Bill Edgar

So I talked to a guy at 22re performance the other day about a new engine. I told him that mine was running rough and consuming a lot of oil. I told him I was afraid my motor wont last the 24 to 30 week wait time for one of his engines. He told me to replace a qt of oil for a qt of atf on my next oil change. While I was at autozone picking up ATF I told them what he said. They said thats crazy, but hey they are Autozoners. So I bought the ATF and thought I would follow up on that advice on line. I have seen a lot of mixed reviews. What do you guys think? Should I pour a qt of ATF in a motor that has 305,000 miles on it to help it last another 6 to 8 months? The guys at 22re performance seem to know thier stuff!

scope103

Sounds like an urban legend to me.

Googling the concept, I came up with a number of web forums (like this one) where folks were asking about whether adding a quart of ATF RIGHT BEFORE AN OIL CHANGE would help clean out the "gunk." The general consensus was that this was just an old shade-tree mechanic stunt. Supposedly, back in the 40s and 50s ATF had better detergent than motor oil, and so it "worked." Sorta. Back then. Today, we have much better motor oil, so the general opinion went, and using ATF did nothing but thin out the oil.

Even with Google, I didn't find anyone talking about LEAVING the quart of ATF in the engine for the multiple-month term. Given that ATF is lower-viscosity (I've heard it's about SAE 10) than the oil you should be using, I can't imagine anything good coming from that.

Yours would be an interesting experiment, but I fear it would tell us nothing. If your engine died tomorrow, I get the sense you wouldn't find that surprising, no matter what you used for a lubricant.

Anyway, good luck whatever you do. Take some pictures during your engine installation.

gsp4life

I trust the guys at 22re performance, but their logic seems backwards on this one.

At one point I had a dying 22re that I nursed along for almost a year with HEAVIER oil. I tried a variety of stuff, like a quart of Lucas Stop Leak with straight weight 30 oil and later on the Engine Restore stuff with straight weight 40. I'm not positive it helped, but the idle got smoother than it was with 10w40 or diesel-rated 15w40 that I'd used before. After I realized it was dying, it lasted another 5000 miles. Eventually the chain tensioner and guides broke. It still ran for a couple hundred more miles in that condition. Point being, depending on how far you drive every month, you could get a few more months or even a year out of it. No way to know until it's dead. Now's a good time to sign up for AAA.

89fourrunner

The guy at 22r is attempting to slow oil consumption by running some ATF for a while, it seems backwards but it is essentially what Marvel Mystery Oil does. LUCAS on the other hand....how many ways can one company sell gear oil? Ask Lucas. That is all they sell you in practically every product. On top of that, their gear oil is some of the worst on the market!

BITOG is pretty reputable and good things have been said about this means of cleaning an engine.

The OP has nothing to lose.

gsp4life

I agree about Lucas oil products being questionable. I used it as a temporary band-aid for a dying engine and it worked ok for me. I'd never recommend a Lucas product on even a somewhat healthy engine. Also, it's possible the heavier oil I used might've been what slowed the burning in spite of Lucas "stop leak" junk.

My oil burning problems were caused by snapped rings (all the top rings, with a missing chunk on #4) so nothing was going to fix it except new rings which it got during a full rebuild. I'm just stating what I tried that slowed the oil loss. OP might have a similar problem in which case thinner oil will worsen the symptoms.

old87yota

You can call them and ask for their reasoning. Jim and Jerry at 22RE Performance always seem willing to explain why they recommend the things they do.

thefishguy77

iTrader: (1)

I might go with a thicker oil vs thinner. Also what oil are you running? ATF was for a higher detergent from what I’m aware of to clean up sludge and stuff. Oil loss seem like you would want a heavier oil.
I run Rotella or Delo because I like the detergents in them. No synthetic for me on a 22re.

bootscootboogie

iTrader: (1)

These are all good answers. I personally only run Rotella non synthetic DEO. Been doing it for years. 22R, 2RZ, whatever.. I have used Lucas oil stabilizer with it on a high mileage 22r... I liked what it did for my engine.

i would drive it easy. Keep an eye on the oil and just baby it. Then when your engine comes in you can sell it as a good core to rebuild... Drive it hard and roast it? Nobody will want that. A good, complete engine that can be built is worth 3x more than a locked up block of crap. My .02

Kolton5543

You can do it but it likely won't help much but certainly won't hurt it. ATF is in fact very high in detergents. It has to be because auto trans have a huge number of fluid passages and ports that are all very small. If any of them get even a little clogged the trans won't work very well. If you ever disassemble a high mileage engine and transmission you immediately notice the trans to be spotless from debris stained into the components while the engine will likely be a bit messy.

I say it likely won't help much because ATF is good at cleaning not restoring. If your engine is dirty and it leaks it'll likely leak a bit more afterwards. If your burning oil then your engine is just wore out and only thicker oil would help slow it down. ATF does thin the oil but not significantly. I'd recommend only a half a quart and just leave it there. I've used as much as a quart before for a couple hundred miles to clean badly sludged engines and help with noisy dry starts. Sometimes I'll just add a little at an oil change just to keep things clean.

The moral of the story, give it a shot if you want but it won't help the life of you worn motor.

anndel

They (Jim and Jerry) at 22RE Performance know their 22 series engines inside and out so give it a try.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

I have used diesel fuel mixed with some oil to flush a badly gunked up motor but it is just for flushing out a motor at oil change. Not sure why they say to leave the ATF fluid in to get a little more life out of it. I would like to hear their reasons. I would think you would want thicker oil for a worn out motor myself.

thefishguy77

iTrader: (1)

I kinda wonder if they are assuming that he thinks it’s on its last legs because it hasn’t had the proper maintenance from the previous owners and de-sludging will help. Either way thinker oil for less leaks sounds right to me. ATF etc. to clean out a neglected motor.

Side note. When you find out you had a water leak in you car port all winter and it filled you bucket with all you spare saw chains and they are rusted solid. A gallon of atf and a 2 weeks soak does wonders. Resharpen and run it.

coopster

Standby for an old guy story ...
I went to high school in San Carlos/Belmont, and had a job senior year at Whipple Ave shell. My boss was quite the mech, where I started learning stuff actually. (of course they've invented electricity and such since then). Any way, he had among some things this late 60's dodge something. He would drop a can of ATF in it every once in a while (but it was mostly because the hydraulic lifters would start to stick), and leave it in there for a few weeks before changing the oil. I think it must've worked pretty well for that.

OTOH, he wasn't a fan of 'stp motor dope' or none of that either.