Uh-oh, Used Engine Restore.

[bajanbuoy]

Ok guys,... I know I will hear it... But, I used Engine Restorer (V8 formula) when I changed my oil while at my parents on Sunday.

It started pretty rough and then would shut off, after about a minute or two.

I checked the owners manual to see if I didn't put enough or too much oil,... and BAM,... "Do Not Use Oil Additives in your engine, it may ruin your engine and will not be covered under your warranty"

WHAAA?

So, now I'm panicking... I drain the oil and filter again... run half a quart of new leftover oil through, put in the OLD oil and start it up.

By the grace of god, it starts and starts rocking after 30 seconds, then it's fine. I drive around the block, and it seems to run okay. I drive home and it runs awesome,... ?!? More responsive, better gas mileage, but It still acts funny on start-up (rough idle), until it warms up.

What do you guys think is/was the problem,... and am I looking at long-term detriment to my engine??

 

[beaups]

this is an oil additive? Sounds like something else is wacky that's NOT oil related.

 

[bajanbuoy]

The car was running fine beforehand... I changed the oil, added the Restorer, immediately it started cunking out.... The car wouldn't stay running. I put the old oil back in, and even though it idle's a little rough at first the car runs and drives fine... I'm getting better throttle response and better gas mileage, which was one of the stated benefits on the can that I used.

I'll try to get a picture of what it was.

 

[bajanbuoy]

ENGINE RESTORER & LUBRICANT

PROPERTIES & BENEFITS

• Restores compressions.
• Restores horsepower.
• Restores mileage.
• Restores engine life.
• Reduces oil and fuel consumption.
• Reduces pollution.

USE

• For all 4 cycle GASOLINE, DIESEL FUEL, L.RG. engines, with or without turbo, with or without catalytic converter.
• Compatible with all mineral and synthetic oils.

DIRECTION

• Shake well the can before use.
• After changing oil, add the content of one can to the motor oil, every 15 000 kms.

DOSAGE

• 1 can of 250 ml treats a crankcase of 3 to 5 liters.
• 1 can of 400 mi treats a crankcase of 4 to 6 liters.
• 1 can of 1 liter treats a crankcase of more than 6 liters.

 

[beaups]

what year is your ls? If it's 03+ I'm thinking maybe it messed up the VVT solenoids? Those use oil pressure to modulate the camshaft positions. Can't imagine what else oil could do that would cause your symptoms...but I am certainly no expert on the inner workings of engines.

 

[Jim Henderson]

Unless your engine is burning oil, there is usually no reason to use additives and as the manual states it may void your warranty.

I am not an oil expert but the general consensus of the industry(Oil companies, car mfg's, magazines, research labs) is that you never need additives and that some can cause harm. Additives are usually only bandaids to keep a sick engine running until you can get rid of it or rebuild it. Don't pollute your engine with additives when a good quality oil meeting spec for your engine is all you need.

Engine restore works by flooding the inside of your engine with particals, I think metal to "fill in the gaps". This is possibly OK on an engine that is limping along anyway, but modern engines, including the LS are built to very tight tolerances. These tight spaces are probably wonderful spots for the particals in Engine Restore to plug up. Your engine may bind or you will get oil starvation. Both things are bad.

The LS requires a 5W20 oil meeting Ford spec which I think calls for a semi syn. This oil is very thin and will flow thru the tight spaces of the engine. The Restore probably just gums them up, as you may have discovered.

Probably the only safe fix is to do several oil changes with a good spec oil to clean out the gunk. My guess is that the first oil change got rid of a bunch of the gunk and that what is left is helping increase compression. BUT, you may have compromised the oil flow thru the engine which can lead to early wear out.

Your engine gave you sure proof that you goofed. It ran badly after using the stuff and continues to run poorly on start up. Like the doctor said, "If it hurts, stop doing that".

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

[JES_LS]

Never, use that junk in a healthy motor.
Maybe uses that if the motor has 150,000+ on it, but never in a newer motor.

