ok I tried it .. The '79 was down a quart so I added a quart of Lucas HD oil stabilizer to possibly swell those seals and am hoping the smokin' at startup will be gone or lessened ...... the car is off the road for winter but I'm starting it up every other day for a few trips around the driveway.

how long before any effect should be noticed ??

 

Forever...

Lucas treatment does more harm than good...It is the same product as "Motor Honey" and is basically a band aid for smoking that can hurt the oil's ability to do it's job...If your motor is smoking, there is no way to "swell" the oil control seals..When they are worn out, they are worn out...All you are doing is thickening the oil...I would reccomend putting in a 20w50 dino oil and call it a day..The engine will need to be rebuilt if there are no visible leaks causing the smoking..Have you done a compression test?

 

if you want a treatment try SEAFOAM. i heard it was good but damn, it does not studder or anything anymore. the smokin thing depends on how thick and how long. mine smokes a little untill shes warm then clears up.

 

So much misinformation, so little time...

Lucas does not attempt to "swell" the gaskets. Instead, it encourages the oil to "crawl" around a bit better. The fact that it is thicker than oil does help with leakage past the oil control rings. It has worked great for me, and for several others, and I have never heard of any undesired side effects.

Now, Seafoam is also a great product but will probably not do much for your oil burning issue. What it will do is remove carbon buildup from the apex seals, which will increase compression and smooth out the idle. Add a can to about 1/8 tank of gas and go for a hard drive. You will feel a significant difference in power within a few miles unless your motor was amazingly clean to begin with.

 

a little more information ......i have 180,000 km ( 110,00 miles) on the engine and it still pulls fine and I take it up to 5000-6500 K rpm all the time ... i think the compression and apex are OK ... though don't know the numbers, it feels strong for 100 hp compared to my '89 at 160 HP which has good compression (110 both rotors) .. don't think i need seafoam

the smoking issue on the '79 is really after it sits for a month or so which it does a lot due to my travelling ...... smokes like a bonfire at start up but cleans up fine after about 10 minutes ..... after a couple days of sitting it doesn't smoke on startup ..... so i figured the Lucas ( one treatment ) might help ...

 

I bet you thats just condensation in the exhaust. The change in temps that we are experiancing are not helping this. I don't think you have too much to worry about. It didn't do this in the summer after extended periods did it?

 

Lucas is ****, check the following link and you'll see what I mean. All it does once combined with reg oil is "aerate" and actually lose lubrication. You could use an oil stop leak to help with the seals, but then change the oil and run a good 20/50. But get that **** out of it soon. http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/images/lucas/lucas.htm

 

stop leak ... i saw that on the store shelf too ... lots of quick fixes to choose from ( i know its a quick fix and doesn't really solve the root cause of the problem)

it's not just a cold weather symptom ... it smoked like dry leaves on the BBQ this summer too.

I thought i'd try one of these Lucas type fixes and leave it a month and when I'm back to it in late january , give it a start and see if it helped.

keep the opinions coming please

 

I say bury your face in the chest of your avatar and you won't care or notice how much she smokes when you start it up.

 

Try the Seafoam any way, it will clean up the combustion chamber, loosen up the seals and could lessen the smoke on start up.

 

my avatar says merry xmas

 

who makes seafoam ? ... wonder if a Parts Source would have it in Ontario?

 

the only place that i know that carries seafoam in ontario is NAPA it might of expanded now but thats where I get mine from.

 

Smoking on startup, especially after sitting for a month, is common. The oil control seals tend to get dry, and allow oil to leak past them for a bit.
Add in the fact that these seals are nearly 30 years old, and there's really not much you can do, short of rebuilding the engine and replacing these seals. Switching to a "High mileage" oil *might* help, but will not totally cure the problem.
I actually bought my car for cheap, due to the excessive smoke on startup. It had been sitting in an impound yard for a year. Turns out, the engine was a fairly fresh rebuild.

 

Yes, I've seen this before but I do not believe the results he got from his testing. This is based on "real world" experience. When checking the oil on the dipstick, even after hard running in autocrosses, I have never seen any evidence of foaming or aeration of the oil. Never. Not even once. I will trust my own eyes and my own experience before taking someone else's word on it.

I don't force my opinions down anybody's throat, I only relay what has worked for me in the past. And while it is easy to sit back and say "if the oil control rings are bad you need to rebuild your engine", if the engine is fine in every other aspect and there is a solution available to control the issue, then maybe you can delay that rebuild for a while. If I had not tried the Lucas, my car would have been down for a rebuild over a year ago. Instead, I've been able to use my funds for many other upgrades and have had a year of succesfull autocrossing. But again, that's just my opinion and my experience. You don't have to believe me any more than I have to believe the test results from "bob the oil guy"...