The most common Lucas oil stabilizer problems are the formation of bubbles in engine oil, more engine wear, build-up of sludge, lower gas mileage, and harder cold starts.
Keep reading this article to learn more about how Lucas oil stabilizer causes these issues in detail. You need to learn how the LOS works to get a better understanding of it causes problems with your engine. Let’s dive in!
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How Does Lucas Oil Stabilizer Work
According to the Lucas oil stabilizer label, it’s meant to work with both traditional and synthetic oil to improve engine performance. What does Lucas’s oil stabilizer do? Here are the bold claims they make:
- The lifespan of your oil will increase by at least 50%.
- Reduces engine wear.
- Dry starts will be completely eliminated.
- Enhanced performance and engine protection.
- Stops oil leaks in gear oil.
- Increases the oil pressure.
- Controls noise, wear, and heat in manual transmissions.
On the Lucas oil website, they make all these claims without backing them up using any real evidence or real-life data. But how can anything work well with both synthetic and traditional oil? The short answer is that it doesn’t. Let’s look a little deeper into the science behind how it actually works.
The Lucas oil stabilizer is a very thick substance. Do you know the Lucas oil stabilizer viscosity? Even at 100 degrees Celsius, its viscosity is 110. Most people blend it with a common engine oil like 5w40 which has a viscosity of nearly 15-16 at the same temperature.
Even if you add as little as 10% of the stabilizer to the 5w40 oil, the viscosity will rise to a great extent and be close to 20. That’s how the stabilizer makes the oil thicker and prevents it from leaking.
As you’d know, the main function of engine oil is to lubricate the different parts of the engine. But when it becomes that thick, it can’t travel freely to the necessary moving parts.
The addition of the Lucas oil stabilizer causes exactly that issue. The oil needs a long time to travel to the necessary parts after it’s added to the oil. And when that happens, your engine won’t be lubricated and become worn out way sooner than it’s supposed to.
Using the Lucas oil stabilizer does more harm than good. The only scenario where it can be used is temporary. If you have an oil leak and you need to prevent the leak for a short period while you’re repairing it, you can use it. Apart from that, using this product will only cause problems for you.
Lucas Oil Stabilizer Problems [Solved]
Lucas oil stabilizer isn’t held in high regard by many car users and that’s for good reason. Most people claim Lucas oil stabilizer to be snake oil which does no harm or good while there are others who report facing some problems because of it. Here are the main problems people face when using LOS:
Note: You can also read how to fix Kohler command engine oil leaking problems.
1. Formation Of Bubbles In Oil
When you add the Lucas oil stabilizer to the oil, it’ll mess up the internal properties of the oil. Oil of good quality has antifoam additives to reduce the formation of air bubbles. But when you mix it up with the stabilizer, you alter its property.
The oil will no longer have enough antifoams to stop itself from trapping the air when you add the stabilizer. Even if you use a good quality oil with synthetic blends, you’ll see the same result.
2. More Engine Wear
One of the most outrageous claims made by Lucas oil stabilizer is that it reduces the overall engine wear and makes it last longer. But it does the exact opposite of that in reality.
The Lucas oil stabilizer is a thick substance with high viscosity. When it mixes with the engine oil, it increases the overall viscosity of the oil such that it’s no longer able to lubricate the different components in an engine. And that makes the engine wear out much faster.
3. Build Up Of Sludge
Are you wondering if the Lucas oil stabilizer causes sludge? That’s another common problem that most people face when using it. As it’s a sticky and gooey substance, it almost borders on gel and makes your oil pan sticky.
As it reduces the ability of the engine oil to lubricate the engine components, metals rub against each other as they have direct contact. This thick engine oil mixed with the stabilizer along with the shredded metal pieces forms sludge.
4. Lower Gas Mileage
Another claim the Lucas oil company makes is that the Lucas oil stabilizer will give you better fuel economy and give you higher MPG. The truth is that the results of using it for this purpose are mixed.
There are users who have seen a lower MPG after using the Lucas oil stabilizer but there are also people who saw higher MPG after mixing it.
But the majority of people have experienced lower MPG after using it and that’s why it’s more likely to happen to you if you use it.
5. Harder Cold Starts
Cold starts refer to starting an engine when it’s way below its normal operating temperature. It is typically caused by cold weather. Most people experience more difficulty when they try to cold start their vehicle after using the Lucas oil stabilizer in their engine.
The reason behind it is quite simple. The cold weather makes the engine oil more viscous and it becomes harder for the oil to be circulated.
The stabilizer only makes things worse and it becomes more difficult for the engine to start as the oil becomes more viscous because of the stabilizer.
How To Get Rid Of Lucas Oil Stabilizer Problems
Prevention is better than cure and the first thing you can do is to use it so that you don’t have to deal with the problems that come with using it.
But if it’s already too late and you’re already facing one of the common issues discussed above, the solution is simple.
You have to stop using it. Flush the oil stabilizer from your engine including the engine oil that has already been mixed with it.
Doing that will solve the problem in all cases except if certain engine components are worn-out because of it. In that case, you’ll have to get those components replaced as well.
The ideal thing you can do to make sure that your engine stays healthy is to look at your owner’s manual and supply it with the oil that it needs. Don’t fall for the gimmicky stuff like an oil stabilizer and harm your engine.
Is Lucas Oil Stabilizer Good Or Bad
Based on the experience of many users, Lucas oil stabilizer creates several, problems that have been mentioned. Compared to that, the benefits that it provides are very small.
It will help you prevent oil leaks, make the oil last longer, and give higher MPG in some cases. Sometimes, they can help in reducing engine knocking noise as well and delay the total failure of the engine for a while.
The cons of using Lucas stabilizer significantly outweigh the pros of using it. As it tends to do more harm than good, we can conclude that the Lucas oil stabilizer is a bad product and you should avoid it.
FAQs:
Does Lucas’s oil stabilizer make oil thicker?
That’s about the only thing it does. Since the Lucas oil stabilizer is so thick itself with a high viscosity, it mixes with the oil and makes it thicker.
Is there any real benefit to using Lucas’s oil stabilizer?
You can use it to prevent oil leaks temporarily while doing the repair work. In some cases, you can also get higher MPG from it and it can delay total engine failure as well.
How do you know if you’re using too much Lucas oil stabilizer?
While you shouldn’t be using it at all, the Lucas oil website recommends that you use 20% stabilizer and 80% oil. Anything above that means you’re using too much stabilizer.
How long does Luca’s oil stabilizer take to work?
When you use the Lucas oil stabilizer to prevent an oil leak, you need to start driving the vehicle after putting it in to see the results. You’ll notice the results after driving for 200 miles.
Conclusion
Now you know the long list of Lucas oil stabilizer problems you can expect to face if you use it. While many people claim this stabilizer to be like snake oil with no real benefit or harm, they’re not entirely right.
It’s actually worse as it does more harm compared to the benefits you get from it. You’ll be much better off if you avoid this product and just use the engine oil of the right viscosity and grade for your engine. Leave a comment below if you have any more questions about Lucas oil stabilizers.
About John M
John contributed as a technical head at an automobile company just 2 years after his post-graduation in Automobile Engineering. He loves to lead a free life, so he left his job & started blogging. Now, he does research on every automotive problem, part & product and seeks a better solution & best products & shares his findings with his readers to help them as well as to minimize their struggle.