Rislone Engine Treatment?

[Caribou]

Okay gearheads: I just put some Rislone Engine Treatment in my car, and it smells A LOT like good ol' Hoppes #9! I'm wondering if anyone has ever used Rislone, agrees with me about the smell, and/or knows if it's any good for use on guns?

[Slugger]

Okay gearheads: I just put some Rislone Engine Treatment in my car, and it smells A LOT like good ol' Hoppes #9! I'm wondering if anyone has ever used Rislone, agrees with me about the smell, and/or knows if it's any good for use on guns?


I've used it on an old chevy pick up. I was young and don't remember the smell. Seafoam is what I use now. WOW. Clears out the whole block with white smoke. Like a head gasket blew white HUGE clouds. I don't know if it's in my head, but it seems like it works. It got rid of lifter tap and I got better gas mileage.

[Mike in Michigan]

Be careful with Rislone, and other engine cleaners, in high mileage engines. I put some Risone in my sister's boyfriend's car back in the mid 1960's. It was a 1960 Ford with the big 6 cylinder engine and had over 200K miles on it. It cleaned out the carbon from the rings and valve guides and stopped the sticky valve lifters. Unfortunately, the carbon was filling where the rings and guides had worn. Once the carbon was gone, it burned oil to the tune of 1 quart every 100 miles.

[thatguy423]

Be careful with Rislone, and other engine cleaners, in high mileage engines. I put some Risone in my sister's boyfriend's car back in the mid 1960's. It was a 1960 Ford with the big 6 cylinder engine and had over 200K miles on it. It cleaned out the carbon from the rings and valve guides and stopped the sticky valve lifters. Unfortunately, the carbon was filling where the rings and guides had worn. Once the carbon was gone, it burned oil to the tune of 1 quart every 100 miles.

Yep agreed.. It's snake oil..

[Caribou]

Yep agreed.. It's snake oil..

Well, if it removes gunk and carbon, it's not snake oil. However, it may highlight other problems, as MIM mentioned.

I may try that Seafoam next. But I may buy some more Rislone for the smell! :)

[Buzzcat]

Be careful with Rislone, and other engine cleaners, in high mileage engines. I put some Risone in my sister's boyfriend's car back in the mid 1960's. It was a 1960 Ford with the big 6 cylinder engine and had over 200K miles on it. It cleaned out the carbon from the rings and valve guides and stopped the sticky valve lifters. Unfortunately, the carbon was filling where the rings and guides had worn. Once the carbon was gone, it burned oil to the tune of 1 quart every 100 miles.


+100, same with today's engines, probably even more so. Carbon buildup can be your friend sometimes.

[ericcbeckett]

I use Rislone.
It is a good engine cleaner. Take apart an engine with Rislone applied regularly and you can see a huge difference.
Another thing I like is that the company is local!

[GreaseMonkeySRT]

With regular oil changes and maintenance there is no need whatsoever for engine treatments or fuel cleaners. Over time they typically do more harm than good.

[MLG]

Is this the engine forum???

[Buffman]

it cleans a little, but nothing like it claims, and is a waste of money like 90% of the other oil addins at the autostore... www.bobistheoilguy.com (http://www.bobistheoilguy.com) :)

[Mike in Michigan]

I ran a 1993 Ford Escort, with 1.9L engine 452,000 miles before the body rusted so bad the rear suspension points came loose. I used Mobil 1 synthetic exclusively, changing every 5K or so miles. Around 435,000 the valve cover seal started to leak. Removed the cover and found ZERO sludge in the head and was still getting 31-35 MPG while using 1 quart of oil every 1-2K miles. That was driving 125+ miles a day to work. Shorter distances require more frequent oil changes.

[Tom S.]

I ran a 1993 Ford Escort, with 1.9L engine 452,000 miles before the body rusted so bad the rear suspension points came loose. I used Mobil 1 synthetic exclusively, changing every 5K or so miles. Around 435,000 the valve cover seal started to leak. Removed the cover and found ZERO sludge in the head and was still getting 31-35 MPG while using 1 quart of oil every 1-2K miles. That was driving 125+ miles a day to work. Shorter distances require more frequent oil changes.


Yup - use synthetic oil and you won't need that other crap. I've been using Mobil 1 since 1978.

