engine and drivetrain Old wives tale? Running automatic trans fluid as

[Guest Anonymous]

a substitute for engine oil. Had neighbor with a 6 cyl 65 Ford that he claimed was filled exclusively on auto trans fluid and never had any mechanical problems in the the 40 years he owned the car. (Yes it looked like hell.) He claims he learned this lesson from his military experience maintaining prop aircraft. Is it likely?

[dang]

Its fairly common practice to run ATF in manual gearboxes that were originally designed for 90w gear oil. Some mix other lubricants in with it, like graphite, etc.

Dan

[Napes]

I don't know about your neighbor, but it not likely to happen my ' 02's engine.

[tkent02]

Fords don't last 40 years without mechanical problems. ATF to clean out the gunk in the days before good oil was invented, maybe. But 40 years with nothing breaking? Even Rolls Royce can't pull that one off very often, although a Brit may say so.

[c.d.iesel]

ATF as motor oil ?

only in sub-ARTIC climate,

and slow RPM speed,

and very light load

[punchesdfw]

It is against the FARS (FAA Regs) to run anything other than an approved aircraft engine oil in piston aircraft. If he was doing that, he was breaking the rules and indangering people on the ground and in the air. Not to mention, the possibility of ruining an engine that can easily cost from 20K-100K depending on the engine model.

[Mike Self]

I was in a C-47 squadron in Viet Nam (last of the recip engined front line AF aircraft) and we used aviation oil.

I've known some people that used ATF in their engines for a few minutes as a flushing oil, then drained and put in regular engine oil. Wouldn't do it myself--too light a viscosity, wrong additives...

cheers

mike