Craig Nelson: a hero for the ages.

[rlux4]

Craig, I changed my oil today and put in a quart of Lucas oil stabalizer as you posted. The difference was instantaneous. It's the first time I ever started the car without the mysterious whine. The next step is to listen to it while wearing my hearing aid.
Thanks my friend.
Ron

[ventura ace]

That may suggest that the whine is from the oil pump. Ya think??

A

[So Cal Mark]

I thought the constant whine was from the drivers' seat

[mdrburchette]

I believe you're right, Mark. It is an 82.

[So Cal Mark]

that explainifies it! The cursed 82 whine from the drivers' seat

[rlux4]

Hey,hey,hey! I thought Mark cracked a good one, but now I feel like your picking on poor little me.
I'll have you know I never whine while driving my '82. The sound you'd hear while I'm driving is more of a...... come to think of it, a grin doesn't make a sound.
And yes Ace, I do believe that's the culprit. Kind of what we thought it might be. Now I'll let it go until I need to do a rebuild someday.
Ron

[So Cal Mark]

so, please explainify your theory on why/how an oil pump that is submerged in oil will whine for awhile, then stop

[rlux4]

I don't know.
If I knew, it wouldn't be a theory any more.
I'm not even sure it's the oil pump, it's just that no one has been able to figure out what else it could be.
Hey, I'm a carpenter, I just fake being a mechanic.
Ron

[mbouse]

o.k. now i am really confused.

it only whines at startup? doesn't that suggest something on the top end neara cam or walve, or bearing; something that is devoid of lubrication after setting a vhile?

and why only '82's with this issue? hmm.... sounds lika design flaw, or other conspiracy. Or is it just a fuelie issue?

then again, inquiring minds could care less; especially if it is resolved.

what i really wanna know (apologizing for hijacking the thread) is what does an oil stabilizer actually do? change the viscosity?

[So Cal Mark]

Lucas claims their additive changes the molecular makeup of oil and causes the molecules to cling to each other. The oil then won't run off the internal components, ending dry starts

[rlux4]

Well.... it may not be resolved after all. I can still hear the sound. I'm sure it's not coming from the top end, you can definately hear it towards the bottom. I put the stethoscope on the oil pan and it seems like I can hear it inside there, somewhere. It doesn't sound like a bearing noise though, more akin to a gear.
I still plan to let it go until I do the rebuild some day in the future.
Ron

[ga.spyder]

Hey Ron,
sorry to hear that it didnt clear it up.As we have discussed ,mine was making a similar sound that I thought was coming from the oil pump.2 oil changes w/ the Lucas additive ..no noise.A year later I changed to the Rotalla and didnt use the Lucas because I couldnt find out if it had zinc or not.The mystery noise returned! I dumped out 1 quart of new oil and replaced it w/ Lucas...noise disappears!! I had contacted Ron re. my very un scientific experiment ,as we have come to the conclusion our cars were seperated at birth!! The noise has not reappeared in mine and the slight puff of smoke on startup has also disappeared.So I guess I will keep using Lucas Oil Stabilizer..out of earshot ,out of mind.
The only whine I hear is from Mg and Miata drivers when I zip by on the mountain roads.

[mbouse]

so, yeah. i was reading about that Lucas stuff this morning while i was waiting for a muffler installation. Lucas recommends a minimum of 20% Lucas to 80% regular motor oil... up to 60% Lucas 40% regular motor oil.

at $15.00 per quart... isn't there a better way to solve these issues?

or, am i thinking wrong?

[So Cal Mark]

I think you can buy the Lucas oil additive for about 9-10 bucks per quart usually. I like it especially for cars that don't get driven regularly since it does tend to cling to parts.

[rlux4]

After Craig's original post about his experience with the Lucas oil stabalizer I did some research on it. Found out that what Mark is saying is pretty right on. I figured, why not, can't hurt. Yes, it's not cheap ($10 at Walmart), but in answer to Mike's querry about another way: the only other way I could think of would be to start tearing into the engine trying to find the culprit. I don't really want to do that because the car runs just fine as it is. So, $10 seemed a fairly minor expense, especially if it solved the problem. Well, $10 minus the cost of one quart of Rotella at each oil change.
Ron