In the turbulent 90's, the issue of repairing the owners' fleet of vehicles was acute. Parts had to be obtained by "big" blat, the quality in turn was very questionable, as large enterprises were closed, and small cooperatives that were created from former workers, not having quality equipment, gave out parts that with a great stretch could be called qualitative. Cars continued to break down not only for ordinary car owners, but also for enterprises, which certainly did not add any confidence in the future. Looking at this problem, the owners of the Kharkov company XADO, having no marketing experience, because at that time there was not even such a concept, accurately identified a niche and target audience.
Is it possible to support and "cure" a metal part?
The manufacturer himself has written a lot on this topic, laboratory methods have been tested, experiments have been conducted... it would seem that what else has not been discovered? Still, there is a mistrust formed in this way. They write about almost miraculous properties of Revitalizant (often it is called an additive that forms ceramic coating). There is logic in the doubts. We know that during the operation of the mechanism on the friction pairs there are loads. At superloads excessive thermal energy is released, directed to destruction - wear of parts. As a result, the surface layer is destroyed and part of the metal gets into the lubricant in the form of metal dust and micro chips. So in the engine oil, which has served its time, can be up to 3 grams of metal, and the loss of 60 grams is irreparable for the engine. Wear and tear leads to a drop in power and compression, significant noise, and an increase in the level of harmful substances in the exhaust gases.
Can wear and tear be slowed down and wear protection provided?
What is a revitalizant?
Let us take information from open sources. Revitalizant is a composition which, when added to the oil or grease of the mechanism lubrication system, as a result of physical and chemical processes on the working surfaces of parts forms a layer of metal-ceramic coating, which allows not only to prevent wear, but also to restore the normal operation of the mechanism, which has been in operation for a long time.
Question: what's in the lineup and how does the revitalizer work?
Revitalizant is a multi-component composition of a mixture of natural mineral hydrates or synthesized hydrates, which include metal oxides and other formations. Essentially, Revitalizant in oil or gel is in the form of microparticles. When Revitalizant gets into the friction zone, when the distance between the rubbing surfaces is comparable or less than their rigidity, under the action of contact loads it acts as a kind of activator of surfaces and promotes carbon saturation of the surface layer with the subsequent formation of carbides, resulting in surface hardening by Revitalizant particles, in the process of which, in addition to cementation (carbidization) of the surface, there is the formation of familiar-constant along the depth of the modified layer of compressive stresses. The pressure of the revitalizant particles in the places of contact with the surface reaches high values, i.e. in the nanostructured state the revitalizant forms special conditions of pressure, temperature and at the same time there is an intensive crushing of metal grains, an increase in the density of their boundaries, conditions for carbon diffusion deep into the surface and inside the grains are improved. Such mechanical hardening creates residual compressive (positive) stresses in the surface layer of parts, increasing the limit of fatigue strength, increases the hardness of the surface, reduces its roughness, eliminates surface micro-defects.
In addition, metal dust and micro chips (the result of wear on friction surfaces) suspended in the gear oil react with the Revitalizant to form metal carbides.
Metal carbides are compounds of metals with carbon, which have high hardness and wear resistance, as well as chemical resistance to aggressive media. The strength of metal carbides depends on their chemical composition, structure. We have carbon atoms in large quantities in the oil itself, and this already acts as a basic building material for the metal-ceramic coating.
Aluminum carbide (Aluminum carbide, Al4C3) is a compound of aluminum and carbon that has high thermal and chemical resistance. It has a high melting point of about 2000 degrees Celsius.
Iron carbide (Fe3C, cementite) is another compound that is a very hard material with a hardness of up to 70 HRC. Another important characteristic of iron carbide is its strength. It has high strength, rigidity, and can withstand high thermal stresses without deformation or fracture.
Technological cycle of revitalization consists of several restorative stages, as a result of application of which revitalizant particles (which are not abrasive in this case) act as deformation-strengthening elements. Revitalizant elements and products with its use modify (change) the structure of rubbing surfaces of mechanism and machine parts, which leads to their restoration, protection from wear, increase of service life, reduction of friction losses and formation of structured (metal-ceramic) coating with low friction coefficient.
When and how does Revitalizant start working, what is the trigger for the process?
If we look at the micro profile, i.e. under a microscope, of any "smooth" working friction surface, it has the form of a broken line with many peaks and troughs of different amplitude, i.e. at the micro level the "smooth" surface is not so smooth. It is at these peaks that the greatest stresses occur when working in a friction pair, which increases the risk of deformation. Due to the point stress at the site of deformation, pressure and temperature increase, and it is these two factors that are the trigger to start the revitalization process. The metal-ceramic layer is formed in places (micro-points) where there are critical loads, temperatures, resulting from violations of lubrication conditions, wear and tear.
