ATF to clean your engine?!
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Super Member
Joined: Jun 2008
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From: Las Vegas, NV
I drive a Toyota Hybrid...
ATF to clean your engine?!
sorry this might be troll question 
but I was at my friend's house the other day he was doing oil change for his 1986 300ZX, then i saw him pouring 1 quart of ATF in his engine and start driving, i was like WTF!!?
he drive until all the ATF is burned out then he will start pouring his motor oil in it, he said the ATF can help burn all the dirty stuff in your engine..
anyone else heard about this?
but I was at my friend's house the other day he was doing oil change for his 1986 300ZX, then i saw him pouring 1 quart of ATF in his engine and start driving, i was like WTF!!?
he drive until all the ATF is burned out then he will start pouring his motor oil in it, he said the ATF can help burn all the dirty stuff in your engine..anyone else heard about this?
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From: Corona, CA
03 g35 coupe...........02 c32 Sold
lol.... he must hate his car. Just put techron in your fuel and it does the same thing without damaging your engine. If you want to go more extreme, you can use seafoam.
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09 E350 W4M
Congrats, you just found out you've been hanging out with a moron. Ask him if he has any scientific data to back up his claim. That alone should put the whole thing to rest. Too man old wife tales out there with absolutely no scientific basis.
All the detergent you need is in the engine oil. Most of this crap like Auto RX and Seafoam is just psychological stuff, the placebo effect basically, they don't do jack ****. All the testimonials about them are about how "Oh yea the engine sounds better" or "feels better" etc. without a single scientific data to back it up. It's just to make OCD car owners feel warm and fuzzy inside.
I agree with running Chevron Techron or Shell gasoline regularly as they appear to have the most potent detergent add pack around, that is if you're really worried about it.
All the detergent you need is in the engine oil. Most of this crap like Auto RX and Seafoam is just psychological stuff, the placebo effect basically, they don't do jack ****. All the testimonials about them are about how "Oh yea the engine sounds better" or "feels better" etc. without a single scientific data to back it up. It's just to make OCD car owners feel warm and fuzzy inside.
I agree with running Chevron Techron or Shell gasoline regularly as they appear to have the most potent detergent add pack around, that is if you're really worried about it.
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
No ATF in engines!!! What crap. There are no detergents in ATF so there is not even a glimmer of possibility that it could clean anything.
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GMC - Miata - Trek - P-Car
Jordan! Didn’t that urban legend die decades ago?
Pretty sure Mr. Ruck would chime in with the straight scoop.
Ask the ’86 300ZX pilot how ATF is supposed to “help burn all the dirty stuff in your engine” when in its intended usage it’s never exposed to combustion byproducts.
Better yet, find yourself some slightly more savvy car friends.
Pretty sure Mr. Ruck would chime in with the straight scoop.
Ask the ’86 300ZX pilot how ATF is supposed to “help burn all the dirty stuff in your engine” when in its intended usage it’s never exposed to combustion byproducts.
Better yet, find yourself some slightly more savvy car friends.
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From: Huntington Beach, Ca.
'17 Jaguar XF
A quart! He's lucky he didn't hydrolock his engine. edit: I just realized you mean he mixed it with the oil.
I still don't see how it could do any good other than to dilute the motor oil.
Last edited by mleskovar; Dec 19, 2009 at 10:20 PM.
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From: California
E55 AMG
I had a W210 E320 that was pinging. One thing you can do is drop 1 quart of engine oil and replace with with 1 quart of ATF. drive it 500 miles. Then do an oil change. The ATF will clean out whatever is causing the pinging and fix it. That's what I did and that's what fixed it. A master MB and Porsche mechanic told me that trick. He's a member of this board, known as Mark Cummins. Can't mess with Mark's knowledge I tell you!
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From: SoCal. Desert
'16 E350, gone: '03 c230k
^^ +1 on what Godfather said - I was told by a respected mechanic it helps clean out the engine and keep the seals fresh. I've never done this myself though, so can't vouch for it. Supposed to add it the the old oil (asuming you're ~ a qt low before changing oil) and run for 10~15 minutes then drain. I read thru this thread thinking kira's friend maybe got confused(?) about draining adding the ATF to the old oil vs. running it by itself...?
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09 E350 W4M
Mechanics are just that, Mechanics. They're not Engineers. Recommending what lubricant to put in the engine is best left to the Engineers who designed it. All major manufacturers strictly warn against putting any other crap in to the engine other than the proper oil.
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09 E350 W4M
I think 50K miles is OK if you are not extremely hard on the tranny. MB says in my manual to change the tranny oil only once but to me oil is cheap insurance against a transmission failure so I'll be changing mine again at 100K.
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Change Auto tansmission fluid every 39,000 miles or 60,000 Km - That's what Benz do in ROW.
Don't put ATF in the engine oil either. I won't clean anything & it certainly can't stop pinging.
EDIT - the only muck in your engine that could cause knock or pinging it a piece of incandescent carbon in the combustion chamber - adding things to the sump oil cannot effect this.
Don't put ATF in the engine oil either. I won't clean anything & it certainly can't stop pinging.
EDIT - the only muck in your engine that could cause knock or pinging it a piece of incandescent carbon in the combustion chamber - adding things to the sump oil cannot effect this.
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; Dec 20, 2009 at 01:22 PM.
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
All putting ATF into engine oil achieves is a drop in viscisity & screwing with the additive balance. It could potentially cause air entrainment in the oil or foaming. It will have no effect on seals/elastomers.
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; Dec 21, 2009 at 08:20 AM.
