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has anyone tried this?

rweaver138

rweaver138

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Brooklyn, CT
somebody on one of these forums was saying they knew a guy who put ATF in his engine and let it run for like 20 mintues because it acts as a detergent. then drain it and change the filter and fill her up with oil. has anyone else heard of this or done it?
 
yes it is an old school trick/process. It works but be careful not to put to much in. If you have a high mileage Jeep I would suggest not doing it. It would clean out all the stuff that the engine has already worn around and may cause it to leak.
 
IF you do this don't rev the engine, just let it idle.

Some people add one quart of ATF with an oil change and just drive it normal.

Why not use a high-detergent diesel engine oil? Shell Rotella will clean your engine out and keep it clean.
 
Regular oil changes are best for your engine. Keep ATF in the transmission that's where it belongs.
 
joe_peters said:
I
Why not use a high-detergent diesel engine oil? Shell Rotella will clean your engine out and keep it clean.
Click to expand...
Just standard "off the walmart sheft" Rotella? Or is there some special formula or synthetic stuff to use? I have 6 or 7 quarts of Rotella at home. I use it in my dirtbike and was going to start using it in the Jeep... Unless there is something else to look out for.
 
themangeraaad said:
Just standard "off the walmart sheft" Rotella? Or is there some special formula or synthetic stuff to use? I have 6 or 7 quarts of Rotella at home. I use it in my dirtbike and was going to start using it in the Jeep... Unless there is something else to look out for.
Click to expand...

I use the Shell Rotella 10w30 Dino oil, and yes, I buy it off the shelf from Wal-Mart. The Rotella synthetic is good, but I can't justify the cost as I am a low-mileage change-it-every 3-months kind of guy.
 
I have started using the Rotella oil and only could find the synthetic stuff where I live in the oil weight I wanted. I am also running a modified Oil filter setup so I go a little longer with the oil changes.

I would only add it and let it idle for 15-20 min and then run it a few min at 1500 rpm or so to get the pressure a little high and force some of the gunk out. The advantage to the ATF over most petroleum based Engine cleaners is that it is more consistent to the oil weight you would normally put in.

I am a firm believer that you don't add crap to the oil. The oil companies spend Hundreds of thousands of dollars on getting the molecular make up of their oil right, by their own additives they put in. By adding some other manufactures stuff it will change what the original make up of the oil is. Dan the Oil Guy (i think that's what he is called) did a test with the Lucus Oil Additive and actually showed under realy conditions (not the little wheel you turn at the part store) at mid to high RPM the additive actualy caused the oil to start foaming. Thus the recommendation not to Rev the motor when adding in a engine cleaner.
 
winterbeater said:
Personally, I would just change the oil a couple of times at 500-1000 mile intervals.
Click to expand...

I'm with winterbeater. Yes, the ATF in the oil trick has been around for a long time, but I contend that it should not be needed in an engine that has had at least semi-regular oil changes. In the event of poor maintenance and evidence of sludge, frequent oil changes will normally slowly and safely clean the engine quite well.
 
Or do like alot of us on here do and run some seafoam through it.
 
How much seafoam do you run actually in the oil. Im sure I have quite a bit of crap taht settled in my oil after the Jeep was sitting for 18 months.. so I have a can of seafoam already... planning on running it in the oil then sucking the rest in (through the brake booster line was it?). And the other question I had: Run seafoam in with a fresh oil change or run it in the old oil for a short while before changing?

For some reason I think I remember something about half a can in the oil, then 1/4 can in the vacuum line (and maybe some in gas?) Hopefully doing an oil change this weekend, maybe tomorrow. Haven't seafoamed it yet (since I bought it in 05) and I am almost certain the previous owner never did. Should be interesting :D
 
im pretty sure the seafom is 1/3 vacuum lines, 1/3 crankcase and 1/3 gas tank... i think im gonna go that route
 
rweaver138 said:
im pretty sure the seafom is 1/3 vacuum lines, 1/3 crankcase and 1/3 gas tank... i think im gonna go that route
Click to expand...
Yeah, that sounds about right. Now I just need to know if seafoam should be used with old oil for a few hundred miles prior to an oil change, or if it should be used with a fresh oil change (use it like an additive and run a full 3000 mile oil change with seafoam in there).
 
i don't know if it's a good thing, but i'm at about 1500 miles on a fresh change with 1/3 can of seafoam in the oil. i can already tell the motor is quiter. i'm prolly gonna do a premature change this weekend, since the motor has 283k on it.
 
I've substituted 1Qt of ATF for 1QT of oil on just about every vehicle I've owned, except the one brand new truck(7 miles when I picked it up), and ran it that way for three thousand miles. It doesn't hurt the engine in my experience. I did this in a 91 XJ 6 cyl. and actually ran it for about 5K before I changed the oil again. The only reason I left it so long was because of no time off from work. That particular engine had over 200K at the time. No problems, no loss of pressure, no engine noise that was out of the ordinary. It didn't leak anymore than it already did (and that wasn't much). No more blow-by than normal. My Dad and uncles told me about this when I was a kid and they all did it and they couldn't always change the oil every 3K because money was tight. If you just substitute 1QT of ATF for 1QT of oil maybe once a year and not every oil change you should be fine. And yes it does help clean your engine internals. If it can stand up to the heat and pressures in an automatic trans the engine isn't going to tax it any.
 
I tossed in a 1/3 can of Seafoam that I had kicking around the garage into the oil a week ago. It really REALLY cleaned the gunk. My engine leaks like a sieve now. Lol. It's keeping my drag link and front axle well lubed. It's not the rear seal though, it's the front.

There is actually oil drips forming all along the drag link and dripping on the floor. It NEVER leaked oil before I did that.

But, it's a '92 with 250K miles and about 1 PSI oil pressure HOT so it has a date with the engine puller once I locate another 4.0 for reasonable.
 
dj99xj said:
I tossed in a 1/3 can of Seafoam that I had kicking around the garage into the oil a week ago. It really REALLY cleaned the gunk. My engine leaks like a sieve now. Lol. It's keeping my drag link and front axle well lubed. It's not the rear seal though, it's the front.

There is actually oil drips forming all along the drag link and dripping on the floor. It NEVER leaked oil before I did that.

But, it's a '92 with 250K miles and about 1 PSI oil pressure HOT so it has a date with the engine puller once I locate another 4.0 for reasonable.
Click to expand...
That makes me not want to run seafoam.... I'm afraid of what I will find :laugh:
 
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