What is this I am reading about? Add a quart of atf with two 500 mile oil changes to clean out my engine? What is the rational behind that? I have never heard that before... Is there any negative side effect, If I do indeed try this..

i wouldn't do it..
especially if you dont' know what your doing


and most especially if you can't fix it if it all goes wrong.

The detergents in ATF will clean deposits out of the oil passages.

I would tend to agree with Pony Killer.

I have never heard of or seen the ATF tricked used.

The one I have seen / done is to pour a quart of diesel fuel in a warm engine and just let it idle for 10-15 mins and then change the oil.

Same kind of thing, clean out the extra junk and makes the engine look like it has an intestinal bug when you drain it out.

I've done this before. My old Auto Service Instructor said it was the greatest thing, so I tried it. I added 1 qt. ATF to 4 qt. oil in the Grand Prix. Nothing broke.,...yet! I only tried once, and I would only do it in the summer months. I think the cold winter would change things. I haven't had the luxury of having the engine break, so I don't know if it really cleaned anything or not. But I do know the car is a 97 with 165k miles, and the engine runs great, so I know I didn't hurt it.

the way i've heard it is 1/2 a quart, or 1 pint, before an oil chamge. i've done it and the old oil never really looked any differant, maybe i didn't have any dirt to clean out. never hurt anything bt not sure it helped either. i believe the ebst thing to do is have your oil tested and then use that information to help decide the condition of your engine and the length of your oil change intervals.

I have a quart of engine flush that I was going to put in my '84 with 130K but since reading these boards, I've had second thoughts. I have some indication that the car,in its later years was not taken care of- I don't want to send a big chunk of stuff thru to block important passages. I also don't have many oil leaks and wouldn't want to loosen gunk up that is serving a useful purpose

Its done many different ways. The most common is the 1:4, 500 mile X2. You can do what ede said also but its doesent have that much time to clean anything. I just use flush twice a year, its the same as diesel fuel but Im too lazy tyo take a can down to the gas station to get diesel. My engines are clean and are of fairly low mileage so I can flush them. I wouldent flush a 130k engine unless I knew the service record.

Synthetics will do the same thing over time. My engine has over 102k and with mobil 1 the the thing is spotless. I am not kidding at all. My engine is absolutely spotless inside!

Yes, synthetics will also clean over time, which may be desirable if you suspect heavy sludge concentrations. The important point is to monitor the oil condition, and change the filter if necessary between oil changes.

I've used the ATF application to clean engines also. I've actually quieted lifters and eliminated bearing knocks with that method. I never drive with the ATF in the sump, but get the engine to full temperature and vary the RPM widely to produce good oil flow.

I've always removed the filter, installed a cheapo new one (like FRAM), then topped off with a quart of ATF. Start, run, and vary engine RPM. After about a half hour of running, drain the oil while hot to help flush out all possible sludge. Allow plenty of time for drainage. Refill with your favorite oil and a new, good filter.

You'll also want to monitor oil condition after the refill, and change it when it becomes dark. That may be long before the normal 3,000 mile interval, but that's generally an indication that the oil is holding all the "junk" that it can, and the filter isn't cleaning it any more.

Not much theory to it. It's real high detergent stuff, so it eats the sludge. Not too far above my intellectual level even.

I have a couple of cars that I've used ATF in for most of their lives. Neither one is very old or has really alot of miles on it yet though, so it's too early to tell what the long-term effects might be. One of them is a 74 Caprice convertible with a 454 and the other is a 78 El Camino 305. The 74 only has about 265,000 miles on it, and the 78 about 345,000; the 78 has never even had the intake off, but the 74 has (I put a 396 one on it back in the late 80s). Both of them have tossed their stock cam timing sprockets though; maybe the ATF tore those up, I don't know. The 74 had only had ATF in it for about 80,000 miles or so when that happened so there's a strong possibilityof a cause-and-effect relationship I'm sure. On the other hand, the 78 lost its at about 325,000 miles, so maybe there isn't. I'm not smart enough to figure it out.

I only just started using the ATF trick on them recently, I'd guess about 18 or 20 years ago. Once they've had it in them for a while and then get broken in good I'll let you know how it works out.

forget only running the atf for 500 miles and then doing an oil change. say what you like but my uncle runs a quart of atf in his 55 chevy, races it constantly, and has 275K on the engine. my grandfathers 73 ranchero has 213K on the engine and runs a quart of atf with the oil every oil change. they also change the oil every 2500 miles and have been doing it since the engine where new. i think it has the same effect as synth oil and the viscosity doesnt break down becasue of how often they change the oil. for me, im not going to allow the new engine to get dirty in the first place. i'm going to run dyno oil for 500 miles and go to full synth. ill probably run mobil one and a k&n oil filter.

A quart of Motor flush (Sold at most autoparts stores) along with 5 quarts of the cheapest oil you can find. Drain your old oil and dump the old oil in the old filter and put the old oil filter back on for the process. Put the quart of motor flush in and then the cheap oil. Start your vehicle and let run for 15 to 20 minutes at a medium to fast idle, shut off the motor wait 10 minutes before you drain that oil and motor flush and filter. Let it drain completley. When there is nothing more than a drop at a time coming out of the oil pan add that 5th quart of cheap oil with the drain plug and filter still off. Wait for this clear oil to drain out making sure it remains clear. If it turns dark or looks dirty then you need to flush it with more oil.
I use this stuff once a year or so on my truck and cars. it works great for cars that do a lot of stop and go city driving. I always follow with fresh Mobil 1 full synthetic after this procedure.

