Anyone heard of substituting one quart of cheap ATF when doing an oil change? Someone told me it would help the engine, but I can't remember why? What would that do?

 

Seems like crazy talk to me, esp with all the additives in ATF now. Probably some very old school way to clean an engine.
If you want clean oil, just change it more often.

 

now I've heard it all :-)
for how long is that engine supposed to run after (i mean after that change)? until it's starting to make noise?

Kalli

 

OK, I'll date myself. It is a way that we used to clean out the old junk (STP and stuff) in the engine. If we bought a used car........we would put in one quart of ATF in the oil, run it for a couple days and then drain. You would be suprised at how clean it became. Its like if you have really dirty hands, clean them first with aft and then the soap and water. Very surprising!

 

So I did some more research, and it seems that ATF has mineral oil and is like a solvent. It is supposed to clean out deposits in an old engine. The risk is that if too mich gunk gets loose to can clog the pickup screen, and or hurt bearings.
My dilemma is that the engine has not been run in 18 years. It seems to have been well maintained by the PO before being parked. I am thinking of putting in one quart ATF in my first oil batch and running the engine about an hour or two and then doing a change to full strength oil. I already pulled the oil pan and it was fairly clean. Pickup looks good. The old oil I drained a few months back was not white or milky. Would this be a bad idea? The guy I talked to runs a quart of ATF full time, and has no problems. (also a high mileage I6 200 '67) Hmmm....

 

Wow, I had a hard time switching mindsets from guns to cars, because for those of us into firearms, ATF means something considerably more scary.

(Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms)

 

if the engine wasn't run for ages someone gave me a tip that'll helps splash around the oil a bit. if it actually works i do not know.
get rid of distributor and attach a drill to the oil pump shaft and drill counterclockwise. This will run the oilpump. i mean it will not get anything on the moving parts, like say between pistons and wall and between cam and lifter. but at least you'll have oild everywhere before you start ... don't know if it's a good idea or no. never tried.

Kalli

 

If you've already determined the engine isn't full of gunk, then why take steps to de-gunk it? I think you're more likely to have problems with sticky rings, valves, etc. For that, I'd recommend you to add SeaFoam to your gas.

I've also heard of pouring ATF into the carb (very slowly, with engine running) as a method to unstick valves. This method produces LOTS of smoke.

 

ATF is a high-detergent oil, which helps clean the engine out. While not a horrible thing (I've done it before), there are better methods of firing up an engine that hasn't been started in a while.

What you should do is change all of the fluids and substitute a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil into the oil change. Also, squirt a bit of MMO into each spark plug hole to help lube the rings up. Pull the distributor and valve cover and prime the oil pump until you can see oil coming out of the rockers, then slap everything together and fire it up. Change the oil again after it's run for a bit, assuming everything's ok. My bet, though, is that the timing cover and rear main seals will probably be hard and leaky after 18 years.

 

never head of ATF in the oil, although i know shoddy car dealers would put about 1 or 2 table spoons brake fluid in the oil and it would stop leaks.... and a whole bunch of other things from working...