[bone]

Yep agreed.. It's snake oil..

agreed, a quart of kerosene will do the same thing rislone does, i believe there not too far apart in composition. ive even added a quart of trans fluid for a half hour before an oilchange and had it "fix" a sticky lifter

as far as synthetic goes, it dont deposit the stuff in the engine is correct. they claim it can suspend much more crap init therefore keeping your engine clean. why would you want to use an oil product that can get even further dilluted down with fuel and carbon decreasing its lubrication properties? i just cant grasp that being a good thing. every engine puts carbon adn fuel into the oil. its a byproduct of combustion. theres also not an oil filter made that can remove either from the oil. use regular oil and change it on a schedule

change your oil every 3000 and it will stay clean. it you wait until it "looks" dirty. your too late

[Buffman]

agreed, a quart of kerosene will do the same thing rislone does, i believe there not too far apart in composition. ive even added a quart of trans fluid for a half hour before an oilchange and had it "fix" a sticky lifter

as far as synthetic goes, it dont deposit the stuff in the engine is correct. they claim it can suspend much more crap init therefore keeping your engine clean. why would you want to use an oil product that can get even further dilluted down with fuel and carbon decreasing its lubrication properties? i just cant grasp that being a good thing. every engine puts carbon adn fuel into the oil. its a byproduct of combustion. theres also not an oil filter made that can remove either from the oil. use regular oil and change it on a schedule

change your oil every 3000 and it will stay clean. it you wait until it "looks" dirty. your too late


rislone is a cleaner, but it's not a highly volatile mixture like kerosene. These days engine oils have more detergents than ATFs. ATF is like a 20 weight oil, so you're better off usign that.


That's complete oil changing myth about it being too Dirty. Fuel and water evaporate from oil. Water will at 212F, and fuel at a much lower temperature because it's very volatile :) Of course you can have fuel dilution problems if you never get the engine up to temp (cold climates, short trips), but on a well running engine is a non concern. Engine oils have an entire slew of additives. Typically they make up what's called Total Base Number. Using a Used Oil Analysis ($22 cost), you'll get a report back showing various concentrations of metals, and particles in your oil. If the TBN number given is below a certain range, that it typically means the oil's add pack has been used up in XXX amount of miles, and therefore cannot provide full protection.. IE Change your oil time. They'll give you fuel dilution % and if any coolant is present. They're report viscosity also.

So generally speaking people can babble all day long about "change your oil when it looks dirty, or never go over 3k, etc etc", are all just baseless opinions. UOA's are not 100% in terms of forming a OCI, but they're a great guideline to judge how that oil is performing in your engine.

[austin7118]

Not to totally change directions here....

I have an 09 Pontiac and like all newer GM cars, it has an oil life monitor. I change my oil every 3-4k miles but don't reset my light to see how long it will go. If I followed the light in my car I would have to drive around 8k miles before that thing turns on.

The crazy part is that the system is very complex and for most people is probably very accurate. I have access to an OSA (oil sample analyzer) and my oil changes in the 3-4k range never indicate that change is needed. Total base number on new oil is in the 8-9 range and by 3-4k has only dipped into about the 6 range.

My issue is that I change my own oil so I don't care that I'm spending extra money each change because I consider this cheap insurance. I changed the head gasket on my last vehicle at over 200k on the odometer and the engine was spotless. (minus that gasket) But I argue with people at work all the time about how I'm just throwing money down the toilet for changing the oil that soon.

Also, I tend to stay away from all and any additives but am otherwise pretty much a maintenance nazi. If you have an issue or concern that you're trying to remedy on the cheap or keep out of the shop then I figure it's probably worth a try at least.

[Homelessrdp]

One thing you might want to consider is when you put any kind of cleaner in a engine full of sludge it will wash all the crap down to your oil pan and get pump thru your bearings. I have seen a navigator engine get destroyed in about 2 weeks by adding engine cleaner. I beleive ATF was used.

[Buffman]

Not to totally change directions here....

I have an 09 Pontiac and like all newer GM cars, it has an oil life monitor. I change my oil every 3-4k miles but don't reset my light to see how long it will go. If I followed the light in my car I would have to drive around 8k miles before that thing turns on.

The crazy part is that the system is very complex and for most people is probably very accurate. I have access to an OSA (oil sample analyzer) and my oil changes in the 3-4k range never indicate that change is needed. Total base number on new oil is in the 8-9 range and by 3-4k has only dipped into about the 6 range.
.

Why not extend it, if your TBN shows minimal drop, as long as silicon, insolubles, and viscosity remain good (and of course wear metals), I see no reason not going to 5-6K changes.


One thing you might want to consider is when you put any kind of cleaner in a engine full of sludge it will wash all the crap down to your oil pan and get pump thru your bearings. I have seen a navigator engine get destroyed in about 2 weeks by adding engine cleaner. I beleive ATF was used.

they must have mixed it with something else. Most engine oils from 98 on (SJ, SL, SM, etc API) have way more detergents than ATF. Adding ATF to your crankcase is like adding a 5w20 weight oil.

