howdy, my tranny has been leaking slowly for the past 2 weeks. i have 2 simple questions. i would really appreciate any good advice

1)I bought a bottle of Lucas to stop the leak. still havn't added it till i check with you guys, since an automotive teacher said it may damage my tranny, and will only temporarly fix my leak. can somebody who used this product give some feedback on it?

2)and another quick question.. my tranny has been leaking for awhile now but everytime i check the oil level it seems fine.. its at the HOT line after a few minutes of driving just like the FSM says. thats why Im affraid to use this Lucas because I fear I will overfill the system since Im not getting an exact reading on the dip stick.

what to do?
best thing to do would probably be a full tranny fluid change, and add the full bottle of lucas then, eh? thanks alot

 

Its going to be a band-aid. Get the tranny checked out and fix it. It might just be a seal or something.

 

ok thanks, do u know if i should put the whole bottle in? theres more then a quart there. the bottle says to do so, but i find that hard to believe

 

Check it out before adding anything to the tranny. I'm not too keen on additives.

 

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/images/lucas/lucas.htm

 

Many people like to add additives to already blended oils. So, in light of this, I decided to take a well known additive in the trucking industry that is used in gear oils and motor oils. The following is what I did. - Bobtheoilguy

what about a regular dexron III ATF?.. is that considered a blended oil with additives to help reduce air bubbles?

edit: so how might lucas even stop any kind of seal leak, i find that really hard to believe. does it work like a self-sealing tire or something?

 

Lucas isn't a stop leak as far as I know.

 

The only good thing Lucas Oil does is sponsor the "On the Edge" show on Speed channel. Nothing like watching figure 8 trailer racing from the local county fair track.

 

Lucas is very quality stuff. I do not believe it will stop any leak, but it will improve the life of the tranny and how it operates. Although I haven't added it to my Max yet, I have added it (the whole bottle) to my old Taurus. The Tauraus had a tranny replaced and it wasn't shifting very smoothly from first to second. The Lucas has pretty much solved that. The stuff is extremely thick and coats the parts producing friction. My mechanic is a big fan of it and said it can only help.

 

well after that report that i seen in the link by bob the oil guy, i actually went back to the store and returned the lucas. i did have lucas in my system for a few months now, but it was added before i heard these stories about lucas. i couldn't really tell the difference because it was added with a full tranny flush, so i figured it shifted so great cause of the new fluid.. who knows.. better be safe then sorry in my opinion, one too many people talk bad things about lucas, and the FSM doesn't require it, so i'll just stick to dexron III, thx

 

As Much as I want to believe "Bobtheoilguy"... I still have to say from experience that the Lucas Oil Products work!

Lets start by saying that my 1997 Maxima has 100K on the odometer. I flushed my Tranny Fluid out, and put new oil in... I did not feel a difference. I later Drained a quart out, and poured in a bottle of Lucas Tranny Fix "Stops Slip". After the Tranny went through all the gears, I reached my first Red Light. From 1st - 2nd gear and then 3rd - 4th I felt a BIG difference. At times I could not even feel when it shifted. (thats how smooth it was, with 100,000 miles on the tranny and first oil flush ever) I did not see any color change at all when i checked the dip stick, or when i flushed the Tranny out again a few days later. I also added the Lucas Tranny Fix to my moms 98 Toyota Camry and saw the same results. Great Shifts at Cold or Hot Temps.

Now for the Motor Oil.
I use Mobil 1 Full Synth oil... I drained the old oil, and put in 3 quarts of Mobil 1 and 1 quart of the Lucas PURE Synthetic Oil Stabilizer. Im not sure if I felt a difference in power but the engine did get quieter at idle and acceleration. Again when I checked the dip stick, I did not see a color charge after I drove around for 5 min. I also didnt see a color change when I drained the oil out after 3,000 miles. (it was BLACK!) not Orange juice yellow!!

Thank you,
Artem

 

Yeah Artem, I feel what your saying, but from what Bob the oil guy said, I understood that it's all good in the begining, but after a certain amount of time, the not so good takes over. Something about lucas mixing with the oil and breaking down it's viscosity, creating air bubbles in the oil, and later causing wear of gears, etc. due to lack of lubrication Anyway, again I say.. Better be safe then sorry. If not recommended by the manufacturer, I'll take my chances with spec.

 

a big, YES!!!!!!

I am a firm believer in Lucas Automatic Tranny additive. I got 302k on my tranny before it needed to be rebuilt. Stopped all of the slipping and leaks I had. My car simply could not have run at all at 200K without it.

End of story.

 

Sounds good. Too bad I returned the Lucas to the store.

