1. Color, 2. Smell, 3. Touch, and the little known one....Taste.

It is real easy to do, and not harmful in this small of an amount.

After you do the touch test, tap your finger with the ATF on your tongue.

Sweet: Coolant in ATF
Metallic: Somewhat normal, if brown flush ASAP
?????: dont know how to explain normal...lol wierd tasting.



Anyways, has anyone ever done this. One of my teachers at UTI does this, and it really is a legitimate way to test ATF. I also read it somewhere, I think in a hot rod magazine or something, but its a good way. It really works, I have done it when it was dark out and no flashlight. Really useful.

 

As much as I like my truck I will never intentionally taste any fluid or any other part of it for that matter.

You gotta draw a line somewhere.

 

lol, x2

Although I do like smelling my sweet coolant-rich exhaust

 

yuck, tell your teacher to get off the drugs.

 

I unintentionally got a mouthful of ATF once doing a tranny flush on a Grand Am. I don't think I'd ever do it on purpose though..

 

Me too. Well... not a mouthful, but I was laying under the truck, cleaning up the gasket surface on the tranny, and I got one drop of ATF that dripped off the valve body and landed right in my mouth. That stuff is disgusting.

 

ive had the gas spring a leak and... ill say atf and oil taste way better than gasoline... .

 

Try a mouthfull of diesel, you will taste that oily shat for a day.

 

i have, its gross. hell ive been SPRAYED with diesel by some drunk dude at the gas station.... i got his ass arrested so fast.. lol. yeah not tasty. ill take a 5 dollar foot long from subway over our truck's food anyday

 

I dont understand why a visual inspection wont detect what a taste test would. I mean, if theres coolant in the ATF, then it will appear milky and runny, if its got metal in it, you will see and feel the metal flakes.

I always get a fresh clean white paper towel and wipe the dipstick. Never a need to taste the fluid. Maybe if you have bad eye sight, but then you shouldnt be working on cars if you cant see....

 

lol I was just seeing if you all knew it was a legitimate way of testing, I really dont do it that often, cept when I mess with my freinds!!

LOL that teacher was pretty crazy, he had a load of guns, including a military issue 50cal, AK-47s, etc.

He would also lick the dipstick when he did it. And he studderd, maybe a side effect of ATF??

I will admit though, he could rebuild an automatic tranny like it was nothing. He did it when he wasnt teaching, and did a really good job! If not the best I have seen!!