Ametech Engine Restore

[GaryF]

Has anyone tried this stuff, its supposed to repair cylinder walls and restore compression. My '73 450 has starting smoking during warmup and thought I'd give this stuff a shot before taking anything apart. I'm usually pretty sceptical about this sort of thing, if it really works why don't manufacturers use it during car production to improve engine performance and life !

[alabbasi]

i doubt that a liquid in a can can restore cylinder walls but it doesn't hurt to throw it in there. Your valve stem seals are probably worn and letting oil drip down into the cylinders.

On start up, you'll get a puff of smoke and then everything will be fine. You can drive it for ages like that. Just watch the oil level. Replacing the valve stem seals can be done with the heads in place so it's not that expensive.

[79Mercy]

Many people have used it in the past, theres no way to tell if it really did improve the cylinder walls or not. You might as well try, I haven't ever heard bad things about it.

[GaryF]

Its interesting that it doesnt smoke at startup but after about 2 mins of driving from cold and then smokes like a chimney for about 30 seconds and then is fine once it's hot. When I searched the forum the suggestions were similar to yours Al, in that the valve seals and guides were worn and there's a short phase when the oil has thinned out and the guides havnt expanded to fill the worn gap.
I've read up on changing the seals I'm just nervous about dropping the valves into the cylinders, I don't have compressed air to hold it up so would probably need to do the rope in the cylinders approach....or I just pay someone !

[Tomguy]

Your cylinder walls are fine. Even if the engine was abused. I could see the hatch marks on mine @ 145k, I'm sure your 4.5 is fine in that. Your valve seals (and maybe guides) are worn.

When your engine is cooling off, oil is draining from the head, past the worn seals, down the valve guides into the intake and exhaust manifolds. When you start 'er up, it's not warm enough to smoke... but it gets to that point soon enough. The oil in the exhaust burns out as your engine gets up to temp and then by the time it is, all the oil is sucked out of the intake and blown out of the exhaust.

Do the seals. Your guides might be shot too, since it sounds like oil is moving past them easier than it should be. Only way to tell is to take the valve springs off (which you do when replacing the seals)... and then if they're shot, the head has to come off! Around 150k is a good time to refresh the guides.

[Mike D]

You've probably got a loose guide in the head. You'll find out when you pull the springs for seal replacement.

But, if you wanta believe in the "miracle in a can" stuff, well then, for just the small price of $200 US (cash, small denomination bills only) then I can "double your I.Q. or no money back"! Don't wait! There's thousands of people, well maybe, hundreds of people, well okay then, my third cousin Joe-Bob, just lining up for the chance to get smarter! Actually he's lining up 'cause he thought there was free beer but no one has told him different.

[TommyMacDaddy]

One thing I would like to suggest, which is extremly odd but did happen to me is that the small seal that goes between the master cylinder and the power brake booster failed. I thought the engine was failing because I was getting clouds of smoke out of the tail pipe-intermittently. My '68 108 250SE has a small plastic "trap" between the intake manifold and the booster in the vacuum line. It had fluid in it, which I found out was brake fluid. Evidently the seal had started to fail, allowing intake manifold vacuum access to the back of the master cylinder where the actuating rod pushes on the cylinder's piston. I guess when the throttle plate closed when slowing down during driving, the manifold vacuum was high enough that it would pull fluid out of the master cylinder. Every once in a while a slug of fluid would get pulled into the engine from the trap, which was filled with brake fluid. A cloud of smoke would come out of the tailpipe. the really strange thing was that I had just replaced nearly all of the brake components thinking I had a small leak somewhere-which I could never find-and that was why it was using brake fluid. I had never heard of such a thing in the 30-odd years that I have been working on cars, previous to this situation.

[Q45Denver]

Originally Posted by GaryF

Has anyone tried this stuff, its supposed to repair cylinder walls and restore compression. My '73 450 has starting smoking during warmup and thought I'd give this stuff a shot before taking anything apart. I'm usually pretty sceptical about this sort of thing, if it really works why don't manufacturers use it during car production to improve engine performance and life !

I've used Engine restore in the past on my 280SE and it did seem to improve the smoking but it may have had something to do with the oil used since I added at the time of my oil change. It has various metallic components that may fill worn surfaces on the cylinder walls?

I have a similiar problem to yours and I have had the guides professionally redone a couple of years ago. It seemed to stop smoking for a short while after but now has returned with a vengence. Somethings it smokes right at startup and sometimes not until it warms up. Maybe a loose guide?

[GaryF]

Thanks for your responses guys, I'll try chucking the stuff in and see if it makes a difference and if not I'll get it to a shop to get the seals and guides done. The brake fluid level hasnt dropped in 4 years so I think the booster is ok, but good suggestion. Similarly the Trans fluid level is fine too.
I'm using 20w50 oil, if there was a mineral oil that was even thicker without causing other problems it would proably sort the problem for a while too.

[Tomguy]

It won't. Something that reconditions seals would help, something that reconditions cylinder walls will probably do more damage than good to the softer piston rings than anything. I just don't see it as good for the engine especially if it's not needed - like putting duct tape on an exhaust header to keep heat out of the engine bay...

I'd see if you can pick up a container of seal sweller for engines (not the transmission stuff). That might do good, might not do anything, but would be a better bet.