Hey, is it really safe to put ATF in your gas tank to clean you engine internals. i read this on one of the other threads. does it really work. and how good does it work?

Never heard this before.

Guarrenteed to blow a lot of smoke after you've done it!

Only place I'd use ATF is in the Auto trans or as Damper oil in SU's.

Get some real gas additive. ATF only works in diesels......

A gas engine doesn't have enough combustion chamber temp to burn it completely so it won't do a bit of good, unless you want to leave a little red streak on the pavement behind you....It will onlu foul your plugs and cause you more problems than you had ot begin with.

It was posted by one of the other members Vodkaboy

It in the engine forum and is a thread called "87 octane fuel" started by xkiethx.

But thanks for telling me guys.

ATF is a 10 weight oil with HIGH detergent properties, diesels run oil in thier gas as was mentioned, we dont

It has been used to clean engine internals (like Marvels Mystery Oil), as well as some other things like Kerosene. Often though these are for hydraulic lifter cars when the lifters 'stick' from low oil or etc, there should be enough detergent in most modern oils that it shouldn't be needed. I sometimes run a bit now and again, some people are for it, some against it.

holy crap thats a bad idea!

these guys are right 100%.

If it means automatic transmission fluid, why would somebody want to put it in the fuel tank?!?

Nate:cross-eye

Marvel Mystery oil yes ATF no. Mystery oil used as directed on the can will not hurt a thing . I use it every year to winterize my inboard to treat the cylinders. If you use a good quality oil in the engine and change it regularly and the engine is tuned properly there should me no reason to put any in the crankcase. I change the oil and filter at 3000 miles and use Quaker State 10-30 . I have heard of people using kerosene and oil as a flush , I would never do it .

everyonce in a while, when i do an oilchange i run the car for a while to get the oil nice and hot. drain, remove filter. add new filter add 4qts of atf, let the car run (idle) for about 30min. then drain. add another new filter and add motor oil. my dad, and several other mechanics recomended it to me 'cause it's supposed to clean the motor out.

it's cool.

ATF in the crankcase is an even worse idea than putting it in the gas tank.

Not only are you contaminating your new engine oil with ATF after you drain it, you are running the engine with an oil that is not of the proper viscosity in the first place.

In the old days of poured babbit bearing and loose tolerances in the bearings, you might be able to get away with this, but any engine built in the last 40 years won't last long doing this. Too much heat buildup in the bearings even running it for 30 minutes like this.... Not only that, but ATF will not stick to the cylinder walls to lubricate the rings.

I suggest you not do this anymore.:cross-eye

There are oil additives you can use that will do the same thing as what you are trying to do and it can be left in the crankcase with the new engine oil.

It used to be done quite a lot.

It's not done much any more.

I do not do it.

For some reason I do not like the idea of breaking crud loose in the engine and having it move around and hopefully come out in the "right" place...

I worked with a guy that bought a brand new ford and it was burning oil , he took it back to the dealer and complained and complained . The oil consumption was a quart every 2,000 miles. Well he kept asking different people about it and not waiting for the new rings to seat . Finely he asked another " mechanic" about it and he said " o hell the rings are just too hard, just mix about 1/2 cup of kitchen clenser to a qt of gas and slowly pour it down the carb keeping the engine running at about 2000 rpm ". Well it fixed the "hard" rings all right the engine smoked and went to burning 1qt every 600 miles and he ended up pulling the engine. Be careful dumping stuff in the engines that were not ment for that purpose. Good quality oil needs no help if you keep it clean. :classic:

The only time I have heard of using ATF in fuel is when you are creating a "race fuel" mixture. I have used this in the Talon before. Basically, you mix one gallon of Xylene (harware store in the paint section) with 3 gallons of premium gas, and add one capful of ATF as a buffer. Not sure what the ATF as a "buffer" does (if anyone knows, please feel free to comment), but the Xylene/premium mixture yields about 100 octane. If you use Tolulene instead of Xylene, then the ATF is not needed, but it yields only slightly lower ocatane. Aparently, Xylene is a main ingredient of Tolulene, which is a main ingredient in the gasoline that you buy at the pumps nowdays. I believe that pure Xylene has an octane rating of somewhere between 117-121 if I remember correctly. This mixture is used as a cheaper alternative to race gas, and has NO use on the street. I have used it to race the Talon, because the higher octane allows more boost without knock. Just adding it to your tank yields no power gains (same as race gas), unless you are planning on upping boost pressure, advancing timing, etc. The gains come from tuning with high octane, not from the higher octane fuel itself.

Anyhow, take it for what its worth.