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In my other hobby, which is Model T Fords, various posts on the forum suggest using both Sta-Bil and Marvel Mystery Oil. The Sta-Bil is used because modern gasolines have very short deterioration times, due to a lot of aromatics (stuff that evaporates quickly). I use it in my tractor as well, because it takes a while to use a tank of gas, since I don't use the tractor daily. The MMO is usualy added to the oil and the gas. We have even evolved a super-duper measurement technique, although it is based on the older metal cans the MMO used to come in. It was, you add two "galugs" to a full tank of gas (10 gallons). A galug is the sound the MMO makes coming out of the can. The thinking about adding the MMO to the gas is that the upper parts of the engine need lubrication - things like valve guides. About adding it to the crankcase, it seems to make the oil penetrate better. While they aren't identical, an N tractor's engine is closer to a Model T than it is to a modern engine. Low speed, flat head, valves in the block, updraft carburetor, twentysomething horsepower, etc. etc. What works for one probably works for both. And, the MMO smells so nice! Some say it makes their exhaust smell better. We are constantly reminded of a general fact about Model T's, and I suspect it holds true for N tractors as well. It is, simply stated, that any product you can buy today to put into your crankcase or fuel tank (or grease gun), bears almost no resemblance to the products that were available when the engine was designed. They are several quantum leaps better, but still different. Being intelligent about giving your engine a little help in that regard certainly can't hurt. As an example, folks often ask about the possible damage to be done by using unleaded fuel in a Model T. Well, there was no lead in the gas they sold back then, either -- so what's the problem? Of course, gasoline back then bore more resemblance to today's kerosene than today's gasoline so adding some oil to it is probably helpful. Anyway, that's the thinking path we use. By the way, maybe someone out there knows -- when was lead added to gasoline, relative to the prodction of N tractors?
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