Your not going to use a 100% quantity of Lucas in a cranck case like they have in a display. The ideal mix is 20% Lucas of the oil capacity. I use it in my car with 157k miles on the original build. Sure it seeps oil here and there and the lifters clack but it's a lot less noticible with the Lucas in and that's the only reason I use it. I've used it in there for about 4 years and have absolutely no problems. I don't even add oil between changes. When I drain my oil it looks just like oil.

 

They dont. The display I saw had a sticker on the front that said 80% motor oil, 20% lucas oil stabilizer.

 

Here's something to think about too: The display has a gear that is halfway in oil, halfway in air. Of course it is going to aerate the oil, it's forcing air into it. Would it make sense (it does to me) that in your crank case, the oil pump is pumping just oil and no air, so it shouldn't get aerated? The oil won't aerate just because it has gears churning through it. It's when you have a gear spinning air into the system that it happens. Does this logic make sense?

 

Yes it makes sense, but think about this. You've got oil sitting in the crankcase. Now you've got this very fast spinning thing (crankshaft) only inches above it. Oil is draining back from the top end quite rapidly, and the crank slings this around everywhere. You've also got a number of pressurized streams of oil squirting out from between every bearing. Now dont forget that you've got a crankshaft spinning at (conservatively) 2000 rpm's right in the middle of all of this. Now you really think that this environment isn't more condusive to the formation of foam and bubbles than that stupid little store display, which will probably never see the far side of 100 rpm? Which, by the way, I was able to use to make the lucas additized oil turn to foam.

Now if you've got a windage tray, that would make things easier on the oil, by separating it from the foam above. But most engines dont.

 

That's a good point too, I hadn't thought if it that way. I don't know how much trouble this would cause though. I know it becomes a problem with regular motor oil when overfilled. I don't know what the thicker oil the lucas creates does though. Could be just as you say, I don't know.

 

Can make all the fancy foaming gizmos you want. I've used it in my car. Drove it around to get the oil warm then pulled the drain plug and watched the oil flow out. Comes out looking just like oil, not foam. The store disply is supposed to show you how the lucas doesn't run off the gears as fast as motor oil alone. It's not intended to prove or disprove oil foaming. It's not impossible to make controlled devices that will foam the oil and ones that will keep it from foaming.

 

Well, you've either got a car not prone to foaming, with plenty of baffles in the oil pan, or a windage tray.

Either that, or all the bubbles went back up to the top and the foam resolved itself between the time you shut the car off and when you got under there with a ratchet to remove the drain plug.

I have used 1 quart gear oil with the rest of the motor oil in old / worn out engines, with good results. Quiet's 'em up good. For a while anyway. And it's a lot cheaper than the lucas.

I think we would need a test engine with a window in the oil pan to prove / disprove the foaming issue.

 

The problem I have with Lucas and other "treatments" is the implication, or in some cases, outright statement, that you need this or that oil treatment.
If you don't put Lucas in your crankcase, you don't have to wonder if it is foaming up. How do I explain myself here......
Let me try this way........
Because I am familiar with my own truck and the UOA from it, I'll use it as the subject.
All the UOA numbers prove (if you accept UOA as proof) that the dino oil I use is turning in great numbers. At 116,500 miles I burn no oil, I leak no oil. Why should I consider Lucas? The store display is an attempt to sell me on their product. What, exactly, will Lucas do for me, besides lightening my wallet by a few bucks?
If Lucas is NEEDED, that means there is a shortcoming or failure on the part of my chosen oil (Chevron 10W30). How is that shortcoming manifesting itself? What harm is being done to my engine? EXAMPLE: I'm to understand the display shows the Lucas oil doesn't run off the gears as fast as oil alone. That appears to be true based on the plastic gears. My question is: I'm guessing an average of 5-6 startups / day in my truck. After 4 years that's about 7,500 startups. When should the shortcomings of "regular" oil start to show up? If Lucas is needed to keep the oil on things longer, shouldn't I start to see some negative impact after 7,500 startups and 116,500 miles?
To me, it's a case of : If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

(as an aside, to me 116,500 miles isn't high mileage. I'll say high mileage once I pass 175K or so.)
My personal hunch, and it is just a hunch, is that some of us truck guys just have a hard time accepting the fact that for many (most?) of us:
Dino oil is all that is needed and 3k drain intervals is overkill.