Keep your enviorment free from toxins always make sure this is done safely and the waste is properly disposed of at approved recycle collection location.

Yes, it's entirely possible that the ATF somehow attacked the plastic (nylon) sprocket teeth and lead to their premature failures. I guess you'll just have to keep your experiment going, keep good records, and report back with results once you get some real mileage on your test subjects. For now, it's just too early to tell.

I must be a little overly-cautious, since I would rather not drive too much with ATF in place of the more viscosity stable lubricants I normally use. Then again, I've not had to ATF-flush any of my engines since I've started using synthetics - about the same time you started your experiment. I've "saved" a few engines for other people with that method, though.

hey guys




My 88 maro has 155k on the clock and the oil barely get dark @3k oil changes. The car has always had valvoline oil in it. I bought the car with 130k on it and started using the maxlife oil and i like the way it performs the oil stays pretty much clean.

When i cracked the valve covers off the engine to paint them i was very surprised at how clean the engine really was.

I have done the ATF in the oil on my 94 gmc truck and it helped clean it out not a whole lot but some. Another thing i have done on my truck and the maro is run some ATF in the throttle body while idling it smokes like a mofo but the ground was black near the exhaust pipes from the carbon it removed from the cylinders and it helped cure my spark knock i was having in the maro.


so far it has not killed my truck and i add the ATF to it every other oil change . because to help clean it up. the previous owner didn't know what oil change meant. when i bought it the sticker was at like 61k and it had 69k on it. he went 8k on a single oil change.

When you say "STF", do you mean STP, the STP throttle body cleaner? Did you use a vacuum hose to deliver the "STF", or did you spray it on the throttle blades? Do you have a TBI or a TPI? I was thinking of doing this after I get my cat off. Could you give a brief explanation of the method that you used?

Atf is just a detergent... its ok to drive on it.... i went 500 miles, and did two oil changes within a 1000miles of eachother...


cleaned tht engine out good- i did it to free up a tickin lifter.... worked!

hey Josh Wilson


In my post i was talking about using the ATF in the my 88 maro not STP. It actually helped get rid of the carbon on the pistons. judging by the black soot that was on the ground under the exhaust pipes.


How i do it is i get the car up to operating temp first. Then it running i take the breather off. find a good vacuum line. the one i used is the one for the Thermac for the breather assembly. Get a longer piece of hose to make it easier. then i just put the hose down in the bottle of ATF and let it suck it in the engine. you will notice the engine choke down a bit . do that for about a min (don't let the engine choke out) then rev the engine up 2-3 times to blow the carbon and clear out the engine so you can do it again. about 2-3 cycles of ATF for a min will be ok to get rid of the carbon. you might notice the car has a rouch idle for a bit afterwards. but it will smooth out if you drive it for a bit.

NOW BE AWARE THAT IT WILL SMOKE LIKE A MOFO BURNING OUT THE CARBON AND THE ATF. THAT IS NORMAL UNTIL IT BURNS IT ALL OUT.

the atf burns at hotter temp so it helps burn off the carbon.

I have read on here about that method, but instead of using ATF, they would use either water, or throttle body cleaner. What do you think about throttle body cleaner being used to suck into the vacuum line? Is ATF the best to use for cleaning out the carbon? I know my mechanic shop has something called an engine purge that is suppost to get rid of the carbon, but I don't know what it does. I will probably try the ATF after I get my cat off. I would say it works good too because it has lots of detergents in it.

Seafoam is the popular trick for cleaning out carbon.

SeaFoam should work fairly well to clean carbon from combustion chambers. That would be mostly because seaFoam is an oil/alcohol/water emulsification.

Instead of the $6 per quart of SeaFoam, you would likely do just as well with a 99¢ one-gallon bottle of windshield washer solvent - which is mostly methanol and water. Water alone works well in a fully warmed engine and if administered correctly, but the methanol mixture would tend to burn better than plain water and still create the steaming action necessary to clean away combustion deposits.

FWIW - If you do this to a Renault or Citroen, you may need to use Perrièr...

As for cleaning the sump and lubrication system, ATF works well to get a large percentage of the sludge loose, but synthetic will do the same thing in a more controlled manner. It may be the Wright way.

classic..


Iv used the Seafoam Method on quiet a few vehicals. never did notice any difference in any of them. maybe there wasn't much of a carbon problem?

Marvel Mystery Oil...


That is all...




Wendell

Hey Vader,

what do you think about using ATF fluid to clean out carbon? Would that work the same or better than the windshield washer fluid? Which do you think is best, ATF, seafoam, plain water, or windshield washer fluid? I guess introducing it through the vacuum would be the best method.

I've never done the ATF but use Berryman engine and gas cleaner from time to time, especially when planning an engine tear down. Just follow the directions on the can and don't put the motor under load. (Read that as "Don't drive it")