My Royal Purple Story

In March of this year my friend gave me a call. Figuring he was just bored with snow and anxious about the coming break up of the river. I picked up the phone while making mental lists of topics to keep the the three hour phone call I was about to have rolling along. My friend lives alone in a dry cabin in the Talkeetna Mountains. He sometimes gets tried of talking to his dogs as they are very opinionated and tend to be know it alls. So he will call me or my wife once or twice a week. But I was wrong, this call was to report a tragedy. My friend had lost his rear end.

Yes, the occurrence all four wheelers fear. The pinion bearing in the rear axle had grown weary of it's cast iron home and decided to strike out on his own to find it's self. Leaving my friend, Steve, to crawl slowly back to his cabin with only his front pumpkin to pull the mass of broken Jeep along.

We spent the next three hours on the phone putting together the logistics behind my 256 mile trek to Talkeetna. He would secure a warm shop with a lift. I would pack my tools, food, warm work wear, and my son into my 1989 K1500 after getting the next weekend off from work. Drive down and make the needed repairs. Next up, what do we do? Rebuild his axle, get a used axle maybe? We decided the best course of action was to grab an axle from a breaking yard in Anchorage. We would make the swap and I would bring his old unit back here for the rebuilding process. Then talk turned to what other things we might possibly need. After all once the repairs began we could find all manner of other bits we could need. We all live in a world of broken bolts, leaking shocks and other types of worn man made products. Some of those things are bound to live under a 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It is list time.

You have to understand we live in Alaska. My home is in Fairbanks, he lives 256 miles away in Talkeetna. The shop is in Trapper Creek 14 miles from his home. The nearest parts store is in Sunshine, 22 miles away from the shop. We had to get every thing in one shot as to have the best chance of a quick successful repair. After quite some time trying to come up with every possible item. I mentioned fuel mileage.

Now we get to the part of the story that actually deals with Royal Purple. Having a passion for working on cars I tend to watch several shows dealing with the subject. Some on TV others on the net. One set of shows I watch are really more into not some much how to, more like show casing products. Which is fine, that's their thing and it is what it is. I still enjoy them, they have cool rigs and good ideas. Most of the time the hosts of these shows finish up a project with something along the line of " Finally we finish up by filling the whatever with Royal Purple so the whatever will last trough many miles of fun." You know the typical it slices, it dices, and makes mounds and mounds of julian fries kind of thing. But one show they proved it would make all the julian fries you could want. Well, that is if I knew what the bloody hell a julian fry is.

Here is what they did. They took a rig put it on a dyno and ran this car for all it was worth. After establishing a base line. They undertook the task of changing the oil, servicing the transmission and the rear end. They even serviced the front bearings. Of course that will have no effect on the dyno test and they stated that fact. Then back to the dyno it went. I can not remember the numbers but the car tested a good difference better. So, they did prove Royal Purple lowered friction and that could mean better fuel mileage. Here is the thing, I am forty seven, I have seen more than a couple of ads. Who in their right mind would spend the time, money and effort in a commercial to say their product stinks? I can hear that one. "Introducing the 1983 Chevette Diesel, What a piece of crap! The Chevette Diesel leaks on the show room floor and listen to that body work rust. Don't forget to touch the fit and finish, it almost lines up. So come on down and test drive one today. We promise to follow with a tow truck." Something like that is not going to happen. Of course they will say the Chevette Diesel is the best thing since sliced bread.

Following that show I started reading about synthetic oils and what they do and how they do it. I had seen other synthetic oils and heard they are better than organic fluids but why go to the extra cost. Anyway, I went to the net and stated looking up Royal Purple. Not just synthetic oil, but Royal Purple. Sure some folks posted in forums that they had tried Royal Purple, but where not impressed. I have to say about 85% said they did get better fuel mileage with Royal Purple or a least felt more get up go from their rig. What really convinced me though was talking to guy who works for one of the oil service companies. Allot of the rigs up in Prudhoe Bay idle all day long because if you shut them off at minus forty degrees, they may not ever fire back up again. He told me their rigs run better and they have less engine failures. If an oil service company uses it, well there must be something to it.

Back to the Jeep. I tell Steve about Royal Purple and how my next service on my rig is going to be with Royal Purple. Well the weekend came and everything went wrong. Have you ever read the Odyssey. Odysseus would have given up if he had gone though what we did. We got five miles from Trapper Creek when my pinion bearing decided to go find itself. What are going to do? We started on the Jeep. Two hours later the old axle was out after much coaxing. Some of the parts where wrong. More parts where needed due to rust. We also ran out of liquid wrench. So, off to the parts store. What I thought would take one day took two. But, we got it back together and running and Steve decided to service his rig with Royal Purple based what I had said about the product. We sat around for awhile talked, had a good time and then my son and I readied ourselves for the ride home....in Steve's Jeep.

I drove 70 mph For 256 miles on 3/8 of a tank of fuel. Did I mention Steve's Jeep has a 318? Three weeks later I drove back to Talkeetna and towed my rig back to Fairbanks with the same Jeep. That trip back was much slower but still I only used about 3/4 of a tank. But the Jeep pulled just fine up Skinny Dick and Milkmaid hills. It is still going fine and Steve says he is getting better fuel mileage.

The 89 K1500? Well all of it's Running bits live in a 91 extended cab K1500 and are filled with Royal Purple. The husk of the 89 now belongs to my son. We are planning on a LS something moving into the vacated engine bay. And my Jeep Grand Wagoneer moves to the back burner again. Oh, one member of the family you have not met is the wife's 2007 Forester. It will get Royal Purple in the engine at the next service.