ytodd

My Dad's neighbor has a 90 first gen, 380K miles on it. Has run 30% ATF since it came home from the dealership (he owns a tranny shop). Truck has had the turbo rebuilt, KDP killed and 2 clutches and normal PM, nothing else. Runs like a top and gets worked almost daily on his farm. So to answer your question, I guess it works for at least 18 years and 380K miles in his truck.

Why would you call anyone on here ignorant simply because their opinion and experiences differ from yours?

stinkindiesel

C'mon! Eating tomatoes was once thought of as ignernt- they were supposedly poisonous. And I guess running anything other than super-clean conventional #2 with a good dose of lubricant mixed in is also a little risky if you've got a VP pumping the juice (I've heard rumors).
The older 12-valve engines are a bit more primitive and seem to be able to process a wider range of fuels. I'd rather run my home-crafted bio than the ULSD any day of the week. Even if the ULSD cost the same as the bio. And for the price of a pair of 5-micron and 2-micron filters, I'd rather run properly filtered ATF, etc., mixed with B100 or pump diesel than straight ULSD.
Of course, this is because the engine under my hood is more forgiving. If I had one of the modern, more finicky mills, I'd run it on nothing less refined than angels' tears and babies' whiskers.
As a side note, judging three people you've never met as "ignorant" using a single point of information as your sole reference is hasty at best. It also adds nothing to the thread.

futureowner

annabelle I will ask how long they have been using it. I am unsure at the moment. There would be no way I would run it in a VP44 or a common rail not even a small mixture but the mechanical pumps can take a wider variety of fuels like stinkindiesel said.

Nohel

A typical ATF filter may have a rating of 60 to 125 microns or higher -- compared to 20 to 25 microns for an oil filter. The reason why is so the filter will pass enough fluid when the ATF is cold. Yet it only takes a particle the size of a human hair (about 30 microns) to jam a transmission valve! If your Driving a common Rail your stock injector holes are about 6 microns. And ATF also contains include metallic detergents such as other alkaline-earth metal sulfonates other than those used as component of the present invention, alkaline-earth metal phenates, phosphonates, carboxylates, salicylates and thelike; antioxidants such as zinc alkyl or aryl dithiophosphates, hindered phenols, aromatic amines and the like; extreme pressure agents such as olefin sulfides, ester sulfides, phosphoric esters, phosphorus esters and the like; friction modifiers such asfatty acids, salts and esters of a fatty acid, higher alcohols, acid phosphoric esters, amine compounds and the like; metal deactivators; rust preventives; viscosity index improvers; pour point depressants; seal swelling agents; defoaming agents andmixtures.

IT's Bad don't do It in the new fuel systems but that's just my 2 cents.

ytodd

Double checked with my Dad, I was mistaken. The neighbors truck is a 93, not a 90, and it has 420K on it not 380.

stinkindiesel

Too bad it's doomed.

chipmonk

yup, the first 420k was just to lull him into a false sense of security. the next 420k are where the problems start popping up!

annabelle

I don't use ATF and won't. Stinkindiesel, I said your friends were ignorant about ATF not things in general. There is a diffenece between ignorant and stupid.

futureowner

Well I talked to my friends and the two running straight atf have about 3000 kilometers driving it which converts to around 1800 miles.Everything has been smooth sailing for them.

stinkindiesel

I agree; with your powerplant, you should use nothing but fresh, sweet, perfectly filtered #2 diesel. I will continue brew homemade B100 and mix in whatever vaguely oil-based substances I can scrounge. And it was Futureowner's friends you spoke about.

annabelle

I agree with the bio, sorry if I confused you with someone else.

johnny5.9

ATF does lubricate but also needs to maintain a certain coefficient of friction between the clutches or your tranny won't hold any torque. It's not a great lubricator.

annabelle

You know, that is what is great about this country, you do what you are comfortable with and I'll do the same. Sorry if I offended anyone.

ytodd

Just to clarify, your exact words were.
I was just curious about why you say such a thing about somebody or their friends, when the only cause I can see is that they differ in opinion from you. Seems awfully harsh to me.

stinkindiesel

Aww, let it slide; he repented.
I reviewed the original posting and the question was "do you think it's safe?"
1) sounds like someone's asking for opinions or points of view;
2) my opinion is "yes, for me; maybe, for you, if you've got a VE or P-pump; and NO, for all others. If you decide to go for it, filter it well. 2 microns.
3) I also have a 2000 VW Jetta TDI that will never see a drop of ATF as fuel (see above and below);
4) I also have a 1985 Mercedes 300D in which I use anything as fuel. I would stuff Rosie O'Donnell into the tank if I thought she'd get through the filter.
5 ) Anytime you venture beyond the owners manual, your actions are backed by your net worth. I've run at least 2,500 gallons of B100 and 400 gallons of ATF through my truck. Assuming an average price of $3.00/gal for #2 over the last 4 years, and a production cost of .75 cents/gal for the bio, I've saved $6825.00. I feel good.