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Protect Your Firearms and Improve Their Reliability

Written by Charleen

Protect Your Firearms and Improve Their Reliability

firearms oil and cleaner product by AMSOIL - Stop and prevent rust

_by David Hilgendorf | September 29, 2023

One in three Americans owns a firearm, and they need their guns to perform flawlessly when called upon. The moving parts on firearms must be cleaned and lubricated to ensure top performance and long life. It’s important to perform regular maintenance on your firearms to improve their reliability and protect them whether in use or in storage.

In an emergency you need your firearm to be without issues so you can easily take care of business.

Firearm owners typically fall into at least one of three categories.

  • Hunters typically own shotguns to hunt waterfowl or upland birds and rifles to hunt larger game.
  • Collectors and Sport Shooters own diverse types of firearms for recreational shooting, including shotguns, rifles and handguns.
  • Firearms Professionals & 2nd Amendment Patriots, including citizens tired of crime, open borders, ex military, law enforcement, gunsmiths and firearm safety instructors, work with diverse types of firearms as part of their job.

Nothing ruins a hunting trip or day at the shooting range quicker than a malfunctioning firearm. Firearms are often stored for extended periods and then subjected to field use in all sorts of environmental conditions. Opportunities to clean and maintain your guns while on a remote hunting trip are rare.

Even worse – that criminal is breaking into your house or threatening you while you are in your car. Happens every day so you want that firearm to work when it’s desperately needed.

The best solution is to clean and protect your firearm after every use, to make sure it’s ready to go the next time you need it.

AMSOIL firearm products are designed to provide outstanding firearm protection in the most demanding conditions. We’ve performed extensive testing in a variety of handguns and long guns and in our chemical lab to ensure our products provide enhanced protection, performance and reliability and are compatible with all firearm materials.

Clean, lubricate and protect

AMSOIL Synthetic Firearm Lubricant and Protectant guards against damaging corrosion better than a leading competitor’s product. It lubricates to prevent blockage, jams and wear, to extend gun life and help keep firearms working properly for generations.

  • Outstanding performance in both hot and cold temperatures
  • Lubricates and protects firearms to prevent blockage, jams and wear and help extend product life.
  • Specifically formulated to provide superior performance in firearms

AMSOIL Firearm Cleaner and Protectant is an aerosol cleaner and protectant that penetrates deep into hard-to-reach components, effectively cleaning residue from all surfaces and protecting guns for safe long-term storage.

  • Penetrates deep into hard-to-reach components
  • Cleans fouling and powder residue from all firearm surfaces, reducing misfires and increasing reliability
  • Protects guns against corrosion for safe storage and preserving performance, reliability and value

Applications

AMSOIL firearm products provide premium protection and performance in rifles, handguns and shotguns, and are safe to use on all metals, woods, composites and rubbers.

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Your Manufacturer’s Warranty is Secure

Written by Charleen

Your Manufacturer’s Warranty is Secure and better protected with AMSOIL

AMSOIL lubricants maintain your factory vehicle and equipment warranties.

_by David Hilgendorf October 24, 2022

According to the Federal Trade Commission, manufacturers or sellers may make promises to stand behind the products you purchase. Any warranty offered must be available to read before purchase, so be sure to understand the details of what is covered before you buy.

Vehicle and equipment warranties often cover the expensive costs of labor and parts necessary to fix certain product defects or malfunctions within a predetermined amount of time or usage. It is important to know that your manufacturer’s warranty is secure for peace of mind.

Whether investing a few thousand dollars in lawn equipment, tens of thousands on powersports vehicles that may only be used a few months out of the year, or buying a new car or truck for daily use, manufacturers know these are big investments. They put a lot of focus on warranties to build consumer confidence and want you to buy their brand of parts and lubricants instead of aftermarket products.

Feeling pressured to use their products?

Some original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) falsely claim that you must use their brand of parts and lubricants or risk voiding your factory warranty. OEMs may even attempt to make you feel like they control what you can do with your vehicles. This is one of the biggest hurdles faced when recommending AMSOIL.

Thankfully, in America, the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act [15 USC Ch. 50 §2302(c)] protects your freedom to choose any brand of aftermarket parts and lubricants and your right to extend oil-change intervals beyond what is recommended in your owner’s manual, without voiding your warranty. Similar protections are available in Canada.

U.S. Federal law Protects you

Here are key points to remember for maintaining your factory warranty:

  • It is illegal to tie warranty coverage to the brand of parts or lubricants you use unless the manufacturer provides the parts or lubricants free of charge.
  • You have freedom to choose how to protect your vehicles and equipment, including extending recommended drain intervals.
  • Manufacturers can’t deny warranty coverage without proving an aftermarket part or lubricant caused a failure.

If anyone tries to tell you differently, contact the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.

Tips to avoid warranty issues

No one wants to file a warranty claim. It’s a hassle and can take months to resolve. Here are a few tips to help smooth the process should you ever need to use your factory warranty.

  • Read your warranty. Familiarizing yourself with what is and is not covered is worth your time.
  • Period of coverage. If your vehicle or equipment acts up, have it looked at before the end of the warranty term.
  • Service records and receipts. No matter who performs the service, providing proof that you maintained your vehicle removes the easiest way for manufacturers to shirk responsibility.
  • Speak up. If you think a service adviser denied your warranty claim unfairly, ask to speak with a supervisor. If the dealer does not resolve the issue, try another dealer, or contact the manufacturer. If you still aren’t getting results, contact your attorney general, local consumer protection office or the FTC.
  • Avoid aftermarket warranties. Many are scams. If a dealership is selling one please check the BBB looking up the company first! I can bet there are a lot of angry customers! If you think it’s legit remember it’s a contract and NOT a warranty so be sure to have them add in that you are going to use AMSOIL on your terms.

