rkm@afinitc.UUCP (Randy More) (05/01/84)
> I attribute the failure of my Honda Civic transmission and the $400 > repair bill to my putting ARCO graphite into the transmission. > (Honda does recommend the use of engine oil in the transmission) > ARCO graphite? DON'T USE IT!!! Where is your proof? In all tests I have ever seen including Consumer Report, and Car and Driver ARCO was considered one of the finest oils available. This is my opinion as well, as I use it religiously, and attribute the longevity of my car to it. When your engine sits Idle for more than a few hours the majority of your oil will run to the pan. When you next start your car there will be excessive wear untill the oil preasure comes up. This is why racers crank the engie with the ignition off before starting. Graphite oil will deposit a film of graphite on engine surfaces and protect it during this critical time (some experts (smokey included) say that up to 50 percent of engine wear occurs in low oil preasure situations). Graphite in your gearbox (if engine oil should should be used) will work in a similiar fashion. I suspect you transmssion died of natural causes, or possibly from dumping (I don't know how you drive). *WARNING* DON'T put graphite powder in your oil !!!. ARCO graphite is specially formulated with super fine graphite in complete suspension regular graphite powder will gum up the works. ARCO --> Use It!!! R.K.M. ..!ihnp4!afinitc!rkm
warren@ihnss.UUCP (Warren Montgomery) (05/01/84)
I used the stuff regularly in my cars with no problems. I didn't notice any dramatic mileage difference, but it did at least as well. It's very hard to evaluate whether an oil actually does any better than usual in lubrication, since you don't find out about engine wear until much later on, but one of the cars has 140K miles on it without any obvious indications of serious wear. Using graphite for added lubrication and especially for protection under low oil pressure conditions makes lots of sense in most cars. I suppose if you had a very fine oil filter or a car designed to run very very hot there may be problems with clogging or breakdown, but I doubt it in any normal circumstances. I have stopped using it only because the places I usually buy oil no longer carry it. The VW dealer that serviced my car when it was under warrantee used something called Krex, which was a graphite based lubricant with supposedly similar properties. Anyone seen this or know where to buy it retail? I don't know of any kind of transmission that uses ordinary engine oil, and this may be the source of the honda problem. Manuals usually need heavy weight gear oil, and would probably be subject to damage with too much light oil. In automatics, the fluid is a both lubricant and a hydrolic fluid for a very complex "fluid computer" that tells it when to shift. Using ANYTHING other than the specific type recommended by the manufacturer is likely to result in disaster, since the fluid computer has zillions of itty bitty passageways to clog up and also is highly dependent on the hydrolic properties of the stuff (viscosity, etc) for it's operation. My advice: Use arco graphite in your engine, but avoid it in the transmission unless the manufacturer specifically recommends it or indicates that it is safe. (The latter goes for any other snake oil sold for curing transmission problems as well). -- Warren Montgomery ihnss!warren IH x2494
ken@ihuxq.UUCP (ken perlow) (05/02/84)
--
I don't own a car, but I attribute several thousand of the
22K on my 1966 Honda S90 (remember the one you had when you were
a kid?) to Arco graphite, which I changed religiously every
500 miles. I stopped using it, though, because it was impossible
to "read" the used oil--you can't find metal flakes in that black
ooze--and because the black stains it puts on any piece of
clothing you even think about when you're changing your oil do
not come out. I use Valvoline super-racing straight weights
when I can find them, otherwise 20W-50, now, and am very pleased.
I suspect that a thousand miles on that 8 hp, 1cyl. engine is
equivalent to several times that distance on a real engine.
At 40 mph, normal speed, it works hard.
--
*** ***
JE MAINTIENDRAI ***** *****
****** ****** 01 May 84 [12 Floreal An CXCII]
ken perlow ***** *****
(312)979-7261 ** ** ** **
..ihnp4!ihuxq!ken *** ***dmmartindale@watcgl.UUCP (Dave Martindale) (05/02/84)
The oil used in Honda manual transmissions and differentials is indeed ordinary engine oil; I don't remember the viscosity. It has its own oil supply separate from the engine, so it doesn't get dirty the way engine oil does.
hrs@houxb.UUCP (H.SILBIGER) (05/03/84)
I have been unable to find Arco graphite oil recently in the places I used to buy it. Is it still being made? I have used in my Mazda 626 since new, but have not used it in my Rx/7, since I was not sure what it would do in the oil injection system. Herman Silbiger ATT-IS houxb!hrs