8 replies to this topic

[kevk]

Hi peeps....it aint a problem but wandered what this bag of lead balls is in aid of,its in a wire mesh bag with like lead shot,is that some permenant "additive " as the car is unleaded to save you have to give it a shot of lead replacement fluid?
Cheers (and do I give it a shot of additive or just relie on the bag to do its job?)
Kev

[Guess-Works.com]

Yes this is a supposed answer to the issue of the lack of lead in petrol... Whether it works or not is open to debate...

[kevk]

Cheers GW
Not sure as to if I should keep putting additives in or just let the balls do the job
Cheers
Kev

[dklawson]

The answer to will it work... "No".

The lead that WAS in gas during my youth was TetraEthyl Lead. This is a soluble lead compound, not free lead. You aren't going to get any significant quantities of lead into gasoline by throwing lead shot in the tank. All you'll get is reduced tank capacity and annoying noises as they slosh around.

[m1n1]

when leaded petrol was being phased out i remember these being advertised in all sorts of classic car magazines. particularly practical classics. along with the other additives and in-line versions, these were supposed to be very good, and you would never have to worry about using unleaded again. thats what i remember anyway.

[dklawson]

Snake-Oil and urban legend.

[pierce]

I've been using fuel catalyst (which is the same thing) for about 6000 miles and no problems I use it cause I have heard and read alot about liquid addatives leaving deposits in the carb and clogging it up

[minidaves]

run it till it causes a problem on unleaded then when it burns the valves out get an unleaded head, the money you dont spend on additives should cover the cost of the head more or less

dave

[dklawson]

It is perhaps misleading to simply say that fuel catalyst "is the same thing". That depends on your goal.

See:
http://www.classicmo....uk/unlead3.htm

and
http://www.morrismin...on_Part_One.htm
(search the page for the word "pellets" or read the history paragraph)

For those who aren't chemists, a catalyst is "something" that assists a chemical reaction making it occur faster, more efficiently or otherwise without becoming part of the end result. In this case, the catalyst is typically working to raise the octane rating of the fuel (like TEL used to be used for). While the fuel catalyst (in some tests) has been shown to raise the octane, I know of no tests that show it in any way protects the valve seats as TEL did.

If your goal is octane improvement, the fuel catalyst should help. If your goal is to prolong the life of the valve components, the catalyst hasn't been shown to help. Regardless, lead shot isn't going to dissolve into the gas to deliver either increased octane or protect your valve seats.