Vehicle maintenance

Gearbox
Grinding sound means gears are out of alignment.

Engine
Nothing, no smoke must come out of exhaust. Any smoke means that the rings aren't scraping oil off from the piston chamber. Start the engine and pull out the oil indicator, place tissue paper over dipstick tube. If any oil or gas comes out then the rings are worn down. The problem will get progressively worse. Finally do a compression test(video), http://www.dummies.com/home-garden/car-repair/fuel-system/how-to-check-an-engines-cylinder-compression/
 * Test the oil from sump that it isn't SAE90 gear oil when purchasing a used vehicle.
 * Certain brands of Isuzu bakkies use SAE30 in their gearbox, while all other pickups use SAE90 for all makes of vehicles.

Radiator
Replace electric fan motor and water pump on engine every 50,000km. You do not want these items to break at 2am in the middle of the Karoo

Engine additives
Only SAE40 oil has been approved by the mechanical engineering society ASME, nothing else must be used. http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/auto-parts-prolong-super-lubric-prolong-engine-killer-1581.
 * http://prolong.com/about_tech "...This process is so stable that it is responsible for achieving the highest possible “1a” rating in independent laboratory testing designed to determine the anti-corrosive characteristics of lubricants...." They removed this page, here is an archive from 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160715145235/http://prolong.com/about_tech

Which lab of the https://www.asme.org/ tested it? What is this "1a" rating, standardized by which mechanical engineering society where. The prolong website states their product "bonds" to the metal, but this exactly what SAE40 oil does not do because it would change the friction properties of the engine sleeve. There has to be friction between the rings and engine sleeve, else the oil won't be scraped back on the compression stroke. This friction must neither to high or to low. If it is to high, the rings will wear off prematurely and if to low not enough traction is generated to scrape of the oil. Nothing must change the frictional properties of the rings and combustion chamber sleeve.


 * "....Metal surfaces feel smooth, but under a microscope, they have tiny valleys and peaks on the surface. The peaks can catch or snag as metal surfaces push and slide against one another, causing particles of metal to break away, leaving the metal surface to become damaged and vulnerable. When these metal particles or shavings are found in drained oil, it is a sign of metal fatigue and damage. The metal particles can also cause additional harm as they circulate through the oil, rubbing against metal parts and impairing the efficiency of filters...."

This is true, which is why the ASME society's tests have shown that the only product which reduces such metal particles and fatigue, preserving the frictional balance between rings and sleeve is SAE40 motor oil. If the Prolong product does this better than SAE40, then why does the ASME have no lab tests for this?


 * http://prolong.com/new-prolong-15w-40-diesel-engine-motor-oil/ Prolong Super Lubricants, a brand of GoldenWest Lubricants, Inc., produces a wide range of chemicals and car care products, including engine, fuel and transmission additives; motor oils; chassis and wheel lubricants; vinyl and leather protectants. Its Anti-Friction Metal Treatment™ (AFMT) advanced technology treats and modifies the surface of metal at the molecular level to reduce metal wear, heat and friction. For more information, contact Prolong at 1937 Mount Vernon Ave., Pomona, Calif., 91768; phone: 800.540.LUBE (5823); fax: 800.966.LUBE (5823). archive.org copy

AFMT as certified by which lab of the ASME? In this entire page you don't specify specifically whether it complies with the SAE40 specification.


 * Formulated with a blend of high-quality synthetic base oils and additives, Prolong’s 15W-40 Diesel Motor Oil is designed to exceed API Service Classifications CJ-4/SN/SM

The http://www.api.org references CJ-4, but you don't seem to be a member under http://www.api.org/membership/members#P. Is there any type of academic journal papers you reference that confirms your claim to exceed CJ-4 from ASME journal papers on engine wear