Some more info on Marvel Mystery Oil.
There's seems to be ALOT of debate on this product, with fanatical adherents and caustic deniers. But in the mayhem of discussions people pulled out charts, chemical listings, and other tid-bits that I grabbed and will post here.
I copied this entry from a discussion over at Toyota Nation forum.
https://www.toyotanation.com/forum/156-avalon-3rd-generation-2005-2012/1515138-marvel-mystery-oil.html70% Light Aromatic Oil (Pale Oil)
- It is a Naphthenic Oil, so while it oxidizes faster than a Paraffinic oil, it does clean and dissolve sludge and carbon well and cleans up after itself from any oxidation. serves as base oil as well. [Naphthenic oils have more solvency and are more polar (they are attracted to metal more), but oxidize faster.
29% Mineral Spirits
- Cleans Varnish very well. General cleaner. Also acts as an antioxidant.
38 parts per million (ppm) Boron
- AW/EP agent, friction reducer, antioxidant
900 ppm Phosporous
- AW/EP agent
1/2% 1, 2 ortho-Dichlorobenzene
- EP agent as it interacts with Iron to form an Iron chloride barrier under any ZDDP or other AW additives. Also very good cleaner/solvent, and friction reducer
1/4% 1, 4 para-Dichlorobenzene
- EP agent as it interacts with Iron to form an Iron chloride barrier under any ZDDP or other AW additives. Also very good cleaner/solvent, and friction reducer
Oil of wintergreen - for the scent
- Not just for the cent, is also a cleaner. may aid lubricity.
Red Dye - for the color
- well this one just colors the stuff
This story was copied from the Jalopy Journal forum.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/marvel-mystery-oil-uses.31302/Here just may be how this stuff was invented.
Story about Marvel Mystery Oil: During the summer of 2000 we were cruising through the Central Adirondacks of New York State in our mostly original '23 Touring. We stopped for gas at a local station, and a gentleman who appeared to be about 80 yrs old, in coveralls, came out to the pumps. I noticed he had a thick New York City accent. He admired the T, and we talked about old Fords for a few minutes. I finished gassing up, and topped off the tank with a 4 oz. baby-jar full of MMO. He said, "Why do you use that stuff?" I replied, I'd been using it(I'm 53 yrs old) for over 30 yrs in all my flathead V-8s, Model As and Ts, good upper cyl lube, etc, etc. He said, "I'll tell you a story: During the Depression, when I was in high school, I worked as a mechanic in a sewing shop in the Garment District in NYC. Those old sewing machines had visible oilers on top, and when it got hot the oil would stink, and the ladies who ran the machines would complain. The owner, whose name was Marvel, (pronounced Mar-VELL) told me to go down a few doors to the candy factory-I think it was a 'LifeSaver' type candy- and get a couple of gallons of Oil of Wintergreen and some food coloring. We mixed it with the 10 wt. sewing machine oil to make it less offensive to the ladies. It became popular with the other shops, and Marvel made more money with that oil, than with the sewing. Whenever anyone asked what was in the oil, Marvel said, 'Don't ask... It's a MYSTERY!' and that's how the name came about!"
The wikipedia entry on MMO has a reference to an aircraft accident that was attributed to the owners use on MMO in his engine, which the engine manufacturer claimed was not authorized. A chemical analysis of the MMO had lard as an ingredient of 1%.
I know lard oil is a very slippery and surprisingly stable oil, but this is one of the few times I've heard it being in MMO.