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Marvel Mystery Oil
Here's a reprise of a tech note on Marvel Mystery Oil we shared with our email subscribers a couple of years ago:
Marvel Mystery Oil was formulated shortly after World War I by an automotive engineer named Burt Pierce. Pierce was best known for his invention of the "Marvel Carburetor", which became the standard automobile carburetor of its time. GM bought the rights to much of Pierce's work and hired him as a consultant.
One of the things that Pierce did during his relatively short stay with GM was to cook up a mixture of "light oils and various chemicals" to clean sludge and lead build-up out of carburetors. In 1923, Pierce went out on his own, incorporated as Marvel Oil, and began selling his recipe of light oil and other chemicals as "Mystery Oil", claiming it to be a "universal lubricant and cleaner". One of the more recent VP's of the Marvel Oil Company is quoted as saying: "'The basic formula hasn't changed since 1917".
WHAT IS IT?
My own understanding from earlier articles on the subject is that Marvel Mystery Oil is a light viscosity oil, roughly equivalent to an SAE 3W, containing (among other things) about 20 percent solvent (probably mineral spirits), dye, wintergreen for smell, and 790 PPM of a phosphorous additive.
WHY DO I NEED IT IN MY ATOMIC 4 AND NOT IN MY CAR?
Unlike your clean running modern automobile engine, your Atomic 4 has a lower compression ratio, doesn't have the latest electronic fuel injection and ignition systems to optimize its combustion parameters at every power setting and temperature condition, and doesn't get used nearly as consistently. In other words, your Atomic 4 is much more like your Aunt Tillie's 1952 flathead, in-line six-cylinder Plymouth than your family's Ford Taurus today. Not that your Taurus wouldn't benefit somewhat from MMO, but your Aunt Tillie's Plymouth thrived on it twice a week; once to church and once to the grocery store around the corner.
HOW IS IT USED?
By far, the preferred way to use MMO is to mix it with the gasoline in your fuel tank as an upper cylinder lubricant. Directions on the back of the can recommend 4 to 6 ounces per 10 gallons of fuel. MMO then goes through the carburetor with the fuel, enters the combustion chamber, and ignites with the gasoline.
From there, it vaporizes and soaks into any carbon build-up within the combustion chambers (especially in and around the rings and between valve stems and guides). It eventually loosens these build-ups so that the carbon residue can exit through the exhaust system. Quoting loosely from the back of the can, "MMO also leaves behind a lubricating residue in the aftermath of the combustion process". Like, how good can that be!
The engineering staff from Universal (when they were still in business) was very outspoken on the use of MMO; in fact, they recommended doubling the recipe used in the fuel in cases whenever there was any hint of sticky valves or other indication of carbon and gum build-up within the engine.
We have never recommended continued use of MMO in the engine oil. However, in cases where it is suspected that carbon and sludge have built up within the crankcase, a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil can be added to the crankcase 5 hours before an oil change to help remove the carbon and sludge, especially in and around oil rings and valve tappets. The residue that mixes with the oil will be removed during the next oil change.
NOTE: Our reservation with respect to the continuous use of MMO in the crankcase is that it reportedly contains no dispersant to hold dirt in suspension, and therefore dilutes the dispersing ability of our modern high-detergent oils. With an SAE rating of 3W, MMO also dilutes the viscosity index of a multi-viscosity oil, making it somewhat less resistant to temperature changes.
Our reservation on the continuous use of MMO in the crankcase notwithstanding, the use of MMO as an upper cylinder lubricant is the most cost-effective thing you can do to insure the longest possible life from your engine and delay (many times indefinitely) the expense of a rebuild.
Don
Marvel Mystery Oil was formulated shortly after World War I by an automotive engineer named Burt Pierce. Pierce was best known for his invention of the "Marvel Carburetor", which became the standard automobile carburetor of its time. GM bought the rights to much of Pierce's work and hired him as a consultant.
One of the things that Pierce did during his relatively short stay with GM was to cook up a mixture of "light oils and various chemicals" to clean sludge and lead build-up out of carburetors. In 1923, Pierce went out on his own, incorporated as Marvel Oil, and began selling his recipe of light oil and other chemicals as "Mystery Oil", claiming it to be a "universal lubricant and cleaner". One of the more recent VP's of the Marvel Oil Company is quoted as saying: "'The basic formula hasn't changed since 1917".
WHAT IS IT?
My own understanding from earlier articles on the subject is that Marvel Mystery Oil is a light viscosity oil, roughly equivalent to an SAE 3W, containing (among other things) about 20 percent solvent (probably mineral spirits), dye, wintergreen for smell, and 790 PPM of a phosphorous additive.
WHY DO I NEED IT IN MY ATOMIC 4 AND NOT IN MY CAR?
Unlike your clean running modern automobile engine, your Atomic 4 has a lower compression ratio, doesn't have the latest electronic fuel injection and ignition systems to optimize its combustion parameters at every power setting and temperature condition, and doesn't get used nearly as consistently. In other words, your Atomic 4 is much more like your Aunt Tillie's 1952 flathead, in-line six-cylinder Plymouth than your family's Ford Taurus today. Not that your Taurus wouldn't benefit somewhat from MMO, but your Aunt Tillie's Plymouth thrived on it twice a week; once to church and once to the grocery store around the corner.
HOW IS IT USED?
By far, the preferred way to use MMO is to mix it with the gasoline in your fuel tank as an upper cylinder lubricant. Directions on the back of the can recommend 4 to 6 ounces per 10 gallons of fuel. MMO then goes through the carburetor with the fuel, enters the combustion chamber, and ignites with the gasoline.
From there, it vaporizes and soaks into any carbon build-up within the combustion chambers (especially in and around the rings and between valve stems and guides). It eventually loosens these build-ups so that the carbon residue can exit through the exhaust system. Quoting loosely from the back of the can, "MMO also leaves behind a lubricating residue in the aftermath of the combustion process". Like, how good can that be!
The engineering staff from Universal (when they were still in business) was very outspoken on the use of MMO; in fact, they recommended doubling the recipe used in the fuel in cases whenever there was any hint of sticky valves or other indication of carbon and gum build-up within the engine.
We have never recommended continued use of MMO in the engine oil. However, in cases where it is suspected that carbon and sludge have built up within the crankcase, a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil can be added to the crankcase 5 hours before an oil change to help remove the carbon and sludge, especially in and around oil rings and valve tappets. The residue that mixes with the oil will be removed during the next oil change.
NOTE: Our reservation with respect to the continuous use of MMO in the crankcase is that it reportedly contains no dispersant to hold dirt in suspension, and therefore dilutes the dispersing ability of our modern high-detergent oils. With an SAE rating of 3W, MMO also dilutes the viscosity index of a multi-viscosity oil, making it somewhat less resistant to temperature changes.
Our reservation on the continuous use of MMO in the crankcase notwithstanding, the use of MMO as an upper cylinder lubricant is the most cost-effective thing you can do to insure the longest possible life from your engine and delay (many times indefinitely) the expense of a rebuild.
Don
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