Kerosene with every fill up. Have you heard of this?

Never heard of that.....sorta like running diesel fuel in you gas engine....be careful trying stuff like that since K isn't as refined as gasoline and tends to have a higher level of water and crap in it....just take a look at the sump of a water trap on a kerosene stove and you will see what I mean.....

Sneaks

Hiya Paul,

HooBoy! This is an old one. I can remember hearing this way back in the sixties when I was pumping gas to get through college.

Had a one or two old timers who would want kerosene dropped in the tank every now and then. Like you heard, the story was that the stuff was supposed to lubricate the top end. We chuckled and dropped it in and they drove off happy.

Personally, I think this idea originally popped up during auto infancy when general engine design was still on the rudimentary side. Used to have drop a can of oil in the gas tanks of those old two-stroke Saabs also, but that's another story.

A bit more expensive than gas, but here is a link to a story in Bugtales about a guy that had to use an alternative fuel in the gas tank to get home late one evening.

Berckman

67 Beetle Pictures at Family Reunion Show Sept 21 2003 Cincinnati OH

Bill, that story smells of Hoax.

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Yep. Very common, if you happen to be driving a Model 'T' (4:1 compression ratio) and burning naptha.

Model T used cast iron valve guides. Used splash lubrication. Didn't even have a water pump. Burned about one quart of oil every HUNDRED miles and had a useful life of about 500 hours before needing a ring & valve job. Henry built nearly twenty million of them and things like the Kerosene Trick are still considered valid by lots of folks who don't know any better.

Model 'A' got an oil pump, of sorts... did the valves but the rods remained splash. And a water pump, too. Cast iron guides remained with us into the

1950's but the need for top-oilers, such as adding kerosene to the fuel, became redundant after the oil companies began adding lead to the fuel (which then had to be dyed red so you wouldn't confuse it with naptha). Lead did a better job of lubricating the valves, especially the exhaust valves (which kerosene didn't help). Not only that, but one form of lead -- tetraethyl lead -- proved to be an effective anti-knock agent. (There's lots of things that reduce gasoline's tendency to explode at high temperatures but tetraethyl lead was inexpensive and a pretty good valve lubricant too.)

Of course, people continued to use top-oilers. If it was good enough for grampa it had to be good, right? Except they used high-temperature oils, such as Marvel Mystery oil (and several others).

But none of this applies to Volkswagens, no matter what grampa has to say :-)

There are some modern-day enhancements that you may BUILD IN to your VW engine, if you wish. After all, it's design dates from the early 1930's and we've learned quite a bit since then. But there is nothing you can pour in your fuel tank, oil sump or down your carb that is going to 'improve' the VW engine, although you might consider adding six ounces of molybdium disulfide to your tranny the first time it gets filled. (Most car makers do. DOD even requires it for tanks & such. See the various reports in the SAE journal.)

-Bob Hoover

In one of ours we have a 1600... it's really bad for hot starting... needs a rebuild...

The prez of our vw club told me to test a bit of diesel in it for a cooler spark..

It did work...now I can barely get it started when I remember to use it.

May be me, but it seems as if it's working... Tried it on a good car... it ran bad.

Timmy

kerosene is used in fuel injection and carb cleaner that is sold at the stores and plus some lubricant that is added with the mix.