While cleaning out the garage I found 3-4 cans of unopened ATF, probably more than 10 years old. What should I use it for, the car that used it is long gone.
While cleaning out the garage I found 3-4 cans of unopened ATF, probably more than 10 years old. What should I use it for, the car that used it is long gone.
I'd pour it in the fuel tank of my diesel, personally. 
Go to the junkyard and put a few drops of the ATF in every cylinder or every engine there and reinstall the spark plugs. If that doesn't win you some karma points I don't know what could
Powar wrote: I'd pour it in the fuel tank of my diesel, personally.
Hmm...does that work for newer common rail diesels? I have half a case of Mercon V from the Ford Era that I could use for this purpose. 
Buy some Kerosene and have a lifetime supply of penetrating oil.
Type A? Dexron 2? Dexron 3? Use it in a vehicle of appropriate age. Dex 3 was the standard for quite a while, until the OE's started speccing a synthetic. (Dex 6)
none of the cars need any or have for a year. I like the mix with kerosene idea, how would a quart mix with a tank of gas? I have an 87 audi that would probably be fine with it.
How about misting the ATF all over your skin for a DIY spray on tan?
Keep it. I use it as motor flush sometimes before an oil change. Works very well.
a motor flush sounds like a good idea. how long do I run it in with the oil?
I put in a squirt can and use it for oiling things.
I use atf for oiling stuff also as it is non-detergent. Good stuff to have around.
Mix it 50/50 with acetone and you have a great rust penetrate.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/penetrating-oil-showdown.350800/
benzbaronDaryn wrote: I use atf for oiling stuff also as it is non-detergent. Good stuff to have around.
Wait non detergent? I always thought it was high detergent but low foaming. I don't use it for oiling thins as it has a rather strong smell.
When using it as a motor flush I put a whole quart in. My cars take 6 quarts. I usually run the car for and hour or so. I run some errands or just go for a drive. I have had things come up and I have left it in for several weeks with out any problems. You should have seen the color of the oil that came out after that one.
On older diesels its good to run it for the pump. It adds lubricity to modern diesel fuel that they lost when they went low-sulpher.
ATF is non-detergent. People mistake the squeaky clean interiors of transmissions for the misconception that they are high detergent. They are squeaky clean because the transmission doesn't have to deal with all the moisture and carbon of combustion blow-by.
For this reason, it is also a misconception that ATF makes a good motor flush. The only reason it might help a bit is because its lower viscosity of around SAE20.
ATF works great as a penetrating oil. I mix it 50/50 with kerosene or diesel and then add a bit of napthalene and put it in a squirt can. We used this exclusively at the shop I ran in Austin. Since we were a transmission shop, we had access to hundreds of gallons of used ATF, so I just hooked up a filter and a Holley fuel pump. I would occasionally fill a gallon jug with that concoction and guys could just come over and fill up when they ran out.
You can dump it in a diesel tank. I might avoid it on high-falutin' common rail stuff, but I read an article in diesel power magazine about a guy who runs up to 50% ATF in his 7.3 'stroke.
I used ATF once to oil a piece of oak that I was going to use to mount a lamp. It was an accident... I was going to use Linseed oil, but I spilled ATF on it accidentally. So I finished it with ATF. Three coats and it looked kinda neat.
I would also wager that its fine to use even if its old. I wouldn't put 5 quarts in after a filter change, but topping up with a quart or two shouldn't be an issue. I would also imagine its perfectly fine as manual transmission oil in boxes that spec ATF. The main things there are the friction and viscosity additives which don't easily break down with time.
Trans fluid is non-detergent because you want particles of metal and junk to fall out of suspension into the transoil pan magnet thingy. Detergents hold contaminants in suspension and they would be recirculated through the transmission.
You'll need to log in to post.
