YouTube/Life OD
1. A Home Depot Run
Our story begins at the popular home improvement store Home Depot. A YouTube sensation known as Life OD decided to find out what happens when you substitute engine oil with water – and this was without a doubt the best place to stock up.
WD-40 was the only item on their menu that day, but they’d be buying in bulk. Whether or not they understood how dangerous their actions were at the time is unclear. But there was a reason they were so confident in themselves.
2. It Said ‘Engines’ On The Bottle
The main reason our group of brave car enthusiasts were so confident that their plan would work was because of the way WD-4o was advertised. On the actual bottle, Life OD pointed out that it actually says “engines” on the back of the bottle.
He and his friends took this to mean that it would work as a substitute for engine oil. After all, what else could it possibly mean? The problem was, they didn’t realize that they were playing with fire — literally.
3. Emptying Her Up
By the time they had returned to their garage, the boys were more than ready to start the experiment. Luckily, one of their number offered up his car to be the test dummy, hoping that nothing too crazy would happen.
However, before they could start filling her up with WD-40, they had to drain it out first. “We’ll drain all of this outta here,” they said as they emptied the car of its fluids. Things were going exactly to plan, well, for now at least.
4. Filling Up The Car
The boys were so excited to get things started, and they expressed their enthusiasm while they filled up the car. Using a basic funnel, they poured a cascading stream of WD-40 into that poor car, hoping that they would discover something groundbreaking.
“That definitely smells like WD-40,” the guy said as he finished pouring. As if to affirm to his friends that this was a good idea, he said again, “It says on the can that it will definitely do engines.” But there were some other surprises in store.
5. Making Predictions
Well, what kind of experiment would it be without making a few crazy predictions? Indeed, this group of friends was so passionate about what they were about to do that they had a really fun time guessing the ultimate outcome.
One of them predicted that the car would “run fine,” while another predicted it would only last five minutes “before it blows.” A third friend named Chau predicted that it would only last one minute! So which of these young men would be correct?
6. Checking The Engine
Once all of the WD-40 was inside the car, they decided to get the show on the road. They turned on the engine, and moved closer to the hood to hear how it sounded. The engine didn’t seem to be making any strange noise, which was a great sign.
The guy holding the camera said, “I mean, dude! It does not sound bad…” The one who was confident that the car would run perfectly reassured everyone, “It’s fine. It’s a lubricant.” It was time to put it into practice!
7. The First Test
The time had finally arrived to jump in the car and give it a test drive. They all excitedly hopped in the car, although they seemed a little bit nervous as well. The group rolled slowly onto the open road, hoping for the best.
After driving for a solid 10 to 15 seconds, one of them said, “Dude, it’s fine. The car literally does not care.” He seemed very optimistic that the WD-4o was working as a perfect substitute for engine oil. For a while, it seemed he was right. But the day wasn’t over.
8. Cruising Like Kings
After they drove around the area some more, it appeared quite plainly that those first initial 15 seconds were no fluke. The car was successfully driving with WD-40 in its engine oil tank, and nothing seemed to be going horribly wrong.
Life OD, who was making the video, confidently declared to his peers, “Dude, I don’t think it’s ever going to blow!” Then, they returned to the garage where their friends were waiting, and announced, “It’s legit, dude.” Unfortunately, that was about as good as things got for them.
9. Additional Testing
These boys weren’t done at all. They continued to drive around the area, wondering how long the car would actually last. To their credit, no matter how much success they thought they had, they weren’t about to leave any stone unturned.
If they were going to tell the world that WD-40 could actually be a legitimate substitute for engine oil, they needed to make sure they had tested it thoroughly. And it’s a good thing that they did, too — because they were about to discover how problematic their experiment actually was.
10. Hello, Smoke
As quickly as their fortune came, our trusty companions were soon in hot water. It wasn’t long before they heard a painful groaning sound from the engine. The driver acknowledged, “Oh, she’s struggling,” while Life OD said that he was smelling something “weird.”
Before any of them could say anything else, there was actual smoke rising from the hood of the car. They all immediately started screaming, but not just out of panic. They were feeling pure exhilaration, and for some reason they weren’t afraid of a little smoke.
11. No Surrender
Danger is danger, right? You would think that after the front of your car starts smoking, you would end the experiment right then and there. After all, using WD-40 as engine oil is entering uncharted territory, and therefore it’s quite difficult to predict what’s going to happen.
The car was telling them that they should probably stop what they were doing, because there was no telling what was about to happen. So how did these young men respond? Instead of taking the safe route, they decided to push the car even further.
12. Using A Lead Pipe
So how were these boys planning on taking the car to its absolute limit? By using a lead pipe, of course. Their plan was pretty simple, even if it was also extremely dangerous. They would drive the car to a secluded location, put it in park, and then exit the car.
Then, they would turn on the engine, and place the lead pipe in between the gas pedal and the front seat, essentially “flooring it” without the help of a driver. It seemed like it would be able to get the job done. But was this plan safe?
13. Some New Predictions
Since they were about to take things up a notch, they naturally had to make a bunch of new predictions. How long was the car going to last this time? Life OD, leader of the project, declared, “This is it, this is where she meets her end.”
