I just wanted to state my opinion on prolong ( engine treatment ). I will not drive without this stuff.
I had a 73 cj-5 that i took four wheeling one day (normal 80 degree day, fun in the sun ) I had my girlfriend with me enjoying the head banging on the roll bars. She had requested that i pull over so I granted her request and as she was returning to the jeep she noticed something dripping from under the hood. I get out and open the hood.....oil everywhere! well it took me a minute to locate where the oil was coming from. It was coming from the oil filter...apparently i had punctured a hole in the filter thus removing all oil.
I knew that the nearest auto parts store was 5 miles away...so i drove there and proceeded to buy a new filter and change it in the parking lot...no more oil, no mess. I then filled it up with oil and returned the the four wheeling site and discovered how long i had been four wheeling ( for about an hour ) because i went back over every hill and seen oil trails.
Of course i don't believe that i would be telling this story with a smile on my face if i had not originally put prolong in the engine. The jeep never got hot and never ran funny. I will not drive without it, so if anyone out there was wondering about it, not meaning to, i put it to the test

 

A little more information than we needed, but thanks for sharing your experience.

 

What kind of oil were you using?

Your post reminded me of this FTE article, check it out:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/article/..._Negative.html

 

If i remember correctly i was using Quaker state 4x4 in the clear plastic bottle.

 

I read the reply that follows before I posted it and I just don't see how you can read it without thinking I am bashing you. I assure you, I am not! Just presenting some information garnered through my own experiences:

I believe what you say, but I wouldn't be so quick to attribute it to an oil supplement.
On numerous occasions we have intentionally destroyed small gasoline engines in my small engines class as a demonstration to my students.
If the engines already had oil in them and the oil was drained out, they typically will run for 1/2 hour or a little longer before they seize up. If they were assembled dry, they would lock up in 5-7 minutes.
We had one run for a whole class period with water in the crankcase as lubricant.
One of the main activities we had when I attended Kohler Engine advanced tech school was to drain the oil from a big v twin engine. It ran for more than an hour and we gave up waiting for it to fail.
So, I have concluded that engines will run without oil for some unspecified time.
I have also concluded that if the engine is under a no-load or low-load condition, it will keep running longer on low or no oil conditions.
I have also concluded that even though the engine keeps running, it does not mean damage is not being done to bearings and other moving parts. Maybe not enough to cause immediate failure, but surely some accellerated wear.
I think in your situation, although you lost alot of oil, there was still some in the sump and I would imagine you didn't floor it all the way to the auto parts store and that too contributed to it making it there without it seizing.
Glad you made it and didn't spin a bearing or throw a rod!

 

Your experience is consistant with the FTE article I posted...thanks!!

 

if you are going to use additives like prolong,make sure u dump it in when the oil is warmed up.

at a old grease-pit garage in az,this guy brought his truck in for a o/c.what nobody knew was he brought some slick50.so when he saw that the oil was drained and the plug was back in,he poured the slick50 in.nobody saw him do it and its a good thing he said something.so it was off with the pan as that stuff alone will start to set up.his bill was larger than he planned.

 

I have driven several miles and long minutes with no oil in my pan. I had a 74 Datsun using Valvoline multivis no additives, oil back in the 70s. Holed the pan and drove for quite awhile in the mountains before the engine siezed.

All I did was replace the pan put in some oil and drove home 50 miles. I then replaced a couple rod bearings that were scored. One rod journal was scored enough to fail the fingernail test but I didn't have money to do more than replace the bearing a couple times.

I drove that truck an additional 130K miles on Valvoline dino il with no additives. So an engine can take a tremendous amount of abuse before it actually breaks to the point it won't run.

There have been tests by Briggs and straton with brand new engines off the line being run with out oil. They had half with dino oil and half with Slick 50, they drained the engines and then ran them as long as they would. The slick 50 engines failed much sooner. Prolong is a bit different but is still in the "snake oil" family.

People often think the additive is what saved them when the oil and engine materials are actually what worked and there may be hidden damage anyway.

Just my opinion,

Jim Henderson

 

I once drove from New york to LA with no oil in my engine. Must have been that hole I put in the oil filter.............

 

Be advised that prolong will enhance lubricity and anti scuff protection but it will also if not drianed routinly build acids from the chlor parafin aditive they use breaking down which will release HCl acid aswell as Cl both bad for corroison control and rust in the upper end of engine where condensation occurs.

bruce

 

good old SOLONG, ah i mean prolong, dont use the stuff.

 

Why does a guy with a screen name "Not A Ford Man" even post here at FTE?

He was driving a jeep and becomes a user here at FTE like this???

Troll.....

Trol.....

Just trying to stir things up..... let it die!!!!!

There is no such thing a miricle additive cure/supplement for your oil... any more than there is a Tooth Fairy, Santa Clause, or the Easter Bunny!!!

 

Well now I use the Prolong penetrating oil in the spray can. And I will testify that I used a full can of WD40 on u bolts and couldn't brake them lose with 1/2 inch air impact. This letting it soak for hours while trying to get them lose. Went to parts store and ask for the best they had. Sprayed them down once with Prolong. waited 5 minutes and they all came off. Now ya are gonna say that they been soaking in WD40 and been hammered on for ever with air impact. But I am telling ya the stuff works. I have used it in engines to get home but if ya need an engine additive. Than ya need an overhaul. But with a hammering center main on a 272 and weak oil pump. I drove the Al-can from Shelton Washington to Prince Rupert.
road the ferry to the island. Chanced oil and it is still running today. that was in 2000.

 

About the only thing WD-40 is good for is drying out a wet distributor cap or wiping down cylinder walls after an engine comes back from the machine shop. There are much better penetrating oils on the market.

 

Who said there is no Santa Claus?