Rust & Corrosion Attack Vehicles

Rust & Corrosion Attack Vehicles

Most motor oils only provide minimal protection against damaging engine rust and corrosion.

The effects of rust and corrosion are easy to see on the exterior of vehicles and equipment. However, they can also form on the inside of your engine if you’re not using a properly formulated motor oil.

The problem is especially problematic in engines used in applications that sit idle for extended periods, including the following.

Boats

Motorcycles

Lawnmowers

Classic cars

Snowblowers

Despite what most people assume, motor oils have no natural ability to protect against rust or corrosion. Instead, special rust and corrosion inhibitors must be added to the formulation to provide the required protection, and some oils simply don’t contain the correct additives in the correct concentration.

Idleness equals no protection

During engine operation, a layer of oil coats engine parts and the crankcase walls. The lubricant film protects against rust and corrosion as long as it remains in place. However, after you shut down the motor for the day, gravity draws the oil back down into the oil sump, leaving components unprotected. The longer the engine sits, the more rust and corrosion can form.

Once rust begins to form, it doesn’t stop. It can slowly spread to the crankshaft journals, cylinder wall, piston rings and other areas. It acts like sandpaper and scours metal surfaces until engine failure eventually results. It can also prevent the piston rings from forming a good seal against the cylinder wall, which reduces compression and leads to power loss.

Aluminum parts may not rust, but they can corrode, especially in marine motors constantly exposed to humid air. If the valves aren’t completely sealed when the engine shuts down, damp air infiltrates the combustion chamber and causes aluminum pistons to corrode. Corrosion on the piston crown invites conditions that can lead to pre-ignition, a phenomenon where the fuel/air mixture ignites sporadically and potentially causes catastrophic engine failure.  

Passenger car motor oils don’t cut it

It’s vital to use a motor oil formulated with anti-rust/anti-corrosion additives in vehicles and equipment that sit idle for long periods. These additives form a resilient protective layer that clings to engine parts for maximum protection. Since passenger cars/trucks are typically driven daily, rust and corrosion largely isn’t a concern. As such, most passenger car motor oils don’t contain sufficient rust and corrosion inhibitors for engines used periodically. Instead, use a motor oil specifically formulated for your application.

AMSOIL Synthetic Motorcycle Oil, AMSOIL marine engine oils, AMSOIL Z-ROD® Synthetic Motor Oil and AMSOIL Formula 4-Stroke® Synthetic Small Engine Oil contain robust rust and corrosion inhibitors. They deliver outstanding performance for your engines when you’re driving, and superior rust and corrosion protection when they sit idle.

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AMSOIL Grease Saves Commercial Account Big Money

AMSOIL Grease Saves Commercial Account Big Money

A manufacturing company in Illinois is saving big money using AMSOIL grease.

St. Louis Prestress in Glen Carbon, Ill. is a prestress/precast manufacturer of concrete pieces used to build various buildings such as parking garages, warehouses and schools.

The manufacturing process includes the use of extruder machines for making hollow core panels used for building roofs and floors.

Bryan Ebersohl, the maintenance supervisor and batch plant foreman at St. Louis Prestress, was looking for a way to save money when he decided to try AMSOIL Synthetic Multi-Purpose Grease NLGI #2 on the expensive bearings of the huge machines.

“These machines have vibrating augers that run about 16,500 rpms,” Ebersohl said. “I have tried lots of different grease trying to get a little longer life out of these bearings because they are very expensive. I used to change bearings about every 100 hours, because the grease would not hold up.”

The machines have 64 bearings each, and the company has three of the extruders. The bearings cost between $75 and $180 each, Ebersohl said.

The company is a commercial account for Dealer Larry Goss.

About four years ago, Ebersohl started using AMSOIL Synthetic Multi-Purpose Grease NLGI #2 on the bearings.

“Since I started using the AMSOIL grease I checked the bearings at 100 hours, 200 hours, 300 hours, all the way to 600 hours,” Ebersohl said. “This grease has saved our company thousands of dollars on bearings.

“Using this grease I haven’t had to change any bearings. I just clean them and reuse them. I used to take these machines apart at least every 100 hours to clean and usually replace bearings, now I run these machines up to 500 hours before cleaning the bearings and regreasing them.”

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Spring Maintenance Should Include More than an Oil Change

Spring Maintenance Should Include More than an Oil Change

Neglecting maintenance creates problems down the road

Spring Maintenance Should Include More than an Oil Change

Paying attention to your vehicle’s recommended maintenance schedule extends engine life and prevents costly repairs. As warmer weather approaches, many people get under the hood for an oil change.

While motor oil is often the only regular vehicle maintenance performed, multiple other fluids and components require attention for vehicles to perform at a high-level.

