so i was talking to my neighbor the other day. hes a backyard mechanic and the dude knows his ****.
he was tellin me that a buddy of his used tranny fluid to clean his engine.. like to flush dirt out and stuff and that it worked really well.. he explained to me that automatic tranny fluid has so many detergents and cleaners that it cleans out pretty well..
he just told me that if i were to use it to drain the old oil. put in the ATF and just let the car idle for about 10 min and then drain that and then put the oil in there...

any of you guys heard of this? or anything like it?

It's actually pretty common especially among older mechanics/car guys. I've never heard of REPLACING engine oil with it, I've only ever heard of adding a quart or so to the engine oil before an oil change..

I probably wouldn't do it personally, though.

vinegar is a weak acid so while it works on dirt it also works on connector contacts, etc. I wouldn't use it anywhere I can't wash off completely (no smell).

i always added a little seafoam before an oil change if i felt it was sludgy. i had a motor i seafoamed blow a headgasket (not the seafoam) so i pulled it apart and it was clean on the inside. but hey, if you use decent oil and change it on time i dont think this is much of a concern. unless you own a mercedes. every time i change the oil in one it's extremely sludgy. maby it's just dumb rich people not changing oil

yeah.. u think it would screw somethin up?
im kinda thinkin about doin it next oil change.
ive already done the seafoam oil treatment.. and idk.. i dont rele notice a difference in the feel of the car. the oil is staying clean. i mean. it looks normal. haha. im not even sure. im just kinda curious to see if it does anything..

i think that ATF isint any thinner then motor oil.

eh, personally i wouldnt do it. if you want to flush your engine, you can go to a oil change place or flush it yourself. they have a flush liquid made from soybean or some other bean, i had to get it done a couple years ago when i had some engine sludge and there was a huge difference after

Do a search on engine flushing and you'll see that its not a good idea.. I dont know about that tranny fluid thing, but I wouldn't bother. Change oil on time, a little seafoam once in a blue moon, and leave it at that.

alright i got u guys..
i prolly wont bother then.
i appreciate the feedback as always

Quite commonly done, due to the high levels of detergants in trans fluids.

ATF is ~30 weight engine oil, at least in viscosity.

Add a litre, idle for 20 minutes, drain.

Well, I mean, if you want to flush your engine.. They sell actual engine flush kits. So why bother with doing the ATF "trick"? It'd be one thing if actual flush products weren't available

Personally, the only people I've come across who still do this are hillbillys with dirt track "race kawz"...

easy there tiger...

While in theory the engine flush seems like a task that should be performed from time to time, not everyone agrees that the flush is effective. While it is generally acknowledged that an engine flush is helpful in low mileage vehicles that have not had the oil changed as often as recommended, some professional mechanics question the effectiveness of the flush with high mileage vehicles. The idea is that the buildup of sludge and deposits in the older engine may be more than the chemicals in the flush can process, resulting in making a bad situation worse. Instead of using an engine flush, they recommend that the engine be dismantled and the components thoroughly cleaned, assuming the engine is still in working order.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-engine-flush.htm

Yeah my father in law (40+years automotive pro. exp.), has suggested putting 4 oz. in crankcase to get rid of lifter tap. It really works good and everyone knows these Max's are known 4 lifter tap at start up in cold for about a couple of seconds. Flushing out crankcase/tranny is never a good idea on anything with high mileage, I don't believe in using seafoam in the crankcase either, seafoam works well for intake cleaning though. Try just 4oz.'s of tranny fluid before you dump your oil, just 4oz.'s though, no more.

I only speak the truth

VEvolution.. yeah, I wouldn't personally do an engine flush, as I know none of my cars are in need of one. I was just saying if somebody was dead-set on doing an engine flush, they could just use an actual engine flush product rather than some "trick"

is the soybean one bad though? i looked it up after i got it done and theres no harsh chemicals, just natural flushing stuff.

i barely remember when it happened, but i think i was at 390,000km at the time and i rode out regular oil until 5000km, after the flush i switched to full synthetic every 3000km

Here's the skinny guys...If you change your oil regularly, then you don't need to flush/clean your engine with anything...

If you neglect your oil changes, then yes, a flush here-n-there may help keep it clean..

If your oil is unusually black/dark colored after 3000 miles...then you have other issues going on, most likely some blow by due to worn piston rings..

yeah i definetly got sum blowby goin on. haha. my oil kinda smells like exhaust.. it stays a dark amber color though

are you referring to Auto RX?

i cant even remember what it was called now lol

My $.02

The seals and gaskets in the engine are not designed to withstand the chemicals in the transmission fluid. There is a risk of damage to the seals and then developing a leak. I have witnessed more than one engine developing a leak around valve seals after using a flush before oil changes. Granted those were older V8's and technology has improved over the last 20 years.

i have heard of the atf. i work at a nissan dealer and we use a flush kit made by bg maybe u can try ur local dealer to see if they carry it i have used it alot and it really works

idk man.. im not in THAT much of a need of a flush.. atleast i dont think so.. lol
dealership= hella $$$

and i was thinking that maybe flushing out the engine can blow seals like i have heard happening on trannys sooo.. it makes sense..