The depth of the structured (ceramic-metal) coating can vary from a few microns to tenths of a millimeter, depending on the design features of the friction pairs of the mechanism.
It is another matter when it brings the part up to its rated performance. This depends on many factors: degree of wear, operating conditions, specific features of the node design, etc. In some cases the effect of Revitalizant application appeared after additional application of Revitalizant volume and longer running time (after running the car up to 5-6 thousand kilometers)
Case Study
Practice proves that REVITALIZANT® should be in every liter of oil, in every machine. The next arguments in favor of revitalization were obtained using the technique of spectral analysis of used oil. The object of the study: a 2006 Volvo 670 truck with a Cummins ISX engine. The owner sent the first oil sample to the laboratory in August 2011, having 1 260 000 km on the odometer. The iron result was not critical - 27 ppm or parts per million, (universal value for this type of engine is 30), but the content of copper (7 instead of 2) and especially lead (38 instead of 6) was several times higher than the permissible values. The elevated metal content in the used oil was indicative of engine wear. The owner carried out another check in May 2013, after REVITALIZANT® had been applied. The total mileage at this time was 1,700,000 kilometers. Amazingly, the amount of metals in the oil had decreased! Iron had rolled back to 12, the copper (1) and lead (2) content told me that there was virtually no wear during use. Most importantly: the car had been operated again in normal extra heavy duty mode all this time. The next analysis is dated October 25, 2013. The total mileage by this point was almost 1,800,000 kilometers. So between the first and last analysis, two years and half a million kilometers! So what? The numbers speak for themselves: iron - 9 ppm, copper - 2 ppm, lead - 3 ppm.
Compression and oil consumption are the control parameters by which it is possible to judge the engine performance. A 20-25% drop in compression below rated compression, a cylinder-to-cylinder difference of more than 1.5 units, and/or oil consumption of more than 0.4-0.6% of fuel consumption may indicate a critical engine condition. Examples of critical engine condition:
1. The nominal compression value in the engine is 14 units. Compression value in any of the cylinders is 10.5 units or less, or compression is 11 and 13.
2. Fuel consumption in the engine is 10 liters per 100 km, with oil consumption of 800 ml per 1000 km or more. Also the critical condition of the engine is indicated by almost 100% wear of its parts.
What are some of the myths about Revitalizant?
In fact, over the years that the product has been on the market, there are quite a few myths.
1. After the REVITALIZANT® component has been applied, an ultra-hard surface is formed. Can the engine be bored out if necessary?
This question worries many motorists. We hasten to reassure them. The layer of metal-ceramic penetrates to a depth of 10-30 microns. And boring tool easily removes tenths of millimeters! The rest that a traditional overhaul may not need. The product's exceptional ability to restore the geometry of worn parts allows you to postpone time-consuming and expensive types of repairs.
2. What happens with honing?
Honing is necessary to ensure relatively safe running-in of parts and to retain oil on the cylinder walls. The revitalizant modifies the honing in the most heavily loaded areas and keeps it unchanged in the unloaded areas.
3. Will REVITALIZANT® help with increased oil consumption?
There are even more reasons for increased oil consumption: wear of cylinder piston group parts, lodging (caked) or breakage of piston rings, faulty valve seals, oil leaks through seals, etc. If the matter is the wear of parts and the wear is not critical, that is not close to 100%, and does not have mechanical failures, Revitalizant will help.
4. So will revitalization help any engine?
All types of engines are subject to treatment: gasoline, liquefied natural gas (LPG), diesel, biofuel, including boosted, direct injection, multi-valve, turbocharged and others. To form the protective ceramic-metal coating, the engine must be in serviceable condition.
Conclusion: you can argue for a long time about the effectiveness of this product, say that it is a complete marketing and it doesn't work, find negative comments, but also find a lot of good comments. I believe that "100% marketing" would not have been on the market for more than 20 years and would not have been sold in 80 countries. Very complex topic for such a short and quick discussion, engines and units where Revitalizant is used, have a wide range of nomenclature, not always correctly used by car owners themselves, of course then angry that it does not work, or made worse. My recommendation: if there are any doubts whether it will work on my car, do not be lazy and call the manufacturer's hotline, where they will clearly select the product you need. It's like medicine, only for the engine - a bad doctor will make it worse for the patient, and a good one, of course, vice versa. It all depends on the correct diagnosis of the "disease".