As many of you may know GM has for many years had available an additive to be used with positraction-equipped differentials. Over the years, 2 different additives have been available. The first was GM #1050428. This is the one which was available from about the inception of positraction units and it's the one that contains "whale oil" as one of its principal components. This product was discontinued in December, 1974 as a result of environmental considerations and whaling restrictions.
After the discontinuation of this product, there was no positraction additive available from GM for several years until additive GM #1052358 was released. This additive eliminated the whale oil base and, instead, used a specially formulated, synthetic, petroleum derivative as the friction modifier. This product has been available all along since then and continues to be available to this very day.
Yesterday, I noticed that an item closed on eBay which was 3 bottles of the original GM #1050428 whale oil based additive (eBay #2490988321). The final price for the item was $153.50. I hope that no one on this board was foolish enough to pay that much for 3 bottles of this stuff. What it's actually worth is ZIP. Here's why:
1) First of all, there is a GREAT misconception and FOLK LORE that the original additive was superior to its replacement. What creates this sort of notion is the fact that the original additive was discontinued due to the whale oil issue. It then follows in the minds of some that the original stuff must have been the "good stuff" and automatically better than any replacement could ever be. That's absolutely absurd. The replacement additive, GM #1052358, provides performance at least equal to its whale oil predecessor.
2) Even assuming that the whale oil additive was better, consider that this product was discontinued 30 years ago. That means that any existing stock is AT LEAST 30 years old. Petroleum based products have a very long shelf life. After all, the crude oil from which they are derived was "in the making" for millions of years. However, the crude is actually the DECOMPOSITION PRODUCT of organic material subject to heat and pressure over the eons. Nevertheless, while the crude, itself, is relatively stable and "immune" from rapid decomposition, REFINED PRODUCT and COMPOUNDED REFINED PRODUCTS are not necessarily as stable. But, refined petroleum product is still usually quite stable and generally resistant to decomposition. In the case of the GM #1050428, though, we are talking about a compounded product which has an ANIMAL OIL as a principal component. Animal oil (or, vegetable oil) is not nearly as stable over time as petroleum oil. It definitely degrades much faster than petroleum compounds. By now, after at least 30 years on the shelf, I would consider any of this product to be worthless. I wouldn't even consider putting it in my car, even if I believed that it was once better than its replacement. And, I don't believe that, either!
After the discontinuation of this product, there was no positraction additive available from GM for several years until additive GM #1052358 was released. This additive eliminated the whale oil base and, instead, used a specially formulated, synthetic, petroleum derivative as the friction modifier. This product has been available all along since then and continues to be available to this very day.
Yesterday, I noticed that an item closed on eBay which was 3 bottles of the original GM #1050428 whale oil based additive (eBay #2490988321). The final price for the item was $153.50. I hope that no one on this board was foolish enough to pay that much for 3 bottles of this stuff. What it's actually worth is ZIP. Here's why:
1) First of all, there is a GREAT misconception and FOLK LORE that the original additive was superior to its replacement. What creates this sort of notion is the fact that the original additive was discontinued due to the whale oil issue. It then follows in the minds of some that the original stuff must have been the "good stuff" and automatically better than any replacement could ever be. That's absolutely absurd. The replacement additive, GM #1052358, provides performance at least equal to its whale oil predecessor.
2) Even assuming that the whale oil additive was better, consider that this product was discontinued 30 years ago. That means that any existing stock is AT LEAST 30 years old. Petroleum based products have a very long shelf life. After all, the crude oil from which they are derived was "in the making" for millions of years. However, the crude is actually the DECOMPOSITION PRODUCT of organic material subject to heat and pressure over the eons. Nevertheless, while the crude, itself, is relatively stable and "immune" from rapid decomposition, REFINED PRODUCT and COMPOUNDED REFINED PRODUCTS are not necessarily as stable. But, refined petroleum product is still usually quite stable and generally resistant to decomposition. In the case of the GM #1050428, though, we are talking about a compounded product which has an ANIMAL OIL as a principal component. Animal oil (or, vegetable oil) is not nearly as stable over time as petroleum oil. It definitely degrades much faster than petroleum compounds. By now, after at least 30 years on the shelf, I would consider any of this product to be worthless. I wouldn't even consider putting it in my car, even if I believed that it was once better than its replacement. And, I don't believe that, either!
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