ATF in oil before oil change
04-21-2004, 11:45 PM
#16
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This worked wonders on my 86 951 that ended up with very noisey lifters after the car sat for 16 mos. while getting body work and paint job. I added 2 quarts and ran the engine at idle for 15 min. Almost fixed the lifter noise.... so I ran it up and down the freeway by my shop 10 min. No lifter noise now 2.5 years later. By the way my mechanic said there was no way to save the lifters....it was that bad.
09-25-2004, 05:48 PM
#19
Nordschleife Master
Originally Posted by superjet.1
Yes it works quite well ive been a mechanic all my life when i worked for porsche we would put a half quart of atf in the new cars to quite lifter noise predominate to new cars. I wouldnt put more than a quart in at a time if your not gonna drain the oil it will make your seals swell ive seen it first hand.
Do any of you guys think Porsche recommends this? I think not. If I heard of a shop doing this I'd never take my car to them again.
09-25-2004, 05:50 PM
#20
Nordschleife Master
Originally Posted by KRhino
This worked wonders on my 86 951 that ended up with very noisey lifters after the car sat for 16 mos. while getting body work and paint job. I added 2 quarts and ran the engine at idle for 15 min. Almost fixed the lifter noise.... so I ran it up and down the freeway by my shop 10 min. No lifter noise now 2.5 years later. By the way my mechanic said there was no way to save the lifters....it was that bad.
09-26-2004, 01:39 PM
#21
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I think it's worth a try...so what brand/kind of atf do you use for this? My oil is a half quart low, so I think I'll top it off with atf for a bit. Also what kind of ATF do you all use for power steering?
11-14-2005, 11:45 PM
#23
this reminds me of something a school friends father did to older cars in the dealer ship, banana peels in the lifter box, 6 bananas does the trick, it will get rid of lifter knock instantly. makes the engin sound as smooth as a baby's bottom. same thing as trans oil. but a little gunkier, with the newer engine's they just stick it in the blender then pour. only last for about 600 miles but enough for someone to buy a car at a dealer ship 
man there are some sharks out there.
man there are some sharks out there.
11-15-2005, 09:05 PM
#24
Race Car
In my 86, I bought the car after it had sat for ~16 months. I had the oil changed, and after the first oil change, there was very noticeable lifter noise. I drove for 15,000kms trying my best to ignore it. Finally, I added 1 litre of ATF to it, since it was ~1L low. I drove about 2500 km's, then it was about 1L low again, so I added another litre, warmed it up, and changed the oil. (it was time anyways). After this, there was virtually no lifter noise.
That said, I suspect this was more due to running the ATF for 2500km's than the extra litre at oil change time, but my front crank seal, and oil pan began to leak a lot faster (used to leak ~1.5L between oil changes, started to leak 2-2.5L). I would not use ATF for longer than 30 minutes of run-time. That said, I would use it on the first oil change when you buy a used car, and every second oil change until the lifter noise is gone. Essentially, it does exactly the same job as a can of engine flush, but it's a lot less harmful to your engine's internals.
I know of several older porsche and mercedes mechanics that swear by this method. You would think that if it had such ill effects, that they would have seen catastrophic failure by now.... I sleep perfectly well at night after using these methods.
Anyhoo, I used Mobil 1 ATF, since I usually have a bottle or two around the garage (both of my parents drive automatics), however for 30 minutes, I rather suspect that a dino-based ATF would have better effects, since it will contain more detergents and anti-sludge additives than a synthetic-based ATF would have.
Peckster, yes it's designed to be run in a gear-box where there is no combustion taking place (hopefully ), however a gearbox tends to get just as hot as engine oil (sometimes hotter if you are towing), and sees a lot more metal particles floating around. Also, automatic transmissions are one of the most neglected parts of a vehicle, so most ATF's are designed for very long service lifes. For the most part, the additives in them are to prevent sludge from forming, since automatic transmissions rely so heavily on fluid pressure through tiny passages, sludge could cause all sorts of shifting problems. It's these anti-sludge properties that make it so appealing as an engine flush, sinec it's sludge that is causing our lifters to clatter. (That or debris in the oil, which is FAR worse)
That said, I suspect this was more due to running the ATF for 2500km's than the extra litre at oil change time, but my front crank seal, and oil pan began to leak a lot faster (used to leak ~1.5L between oil changes, started to leak 2-2.5L). I would not use ATF for longer than 30 minutes of run-time. That said, I would use it on the first oil change when you buy a used car, and every second oil change until the lifter noise is gone. Essentially, it does exactly the same job as a can of engine flush, but it's a lot less harmful to your engine's internals.
I know of several older porsche and mercedes mechanics that swear by this method. You would think that if it had such ill effects, that they would have seen catastrophic failure by now.... I sleep perfectly well at night after using these methods.
Anyhoo, I used Mobil 1 ATF, since I usually have a bottle or two around the garage (both of my parents drive automatics), however for 30 minutes, I rather suspect that a dino-based ATF would have better effects, since it will contain more detergents and anti-sludge additives than a synthetic-based ATF would have.
Peckster, yes it's designed to be run in a gear-box where there is no combustion taking place (hopefully
), however a gearbox tends to get just as hot as engine oil (sometimes hotter if you are towing), and sees a lot more metal particles floating around. Also, automatic transmissions are one of the most neglected parts of a vehicle, so most ATF's are designed for very long service lifes. For the most part, the additives in them are to prevent sludge from forming, since automatic transmissions rely so heavily on fluid pressure through tiny passages, sludge could cause all sorts of shifting problems. It's these anti-sludge properties that make it so appealing as an engine flush, sinec it's sludge that is causing our lifters to clatter. (That or debris in the oil, which is FAR worse)
