Carlube ATF

[arctan]

Anybody used this long term? I also read a post saying this runs cooler than mineral ATF?


940 '97

[Rossi-fan]

Used it in my S60, had no problems whatsoever.

[green van man]

I run atf in the landrover gearbox, not tried the car lube but have used their greases, going by the performance of those I would have no hesitation using their atf.
As I change it every 2 (12 to 16000 miles) years the cheaper stuff that meets standards are acceptable to me.

Paul.

[Laird Scooby]

I use Carlube ATF-U in both my Rover 827 and Volvo 760 and it meets Toyotas standards for the AW box that is used on the Volvo as well.

Also used it in my old Jeep Cherokee, again an AW-71LE where it exceeeded all the other requirements.

That's the tech requirements met - what's it like as a fluid? The shifts (after 3-4 "sump-dump" type changes a month or so apart followed by one a year) are silky smooth and almost imperceptible, the economy and power transfer is much better, not sure if it runs cooler or not but i've not had any over heating problems with it at all.

Also when i do a "sump-dump" type change, i use an oil extractor pump that i bought on ebay for about £15 and position the car so the nose is down compared to the tail.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Electric-...s/132439466537



Then the suction pipe goes down the gearbox dipstick hole, discharge pipe into an old 5L container, switch the pump on, leave it 20-25 minutes while i have a coffee then go out and check on it.

When it finishes emptying all the contents, switch off the pump and remove the old 5L container, put the lid on and let it settle while i arrange a funnel in the dipstick tube.

Once it's settled i can estimate the quantity of fluid removed. I add just under my estimate of new fluid, run the engine up to work the fluid through the box, get it back on level ground and check the level, topping up as necessary.

Usually the amount is about 3-3.5L, a straight sump-dump using the drain plug in the sump is i believe about 2.5L, suggesting a litre of old fluid is always in the sump, ready to contaminate the new fluid.

On older boxes, i avoid doing the "flushing method" for the simple reason this adds all the new fluid in one go and as the new fluid will always be thicker than the old fluid, it can cause problems with older, weaker seals etc.To my mind, it's worth the extra fuss of doing a few sump-dumps at the rate of one a month to protect the seals and save having to remove the box for a rebuild.

In short, Carlube ATF-U is an excellent fluid and can also be used for other things - mix it 50/50 with acetone, shake well and use it as a releasing oil, use the ATF as hydraulic jack oil, buy a syringe and empty the PAS reservoir, top up with ATF-U and bleed - do this while the pump is emptying your gearbox and you'll improve your steering in leaps and bounds as well!

[arctan]

Many thanks Scooby for the great information. And nice to see that the pump is affordable!

[Laird Scooby]

You're welcome - maybe i should have also mentioned the car needs a run of 4-5 miles before pumping the old ATF out to warm the fluid up. It will pump it cold but take even longer!

For example, i used the pump to drain my lawnmower recently and that was cold, as in i hadn't run it up beforehand. Took almost 15 minutes and was only about 0.6 - 0.7L so shows the difference having it warm makes!