 

oooo, good info

 

I put lucas in my engine oil, it quieted down the car. But I don't think it will stop leaks.

 

Check out what Bob the oil guy says about that.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/images/lucas/lucas.htm

 

I saw that, looks like pressurized oil...that also looks like a maxima vq. I use what my mechanic recommends...and he's been looking out for me since day 1.
*EDIT* I've used Lucas Engine Oil STabilizer in 2 cars, and Lucas Fuel injector cleaner with no problems whatsoever. The test above is for the gear oil, which I am not familiar with.

 

Yes, by all means, use it and don't worry about overfilling.

 

Thanks for the great advice I hope a mod sees this one.

 

It literally saved my transmission on my 3rd gen Max. It was slipping and leaking around 200K. After draining my tranny fluid (just a change -- no flush), I put in two bottles of Lucas along with Nissanmatic Type D transmission oil. I was able to go another 100k on the tranny with no leaks. Then, at 302,000 miles, my 4th gear simply gave out.

 

Why would you tell me not to worry about overfilling?

 

Why is Bob "the Oil Guy" putting gear oil in his crankcase??

Because he wants to falsely accuse Lucas of making a bad product.

Period.

 

That makes it okay for you to tell me to overfill my tranny?

 

Don't overfill ANYTHING!
Bob the oil guy wasn't trying to put down Lucas...he was just saying how people don't know how additives are going to affect their oil. But, the thing that I don't understand is....why didn't he take the oil and get it analyzed? Why did he not use the same oil on both sides? And...why is he an employee of a company that competes with Lucas?

If you have to put down the competition to make your product look better, then it doesn't really say much about YOUR product.

 

Very good point, but peoples view on Lucas is a 50/50 split. Some say it's crap for your car, some say it saved their life, etc. Don't know who to believe but again, manufacturer doesn't recommend, and one too many bad things have been said of Lucas, and Bob the Oil Man is definatly not the only one. Better be safe then sorry in my opinion.

 

I dont know, I used Lucas Tranny Fix in both my cars: 97 Maxima and 98 Camry V6 and both trannys ride MUCH MUCH better. On the Camry you cant even tell when it shifts. and on the Maxima all gears feel very good.

I drove a new Accord and my Maxima with 100 miles shifts better then that.

Oh and I also added the Tranny Fix to my friends 96 Accord with 178 miles and it was amazing how much better it got.... Also about the overfilling i dont recommend just adding the whole quart or whatever it is. Drain like 32 OZs and add the Lucas. Because once the pressure Builds up in the tranny it will Leak through the seals. I recommend just draining the 3-4 quarts that come out of there and fill with new tranny fluid and the Lucas!

Take care of those Maximas!

 

What does that have to with Bob the Oil Guy sticking gear oil in an automatic?

If you had bothered to read the label on the Lucas bottle, you would see the same recommendation. In other words, it is not my advice, but Lucas.

Keep in mind that this product is not meant for healthy, little-used transmissions because they do not slip, shift hard, or leak. Obviously, these are tell-tale signs that your tranny will need repair. ALL TRANNYS WILL. The question is, "When," and not "If."

What Lucas does is delay the inevitable -- for a long, long time.

Many people have to get their tranniess rebuilt or replaced at 100K.

I got 300K on my last car, specifically by using Lucas. Trannies are not supposed to go that long. Will I get that on my present car -- which currently has 120k -- I cannot say for sure. But, I would be an idiot NOT to use Lucas again as recommended.

Oh, and YES, I kept mine overfilled, from the time I added it, despite conventional wisdom.

 

i personally dont trust any additives. I just use quality oil like redline or amsoil.

 

It has to do with you denying that you messed up and told me to overfill the tranny and won't admit that you were wrong.

That wasn't very smart. Was that an accident or do you know better then the automotive world?

Now you know as well as I do, it does not say to overfill on the Lucas bottle so just stop the nonsense and admit you were wrong about telling me to overfill. Or is the message incrypted, and I have to use thermal goggles?

Finally, I do agree with you on the tranny shifting better after using it, but thats not the point here.

 

After seeing that test, I wouldn't be putting that stuff in my car at all. I've used Lucas in my truck before I knew any better.

 

May I direct you to Key Benefit #3 taken from the Lucas website (http://www.lucasoil.com/products/dis...tid=2&loc=show):

Key Benefits:

1. Contains no solvents
2. Lowers operating temperatures and stops foaming
3. Can be added to existing fluid without draining any out
4. Effective in an extremely high percentage of cases

These same benefits are also written on my bottle of Lucas.

Exactly which part of #3 does NOT imply overfilling?