Strong products, strong warranty

AMSOIL designs high-performance replacements for manufacturer-branded lubricants that keep your factory warranty intact.

AMSOIL developed Warranty Secure branding to simply and effectively reinforce your right to use AMSOIL synthetic lubricants. We use clear, direct language to remind consumers that the law is on their side and to dispel fears generated by misleading or false warranty claims from any manufacturer, dealer or mechanic.

Because this issue is more prevalent in the powersports market, the Warranty Secure icon appears on all our powersports products, including AMSOIL Synthetic V-Twin Motorcycle Oil and ATV/UTV oils.

AMSOIL also offers its own Limited Warranty, offering an extra measure of protection. While some oil companies guarantee their products only for a specified mileage, we stand behind our products for as long as you use them.

Runs on Freedom™ Snowmobile Warranty

Additionally, AMSOIL offers the revolutionary Runs on Freedom Snowmobile Warranty offering complete peace of mind. Simply use AMSOIL INTERCEPTOR Synthetic 2-Stroke Oil exclusively in your new sled and we’ll cover any engine repairs for up to two years or 5,000 miles (8,000 km). Read the terms and conditions and register your sled today!

No other aftermarket snowmobile lubricant manufacturer offers this robust of a warranty. We’re so confident in our products, we’ll cover any repair to your snowmobile engine in the unlikely event of an engine failure. This means AMSOIL may end up fixing defective OEM parts that fail for reasons unrelated to our oil, but we’re more concerned about protecting our customers and their machines.

As millions of satisfied AMSOIL customers know, using AMSOIL synthetic lubricants or practicing extended drain intervals does not void vehicle or equipment warranties.

AMSOIL stands behind its products and the people who use them. If the OEM claims use of AMSOIL products violates the warranty, contact AMSOIL Technical Services (715-399-8324) or visit amsoil.com/warrantysecure.

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How do we define “severe service”?

Written by Charleen
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How do we define “severe service”?

When pushing our lubricants to their limits, we sometimes find the limits of the test equipment first.

Matt Erickson | TECHNICAL MANAGER – PCLT PRODUCTS AND MECHANICAL R&D

One of my responsibilities here at AMSOIL is to help develop tests in our mechanical lab designed to push lubricants to their limits, both ours and those of our competitors. An effective performance test accelerates lubricant degradation and forces the oil to its breaking point sooner than if tested in the field. This provides more data, faster.

The definition of “severe”

Given the severity of our testing, what happens when the equipment we test fails before our lubricants? Honestly, it causes us to simultaneously rejoice and curse. On one hand, we know our products withstand the toughest conditions we throw at them. On the other, we have to contend with the extra cost and hassle of test equipment that just isn’t built to handle the punishing conditions.

The August 2016 Tech Talk revealed how some two- and four-stroke equipment we’ve tested couldn’t stand up to our test conditions. We’ve run into the same predicament in the passenger car/light-truck market, too.

One recent incident involved the popular General Motors* 3.8L motor. Historically, the GM 3.8L is a rocksolid engine that’s powered millions of cars over the years. It’s a fixture in industry performance testing. One standardized test uses this engine under severe conditions for 100 hours. But our oils soldier through that test like a walk in the park, so we have to triple its length to 300 hours to get useful data. Not an easy task for equipment not designed to handle such extremes.

Well, we recently blew up a GM 3.8L engine. The image shows some of the carnage we found after removing the oil pan. All those bits and pieces used to be a piston.

We ran this test under extreme conditions, as if you were towing continuously at highway speeds uphill for weeks.

Unleaded gasoline

What happened, you ask? First, I’ll ease any concerns you might have: it wasn’t the oil’s fault. We were in uncharted territory, never having an oil last so long in this test before, so we knew we were on borrowed time. In fact, after more than four weeks of testing, the oil hadn’t even reached its breaking point. One of the exhaust valves broke off and fell into the cylinder, where it and the piston were pulverized into the mess you see here. As the piston and valve debris made its way to the oil pan, the crankshaft caught it and blew a hole in the side of the engine block. The severity of our test conditions combined with valve seat recession are to blame.

Years ago, lead was added to gasoline to, among other functions, lubricate the valve seats. Once lead was officially banned from gasoline, in 1996, the fuel no longer provided the same level of valve-seat protection. This lack of protection, combined with the extreme conditions of our test, invited valve recession. When valve seats recede, the valve no longer seats evenly. The result is a loss of heat-transfer that overheats and erodes the valve, as well as an uneven side load that causes the valve to bend slightly on every cycle. This onetwo punch eventually caused the valve to fail. We ran this test under extreme conditions, as if you were towing continuously at highway speeds uphill for weeks. Oil temperatures exceeded 300ºF. The extreme, 1,500ºF exhaust gas temperatures, combined with the constant stress of unevenly eroded valve seats, eventually led to valve failure, snapping a valve in half and destroying the engine.

But our oils soldier through that test like a walk in the park, so we have to triple its length to 300 hours to get useful data. Not an easy task for equipment not designed to handle such extremes.

Suitable for continued use

The good news, however, is the motor oil was still good. Even after hundreds of hours of operation so severe it destroyed the engine, the oil analysis still looked great. It made me smile to see our oil last that long, but it also made me cringe because we were going to have to once again re-test to try to get the oil to break.

This conundrum might present challenges to us engineers, but it amounts to you and your customers receiving the best synthetic lubricants available. We’re happy to keep blowing up engines in our mechanical lab to ensure your engines are protected out in the field.

Given the severe nature of our performance tests, the test equipment sometimes fails before our lubricants.

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