Transmission Fluid

Transmission fluid must act as a lubricant protecting against intense heat and shearing, and also as a hydraulic fluid to enable shifting. Neglecting this vital fluid leads to heat stress, erratic shifts and catastrophic wear. AMSOIL Signature Series Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid delivers superior friction durability and reserve protection against extreme heat and wear.

Gear Lube

Gear lube helps prevent “thermal runaway” — a phenomenon caused by a lubricant's inability to control friction and increased heat under high-stress conditions. AMSOIL synthetic gear lube inhibits rapid lubricant degradation and component damage. It offers superior gear and bearing protection, better friction and heat reduction, increased efficiency and extended service life.

Coolant 

Antifreeze/coolant protects cylinder heads and water pumps from metallic corrosion and prevents engines from over-heating and freezing. AMSOIL Antifreeze & Coolant inhibits the scaling issues common in cooling systems and effectively shields cylinder liners from cavitation erosion and corrosion pitting.

Power Steering Fluid

This often over-looked fluid helps transmit the power in the power steering system while protecting components from wear and heat stress. Like all lubricants, it accumulates wear material and debris. Replenishing your power steering system with a quality power steering fluid can save you from the hassle of an expensive and labor intensive power steering pump replacement. AMSOIL Synthetic Power Steering Fluid synthetic chemistry delivers excellent lubricity and friction-reduction properties. It resists the effects of contaminants and temperature extremes to provide long, trouble-free service. 

Brake Fluid

Transferring force into pressure, this fluid literally helps you put the brakes on.   Over time, water can work its way into brake lines and corrode brake parts, lines and seals. Maintaining your brake fluid helps contain water contamination and prevent system failure. AMSOIL Synthetic Brake Fluid keeps water in suspension, slowing its corroding effects. It lubricates braking components and maintains a stable viscosity over a wide temperature range to deliver safe, consistent braking.

Review the maintenance schedule in your owner’s manual to ensure all the components of your vehicle that need fresh fluid are up to date. 

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Use High-Quality Antifreeze to Guard Against Cooling-System Problems

Use High-Quality Antifreeze to Guard Against Cooling-System Problems

Antifreeze/coolant is critical to proper engine operation, but it’s often overlooked when performing preventative maintenance. One reason is many motorists simply don’t understand the importance of a properly functioning cooling system to maximum engine performance. Another reason is the confusion surrounding the different “colors” of coolants on the market and the problems that result from mixing incompatible coolants. 

What is Antifreeze/Coolant?

Like motor oil, antifreeze/coolant consists of a base component mixed with additives. The base, either ethylene glycol (EG) or propylene glycol (PG), helps lower the freeze point of water to protect the engine during winter while raising the boiling point of water to help prevent engine overheating in the summer.

Ethylene Glycol is the more common of the two. Compared to PG at a similar mix ratio, it offers a slightly better freeze point and heat-transfer ability. Plus, it’s less expensive.

Propylene Glycol is biodegradable and features low toxicity, making it safer for use around children, pets and wildlife. Some racetracks and off-road parks require PG formulations.

Of course, antifreeze/coolant must provide more than just freeze and boil protection. It also must guard against corrosion, cavitation, scaling and additive drop-out, and it’s up to the additives to achieve these tasks. There are basically three categories of additives, and any of them can be blended with the two glycols mentioned above.

Antifreeze/Coolant Additive Types

Inorganic salts, such as nitrites, phosphates and silicates, are used in the “green” conventional coolants traditionally found at most retailers due to their low price. Conventional additives work by forming a protective layer on metal cooling-system components, helping prevent corrosion. Because these additives are depleted by forming a protective layer, conventional green coolants require regular changes, typically every two years. They are on the environmental watch list (just like nitrates) and, once depleted, are the source of common cooling-system problems, like scale deposits. They can also be incompatible with each other, sometimes leading to drop-out in the form of an abrasive or slime. For these reasons, most vehicle manufacturers have moved away from inorganic salts for newer vehicles.

Organic acids, often referred to as OATs (organic-acid technology) or POATs (poly-organic-acid technology), are much more robust and longer-lasting. Unlike organic acids that coat metal surfaces, organic acids provide corrosion protection by chemically interacting at the metallic corrosion sites. They’re only used when needed, meaning they last much longer. They virtually eliminate drop-out, scaling and compatibility issues inherent to inorganic salts. This type of coolant can be used in a wide variety of applications, even mixing with other coolants as a top-off.

Hybrid-organic-acid technology, often called HOATs, is a combination of inorganic salts and organic acids. They work in tandem to minimize some of the issues with inorganic salts while relying on the organic acids to boost performance.

 

Incompatibility of Inorganic Salts Causes Problems

As mentioned, mixing coolant types that contain inorganic salts can alter the formulation enough to reduce protection. This can reduce the service life of both the coolant and the cooling-system components, leading to the following maintenance issues:

Corrosion of metals in the cooling system, which can lead to failure of the water pump, heater core, radiator and other components.