If you give me your mailing address, I'll be happy to send the empty, leftover bottle I have if you still doubt me.

Now, if they do not appear on the bottle you have, then maybe the printer ran out of ink, or more likely, your bottle is smaller than mine. Either way, I apologize if I sent you on a wild goose chase.

Oh, and Deezo, check out Key Benefit #2 about "stops foaming." You'll notice on their website that Lucas also makes metal polish, so don't be surprised if Bob the Oil Guy adds it to his transmission and reports the terrible results he got.

 

That test was dumb anyways...he was trying to duplicate the display at the store, but the gears at the store are made of plastic and connected to a handcrank. It's impossible to hit the speeds he hit by turning it with your hand. He was using some type of drill motor or something like that.

Whenever you do testing, you're supposed to use one with and one without. Not two different oils. Put anything in a blender and it's going to aerate.

 

It's also clear that he used doctored photos -- as in Photoshopped.

Take a good look at the last photo -- enlarge it. Notice how the perspective of the gears in the right half is totally different than the gears in the left half. Notice, too, how the metal frame on the outside has been deliberately smeared over using a smudge tool t hide the fact that the two halves are really separate photos.

Bob is a fraud.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/images/lucas/lucas.htm

 

I don't know. My bottle never said anything about overfilling. Plus it really doesn't make sense to overfill. Unless Lucas found someway of defying the laws of physics and learned to compress liquids without popping any seals, I really don't see how that makes any sense. Also since Lucas probably thinks that nobody knows their little sceme, maybe their customers won't realize it's bad to overfill. Anyway, just to be sure I sent them a little E-mail about "Can be added to existing fluid without draining any out".. So lets see what they gotta say about that.

Good point, but if that happened at those speeds using a drill motor. What do you really think would happen in a tranny?

Im not seein it man, sorry

 

First of all, what makes you think that overfilling will hurt your transmission? Oh, that's right...because car manuals say, "Don't overfill." However, what they do not say is that overfilling will hurt your transmission. Why? Because overfilling will not hurt your transmission, that's why!

Don't take my word for it. Read what transmission experts have to say:

Will it hurt to overfill the transmission?

In a word, no! It is possible that gross overfilling can cause the fluid to be subjected to moving parts and become aerated which could cause abnormal operation. You may also notice leaks that ordinarily would not occur.


Will overfilling "blow" seals?

In a word, no! The transmission case is vented preventing pressure buildup in normally unpressured areas. Severe overfilling can raise the fluid level such that the transmission may lose fluid through the vent or leak from seals that are above the normal fluid leve

Source: "Victoria Automatic Transmission Service Group"

http://www.victrans.com/faqs.shtml

Adding 24oz of Lucas will not cause "gross" or "severe" overfilling.

I thought I covered why it is not mentioned on your bottle (but it is on mine). I sent you to the Lucas website where it said that you do not have to remove any existing fluid in order to use it. My gosh, does that means they advocate overfilling?

Not at all. What they said is a far cry from telling people to always overfill their transmission. Lucas never said anything of the kind. If you decide to drain off 24oz of fluid first, do you think Lucas will send the Tranny Police to your house and arrest you for not overfilling?

The sole point they are making by their statement is that Mr. Average Car Owner does not have to go to the trouble and expense of having any existing transmission fluid removed. Unlike the savvy owners here who know their rides backwards and forwards, Mr. Average Car Owner would not have a clue how to drain off a fixed amount of tranny fluid.

If overfilling was really bad, would my transmission (the one which I ALWAYS overfilled) have gone 300,000 miles without needing any repairs?

Think about it. Auto trannies are not supposed to last that long with "recommended care."

As for the photos, I'll post copies of them with perspective lines drawn over the corners and edges so that you can see what I mean. I'll also post an enlarged photo and use arrows to point out where the retouching was done.

Then, if you still don't see it, maybe someone else on this board will.

 

Hello!
Just entered the community!
I have a 2003 Maxima with an automatic gearbox, when the car shift from 1st to 2nd, 3th to4th, or shifts down gears, it basically shock the car a little bit, like it's a hard shifts, sometimes when the temp is low it doesn't do that infact it is much smoother, but after maybe 15 mins it starts to do that, I heard the lucas oil transmission fix does help the car shifts much smoother, but I'm a little bit affraid, the car has more than 300.000km, and I don't think my father did changed the trans oil ever before, does lucas trans oil help my tranny to shift smoother or I gonna blow my tranny?

 

Don't change it if it's never been changed and has 200K+ miles on it. You didn't mention year and mileage. You can use the whole standard sized bottle even if your fluid is correct. I've used it and it's worked for me for the past 8 months! Mines a 2004 with 300K miles