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Marvel Mystery Oil in my 2002 RT

bmwmotorwerkz

New member
When I first purchased my current RT it had 36,200 miles on the clock. I pulled the valve covers and cylinder heads for inspection. The valve ports were pretty dirty and had built up carbon on them. The piston tops looked about the same with a 3mm carbon ring. A carbon ring around the perimeter of the piston is actually a good thing (if you weren't aware of that).

After flushing all the fluids I ran 2oz of Marvel Mystery Oil per tank and have been doing that over the past 2,700 miles. I did a high-speed trip from Colorado up to Hardin, Montana last week and averaged 78 mph. This helped heat the piston tops over a long period of time to assist in cleaning them.

I pulled the valve covers and heads last night. All of the carbon buildup inside the ports, on the valve faces and on the pistons is now gone but the carbon ring is still there. Couldn't ask for anything more from this great product. To get the interior this clean you would normally have to do a mechanical cleaning such and a chemical soak and glass beading.

Try it and your Beemer will run better and more efficiently than it ever has.


Sent from my iPhone
 
Marvel is available at most auto parts stores; they are not associated with Amsoil (as far as I know...).
It is an extremely high-detergent oil, and does break down carbon buildup.

I've even been party to pouring it (slowly) directly down a car's carb to clean up the intake valves (and the tops of the pistons). The car smoked like a Florida mosquito fogging truck, but it worked.
 
One of the mechanics down at Ozzie's BMW in Chico CA suggested I try Marvel Mystery Oil in my '96 RT which had serious surging issues that defied any attempts to rectify the problem until I got to the bottom of it much later on. The thinking was it might help clean and lube the injectors. I ran several tanks dosed with the mystery oil but the surging mystery persisted. I can't say it helped or hurt really as I noticed no change.

I do know it's been around for a very long time and many old time mechanics swear it works wonders on dirty, old and worn engines. They are mostly talking carbureted V8s and such though.

So you took your heads off at 36,200 and the again 2700 miles later to see what the mystery oil was up to? That's dedication! Do you have any before and after photos? Pictures tell a great story for claims such as these.
Please post them if you have some.
 
Wow! You must be made of money...
4 x cylinder head gasket (11 12 1 342 394 CYL. HEAD GASKET, 3 COMPONENTS (to 12/02) $49.97) in 2700 miles that's $200 before any taxes just to monitor carbon?
Or did you re-use the old head gaskets?
When you pulled the heads at 36,200 miles, why did you not decarbon while they were off?
You ask us to believe you actually reassembled without cleaning and then used the Marvel Mystery Oil just to prove it works??????
Why did you not use a borescope? They are cheap in comparison and much less labor.
Do you have any before and after pictures?
Please post as we are all very interested to see.
 
Dedication? Perhaps. Obsession? More like it.

Curious about results? Ok.

But unless the bike indicated some running issues I can't understand a reason to pull the heads on a perfectly running bike. Just me. Heads have not come off my RS since day one. Been retorqued, but nothing other than valve adjustments in 175,000 miles.

Though I do appreciate your report on using Marvel.
 
I am at a loss here. Unless this is part of a scientific study funded by some additive manufacturer, why in the world would you pull the heads on a bike with 36,000 miles?? I am not sure if I agree with it, but many BMW "experts" say that a Boxer engine is barely run in at 25,000 miles.:brow
 
Old engines

I always use it with engines that have been sitting a long time' but do not use it in engines that are used regularly.

I once bought an old Harley that had been sitting for 10 years. It would not turn over. I pulled the plugs and poured as much Marvel in it as I could. I let it sit for a week and went back to see if I could get it to turn over with the kick starter. I took the plugs out and it turned. I poured more oil in it. After another week, IBut wh kicked it until I had all the Marvel out that would come out from the compression. Put plugs in it and pushed the harley down a long steep hill. Dropped the clutch in second gear and it fired. My grandfather though I had set something on fire from all the smoke. I rode that bike for 10 years and never touched the engine.

But why would anyone put it in a good running low mileage engine?
 
But why would anyone put it in a good running low mileage engine?

I guess, if it has the cleaning properties they claim it has, it can't hurt. Keeping your engine free of carbon deposits is always a good thing. How much to use is still up for debate.
 
I have not used the stuff except in comatose engines. The best reason to put it in good running engines is so that they can sell more of it. You can add lots of things to your oil and gas and convince yourself it's a vast improvement. I've got 180,000+ on my K and use injector cleaner every couple years. That it.
 
Ditto, 175,000+ on my 94RS, all original untouched fuel system parts except the fuel filter. Twice per 10,000 miles I run Techron through it, have done so for the past 18 years.
 
Ditto, 175,000+ on my 94RS, all original untouched fuel system parts except the fuel filter. Twice per 10,000 miles I run Techron through it, have done so for the past 18 years.

Andy, Don't you think you're living on borrowed time on the in-tank hoses?
 
Inasmuch as I only use Chevron 92 octane with techron and pure 93 octane without corn I don't worry much about carbon.
 
Documentation

To quote someone else "without photos it didn't happen". Marvel Mystery Oil is great stuff, we used it much
back in the stone age of inaccurate fueling and dirty fuel. Digital engine management controls, cleaner fuels and better oils have all led to carbon build up being a "non issue" for the most part. Of course one might suspect adding oil to your fuel might actually induce some carbon build up eh? I'd further wonder what effect it might have on catalytic converters.
 
To quote someone else "without photos it didn't happen". Marvel Mystery Oil is great stuff, we used it much
back in the stone age of inaccurate fueling and dirty fuel. Digital engine management controls, cleaner fuels and better oils have all led to carbon build up being a "non issue" for the most part. Of course one might suspect adding oil to your fuel might actually induce some carbon build up eh? I'd further wonder what effect it might have on catalytic converters.

A lot of carbon buildup in Oilheads is can be attributed to oil consumption from what I have observed.
The ones that consume larger amounts of oil have higher buildup.
My own has very little carbon (borescope inspection) with a consumption rate of 100ml/1000km.
The real oil slurpers have lots of buildup.
 
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