Scale deposits can form on metal parts, which reduces heat-transfer ability and contributes to overheating.

Additive drop-out, which can occur when incompatible inorganic salts are mixed. An abrasive or slime forms and is deposited throughout the cooling system, leading to poor performance and eventual failure.

Cavitation, or the erosion/corrosion of the cylinder liner, can occur if the coolant provides insufficient protection. Cavitation often results in internal coolant leaks, which can lead to engine failure.

Many of the issues outlined here can be resisted or prevented completely by using antifreeze/coolants with organic-acid technology. While all coolants that pass relevant industry-standard testing provide a minimum level of protection, a properly formulated coolant using organic-acid technology provides the longest-lasting and best protection without the incompatibility issues that come with the inorganic salts found in “green” and hybrid coolants.

Water Quality Critical to Performance

Low-quality or hard water is a leading cause of cooling-system problems. Minerals found in hard water, including magnesium and calcium, react with inorganic salts, like phosphates, found in conventional and hybrid coolants. The byproducts form scale deposits on engine surfaces, reducing heat-transfer ability and contributing to damaging corrosion. For best performance, use only high-quality distilled water when mixing coolant. For maximum convenience, use a coolant pre-mixed with high-purity water.

AMSOIL Antifreeze/Coolants

AMSOIL offers three coolants, all of which offer a unique blend of organic acids. AMSOIL uses di-acid technology, which means both ends of the organic acid are active. This makes them work faster and form stronger bonds for enhanced protection.

AMSOIL Passenger Car & Light Truck Antifreeze & Coolant is formulated for all passenger cars and light trucks. It is premixed 50/50 with high-quality water and EG.

AMSOIL Heavy-Duty Antifreeze & Coolant is dialed in for the unique needs of on- and off-road heavy-duty applications. It is also premixed 50/50 with high-quality water and EG.

AMSOIL Low Toxicity Antifreeze and Engine Coolant is a 100-percent concentrate PG formulation for situations that call for a low-toxicity solution.

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AMSOIL Products Help LandCare Innovations Minimize Expenses

AMSOIL Products Help LandCare Innovations Minimize Expenses

LandCare Innovations of Charlotte, N.C. prides itself on providing quality work at a reasonable price, offering its residential and commercial customers a full range of landscaping services that includes lawn care, irrigation systems, outdoor living areas, pools and ponds. Maintenance Manager Tim Wilson relies on AMSOIL products to minimize vehicle and equipment repairs and operating expenses.

Prior to joining the LandCare Innovations team, Wilson worked for an auto dealership, where he acquired a strong background in truck and equipment maintenance. He saw firsthand the value of using AMSOIL products, and it’s something he carried forward to his position in the landscape business.

“One of the major challenges in the landscape profession is keeping the equipment running,” said Wilson. “If there’s a failure, the job doesn’t get done. Then we have to rent equipment, which comes out of our profits. We have 90 employees using the machines and equipment, which includes everything from trimmers to dump trucks, and it’s essential to keep everything running.”

Zero-Turn Mowers

“Our zero-turn mowers are running day in and day out,” said Wilson. “They’re faced with severe-duty service five to six days a week for seven to eight hours nonstop. The premium lubrication qualities provided by AMSOIL products are essential, and we perform oil changes and grease points every 200 to 250 hours.”

Backpack Blowers

Wilson uses AMSOIL SABER® Professional and P.i.® in the company’s BR 600 Stihl* backpack blowers. “The blowers must run constantly at full power to maximize job efficiency,” said Wilson. “I’ve heard other landscape professionals complain about the operation of their two-stroke equipment. We use SABER Professional at 80:1, and our equipment runs clean, with no carbon and no problems.”

Truck Fleet

As for the company’s fleet of gasoline- and diesel-powered trucks, Wilson uses AMSOIL Premium Synthetic Diesel Oil, Signature Series Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) and Ea® Oil Filters. “We put these trucks through severe-duty service; they’re idling, they’re towing and hauling our equipment in dusty, dirty, hot conditions,” said Wilson. “Although we keep track of mileage, we always end up going past the service interval, and we have no mechanical problems. Extending the oil drain intervals to 10,000 miles, and beyond, saves valuable time. With conventional intervals, I’d be servicing trucks every day, and I don’t have time for that. We know AMSOIL Premium Synthetic Diesel Oil can go past 10,000 miles, and the oil analysis proves it. With AMSOIL products, we just don’t worry about our vehicles and equipment.”

“AMSOIL products have saved our company lots of money. We’ve extended our oil drains from 5,000 to 10,000 miles, the Ea Oil Filters hold up longer and the Signature Series ATF has cleared up our problems with overheating transmissions. Needless to say, our company is sold on AMSOIL products.”

