Don't know that it really washes down cylinder walls. In '53 my uncles (3 batchelors) bought a new Ford flathead V8. They always used MMO in both gas tank and crankcase. This was a time when valve jobs at 50,000 miles or less were common, and rings were worn out before 90-100,000 miles. A ridge reamer was always needed to remove the pistons due to upper cylinder wear. This car went well over 100,000 miles and never had the heads off. It then started smoking and using oil. They tore it down and found a wrist pin keeper had broken and the pin gouged into the cylinder wall in one cylinder. The others were smooth and had hardly any ridge at the top so very little wear (usually a '50's engine had .012" to .020" taper by 100,000 miles). All the valves looked good; none were burned. The crankshaft was still standard.
This car sat outside in Minnesota winters so had to start on -30 deg. mornings, which is a sure recipe for washed-down cylinder walls and oil dilution. So, again, I find the cylinder-washing theory a little far-fetched!
This car sat outside in Minnesota winters so had to start on -30 deg. mornings, which is a sure recipe for washed-down cylinder walls and oil dilution. So, again, I find the cylinder-washing theory a little far-fetched!