Any STP users?????

[Guest HessLakeGuy]

My Silverado (137,000 miles) was getting a little noisey upon cold starts and my son suggested I add some STP to the crankcase. Wow, took less than sixty seconds of idling until the clicking stopped. Excellent, I will see how long it lasts.

I started using this stuff in 1968 and the present version seems less viscous than the stuff from the 1970s---this stuff today really flows right out of the container, and its only 70 degrees here in Michigan.

Years ago, when I had $400.00 cars, I used this stuff all the time. I don't think I have ever put in any of my Reattas.

[Guest jimmyk]

"I don't think I have ever put in any of my Reattas." There is your REAL answer. (just my opinion, tho)

[dship]

In the sixties, we used to pour that stuff into carbs to burn off carbon....poured it in and kept the throttle wide open with our fingers...you should have seen the smoke coming out the exhaust!!! Don't know if it helped or hindered....never kept one of those $100 cars very long....

[Guest Richard D]

I too used it in my first car, a 1965 Marlin with 327 V8 and about 50, 000 miles. It had worn valve seals and would blow a puff of blue smoke when started hot. It did stop long enough the trade in appraiser did not notice it at the Plymouth dealer in 1970.

[Guest steveskyhawk]

I like to drink MGD. Does that count?

[Machiner 55]

Tom,

Put some in my '97 GMC Sierra. The tick/tapping sound went away in about a minute.

That lasted about a week.

John F.

[JalopyBob]

I remember when the decals were everywhere. Back then it was so thick an gooey, enough to convince me that

it would not be going into any of my engines.

[Booreatta]

From what I can remember the STP (Scientifically Treated Petroleum) was made famous by Andy Granatelli in the 60s and 70s. He was a driving force behind several Indy Cars and sponsorship of racecar driver Richard Petty. He had STP on everything from cars to pit crews. We would use the stuff and it covered a lot of sins back in the early days of hot rodding. I used a lot of it and I dont know if it did any good but I dont think ever did any harm. Ahh those were the good ol days

Chuck

[Guest HessLakeGuy]

When I first used it in my 1964 Oldsmobile F85 it was made by Studebaker Corporation. How many of you knew that?

Tom

[Guest WEB 38]

It was first used in factorys on machinery and called cling oil. Bill

[drtidmore]

I have never used STP and I have been an avid adherent to using synthetic oil since the late 1970s in all my cars with absolutely excellent results. On bringing my '89 Reatta out of storage, I did have some minor oil leaks (they existed during its storage period as there was accumulated oil where it had been stored. Upon changing the oil that I had installed immediately before storing the Reatta, I added a bottle of BarsLeak Engine Oil Stop Leak Concentrate (claimed to rejuvenate the seals). As I intended to only run the oil for a short time and then change again, I figured it would be worth a try. The product is NOT thick like STP and much to my surprise within 100 miles ALL my leaks had stopped completely. I changed the oil and added another bottle given how well it worked. So far no more oil drips under the car. I will change the oil again after 3000 miles or so and then decide whether to continue running the BarsLeak product.

David T.

Edited September 14, 2013 by drtidmore (see edit history)

[padgett]

Years ago when I was racing Corvettes I was told that if oil pressure was lost in a corner (common, I used to run a quart over full to prevent since a quart was usually waiting to drain out of the top when running hard & a 6 quart trap door oil pan) a can of STP would save the engine for 3-5 seconds.

[Guest Corvanti]

When I first used it in my 1964 Oldsmobile F85 it was made by Studebaker Corporation. How many of you knew that?

Tom

ummm, me! (see signature info).

i haven't used STP since the early 70's. i'm not much into "voodoo" chemicals, although i have used Bars Leak in cooling systems with positive results for temporary repairs. but i might try something like "drtidmore" used in my '51 as the valve seals are going (according to the P.O.) and want to wait til this winter to deal with it... i doubt it'll do much for the oil leaks since Studes seem to leave the factory with leaks already "installed"!

EDIT: i don't consider Seafoam, Techron and a few others as "voodoo" chems!

Edited September 14, 2013 by Corvanti (see edit history)

[Guest HessLakeGuy]

I have never been afraid to use this stuff. One of my last cars I had I sold to my nephew at about 140,000 miles and he put over 100,000 more on it. Ran perfect when he sold it.

Also, on a side note, one of the guys I used to work with has 391,000 miles on his Ford Taurus. His son is driving it to school now, its getting a little rough from Michigan winters.

Tom

[TexasJohn55]

Don't know about other attributes of STP but is does reduce friction. I became a believer back when driving a '57 Ford with the 292 v8 in it. It always ran pretty good but did have some wear from the engine being retired from dirt tracking duty. It always started good in fair weather but turned over slowly when temperatures dropped to around freezing. I added a can of STP out of desperation and it whipped over good in the freezing temperatures after that.

As a side note that car also had begun using some oil also, didn't notice the STP affecting that alot BUT here is the good part. I bought a can of "Mota-Nu" or "Mota-New", don't know for sure which. It was pellets in a can of liquid to be poured in the gas tank. I dumped in a can out of curiousity to test it out. After a few weeks of everyday driving I began to notice a distinct improvement in performance as the compression began to come up. It also reduced the amount of noticeable blowby from the road draft tube and the oil consumption rate was reduced. I wish I could find some today but I think they quit marketing.

I don't know how long the effects lasted because it had a small water leak at the head gaskets and my brother borrowed it one night. He was witness to a bad hit and run that night and had to chase down the perpetrator for the cops. He saw the temperature start climbing but felt he couldn't abort the chase. Needless to say, he warped the heads badly. Tough engine, he still drove it back home. After that you couldn't fill the radiator quick enough before it all ran out from under the heads.

That was in the early 70's and I was ready for another car.

Edited September 14, 2013 by TexasJohn55 (see edit history)