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Timberline Landscaping Relies on AMSOIL Products for Reduced Downtime

Timberline Landscaping Relies on AMSOIL Products for Reduced Downtime

Timberline Landscaping Relies on AMSOIL Products for Increased Equipment Life, Reduced Downtime

Timberline Landscaping of Colorado Springs, Colo. has offered residential and commercial customers a full range of landscaping services since 1982, including landscape design, construction and maintenance. As any business owner can attest, reliable equipment is key to success. Timberline owner Tim Emick counts on AMSOIL products to keep his company’s vehicles and equipment in top working order.

Extended Equipment Life

Extending equipment life is essential to any landscaping company’s bottom line. Emick has accomplished this by using a multistage approach that focuses on purchasing high-quality equipment, using premium AMSOIL synthetic lubricants and following sound maintenance practices. The approach has allowed Timberline Landscaping to double the life of its zero-turn mowers, “going from a three- to four-year life span to a six- to seven-year life span,” said Emick. The company has had similar success with its work trucks, “keeping them eight to 13 years” rather than trading them in every four years. With respect to his skid-steers, Emick keeps them “until they reach the 5,000-hour mark, and due to our good maintenance practices and use of AMSOIL products, they’re in such good condition that we’re able to sell them for 2/3 of the original purchase price.”

Increased Reliability and Performance

“We don’t tolerate poor-performing equipment in this business,” said Emick. “It eats into our money-making ability and impacts the crew both physically and mentally. Downtime is not tolerated. If you’re not being productive, you’re not making money. If equipment doesn’t perform well, we simply boot it from the inventory. AMSOIL products have made a noticeable difference to the reliability and performance of our equipment.”

Severe-Service Protection

Among the many jobs Timberline performs for its customers is snow removal, often a daunting task following a heavy Colorado snowfall. In these instances, Emick and his employees push their equipment to the limit.

“The wet, heavy snow overloads the equipment and the equipment is used 24/7 until the snow is cleared,” said Emick. “AMSOIL products provide that extra peace of mind when we’re pushing our equipment to the edge. We’ve never had an engine fail in these instances.”

Reduced Maintenance and Repairs

“I was tired of crawling under trucks late at night to work on or replace an engine or tranny after everyone else went home,” said Emick. “AMSOIL synthetics helped me stop doing that.”

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Fuel Additives Improve Performance

Fuel Additives Improve Performance

Unlike "all-in-one" additives, AMSOIL fuel additives are formulated to provide quick results.

When vehicle performance or fuel economy decline, many motorists turn to fuel additives to solve the problem. There are several brands available, and most promise some combination of the following benefits: 

Increased fuel economy

Smoother engine operation

Reduced emissions

Maximum horsepower

However, while motorists expect fuel additives to deliver nearly immediate results, typical “all-in-one” additives require use for several tanks of fuel before providing any noticeable performance improvement. Most people don’t want to wait that long or commit to buying several bottles of a fuel additive.

AdditivesEngine condition plays a vital role in additive performance

To understand why additive performance varies, you should understand why your engine may need a fuel additive in the first place. For optimum fuel efficiency and lower emissions, fuel must first be atomized into a fine mist prior to combustion. Over time, injector deposits produce irregular spray patterns with heavy streams of gasoline that reduce performance (see injector “before” image), while intake valve deposits also decrease efficiency. Today’s injectors are highly engineered to tight tolerances, and even minute deposits interfere with the spray pattern and reduce power and fuel economy. The problem is especially pronounced in newer high-pressure common-rail (HPCR) diesel engines and in direct-injection engines that locate the injectors in the combustion chamber, exposed to intense heat.  

Additive concentration matters

Fuel additives help clean engine deposits and restore lost power and improve fuel economy. However, most additives don’t contain a sufficient concentration of cleaning agents and other performance-improving chemicals to provide the nearly immediate results you expect. Instead, after using the additive with every tank of fuel, over some period of time – possibly weeks to months – you may experience a slight up-tick in power, fuel economy or drivability. Continued use with every tank of fuel maintains engine performance.

AMSOIL fuel additives, however, are different. As performance concentrates, they boast potent formulas designed to provide nearly immediate results. AMSOIL P.i. Performance Improver, for example, does an excellent job cleaning deposits to improve fuel economy up to 5.7% and an average of 2.3%. The before/after images show the results after just one tank of fuel treated with P.i.

AMSOIL applies the same philosophy to all AMSOIL fuel additives. For example, AMSOIL Diesel Injector Clean provides the lubricity needed to protect the fuel pump and injectors while cleaning deposits for peak performance. AMSOIL Quickshot, meanwhile, cleans powersports fuel systems and fights ethanol problems to help you get the most out of your motorcycle, snowmobile, lawn mower and other equipment.

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