His trusty friend predicted that the car would last ten minutes. Another friend was a lot more conservative, saying it would only last four. In order to know who the winner was for sure, they recorded the whole thing on their smartphones.
14. A Public Gathering
It turns out that these guys were kind of a big deal in that particular area. Once word got out that they were about to engage in some dangerous car experiment, a large group of friends came by to watch.
It became a spectacle, and some of them were wondering if perhaps the car would manage to surprise them. This would be the final test of WD-40, and they were all there to bear witness. But once things got started, something happened that gave them all a shock.
15. Too Loud For Human Ears
Once they put the lead pipe into place and turned the engine on, they quickly ran away from the car, unsure of what was about to happen. Immediately, a piercing sound entered the air, one that was incredibly loud and uncomfortable to listen to.
They were all shocked and alarmed by the strange, aggressive sound the engine was persistently making. Perhaps they needed to backpedal on their plans, and turn off the engine for good. But would it be too dangerous to get closer?
16. Catching Fire
But before any of them could make a decision, they noticed something terrifying near one of the back wheels of the car. It seemed to be a flare up, a small pocket of fire emerging from the back of the vehicle.
At this point, running back to the car to turn off the engine was simply out of the question. The only thing they could do at this point was to stay far away, and hope for the best. After all, they still wanted to see what was going to happen (wouldn’t you??).
17. Boom!
Not long after the back tires had flared up, the front hood exploded in a dramatic fashion, high flames and all! The group of friends and their adoring crowd started going crazy, both scared and exhilarated at the same time.
Were they witnessing a legitimate car explosion in front of their eyes? And if they were, why weren’t they getting as far away from there as they could? It seemed like their curiosity was just as strong as their fear.
18. The Fluctuating Fire
Here’s where it gets interesting. Even though there was a monumental fire emerging from the front of the car, the engine was still going strong. This kept everyone focused in wonder, and yet also utterly terrified at the same time.
The roaring fire had already gotten pretty big and chaotic, and all signs suggested that things were about to escalate even further. But then, all of the sudden, the engine started to relax, and the fire dwindled. Was this the official end of their adventure?
19. The Big Bang
Just as everyone thought the fire was about to relax, it immediately did the exact opposite. A massive explosion unfolded in front of them all, and the result was sheer pandemonium. The car had officially been destroyed for good, and there were pieces flying everywhere.
Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt from the chaos, but they were naturally scared by the whole ordeal. Once the dust had settled, however, everyone wanted to know the answer to the million dollar question: Can WD-40 serve as a substitute for engine oil? Also, who was the winner of the prediction game?
20. The Intense Aftermath
Once the rubble had settled, the entire gang all hopped into their respective cars and started talking about the event. It had taken the car approximately three minutes and 25 seconds to explode, making the person who had predicted four minutes the clear winner.
As they were driving back home, they kept expressing their excitement with loud phrases like “that was dope!” and “that was intense!” Clearly these young adults were running on adrenaline at this point. However, they did learn one important thing.
21. His Recommendation
After all that craziness, it was finally time for Life OD to give his verdict. He and his friends had embarked on a mission to answer the following question: Can WD-40 be used as a serviceable substitute for engine oil?
After all that had transpired, Life OD’s conclusion was quite transparent: “Sorta. Kinda. Not really. Wouldn’t recommend it.” Well, at least he was being honest! But he wasn’t done with his concluding statement. In fact, he had some gifts to give out.
22. He Knows His Cars
There’s something important we should note about Life OD, the maker of this video. You might think his choices are a bit reckless, but he’s far from an amateur. To any average Joe off the street, his decision to substitute engine oil with WD-40 might seem a little bit crazy.
But what many of his diehard followers know quite well is that he’s actually somewhat of an expert in cars. Therefore, he was able to control the situation a lot better than people realized. And this is how he learned it all.
23. Pro Racer
Life OD, whose real name is actually Orion, is actually an up-and-coming professional racer. With 778,000 YouTube subscribers and counting, his popularity has been growing leaps and bounds by the day. Sure, he’s also known for his crazy experiments that he conducts on cars.
However, thanks to his racing career, his fans are confident that he actually knows what he’s doing in his videos. Of course, some commenters were viciously critical of him and his friends for what they had done in this story.
24. Shots Fired
In this day and age, one can’t just post a YouTube video and expect everyone to be nice about it. YouTube commenters are some of the most critically brutal people on the planet, and they made no exceptions for Life OD.
One commenter wrote, “WD-40 is NOT formulated as a high temperature oil. It is a ‘Penetrating Oil,’ used to free up frozen parts.” They reasoned that perhaps WD-40 can be used as engine oil in case of an emergency, but certainly not as a consistent solution.
25. Some More Points To Make
Another commenter on YouTube wrote, “So it overheated and caught on fire, just like it would have if it was normal oil.” This person felt as though they treated the car horribly, and that the WD-40 shouldn’t be blamed for the car’s explosion.
Another person seemed to be thinking along the same lines, declaring: “I think it would have blown under that abuse with any engine oil.” Whoever you choose to believe, one thing’s for certain. You probably shouldn’t try this at home!
Sources: YouTube, University Fox