Adding ATF to Crank Case - Good or bad idea - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

unkit · 10-11-2007, 04:58 AM

Hi guys

I rang my mechanic to arrange an oil service, and he's out of town, he asked me to buy the oil and the filter, and I have no clue what to get.... there are so many options, I'm completely baffled. I service my car every 5000km, but I thought it might be best to find the correct oil. Anyways, I tried to do some research, and I've read on various websites that a good way to clean ur engine of sludge is to add Dexron 3 to the crank case.

The recommended is from 1/2 a litre to 1 litre..... I'm not gutsy enough to try those rather large amounts, but I was thinking of 100mls or so.

Anyone think i can do much harm to the seals etc? I had my rear main done not too long ago, and really don't wanna pay for that again. If it kills the engine because of a chunk of sludge clogging up a passage, I'll live with that. (i have a crappy mechanical warranty that will cover some of the parts)

Your opinions are highly appreciated. I know nothing about oils etc.... so if this is a stupid idea, please let me know.

BTW, I have a 5s-fe 250 000 km (first 40 000 were serviced as per book, then the next service was done at 160 000, then I got it at 222 000km, and it has had services every 5000km since then),

Stillrunning · 10-11-2007, 06:15 AM

Why do you think your engine has sludge?

unkit · 10-11-2007, 06:37 AM

I removed the oil cap, turned it over, seems to have all sorts of crud stuck to it. Also, I've looked at the service book..... the car was hardly serviced for a period of 100 000km.

I guess I don't KNOW!, i'm just guessing... is it likely that I would be wrong?

Would 2 cap fulls of ATF hurt the engine in any way?

Qslim · 10-11-2007, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unkit

I removed the oil cap, turned it over, seems to have all sorts of crud stuck to it. Also, I've looked at the service book..... the car was hardly serviced for a period of 100 000km.

I guess I don't KNOW!, i'm just guessing... is it likely that I would be wrong?

Would 2 cap fulls of ATF hurt the engine in any way?

Finding a little gunk under the oil cap isn't indicative of anything. The best way to inspect for sludge is to remove the valve cover.
As far as the ATF, two caps won't hurt, but it probably won't do anything either. When we were going through the whole 1MZ sludge thing where we were rebuilding two a week, it was common practice to fill the crankcase with ATF and let it run for several hours. This wasn't to clean it, though, it was to soften up the sludge and make it easier to wash out. Pull a valve cover if you expect sludge.

Stillrunning · 10-11-2007, 08:03 AM

My Camry had an unknown service history when I bought it. I used this:
http://www.auto-rx.com/ just to be sure the inside was clean. I've used it before and it does flush out engine. Can't hurt but it is a little expensive. For your mileage it recommends 2 treatments. If you don't expect to keep the car very long or you have other wear/mechanical problems I wouldn't bother. It won't fix leaks but I've never had it make leaks worse.

ShawnM · 10-11-2007, 08:20 AM

Dont bother adding AFT to your engine. Just keep up with the oil changes. People get the idea that you can just wash sludge build up away and not worry about it, but in reality all your doing is flushing it down to the oil pan where it will plug up the oil pickup screen. As QS said it ony softens it up it dosent completely disolve it. Once you flush it out you have to remove the oil pan and clean it out. Just about all of those engines have a little crud buildup on the bottom of the filler cap, it does not mean you have a sludge problem in the engine.

Sniperdude · 10-11-2007, 10:03 AM

Add diesel to the crankcase if you need to clean it.

Venom_5 · 10-11-2007, 10:19 AM

if i were you, i would remove your valve cover and check for sludge .... run some seafoam through it, if you want .... but not fill it with ATF

***Eye8Pussies*** · 10-11-2007, 10:52 AM

^ what he said....check for sludge first

if there is any, seafoam will help

geoff5093 · 10-11-2007, 11:42 AM

Why would your mechanic tell you to get the oil and filter? I hope he's not charging you for the oil change..

***toyomoho*** · 10-11-2007, 12:07 PM

If the engine has the Toyota sludge problem, additives will not help. If you have sludge, additives may break this stuff loose in the engine and plug the oil galleries causing major damage.

As suggested check for sludge by removing the valve cover, an easy job. Suggest not adding additives as all major oils already have additives to keep the engine clean.

unkit · 10-11-2007, 03:40 PM

Thanks for the help guys. I found a thread talking about how to remove the valve cover, 5SFE Valve Cover Removal But I don't think I'm game enough to remove it. I always though that was the head.... I might do a bit more reading to know about my car parts first before I stuff something up by attempting it myself.

I HAVE to pay someone else to change my oil, otherwise I can't keep my warranty... Besides, the amount of money required for a proper jack etc would pay for 1.5 services anyways, and I hope i can save up enough for a new car by 6 or so months.

Thanks again for ur help. Basically, don't add ATF, as it won't do any good. BTW, if i do have sludge, should my oil be black/darker? I've done roughly 4500 km since my last service, and the oil on the dipstick is still the same colour as what went in.

EDIT: Reading about Seafoam is what gave me this idea. We can't get seafoam here in Australia as far as i know.

RedPhoenix · 10-12-2007, 07:16 AM

removing the valve cover will take 20 min.... only way your going to really know.

digmycelica · 10-12-2007, 07:33 AM

Some mechanics ask the customers to bring their own oil and filter for various reasons.
For example, If someone wants a different brand oil & filter than the mechanic keeps in stock, or sometimes people want to bring in their own parts to save money.
I don't understand why #10 post said I hope he's not charging you for the oil change.
I don't work for free and not many other mechanics do either. He's still doing the service so why not get paid, he's just not charging for the oil.
Maybe I just didn't read it right..

unkit · 10-12-2007, 09:30 AM

Don't know yet. I expect him to charge me almost the same for the service as he does with the oil and fliter. Most of the service charge is labour isn't it?

He asked me to buy the oil and filter, cause he's out of town. Dunno why he doesn't buy the drums of oil that my last mechanic used to buy..... this guy does it from the bottle.... Mean's i don't get a service sticker either...

Anyways, getting back to my original post, can a small amount (30ml) of ATF in the crank case over a LONG period of time, - say 5000km, harm the engine in any way? Now, its more of a curiosity thing.... I mean, its still oil right, and granted its not supposed to work at such high tempratures, but it would still protect the engine in some way, so technically, u'd just be decreasing the viscosity of the oil right?

Tried removing nuts from valve cover, I can't undo em.