[bone]

ok, unless you sending your engine oil out for analysis it should be changed at a regular interval. be it 3k or 5k i wouldnt ever go beyond 5k
my biggest problem with synth is they were claiming 10-15k between changes with just a filter change. even if your engines pcv system is working perfectly and the fuel is getting evaporated out of the oil your still blowing carbon past the rings that is acumulating in the oil.

try this pour sugar in a glass of water. keep going until the water cant take anymore and it starts building up on the bottom of the glass. that is exactly what happens in your engine. your oil suspends carbon particles until it can hold no more. once you go beyond that point it starts building up in the engine.

transmission fluid and 20wt engine oil are not the same thing. not even close. atf has large amounts of antifoaming agents and detergents. atf is designed to move worn clutch material to the filter and deposit it there. there is nothing in atf 's composition to deal with carbon. ever noticed auto transmissions dont get buildup inside them? its always laying in the pan

[Mike in Michigan]

The oil change frequency, with synthetic oils, is directly related to the way the vehicle is driven. Long drives, over 1 hour each way to work every day will boil off the moisture and fuel that develop in the crankcase. Short drive cycles will allow the moisture and fuel to collect and that is when the sludge develops.
I did an oil change on a 1972 Honda 600 that had 700 (seven hundred) miles on it. The vehicle was 4 years old. The elderly owner only drove from his home, to the post office, to the store.....all within a few blocks of home. The engine never reached operating temperature in 4 years. The cam valley was completely filled with sludge from top to bottom with openings for the cam lobes and rocker arms to move. I filled it with ATF, ran it on the hoist, drained and refilled it 3 times to flush the sludge before letting it back on the street. I saw the car a few years later, with a new owner, still running fine.
I know of a redneck racer who uses an old cream separator to clean used motor oil (not for use in his race car). He uses the recycled oil in his street vehicles and farm machinery. Before you laugh, I can assure the cream separator works, to remove solid impurities. Any Machinist Mate of a US Navy ship can tell you they have "Lube Oil Purifiers" on board. The one on the USS Ranger, where I spent a few years, was made by Delaval and it looked just like the cream separator my grandfather had on his farm except the one on the ship was about 12 feet tall. Except for makeup oil added to the bunkers, the ship was using the original lube oils from when the ship was launched in 1954. I was aboard '67-'69.

[stroo]

I have never used Rislone but have heard things about using Seafoam on AR bolts and use ATF in the Ed's Red formula with pretty results. I use the Ed's Red on a bore brush, jag a patch with brake cleaner on it then run a copper solvent on a patch and let that sit for 10-15 minutes. When that sequence starts showing clean patches I run a patch with oil back and forth a few times and put it away.

[Buffman]

ok, unless you sending your engine oil out for analysis it should be changed at a regular interval. be it 3k or 5k i wouldnt ever go beyond 5k
my biggest problem with synth is they were claiming 10-15k between changes with just a filter change. even if your engines pcv system is working perfectly and the fuel is getting evaporated out of the oil your still blowing carbon past the rings that is acumulating in the oil.

Only some oils claim that, mainly M1 EP, and some Amsoil lines. Frankly from the UOAs as long as you build up to that mileage, there have been quite a few people who really do go 20,000 miles on an oil change and maybe one filter change in between.



try this pour sugar in a glass of water. keep going until the water cant take anymore and it starts building up on the bottom of the glass. that is exactly what happens in your engine. your oil suspends carbon particles until it can hold no more. once you go beyond that point it starts building up in the engine.

Again that's assuming one doesn't follow mainteance schedules. I wasn't claiming everyone go 10+ k on OCIs, but 3K for your standard daily driven car is a lot of nonsense these days. Again carbon deposits can be a problem as you said from them accumulating in the oil, but anyone's reasoning that because the oil is black means that it's overflowing with carbon deposits and will blow your engine up is a myth.


transmission fluid and 20wt engine oil are not the same thing. not even close. atf has large amounts of antifoaming agents and detergents. atf is designed to move worn clutch material to the filter and deposit it there. there is nothing in atf 's composition to deal with carbon. ever noticed auto transmissions dont get buildup inside them? its always laying in the pan

I didn't say they were the same thing. However most ATF has the viscosity of that similiar to a 5w20 weight oil. API rated oils from the last 10 or more years contain way more detergents than ATF does. So when the engine oils contain more cleaning agents than ATF, and you can buy oil that's the same viscosity, you're not gaining any ground by putting ATF in your engine.

www.bobistheoilguy.com (http://www.bobistheoilguy.com). There are tons of threads, concerning ATF as an engine oil cleaner.