TheSamba.com :: View topic - What will happen if I put Berrymans B12 Chemtool in my fuel tank

Thu Aug 30, 2018 8:08 am

You're right, continue using whatever snake oil or witch's brew of your choice, I'll just continue dropping subframes, yanking oil pans, & replacing pick up tubes. Oh look, there's one now.

Thu Aug 30, 2018 8:20 am

TDCTDI wrote: Immediate draining of the oil only gets rid of the particulate that is still in suspension (heavier particulate will settle much faster.) & it doesn't clear the screens or passages of particulate that has already been displaced & it doesn't do anything about the buildup that has been loosened that will be dislodged after the oil dump.

The product does exactly as it is designed, but it doesn't account for where all the byproduct ends up.

I have replace hundreds of oil pump pickup screens due to blockage, usually within 100 miles of a customer's visit to a chain lube shops upsell of their oil flush.

I’ve seen aircooled VW engines ruined because of engine oil flush and have firsthand knowledge having ruined one myself. A properly maintained engine would seldom require a flush if you use name brand oil and change it on schedule. A better approach might be taking rockers and pushrods apart for thorough cleaning, a series of oil changes will be a more gentle way to clean ...An oldtimer taught me a trick for newer stuff using hydraulic lifters that are noisy. Use a small amount of automatic transmission fluid mixed with engine oil as a cleaner followed by refill of fresh oil and filter, I’ve seen it quiet things down. In the end there really is no substitute for not letting engine get gummy in the first place .......😀

Thu Aug 30, 2018 8:43 am

Zundfolge1432 wrote: TDCTDI wrote: Immediate draining of the oil only gets rid of the particulate that is still in suspension (heavier particulate will settle much faster.) & it doesn't clear the screens or passages of particulate that has already been displaced & it doesn't do anything about the buildup that has been loosened that will be dislodged after the oil dump.

The product does exactly as it is designed, but it doesn't account for where all the byproduct ends up.

I have replace hundreds of oil pump pickup screens due to blockage, usually within 100 miles of a customer's visit to a chain lube shops upsell of their oil flush.

I’ve seen aircooled VW engines ruined because of engine oil flush and have firsthand knowledge having ruined one myself. A properly maintained engine would seldom require a flush if you use name brand oil and change it on schedule. A better approach might be taking rockers and pushrods apart for thorough cleaning, a series of oil changes will be a more gentle way to clean ...An oldtimer taught me a trick for newer stuff using hydraulic lifters that are noisy. Use a small amount of automatic transmission fluid mixed with engine oil as a cleaner followed by refill of fresh oil and filter, I’ve seen it quiet things down. In the end there really is no substitute for not letting engine get gummy in the first place .......😀
I’ve never used any additives in my cars. I agree with this post.

Thu Aug 30, 2018 2:37 pm

Isn't Buryman's an embalming fluid? :shock:

Bug Out!

Mon Jan 14, 2019 5:55 am

Zundfolge1432 wrote:
I’ve seen aircooled VW engines ruined because of engine oil flush and have firsthand knowledge having ruined one myself. A properly maintained engine would seldom require a flush if you use name brand oil and change it on schedule. A better approach might be taking rockers and pushrods apart for thorough cleaning, a series of oil changes will be a more gentle way to clean ...An oldtimer taught me a trick for newer stuff using hydraulic lifters that are noisy. Use a small amount of automatic transmission fluid mixed with engine oil as a cleaner followed by refill of fresh oil and filter, I’ve seen it quiet things down. In the end there really is no substitute for not letting engine get gummy in the first place .......😀

Could not agree more with your statement! I had a valve cover leak on my new-to-me 230k mile Ranger last year, and could hardly believe the coked up deposits I found with the valve covers off. My understanding is coked oil and sludge comes from using a cheap conventional oil and/or extended oil change intervals. However it gets there.. you definitely don't want those chunks to start breaking off and circulating. The filter is after the pump.. for those of us using filters, that is.

Sat Jan 19, 2019 3:11 pm

Gasoline goes in the gas tank. Nothing else.

Oil goes in the crankcase. Nothing else.

Sat Jan 19, 2019 3:46 pm

Disagree, there are certain instances and conditions which warrant a chemical intervention. There is a sticky which covers this very topic and goes into much more detail.

