Camguard

Has anyone used CamGuard oil additive? I heard about it yesterday from an aviation person. Apparently it's commonly used for aircraft piston engines which have flat tappet cams similar to older automotive engines. I see they make a version of the product for automotive engines.
https://www.amazon.com/100-Oil-Addi...ild=1&keywords=Camguard&qid=1620302045&sr=8-6
I wonder if this would be a good option for older Jeep engines. This plus a jug of 10W30 is still cheaper than 5 quarts of VR1. This product also claims protection against corrosion is storage (a big issue for aero engines).

 

Make sure it doesn’t have chlorine in it. Bad for bearings in the long run.

 

I always use Camguard if I'm not using w100plus in my airplanes. The only real reason for using camguard in an aircraft engine is to protect the cam from corrosion. Aircraft engines collect moisture if not ran at temperature long enough to evaporate it. Because of the position of the cams in the engine, oil can strip away and corrosion begins. Camguard helps slow down the stripping of oil. I can't imagine it would be of much use in a Jeep engine.

 

What you really need is an oil additive from your local auto parts store containing ZDDP (this is a zinc based anti-wear/anti-scuffing additive.) The ZDDP levels of modern oils has been drastically reduced because zinc causes issues with catalytic converters. It doesn't matter that they did this for modern cars since either the cam followers or lifters are roller, or they're designed in such a way (metallurgy, hardening, etc.) to stand up.

It my understanding that some ZDDP additives are not compatible with synthetic oils.

I don't use a ZDDP additive. Rather, I use a specific oil designed for engines with flat tappets made by Joe Gibson Racing under the Driven brand. Shop By Product - GP-1 Engine Oils This was recommended to me by my local engine builder (who did the machine work on my Dauntless.) It already contains the necessary levels of ZDDP.

John

 

I use Cam Guard in my airplane (Piper Supercub), it is a well regarded product in aviation. As Timber Cruiser said, the main reason is to help prevent corrosion on camshafts since general aviation aircraft spend a lot of time sitting. Lycoming engines in particular have a problem with this. I believe the product they offer for classic cars is a different formulation than the aviation one. I have considered using it in my Triumph TR-6 which is only driven from May through early September. I need to do some research on the classic car version, but will probably try it out this fall when I put the TR up. If you drive your Jeep regularly, say once a week or so, I wouldn’t bother.
Tim