TLDR: was in a rush and used an old gun with 5 year DOT3 residue for Auto-Trak II on NP246 plus 40% of that Auto-Trak was 10 years old – what potential issues could a paranoid person expect – should I replace it or leave it?
MORE DETAIL: had a long weekend full of maintenance on my 07 Suburban 2500, replaced a whole bunch of parts and fluids in 2 days, then finally changed the transfer case fluid in my NP246. By the time I got to the t-case it was late Sunday afternoon, so I found out that no local parts stores keep Auto-Trak II in stock, while the dealers were closed, but I got lucky at NAPA and bought their last 2 bottles, score. Had a fair share of setbacks through the project as is and, of course, the final one was the worst one.
They say, “nothing good ever comes out of hurry and frustration - only misery”, oh how true. My old pump that I've used for ATF before refused to work and wasted half a bottle of unobtanium Auto-Trak II, so I got desperate and searched my shop for a replacement, came across a nice big suction gun that I got from NAPA many years ago. I also found an old sealed bottle of Auto-Trak II from about 10 years ago. So I’ve used both of them to just get it done. Then I got to thinking…
I’m pretty sure that the big old suction gun I last used about 5 or more years ago for DOT3 fluid, it seemed dry inside, but who knows. I just now looked up some DOT3 MSDS and it seems that it has only 0.01 evaporation rate. Some forums also mention old DOT3 jelling with time. So now I have a concern that I might have contaminated my Auto-Trak fluid with old DOT3. On top of that, I now have doubts about 3/4 quart of the 10-year-old Auto-Trak that I’ve used in addition to the 1 new quart, it was in a sealed bottle, but old enough that it had no new-style foil seal, just a screw cap that wasn’t broken open. Theoretically, ATF should have a good shelf life, but it was stored in a shop for 10 years with ambient temperatures ranging from 30* to 100* and plenty of humidity in the air.
What do you all think? Should it stay or should it go? What could possibly get messed up in a transfer case by DOT3 residue and 40% of fluid being 10 years old? Debating about draining it all again and refilling. This truck usually gets the best of everything and needs to be reliable. But hoping maybe someone could talk me into keeping it as is. But I don’t want to mess up my nice expensive transfer case. Thoughts?
MORE DETAIL: had a long weekend full of maintenance on my 07 Suburban 2500, replaced a whole bunch of parts and fluids in 2 days, then finally changed the transfer case fluid in my NP246. By the time I got to the t-case it was late Sunday afternoon, so I found out that no local parts stores keep Auto-Trak II in stock, while the dealers were closed, but I got lucky at NAPA and bought their last 2 bottles, score. Had a fair share of setbacks through the project as is and, of course, the final one was the worst one.
They say, “nothing good ever comes out of hurry and frustration - only misery”, oh how true. My old pump that I've used for ATF before refused to work and wasted half a bottle of unobtanium Auto-Trak II, so I got desperate and searched my shop for a replacement, came across a nice big suction gun that I got from NAPA many years ago. I also found an old sealed bottle of Auto-Trak II from about 10 years ago. So I’ve used both of them to just get it done. Then I got to thinking…
I’m pretty sure that the big old suction gun I last used about 5 or more years ago for DOT3 fluid, it seemed dry inside, but who knows. I just now looked up some DOT3 MSDS and it seems that it has only 0.01 evaporation rate. Some forums also mention old DOT3 jelling with time. So now I have a concern that I might have contaminated my Auto-Trak fluid with old DOT3. On top of that, I now have doubts about 3/4 quart of the 10-year-old Auto-Trak that I’ve used in addition to the 1 new quart, it was in a sealed bottle, but old enough that it had no new-style foil seal, just a screw cap that wasn’t broken open. Theoretically, ATF should have a good shelf life, but it was stored in a shop for 10 years with ambient temperatures ranging from 30* to 100* and plenty of humidity in the air.
What do you all think? Should it stay or should it go? What could possibly get messed up in a transfer case by DOT3 residue and 40% of fluid being 10 years old? Debating about draining it all again and refilling. This truck usually gets the best of everything and needs to be reliable. But hoping maybe someone could talk me into keeping it as is. But I don’t want to mess up my nice expensive transfer case. Thoughts?
