fluid additives
These are like the travelling show miracle cure-alls promising to fix everything from slow or rough shifting, to leaks, to noises and more. Some can offer real benefit such as seal conditioners to stop a main seal leak as in engines or to reduce moisture content on those gear-boxes subjected to extremes in ambient temperatures. But none of them will fix a worn set of clutches or damaged internal gears. If your ride is powered by a continuously variable transmission, know that most additives are not designed for these and have appropriate warnings on the labels.
Next week we’ll fire up the debate on fuel treatments.