Restore brand oil additive—snake oil or beneficial?

OldGuyOutdoors

OldGuyOutdoors

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Jun 9, 2020
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Memphis, TN
I have a 97 TJ with 190K and have pretty much replaced everything but the engine. Been experiencing piston slap and lifter ticking, standard TJ stuff. After finally replacing the transmission, I didn't want to jump straight into a engine rebuild or better yet crate engine due to funds constraints.

Starting reading and talking to folks about Restore brand additive and got the full range of YEAH, it works to it's B.S., it's just snake oil and you should never run anything that's not recommended by the original Jeep engineer, etc...

Just performed oil change (Rotella 10w-30 synthetic) and thought, why not try the "snake oil" since no one ever come out and stated they had a nightmare story with it. Holy s*&t, let me tell you! Poured in the 12oz bottle last night and let it idle for 10 minutes or so then drove around the block, nothing too noticeable just a normal warm engine drive. However, first thing this morning, cranked her up, NO piston slap, NO pinging of lifters, just a quiet smooth purring engine. Drove conservatively to the local coffee shop, grabbed a coffee and hit the highway for a small 5 mile loop. MAN, the increased pep of the engine, quiet performance and surprisingly a passing gear at 65mph that I don't ever remember having in 23+ years. Although time will tell on this but at first impression, DAMN!!!!

Please let me know your actual experiences with this and not just the company line of ALL ADDITIVES ARE BAD. I'm curious about real life experiences and results.

Thanks and have a great day!!!
 
The only additive I use is what's included in the high mileage oils for seal conditioning. And BTW, I never use synthetic oils in my Jeep. High mileage conventional oil changed every 3000-5000 miles has worked great for me, plus it stopped my very small RMS leak.
 
All oil additives are "snake oil".
Modern oils are already formulated with additives.
 
It's a band-aid for things like worn rings, it helps the rings seal around the pistons a little better. It won't hurt, it just raises the viscosity so the oil doesn't leak around things like the rings as easily.

I do totally agree that modern oils need no additives, I have preached that here many times. But for an engine that is on its last legs in need of an overhaul, it can provide a little help until it can be overhauled.
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
It's a band-aid for things like worn rings, it helps the rings seal around the pistons a little better. It won't hurt, it just raises the viscosity so the oil doesn't leak around things like the rings as easily.

I do totally agree that modern oils need no additives, I have preached that here many times. But for an engine that is on its last legs in need of an overhaul, it can provide a little help until it can be overhauled.
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Thanks Jerry, that's just confirmation of what I was thinking. Just trying to eek out a few more miles before replacement.
 
I tried it in my engine a few months ago. I had piston slap on startup sounded like a diesel. I could not believe how quiet it made the engine. It lasted about 250 miles and then sounded like normal. I've since done an in jeep rebuild pistons and all.
 
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Some of the mechanic in a can products have value, usually for gummed up lifters. I have seen Mystery oil added to fuel cleancrap out of the valve o where compression went up. But those additives don't turn back the clock, they just make the death rattle quieter. Some folks have 190K on engines that still act young, others have 90K blobs of shite. Sounds like you have time to save some coinage for a crate engine.
 
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