You can't put THAT in there! Alternative Auto Fluids

I started a thread the other day about a recent positive experience with Trick Shift:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=217461

Folks came out of the woodwork saying that Trick Shift was really Type-F in disguise. I'm inclined to agree with them - it really is suspiciously like Type-F. Seriously.

Another post said they use tractor hydraulic oil.

That brought me here: What alternative fluids are folks using in their crankcase, radiator, transmission, or rear end?

I've heard of folks thinning down their oil with transmission fluid or Marvel Mystery Oil. I've heard of folks running straight mineral oil or Marvel Mystery in their crankcase for 5 minutes to clean it before swapping new oil back in. I've even heard of folks peeing in their radiator and adding pepper and eggs to stop a leak. Hell, I've always used transmission fluid in my power steering pump, whatever I was driving.

Anybody else pour (Oh, Jeez... how can I put this so I don't get ripped by you guys?) "fluids" into places they wouldn't normally go?

...hopefully you bought it dinner first. LOL!

Oh boy. Let it fly... I'm sure some sailors will chime in on this one.

 

I confess, I've used black pepper for stop leak. But I was young and foolish and it did increase the value of the old truck a bit.

 

Yes, I try not to induce any foreign fluids to my rearend. But whatever floats your boat I guess.


The only thing I can seriously contribute is a lot of power steering fluid is just ATF anyways, most of the GM cars I've had say right on the cap to use the same stuff as in the trans. Outside of that I don't bother with any additives or anything like that.

 

Why do you need 2 Threads on the same subject?

Are you selling the stuff?

The last Snakeoil salesman that convinced me to put a aditive in my Engine Oil cost me a Engine...

 

A guy I know has put a little bit of brake fluid into a slipping tranny. Tightens the shifting right up, but supposedly destroys the transmission after some use.

 

i have done 1/2 diesel fuel and 1/2 oil in an engine to clean it out before i pull it apart, other things i misuse are combustion cleaner as a carb cleaner when working on carbs, if you have that green crap in the bottom of a float bowl this stuff cleans it out in almost seconds, makes brass look like new, another trick is spray bomb paint remover as vinyl softener, if you have some old seats or dash pads you think you could poke your thumb through with a little effort then spray some paint remover on and give it and givei t good wipe with a rags and it comes out soft as new.

 

So pouring Type "F" in a '55 Buick Special with a Dynaflow would be better than using the Dextron III?

 

back in the before trick shift time everyone i knew, that knew anything about cars, already knew you could put type f in a gm car and you get a cleaner shift, the trans guys at the time were telling us that type-f would mess with the seals in a gm trans, i'm not sure if that was true, how many guys know that a turbo 400 will shift out of low gear at 4500 and bark the tires?

 

I know some rednecks that run used oil for tranny fluid in there demo derby cars

 

The power steering box in my 61 T-bird daily driver leaked...a lot. I was re-filling it weekly. I added a couple table-spoons of auto trans seal conditioner and a couple table-spoons of brake fluid each on two successive refills. The leak stopped almost immediately; I haven't added a drop in a year!!

 

As far as I know, Ya...
I was told Ford developed type-F because there trannies would slip with conventional tranny fluids on the market at the time. I've run it in all my automatics regardless of brand with no ill-effects, and ussually a positively firmer shift. That has been my experience anyway's?

 

I had a very well respected Transmission shop tel me to put a pint of brake fluid in the automatic trans in 1 of my corvairs that sat several months then wouldn't move at all.Put a pint in the trans start the car and shift through all the trans gears several times.Shut the car down and let sit a few days then check it in same manor.It seems that this was a common problem with these trannies .The clutch discs and bands not soaking in fluid would dry out and shrink causing the car to loose all trans function .The brake fluid would swell the fibers in the clutches seals etc.Now he did say to do a fluid change after running the car for a day he also said that this "fix"came from a GM service bullatin when he worked at a Caddilac dealership.It worked for me car sat 2 days after the brake fluid treatment and worked fine after that.I'm putting this in incase someone would want to try it on one of those field finds that you think has a blown automatic trans it's worth a try before pulling that "junk"trans

 

ps fluid and trans fluid is the same stuff

use brake fluid to clean tyres, nice shine!

engine assembly, put a litte trans fluid on a clean rag, wipe the bores and see what dirt it removes. You think you cleaned the bores, wait till you wipe it with tranny fluid!!

everyone knows acetone or thinners will start anything, just pour a tad down the carby.

castor oil in fuel tank for that "race" smell

 

I've heard of people putting salt water in their SU Carburetors instead of oil... :S

 

I've used Marvel Mystery oil to help clean up a higher milage car.

I have heard of the brake fluid in the trans thing, but it was a get you home after the trans failed trick. I was warned to get it home if I did this and park it where it wouldn't be in the way, as the trans supposedly wouldn't work after that (without an overhaul). That was if your trans stopped going into gear, and the friend that told me about it used to be heavy into street racing Monte Carlos, so, take that for whatever it's worth.