Numerous UOA posted here support that, yet some just don't seem to want to believe it. So, we look for things to give us that "warm fuzzy" that we are helping our truck by adding this, or using that. When in fact, a good dino 10W30 changed every 4 or 5 K miles w/ a good filer is all the truck needs.
If your truck is old and leaking/burning oil, buy house brand 20W50, or maybe try a diesel 15W40. I'd expect they'd do the same thing any fancy add-in would do, and do it for less money.

I do NOT wish to insult anybody on the Lucas oil subject. I'm just a bit dubious about being sold on a product by spinning a few plastic gears in Advance Auto. I'm sure Lucas will do no harm, just not sure it help something that doesn't need delp.

 

I agree, above I said I wouldn't use it in a newer vehicle. I use it in my car with 157k because it clacks bad and the Lucas seems to do well in it. In my truck I plan to use 5w-30 Mobil 1 with Wix filters, no additives. I tried that setup in my car but it leaked out the engine and burned out the exhaust, so back to dino I went and when the clacking started added the Lucas. If it leaks and burns in the truck which has 91k I'll just use Mobil Drive Clean which is what I use in the car now. As for the foaming, there probably is some degree of foaming. I don't think it is as dramatic as bobistheoilguy makes you think or what appears to happen in the display model. my personal experience is where I buy it they claim a lot of people purchase it. I've also heard at service stations a lot of people bring in a bottle and request it be added with their oil change. If it's doing something bad for engines than it's hard to believe so many people continue to use it.

 

I have good luck using that Mobil-1 5-30or 10-30 in my truck in cold weather.It seems to stick to everything long enough to allow the oilpressure to come up to where it should be without the lifters being noisy.We used that Lucas oil in a Detroit motor in a skidder i ran.My boss claimed it was a motor job in a can.I found after about 25-30 hr.It used as much oil as it ever did.Pricey too.I couldn't see that it was any better than any other synthetic oil.We didn't seem to have a foaming problem though.We used it in other company vechicles,but the Mobil 1 seemed to do the same thing a little cheaper.

 

I havent had much experience with lucas but i recently started using it in my truck and a mercury van i bought. the reason i started using it is from talking to a few diesel mechs.(semi's)they siad when they tear down they can tell if the drivers used lucas. in fact one of the drivers were my dad. i wont let some little parts store counter display sell to me but i will take advice. i have put some in my 68 that had a bad lifter tic andafter running it a few times it has quiten some what. it has 114000 on it .my van has 185000 on it also quitened it a little i guess the bottom line is use what you want to -thats why there is than one kind to choose from . as far as the bubbling i have changed my oil on 3000 and even to 7000 once and my oil wasnt foamy. as far as the tranny lucas i havent used yet but when i change my filter you can bet i will put some in

 

well its designed for heavy deisel engines, farm tractors and race cars. it just happens to work well in driveline parts and older gasoline engines as well. i wouldnt think to use it in a new pick up, thats not what its for. but i've never heard anything bad happening becuase of it, despite what ever corny tests u can do in a plastic display thing. the tranny fluid works good too, but again its for a old wore out one. and i've seen several vehicles stop leaking power steering after putting in lucas power steering fluid.

 

I'm going to put my .02 in here... Lucas is a waste of money... a friend of my used their power steering fluid or additive or whatever it was and it froze and the power steering pump busted apart when he tried to start the car. He went back to the trunk where he keeps his extra fluids and the extra bottle of lucas power steering oil was frozen... lucas is kinda like fram filters lots of advertising with racing etc and its not good for much... you want to quiet the lifters or stop piston slap throw some thicker oil in there it does the same thing. Complete waste of money in my opinion.

 

i use the lucas oil additive stuff and it works great

 

SLikness here used Lucas powersteering additive or fluid or whatever it is, and it works awesome. The pump would whine like crazy after at least a 20-30 minute drive (I drove his truck once) and after he put the Lucas in there, no more whine and no problems.