I don't use anything but a good fully synthetic oil in my cars and have since the middle 1980's. All the cars I have had since then have gone well over 100,000 miles without mechanincal incidents and I know I'm an aggressive and often heavy use driver.

 

[T_Man]

Go to your dealer, or other qualified garage and tell them what you did. Then have them professionally oil flush your engine using a machine designed for that procedure. The longer you wait the more damage you will be doing. Just changing the oil and filter is not enough. You need to clean out all the oil galleries, passages and non rotating surfaces inside your engine or that junk will always be floating around.

Stuff Happens....
Live and learn.

 

[Jim Henderson]

Unless your engine is burning oil, there is usually no reason to use additives and as the manual states it may void your warranty.

I am not an oil expert but the general consensus of the industry(Oil companies, car mfg's, magazines, research labs) is that you never need additives and that some can cause harm. Additives are usually only bandaids to keep a sick engine running until you can get rid of it or rebuild it. Don't pollute your engine with additives when a good quality oil meeting spec for your engine is all you need.

Engine restore works by flooding the inside of your engine with particals, I think metal to "fill in the gaps". This is possibly OK on an engine that is limping along anyway, but modern engines, including the LS are built to very tight tolerances. These tight spaces are probably wonderful spots for the particals in Engine Restore to plug up. Your engine may bind or you will get oil starvation. Both things are bad.

The LS requires a 5W20 oil meeting Ford spec which I think calls for a semi syn. This oil is very thin and will flow thru the tight spaces of the engine. The Restore probably just gums them up, as you may have discovered.

Probably the only safe fix is to do several oil changes with a good spec oil to clean out the gunk. My guess is that the first oil change got rid of a bunch of the gunk and that what is left is helping increase compression. BUT, you may have compromised the oil flow thru the engine which can lead to early wear out.

Your engine gave you sure proof that you goofed. It ran badly after using the stuff and continues to run poorly on start up. Like the doctor said, "If it hurts, stop doing that".

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

[bajanbuoy]

Unless your engine is burning oil, there is usually no reason to use additives and as the manual states it may void your warranty.

I am not an oil expert but the general consensus of the industry(Oil companies, car mfg's, magazines, research labs) is that you never need additives and that some can cause harm. Additives are usually only bandaids to keep a sick engine running until you can get rid of it or rebuild it. Don't pollute your engine with additives when a good quality oil meeting spec for your engine is all you need.

Engine restore works by flooding the inside of your engine with particals, I think metal to "fill in the gaps". This is possibly OK on an engine that is limping along anyway, but modern engines, including the LS are built to very tight tolerances. These tight spaces are probably wonderful spots for the particals in Engine Restore to plug up. Your engine may bind or you will get oil starvation. Both things are bad.

The LS requires a 5W20 oil meeting Ford spec which I think calls for a semi syn. This oil is very thin and will flow thru the tight spaces of the engine. The Restore probably just gums them up, as you may have discovered.

Probably the only safe fix is to do several oil changes with a good spec oil to clean out the gunk. My guess is that the first oil change got rid of a bunch of the gunk and that what is left is helping increase compression. BUT, you may have compromised the oil flow thru the engine which can lead to early wear out.

Your engine gave you sure proof that you goofed. It ran badly after using the stuff and continues to run poorly on start up. Like the doctor said, "If it hurts, stop doing that".

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

That's exactly what I thought....

This stuff was really thick, when I drained it after it stalled... My estimation was that it's causing the vibration at start-up and not all the time, because after it warms up, it thins up.

I have a 2000 LS with 95,500 on the clock... My car runs like a champ, and I was just doing some experimentation to see if I could get a performance advantage (better compression, better mileage, more long-time use), and it seems I just messed things up.

I appreciate all the help guys...

 

[Fla02LS]

See you should have used Slick 50 or Duralube. Those are where the money is at.