Transmission fluid into oil to clean lifters and stopping the knock?

WeaponX

Original poster
Member
Mar 23, 2019
212
Pittston, PA
I just saw a video of this guy saying if you put transmission fluid into your oil and run for 300 miles in a Chevy vortex it will clean out all the sludge and stop the ticking/knocking that I have, is this true? Is it safe?
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
It is an old hot rodder's trick to replace one quart of oil with tranny fluid when you change the oil to keep your engine clean. It can't hurt but it might not work if heavyly gunked up.
 
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hockeyman

Member
Aug 26, 2012
726
Oh wow, I haven't really seen heavy oil sludge since the early 80's, and even that was on the lifters of a '76 Trans Am that I once owned. Took the valve covers off of that thing at it was looking at the surface of an asteroid!

Personally, I wouldn't put trans fluid in my engine block. That's just me though.
 

WeaponX

Original poster
Member
Mar 23, 2019
212
Pittston, PA
It is an old hot rodder's trick to replace one quart of oil with tranny fluid when you change the oil to keep your engine clean. It can't hurt but it might not work if heavyly gunked up.
Seriously!? So this actually “might” work and quite the lifters!? No damage will be caused at all are you 1,000,000% positive? I know your a moderator which means u probably know your shit but it’s my engine and it’s something I’ve never heard of and it sounds unorthodox but I’m willing to give it a go as long as my engine won’t blow up or fry cause I can’t afford a new one
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
You would be replacing one of seven quarts so the dilution of the oil would be minimal. Tranny fluid has high levels of detergents which is why it has cleaning abilities. It does bring the viscosity down a bit.

If you have a noisy lifter, I'd try an actual flush prior to changing the oil. This stuff you do not drive the vehicle with. You run it 10-15 minutes at idle with no load and drain it. For a longer cleaning, then try the tranny fluid.

Just because I'm a mod doesn't mean I know everything. :biggrin:
 
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TollKeeper

Supporting Donor
Member
Dec 3, 2011
8,047
Brighton, CO
I have been doing the 1 quart of tranny fluid on my engines for years (although I have not done it to my GMT360 yet). The only problem I have ever had is on a old Nissan, I suspect it took the sludge out that was stopping a oil leak. But Nissans have never done well with "treatment" type products.
 
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mrrsm

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Oct 22, 2015
7,641
Tampa Bay Area
@Mooseman 's cautionary suggestions and @TollKeeper 's personal advocacy of actually using this technique along with my own ...Hands On...should calm your concerns. As long as you limit the activity to allowing the Engine to IDLE HOT for 10-15 Minutes during this use of (1) Quart AT F + (6) Quarts of Cheap Organic Motor Oil + a New Cheap Oil Filter, any congested clumps loosened from inside of ANY Engine will get captured and collected inside of the Cheap, Disposable Oil Filter... you will not have any negative consequences occur.

Brian from Briansmobile1 covers the Why and the How of using this Engine Flush Technique on an actual, clogged up and malfunctioning Silverado 5.3L Engine PERFECTLY at around 12 Minutes into the attached Video. You can see the positive results of his work after using a Commercial Flush with the same solvent-like action that ATF can achieve.

More than many other Modern Engines... The GM Atlas Engine could probably benefit the MOST from this technique due to the presence and design of the VVT Cam Phaser getting clogged up and contaminated inside should the CPAS Screen get clogged and driven out of the VVT Solenoid.

 
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hockeyman

Member
Aug 26, 2012
726
Ok, so I want to make good on the statement I made about not seeing oil sludge in quite a long time. Saw this on Imgur today, and I quoted it, too. I know it's an Audi, but still...

"Audi TT engine that went 84000 miles (135000 km) without an oil change."
 

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mrrsm

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Oct 22, 2015
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High Engine Operating Temperatures, Poor Periodical Oil Changes @ much greater than 3,000 Miles on High Mileage Engines and using Organic Motor Oils in lieu of High Quality Full Synthetic Motor Oil (s) along with HQ Oil Filters invites these issues, often with disastrous outcomes.
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
There is a point where no flush or procedure will get that kind of sludge out. I remember an '82 Malibu wagon I had with a 305 that had a flattened lifter cam lobe. What I saw was even worse than that Audi. It was about a half inch of sludge in the lifter valley coating everything. There was even a "ball" of sludge rolling around in there.

Anyway, trying any of these things may help your lifter tick issue. After doing a flush and an oil change, I'd replace one quart of oil with tranny fluid for a long term cleaning. It won't harm anything but you may notice your oil get dirtier faster.
 
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littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
I've seen motors where the valve cover was caked to the point where the only pocket was where the rocker moved back and forth and the rest a solid mass... that was pretty crazy.
 
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