A question for all you auto techs out there

[s1mp13m4n]

I am a car guy and I enjoy motorsport and working on cars however I am not a pro and I do not do it as a career. I have a 1994 Ford Escort with a 1.9L engine and auto tranny in it. The engine and auto tranny have 170000 miles on them. The car does not leak nor smoke, nor use any fluids. It does have a slight upper end knock on the valvetrain due to age. My goal is to make the car last as long as I can. I do not know the cars history before I got it. I change my oil every 3 months or 3K miles which ever comes first.
I am thinking about running an additive in it such as STP or Lucas oil treatment in it. I was also thinking about the Lucas transmission additive (Transmission Fix). What are your experiences with these products? The Lucas items say on both bottles and website that you can add them to a transmission in a small dose. Could you add STP to an auto tranny as well? The tranny holds 6 quarts of fluid. The engine holds 4 quarts of oil with filter. Thanks for the input. I am not trying to cure a problem, simply want to extend the life of the car so we can save for a newer car.

 

[Telecaster52]

i'm not a big fan of additives, but lucas won't hurt anything. just make sure you don't end up overfilling the tranny and blowing a seal.

other than keeping your fluids in check, make sure you keep your plugs/wires in order.

MOST IMPORTANTLY!!! if you haven't already, get your timing belt replaced!
the 1.9 is a non-interference engine, but to keep it running strong, you need to replace the belt every 100k or so (your 'scort will thank you )

Have fun with it! I've seen those little cars with well over 300k on the original motor/trans (manual of course) the auto, when treated nicely, will last almost as long.

 

[s1mp13m4n]

The car has as of 6 months ago new plugs, wires, timing belt, water pump, and oriphus tube in AC. Struts were put on it a year ago. Two new front tires and alignment 3 months ago. It is a good little car, just small. We want a larger car when we can save for it such as a Chevy Malibu, Ford Fussion, etc. I do all of my own work as much as I can with it. I know my dad back in the 60's used STP, LOL so the stuff has been around a long while. I sent an email to STP and they told me that the oil treatment will not thicken nor change the oils viscosity, but rather it is adding zinc which has been removed or cut back quite a bit in new motor oils due to EPA and emissions and keeping the planet green and such. I do not care so much about my car being green, I would rather it last.

 

[82R100]

I'd steer away from the additives. The car's done well enough without them so far. While you might be o.k. with putting in additives that have been omitted from modern day oils, it's possible that they'll wreak havoc with your oxygen sensors or catalytic converter, so I'd pass on the STP for that reason.

- Chris

 

[Stubblefield]

Too late for additives, IMHO. OK for a newish car but at 170k you would be better off spending money on oil changes. Change the oil every 6 months and keep your fingers crossed.

 

[s1mp13m4n]

I change the oil in the car myself every 3000 miles or 3 months whichever comes first. Oil and filter are cheap and an engine is not therefor I stick with the old school way of thinking and I do not try the 5000 or 7500 mile oil changes that they use now in newer cars. The 170000 miles does not bother me that much, I just want to help the car last as long as I can while trying to save for something newer.

 

[Stubblefield]

Yeah, I only tossed out the 6 month figure since all motor oils are good for that period, even if you drive a cab. But oil is cheap, so obviously not an issue if you change it more frequently. Certainly worth the peace of mind.

I change mine every 5K, even tho the mfg says 10k, and I know I'm tossing away good oil (I use synthetic) every time I do. The peace of mind gained is worth the extra cost.

 

[JoshD]

In my proffesional experience. Prolong additive is the way to go. What it does is use a small molecule oil to bond to engin serfaces. This creates a film of slick low resistance oil. You ussualy get a little better gas milage as well. I used it in my '65 Mustange that I restored. I saw a 5% increase in power as well. As fit the tranny. Just a good oil and filter change is the best thing. I don't like additives in my tranny. They don't gum or anything, but they just go to the bottom and sit there. Not doing annything.

As for the knock. Check your valve train and make some addjustments.

What weight and brand of motor oil are you using? That does make a big differance in an older car.

Josh.

 

[s1mp13m4n]

The car from the factory in 1994 and owners manual says 5w-30 OR 10w-30 can be used. Right now it has factory Ford Motorcraft 10w-30 in it and a Motorcraft FL400S oil filter. The oil is packaged to Ford specs via Conaco and the filter is made for Ford by Puralator. The valvetrain in it from the factory is a roller cam, roller lifters, non-adjustable rockers arms with a nut that crushes like a 351 Ford rocker arm does which locks it and therefor no adjustment. The engines compression is in spec and good. I simply think it is normal wear from normal use. It is just a slight tapping but I just do not l;ike knowing it is there and hearing it. Also the car has 60-80 lbs oil preasure @ 2000RPM which is in spec according to the manual. I should probably just keep doing what I am doing, but if I can get the little bit extra out of the car, then why not? I am a big believer in factory parts because I have found that they always work.