 

Brake fluid will swell up oilseals like mentioned above.
It will 'fix' a leaky transmission and powersteering.

IMO, any commercially available "stop-leak"-bottle has some swelling-agents in it to accomplish the same deal.

And about alternative fluids,
I had a wornout, temporary 440ci-engine once in my dailydriven '67 Newport who would gulp oil like you wouldn't believe. I used to fill it up everytime with the 'used oil-can' from a local garage
Anyway, this one day while I was heading to work I noticed the oillevel was getting low again as the light went on while braking, cornering and idling. I didn't have any oil with me at the time.
But I work at a printshop where we had these large Xerox Docutech135-copiers, which use clear siliconbased "fuser oil" to lubricate their internal rolls so the papersheets don't stick to them while they're going by.
When my workingday was over I decided I 'had' to fill the engine up with something, because anything is better than NO oil pressure... so I put a full bottle (1 quart) of this stuff in the engine I could at least get home, which I did.
Didn't notice any ill effects or anything with engine after that.

 

When I was deployed in eastern Europe in '99 there was a squad of infantry guys that needed to do mounted patrols but they let their Humvee get really low on transmission fluid. The motor pool was out (thanks to lack of money and supplies)and couldn't get any for awhile, so they ran it for a month with CLP (gun oil) in the tranny until it broke.

 

LOL... CLP (Clean, Lube, Protect) That shit will fix anything!

 

I think the bigger cans of CLP used to have a fairly conspicuous warning suggesting that it not be used for food preparation...warning labels always inspire creativity! MMmmm..."Field Fries"....

 

Ive used ATF in a 4 speed trans. Have seen diesel fuel used for hydraulic fluid, pepper and/or egg whites in the radiator, sawdust in a noisy rear end, Have even heard of people putting 80/90 in auto trans to make it to the lot to trade it off.

 

A can of Engine Restore with the oil change- my '94 Escort hooptiwagon has 250,000 miles on it and still has great acceleration!

 

Had a forklift that REALLY burned oil bad....2 qts to a 14 gal. tank of fuel.

An old Hispanic guy told me to just run 80W-90 in it.....So I did.

The smoke went to almost zero and it only used 1 pint of oil to the tank of fuel.

BTW:It stopped fouling plugs also.

I have used this in various things ever since.

 

LOL! No.

My first thread was a "I had a wonderful experience with Trick Shift - has anyone else had one, too (and if so, were you running pure Trick Shift, or was it mixed with something)?" post.

This is a "WTF kind of weird chemicals are you using in your cars?" kind of post. It came up in the first post, and I thought it deserved it's own thread, in order to avoid hijacking my own!

~Jason

 

Trick shift works good.

My friend had a Hyandai accent rental car that we put a 125hp shot on and some cooler plugs. That thing would just plain haul ass with the spray. Cooked the trans pretty quick with on 800km on the clock. Engine got a pretty good knock also.

So in went straight 50w oil in teh crankcase with a can of restore - knock went away. Put the original plugs back in. Drained the trans, cleaned all the crap out of the pan, and refilled it with trick shift and it was good as new. Took it back to the rental place.

They called him two weeks later to see if he had any issues with the car - it blew up on the next person who rented it.

He told them - "No, it was great. I was thinking of getting one."
The response from the rental guy "Don't."

 

I use what lubricants the engineers have deemed the correct stuff for each component. I'm NOT an engineer, and I don't subscribe to the "flavor-of -the-week" theory regarding snake oil additives. If a trans is in good condition and working correctly...fine. If it is leaking or slipping....pull the damn thing out and fix it. Working for 40 years in the automotive industry I've seen some scary "fixes" incorporated on some "limp it in" trade-ins at dealers.

 

I remember years ago an old backyard mechanic advising my friend to put a can of Coke and some sawdust in the dying transmission of his Subaru just before he sold it. Claimed it would run like a dream for 50 - 100 miles before shitting the bed for good.
I don't know what transpired, but my friend sold his car and never heard from the dude who bought it. Buyer beware fuckheads and backyard mechanics.

 

Steering box in the Old Model A says to run 600 weight. That stuff kept leaking out and making the steering notchy.

I took out the grease gun and pumped the box 3/4 full of grease. Steers great and keeps all the parts inside protected!

 

You may be accelerating the wear of the box. As the worm works over the sector gear, the grease will get wiped away & will not flow in to refill itself like oil will.

If you've got a leaky steering box, I'd use a mix of STP & grease until you can rebuild it. The STP will at least flow into the voids the grease makes.

 

Quart of gear lube will shut up a noisy engine with loose bearings and worn lifters and make it idle like a million bucks.

 

Sugar and water makes a fine tire black solution. Just don't park near an ant hill.