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zinc in lucas oil stabilizer??


mrspeedyt

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anybody know if 'lucas oil stabilizer' has zinc in it...:confused: and perhaps just how much zinc... i've used it a lot in my '62 cad with a very worn and knocking engine :o with good success... but now with the lack of enough zinc in the modern oils maybe the addition of lucas oil stabilizer may be good for all of our older engines IF there is lots of zinc in it. the price of a gallon of it is more reasonable than any other zinc additive i've seen... (so far):confused:

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Good question. I tried to check this out once before and was not sucessful. Their site is really not that technically oriented, a dissapointment. I do know several people that believe in the product; I would be interested in knowing the additives also. It seems like it is basically a thickening agent to me but I could be wrong.

I have heard castrol GTX 20-50 may still contain zinc but again, I am not 100% sure.

Search this site and others and you will find a lot of opinions on zinc and ZDDP - when did it come out, how necessary is it for older engines without high compression or high tension valvesprings. Lucas may help nurse the 62 Cad a while longer but I am not sure the ZDDP will help there or if it is needed in prewar engines.

Maybe someone has some new information on this topic.

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My opinion on the ZDDP obsession in anything other than a flat tappet engine that you're breaking in from a fresh rebuild is that it's of very little benefit. For a greater understanding, the best thing anyone can do is to buy the SAE paper that covers this topic. It's been studied for a long time. There is such a thing as too much ZDDP, too.

The problem shows itself during break-in on high pressure components where there's limited contact area, like a lifter on a cam lobe that has not yet had a chance to seat. Once lifters are seated, that same pressure is distributed over a much greater area and it's not an issue anymore.

Poor metallurgy and improper cam coatings on cheap aftermarket components can cause these problems too, but people are quick to blame the lack of ZDDP.

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Guest Jim_Edwards
My opinion on the ZDDP obsession in anything other than a flat tappet engine that you're breaking in from a fresh rebuild is that it's of very little benefit. For a greater understanding, the best thing anyone can do is to buy the SAE paper that covers this topic. It's been studied for a long time. There is such a thing as too much ZDDP, too.

The problem shows itself during break-in on high pressure components where there's limited contact area, like a lifter on a cam lobe that has not yet had a chance to seat. Once lifters are seated, that same pressure is distributed over a much greater area and it's not an issue anymore.

Poor metallurgy and improper cam coatings on cheap aftermarket components can cause these problems too, but people are quick to blame the lack of ZDDP.

You don't mean that there are actually people that will turn out soft cams......:D

Seems I recall being told in late 1978 by a Shell Lubricants engineer in their Houston Lab not to buy any 1979 Chevy with a 350 in it because the cams were so soft they had been unable to come up with a lubricant formula that would extend its life potential beyond 25-30 thousand miles. You would have thought everyone in the industry should have learned their lesson back in the late 1950's when soft cams caused many an engine to have a premature death.

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that's funny... i have a late 1978 chevy 350 that has about 300,000 miles on it... and never rebuilt... however,lately, the engine will rev up (under load) no higher than 3,000 rpm then it acts like valve float... maybe the cam IS soft!!

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I believe it. A friend had an early '80's Chevy car with a 350 in it, mileage well under 100,000, and had a cylinder miss he just couldn't figure out. Cam had a single lobe wiped right off of it like it was turned that way, and this was about 20 years ago, well before lack of ZDDP was getting the blame for everything.

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I have heard castrol GTX 20-50 may still contain zinc but again, I am not 100% sure.

I believe you're thinking of Castrol Classic 20W50, which is only available in the U.K. ( Engine Oil and Lubricants Castrol UK - CLASSIC ENGINE OILS )

My opinion on the ZDDP obsession in anything other than a flat tappet engine that you're breaking in from a fresh rebuild is that it's of very little benefit. For a greater understanding, the best thing anyone can do is to buy the SAE paper that covers this topic. It's been studied for a long time. There is such a thing as too much ZDDP, too.

The problem shows itself during break-in on high pressure components where there's limited contact area, like a lifter on a cam lobe that has not yet had a chance to seat. Once lifters are seated, that same pressure is distributed over a much greater area and it's not an issue anymore.

Poor metallurgy and improper cam coatings on cheap aftermarket components can cause these problems too, but people are quick to blame the lack of ZDDP.

Amen. There's a lot of money being wasted on this stuff right now.

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Could be, Dave. Read it somewhere and I guess to be SAE approved here it couldn't contain the zinc here. Interesting the Brits have it - memories of the truckloads of Castrol 20-50 I used in my old TR-6, the engine was tired, but dead reliable.

Anyway, I believe the label on the lucas additive says "100% petroleum" - thickener and filming agent.

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just wondering... the newer penny is made of zinc that is clad with a thin coating of copper... what if you took a late penny and filed it down a bit to expose the zinc and dropped it down in the oil pan (or attached it to something) so the oil would cover the zinc penny... any chance the zinc would erode into the hot oil?? (gotta lay off those mushrooms...)

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just wondering... the newer penny is made of zinc that is clad with a thin coating of copper... what if you took a late penny and filed it down a bit to expose the zinc and dropped it down in the oil pan (or attached it to something) so the oil would cover the zinc penny... any chance the zinc would erode into the hot oil?? (gotta lay off those mushrooms...)

Why to you think die-cast Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars never have cam issues???:D

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Guest Steve Hughes

If you are just concerned about the amount of ZDDP, then your best bet is to just use Accel brand oil with the API rating of SF. It is for 1988 and older cars, and is available at Walmart at a very reasonable price.

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a few months ago I bought a quart... haven't tried it yet... wonder just how much zinc is it... and wonder if you were to add a quart to the engine that allready has the 'modern' oil in it if it would be of benefit...

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Guest Jim_Edwards
that's funny... i have a late 1978 chevy 350 that has about 300,000 miles on it... and never rebuilt... however,lately, the engine will rev up (under load) no higher than 3,000 rpm then it acts like valve float... maybe the cam IS soft!!

Keep in mind the statement was made about engines for '79 production. Now I would have to say that any gas push rod engine that has made it 300,000 or more miles without a rebuild should be pulled, cleaned, gold plated, and place on a pedestal much like a trophy in tribute to good maintenance practices.:D

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thank you, mr. edwards. the 350 was removed from a '78 1 ton van that was used on a mail run from flagstaff az to the south rim of the grand canyon via williams az... i was the relief driver and only changed the oil every 6 to 7,000 miles... I removed the engine only because of the high miles... put in a rebuilt 350 that went well over 300,000 miles before throwing a rod.. (by that time I had another job...) the original 350 sits under the hood of a '52 buick that I unwisely modified back in the early '80s...

Edited by mrspeedyt (see edit history)
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mr edwards...1. the mail run was from the old main p.o. in downtown flagstaff to williams on mainly I-40 and portions of 66 that were practical ... such as leaving flagstaff and then approaching williams. after the williams p.o. backtrack on 66 to az 64 which heads straight north to grand canyon n.p. 2. the uncovered portion of old 66 is right alongside us 95 west of needles... maybe about 3/4 mile north of I-40 in a dry wash... and the photo is a color photo from my old cell phone. about 75% of old 66 can be driven over new mexico, arizona and calif. a lot of it can be used as a practical thru route.

Edited by mrspeedyt (see edit history)
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