ATF in the gas tank?

[earlyre]

did a search before posting, last i could find was a short thread back in '09.
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/atf-in-the-gas-tank.103585/

working @ the gas station today, older(than me, maybe 60) guy, driving a fairly new Ram, after filling up, comes in and buys a qt of Multi-purpose ATF (Dex/Merc). i look @ him, then out @ the Truck, mention something along the lines of "That's not the one you want for your truck, chrysler products need ATF+4"
he replies: "putting it in the gas. it's an old school trick"
didn't say what the supposed, or desired effect was...
anyone feel like weighing in?

 

[Recalculating]

Just can't imagine how that was to make the transmission run smoother.

 

[Errtt]

Years ago, K-5 Blazer, when I did oil changes I also did the tranny. Lot of off road duty back then.
With the accumulation on used fluids, I gave the tank a dose of used AFT. If getting the dose to strong, the plug insulators would turn a little red'ish color.
I mainly did it to get rid of the used tranny fluid. Used engine oil I was able to get rid of at work since we had a Haz Waste used oil tank & it was okay's by management.
The used ATF didn't seem to affect the engine on how it ran. Wouldn't know if it would have done any good either. Since it was a Blazer booney crasher, I had no problem doing it (ATF in gas tank).

 

[Clevy]

Maybe old school upper cylinder lube,but today we have stuff made special for that so there is absolutely ZERO gain in using a product not formulated for that application.

 

[GreeCguy]

Back in the day, my Father in law had a '68 Caddy that he would dose with a quart of tranny fluid every couple of hundred miles. He swore it cleaned the combustion chamber and lubed the carb. I don't know if it helped or did nothing at all, but he finally retired the car with 212,000 miles on the clock because of a broken timing chain and body rot.

 

[GreeCguy]

Looking back, he should have used Marvel Mystery Oil, but that's a horse of a different color.

 

[Cujet]

Without objective data, I'm not sure I'd add an specifically engineered transmission oil to the fuel tank. Even in diesel engines, ATF does not improve injector wear issues, in fact, makes the problem worse, and this is backed up by HFRR testing. It seems that seriously diluted ATF is an insufficient lubricant.

About the only thing this guy accomplished is to lower his octane a bit. Or possibly carbon up his valves and ring lands, along with getting a bit of ATF dilution in his engine oil.

 

[Falken]

He was just trying to do it as a UCL and cleaner.

This is why many BITOGERS use TC-W3 rated 2T oil in the gas tank.

Only, TC-W3 works.

 

[JHZR2]

I doubt that the viscosity of ATF and tcw-3 are that far off...

 

[chubbs1]

Use some MMO or TC-W3 if you just have to use something as a UCL. There are a lot of "old timers" that have habits that they cant break. Engines as well as technology have changed markedly in the last two decades. Just try MMO, it is a pretty good, safe product.

 

[Donald]

Maybe if it was diesel. The old-school cars did not have cats to worry about.

ATF in the transmission and maybe transfer case.

Gas in the gas tank.

 

[Coprolite]

Nobody noted that the guy bought it after filling up. If you want to add something to your gas, do it before you fill so it mixes. So he loses on two counts...

 

[MrQuackers]

The tank sloshes the fuel around while you drive anyway. I usually estimate and add TC-W3 before I drive off to get a fill-up, but I do not think it is that critical (before/after)

 

[147_Grain]

In the old days, used ATF helped lube and clean-up the carburetor, the backs of the valves, and the combustion chamber. Debris / contaminants in used ATF today would be hard on the injectors and shouldn't be used.

TCW-3 is the simplest and best stuff for an upper cylinder lubricant and it burns cleaner than new ATF. Walmart's SuperTech TCW-3 is only $12.97 per gallon and an outstanding value for the dollar. Use about 3-oz's per 10-gallons of fuel in the gas tank.

 

[Trajan]

Originally Posted By: 147_Grain
In the old days, used ATF helped lube and clean-up the carburetor, the backs of the valves, and the combustion chamber. Debris / contaminants in used ATF today would be hard on the injectors and shouldn't be used.

TCW-3 is the simplest and best stuff for an upper cylinder lubricant and it burns cleaner than new ATF. Walmart's SuperTech TCW-3 is only $12.97 per gallon and an outstanding value for the dollar. Use about 3-oz's per 10-gallons of fuel in the gas tank.


Except for the Supertech smell. Actually, it's 1oz/5 gallons. Which makes it much cheaper than MMO. (Which is 2oz/5 gallons)

 

[Falken]

I'm very happy with Canadian Tire Formula 1 TC-W3.

It is made by Shell, and has no smell to it at all.

Very easy to use with old Gumout bottles.

 

[Ken2]

Quote:
"putting it in the gas. it's an old school trick"
ATF has been anointed with all sorts of mystical properties. The fact is that it is actually a light hydraulic oil with some specific additives in it. Among those additives are the dispersants which are metallic salts. These form abrasive ash when burned...'cuz they aren't intended to be burned. There are no detergents in ATF, because is isn't subject to the crud of blowby like engine oil is. And the detergents and dispersants in engine oil are designed to burn without being abrasive.

Put ATF in the transmission or into the recycle barrel. Not into fuel.

 

[tightwad]

Originally Posted By: Ken2
Quote:
"putting it in the gas. it's an old school trick"
ATF has been anointed with all sorts of mystical properties. The fact is that it is actually a light hydraulic oil with some specific additives in it. Among those additives are the dispersants which are metallic salts. These form abrasive ash when burned...'cuz they aren't intended to be burned. There are no detergents in ATF, because is isn't subject to the crud of blowby like engine oil is. And the detergents and dispersants in engine oil are designed to burn without being abrasive.

Put ATF in the transmission or into the recycle barrel. Not into fuel.


Absolutely correct. The ash can eventually foul the spark plugs.

 

[snofarmer]

I'll get slammed for posting the same info "again"

" And the detergents and dispersants in engine oil are designed to burn without being abrasive."
What about before they are "burned" fuel /injector-pumps and injectors are expensive.

According to the U.S. Army's quarterly fuel and lubricant bulletin (March 1994), laboratory testing using the Ball-on-cylinder lubricity evaluation (BOCLE) had shown that the addition of ATF to a low sulfur fuel does not improve the fuel's lubricity rating. Moreover, the presence of ATF in fuel can adversely affect other performance properties of diesel fuel

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: MrQuackers
The tank sloshes the fuel around while you drive anyway. I usually estimate and add TC-W3 before I drive off to get a fill-up, but I do not think it is that critical (before/after)


My charger has 2 tanks. One over each tire. If I don't add fuel additives right away only 1 tank gets treated.
Best to add first then fuel up