I've used ATF for years....

for older cars, then I drive the car until it's a quart low (usually about 3000 miles), then add a quart of ATF and change the oil at 5000 miles. do that for a couple changes and all is well.

For newer cars, just change at 5000 miles and don't worry about it until the car has at least 100k miles on it.

the problem with flushing out an old engine or transmission is that the seals are worn but its all the old gunk & junk that keeps them from leaking. Everyone likes to blame the flush but all it did was its job. I use ATF on a lot of things as a penetrating oil (both automotive and non) because of all the detergent chemicals.
.
As to its "weight", I've never heard of one but I seriously doubt that it is like SAE 30. Give this a try - put some engine oil and some ATF in your freezer for a few hours and then try to pour out some of both. If ATF was like 30 weight, your transmission wouldn't shift.

When was the last time you drove a 3 gen auto when it was below freezing? that sucker does NOT want to shift until it's run for a few minutes to warm up.

If I had to guess at viscosity, I'd say more like a 5w20 or 0w20 or something like that.. It's pretty thin when it's cold, and still about as thin when it's hot.

My bad, I was thinking of gear oil.

Source: http://www.imperialoil.ca/Canada-Eng...ex_III_Mer.pdf

Viscosity

Esso ATF DEXRON®-III / MERCON® is
available in one grade. Compared to SAE 5W-20
engine oils and SAE 75W-80W gear oils, it has
about the same high temperature viscosity with
approximately a 5°C fluidity advantage in the low

temperature operating range.

hahah.. just when the car is cold it dosent want to shift..

i guess if matt does it then it cant be THAT bad..
ill prolly let it ride until it burn a little more oil.. i just put some oil in her today and since i dont have an odometer.. lol.. i cant tell if ive hit 3000 or 5000 miles

so have we ruled out the part about flushing the old oil out and replacing it with all ATF and letting the car idle for a few minutes and then replacing the ATF with new oil?

I wouldn't do that myself. (and I'm the Maxima GOD, so listen to what I have to say or :matt93se: )
How long has it been since last oil change? and how much do you drive a day? just do some guesses... (my work is 40 miles each way, so that's 400 miles a week. add 100 for random crap cause I live in the sticks and I drive 2000 miles a month..)

also keep in mind oil lasts roughly 4-5 months on its detergends package once it's placed in an engine and exposed to operating temps, unburned fuel, and oxygen. as soon as it does that, the detergents start breaking down and they last 3-4-5-6 months depending on weather and conditions.

if it's been more than 3 months since you last changed it, I'd stick a quart of aTF in it (hell run it a quart high if the pan is full... you won't hurt anyhting. my engine didn't run weird until I had 10 qts of oil in it... ) run it a week or so of daily driving (500 miles or 2 tanks of gas or whatever), and then change it.

howzat? we're dealing with opinions, horseshoes, and hand grenades here.

well these past few weeks ive barely been riving. i change my oil about last month maybe.
i dive maybe 8 miles to work and back. prolly not even that.. wich is prolly not the best for my engine.. its always warming up... when it gets to operating temp im already halfway to my house. lol.

but alright matt.. ill put quart of atf in a few weeks when i change my oil

you should drive more.. take it on the highway and open that puppy up

well. i make my weekly 30 mile trip to a car meet and i usually open her up there.. aside from that i just go to work and home.

yep its good to get on the highway every once in a while to get nasties out of your engine and such, i usually go on the highway Sunday nights and get it up to 150 for 15 minutes since i as well only do city driving and rarely go over 100

150mph?!
wtf.. lol. u must be ****tin me..

EDIT: i forgot youre canadian.. lolz.. kph right? not mph

of course km/h lol. theres a highway here with no speed limit so i just let er rip. i rip nearly every night on city roads for a hour or two and just cruise to see whats good as well. in the last 2 years, ive put 42,000km on it

now that the engines rebuilt im comfortable going around 160, before i wouldnt do more than 120

just use good oil and chg your oil regularly @ 3000-4000 and the oil will clean you engine as it should anyway......buying a used car that has been neglected and has sludge buildup maybe a little ATF could loosen and clean it but I wouldn't make it a habit doing that.......I'm a big Pennzoil and Royal Purple fan ...all the engines I disassembled and inspected always really looked good on the interior and it's bearing surfaces that were using Pennzoil....

ive done almost 170 kph or about 105 mph before..
my max is stout

yeah my car is used. i bought it for hella cheap. and i have no clue how many miles it has on it or if the oil changes were neglected or not. so i think i wanna do this