What's in MMO

April 07, 2007, 11:09:12 am

Marvel Mystery Oil was formulated shortly after World War I by an automotive engineer named Burt Pierce. Pierce was best known for his invention of the "Marvel Carburetor", which became the standard automobile carburetor of its time.(Still used today on aircraft piston engines.) GM bought the rights to much of Pierce's work and hired him as a consultant.

One of the things that Pierce did during his relatively short stay with GM was to cook up a mixture of "light oils and various chemicals" to clean sludge and lead build-up out of carburetors. In 1923, Pierce went out on his own, incorporated as Marvel Oil, and began selling his recipe of light oil and other chemicals as "Mystery Oil", claiming it to be a "universal lubricant and cleaner". One of the more recent VP's of the Marvel Oil Company is quoted as saying: "'The basic formula hasn't changed since 1917".

WHAT IS IT?

My own understanding from earlier articles on the subject is that Marvel Mystery Oil is a light viscosity oil, roughly equivalent to an SAE 3W, containing (among other things) about 20 percent solvent (probably mineral spirits), dye, wintergreen for smell, and 790 PPM of a phosphorous additive.

Fred Kovol

Re: What's in MMO

Reply #1 – April 08, 2007, 11:07:08 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 30253

I have been using MMO in everything I own for over 40 years. It's added to the fuel. Gas or diesel and have never torn down a engine from any failure. There are trucking companies that pour 50 gallon drums of MMO into underground storage tanks (diesel). Maybe this will all change with the new fuels.
Fred, I never knew the background of MMO, your story is interesting. This product has been around for this long of time there must be some value in it.
AL

00 affinity #5851( rides on Michelin, buys ice and uses MMO)

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