Fuel filter and trany fluid.

[Chaz]

Hey Guys,
  A trucker buddy stopped by the other day and we got talking buses, diesel's, etc. (Go figure!  ) He said he always carries a couple quarts of trany fluid to fill his filters with if he needs to change them on the road. He says it works good, doesn't stink "as bad" when you get it on you, and it's pretty handy to carry. What do you think?? Good idea??
  The reason for our conversation was that I had the bacteria problem last fall and treated the tank. I was concerned that the dead little microbial b*****d's would clog my filters and I wanted to be prepared. But he also said that when they "die" they also dissolve and don't clog. I hope so, but I was still curious about using trany fluid to fill the filters. I know it's good for keeping injectors clean, but as an additive, not straight.
  Well, as you can tell, it's time to start working on my baby again........  Limited tho it may be. (people do not have "pretty things" high on their spending priority list  ,as you can imagine, so funds are tight. But my labor is cheap.      )
  Hope you all are well!!!
    Just,
       Chaz

[wal1809]

I would not do it.  I can see a mix but not straight.  I can't give you the numbers off of the top of my head but the injectors are designed for a small range of viscosity.  Diesel fits the range of viscosity and straight tranny fluid does not by a long shot.  The pressure would be out of range for the injectors.  It would be just as easy to keep small can of diesel fuel and use it to fill with instead of the tranny fluid.

[Ace]

My trucker dad would add trans fluid to his tank occassionally but always fill the filters with straight fuel!

[TomC]

On a mechanical 2 stroke with its' relatively loose injectors, you could get away with the auto trans fluid fill method.  But- with any electronic, or 4 stroke engine, I would not.  Diesel fuel now a days is no where near as stinky as it was in days past.  Just be safe and prime the fuel filters with Diesel fuel and you'll never be sorry. Good Luck, TomC

[NeoplanAN440]

I use also ATF to fill my filters on all my engines!
(mercedes,kubota,lister,witte,6v92,cummins......)
no mess and cheaper then fuel injector cleaner!


as said before on a electronic engine i would be careful!!

[Just Dallas]

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[Chaz]

Thanx Dallas. I have soooooooo many things I want to do to My Baby that that would have to take a back seat. But it would be a nice feature.
Thanx all, for the insights. I think I will give this idea a try. I know diesel doesn't stink as bad as it use to but it's still bad. And the trany fluid seems to be pretty easy and convienent. I already put some in my fuel for cleaner as well so, I know there is a plus there. I was trying to be cautious about putting in straight ATF.

Another "popped in my head question"-- Do you think a straight shot of ATF does a very good job of cleaning as opposed to a small amount over a period of time?? I.E. the idea of soaking as oposed to washing off. Just a thought.

A mixture of the two sounds reasonable, but not sure if the mess is worth it if there really isn't any danger in running it straight.
And, since I have a 8V71,  I hope that is a plus here.

  Thanx again guys,
    Chaz

[Just Dallas]

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