Sat Jan 19, 2019 8:53 pm

Your thread reminded me of advice I got over 30 years ago. I had a carb-swapped '74 bus that seemed to always suck crap (this was only 10 years old at the time). But a neighborhood gas station mechanic poured a little of what sounds like this B12 product into my full tank of gas- and told me to drive it empty. I drove 240 miles round trip to a neighboring vacation town. Whatever magic and smoke was in there helped. The bus ran well and didn't cough at all once back at home. It ran great until the next Weber Progressive nightmare.

I think part of the good news lied in not having it stored in the tank- rather used up in a constant burn. ? I wonder what happens to it in an occasional-use tank.

Sun Jan 20, 2019 11:31 am

Ive used lots of the berrymans.it's good stuff, never had any issues with it. I wont use seafoam.

Sun Jan 20, 2019 12:17 pm

So what’s that mean? Last summer we got two vehicles from the estate of deceased relative. Neither had been driven much in last three years. Both needed fresh oil, batteries and even tires to be roadworthy, both ran rough and sluggish.

I thought fresh fuel and Seafoam might help and the Seafoam was on sale anyway. By the second tank of fuel and cleaner both cars ran better, much better in fact. So who can say? All I know is something positive happened and that’s really what matters. I’ve also seen BG brand cleaner which is harder to find retail and is applied direct injection to help clean dirty upper engine induction systems.

Sun Jan 20, 2019 12:57 pm

My 09 Pontiac was burning a little oil on long (coast to coast) trips.
This vehicle/engine to date has less than 82K on it and seldom gets driven.
I read up on SeaFoam and gave it a shot. The oil consumption ceased.
Whatever magic snake oil it is. SeaFoam worked for my situation.

Now, will I try it in one of my ACVW engines? Not likely. They are a little less mysterious than a 6.0L GM SBV8.

EDIT: I do place an once of MMO in the gas tank occasionally. Does it make a difference? IDK! I figure it can't hurt keeping the carbs from corroding in the bowels. JMO.

Sun Jan 20, 2019 1:38 pm

I have been using Seafoam with success. I put the recommended ratio in the gas tank of my small engines and run them to operating temperature for a while at the end of the season to prepare them for winter, and have done that with my VWs as well because they don't get used in the winter. It's a gas preserver in that application.

As a cleaner, have used it in a Vanagon engine that sat for a decade. I had replaced the whole fuel system, tank, hoses, injectors etc. So all that was clean. Driving it around It was smoking burning oil like it had bad rings and the hydraulic lifters were not pumping up. The next tank I put Seafoam in the gas tank to get at the top of the combustion chamber and rings and some in the crankcase to get at the bottom of the rings, as well as inside the hydraulic lifters and whatever else is in there. By the time I had used up that tank of gas the engine was no longer smoking at all and the hydraulic lifters were pumping up. I had changed the oil a couple times but this change got alot of dirt out. I'm changing the oil every week or two with this one if I'm using ithe van as I'm just getting to know it. I wouldn't have believed it if I had not experienced it but it did seem to clean out the deposits from my piston rings and hydraulic lifters.

Sun Jan 20, 2019 4:40 pm

Just for the record I like Berryman’s too. About 30 years ago they made a badass carburetor cleaner that would clean dirtiest old carbs spotless in about 15 minutes. Had a very distinctive smell probably shortened my life by a few years using it :D

Sun Jan 20, 2019 9:50 pm

Chased a random misfire code in my daughter's CRV for years. Tried everything. Eventually, because I keep B12 around for cleaning parts, I went ahead and dumped some in the tank. Did it for a couple tanks. Cleaned the injectors and fixed the problem the random misfire. I used it on my '78 with FI after I sucked the shellac out of the tank. Ran fresh fuel with a high dose of B12 through the system, sucked that out, and refilled with fresh can and an appropriate mix. I can just reach in , hit the key, and my Beetle is running instantly. Never believed in mechanic-in-a-can snake oil BS, but I changed my tune with this.

Mon Jan 21, 2019 10:27 am

I used to use Techron in my motorcycle's gas tanks on occasion, as in about twice a year. In between I used MMO every other tankful, so it wouldn't build up.

I use a little MMO in my Bug's gas, as well, again, every other tankful. IME, all engines have run a little smoother with it.

I never put additives in my oil.