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How to repurpose transmission fluid

Poe34

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Joined
Nov 26, 2016
Messages
530
Location
Ohio
Hi guys, I flushed my transmission and I have 5 gallons of fluid that's pretty clean. I hate to take it to recycle if there is something else I can repurpose it for. I searched, without much luck. Any ideas are appreciated, I have learned so much on this site, hopefully some of you can school me on this!
 
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McFarmer

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Aug 29, 2009
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2,139
Underside of mower deck ? Snow blower ? I use old hydraulic oil on chains around the farm.
 

Moosefire

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Oct 26, 2018
Messages
754
Location
Detroit
Maybe for cutting fluid on a drill press or mill? Never done it but might work

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 

58Yeoman

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Joined
Oct 1, 2010
Messages
8,999
Location
Central IL
I collect all my used oils and thinners in a 5 gallon can, then use it to start the brush fires in my burn pit.
 

lostmind

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Joined
Sep 1, 2011
Messages
788
Location
Wellington,Ohio
I collect all my used oils and thinners in a 5 gallon can, then use it to start the brush fires in my burn pit.

This is what I do , I end up with powdered ash after the burn.
You could mix it with acetone for penetrating oil.
Or cutting oil when drilling
 

thin_concrete

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Nov 5, 2018
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197
Location
MA
Do you have guns? If so, it makes a good lube. I use Mobil 1, but have heard good things about Dexron.
 

PWC Repair

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Dec 27, 2012
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Location
Arkansas
Maybe for cutting fluid on a drill press or mill? Never done it but might work

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Nope....tried that, just gets hot and smokes. 2 stroke oil works great though.
Trans fluid is great for starting brush fires. Add some to motor oil 300 miles before an oil change to clean out deposits. Put a little bit in your fuel to clean and lube injectors...works great for deisels too! And as already stated as a corrosion inhibitor or rust penetrant, mix it with a bit of kerosene or mineral spirits and add a dab of alcohol.
 

jeepinerdeep

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Joined
Dec 28, 2013
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2,099
Location
South Central PA
Just dispose of or take somewhere for burning in a furnace.

As pointed out, its just a mess liability.

Do not put ATF in your engine, that's foolish advice. Damn sure don't put it in the fuel of a modern diesel engine. That's old hillbilly talk.

ATF also makes a poor lubricant.

It's designed to be used in transmissions, so if not there-why fool with it.
 
OP
P

Poe34

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Joined
Nov 26, 2016
Messages
530
Location
Ohio
Thanks guys, I was just out last night trying to burn my brush pile that's too green. I didn't even think about trying to use some ATF. I guess I'll keep a bit, and take the rest up to recycle. It stinks too much to use on my guns! And sberry, I already spent enough on oildri in my driveway. I thought I could do the flush without too much of a mess, I was wrong! I ended up discovering rusted out oil cooler lines that I replaced, stripping the oil pan plug, pulling the oil pan to make sure shavings didn't end up in the pan, breaking an oil pan bolt... brag post here, bolt broke off below the transmission housing, and laying on my back in the driveway, I managed to perfectly center a drill in the bold and didn't touch the threads to remove it! Anyway, my "not too mess, 2 hour job" turned into two trips to the parts store and an oil covered driveway.
 

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PWC Repair

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 27, 2012
Messages
3,189
Location
Arkansas
Just dispose of or take somewhere for burning in a furnace.

As pointed out, its just a mess liability.

Do not put ATF in your engine, that's foolish advice. Damn sure don't put it in the fuel of a modern diesel engine. That's old hillbilly talk.

ATF also makes a poor lubricant.

It's designed to be used in transmissions, so if not there-why fool with it.

Well, you can think whatever you want but the 10,500 rpm Yamaha MR1 engines in the Waverunners I work on are well documented for sticking rings. A short ride at the lake or 20-30 minutes on the hose with a quart of oil substituted with Dexron atf fixes it most of the time. Other times it's Kroil or something soaking in the cylinder for a week or so.
I also literally just mixed 1/2 and 1/2 atf to clean out the injector pump and injectors in the Toro Workman I got recently (thread on here somewhere)that smoked pretty bad. Mitsubishi diesel. Now only smokes a little bit unless under heavy load. Obviously had sticky injectors over fueling that are now working pretty good. It also has a bit in the crankcase cause the oil was exceptionally filthy from lack of maintenance so, cleaning that up some. I also used it in my '04 Nissan Xterra to get rid of a lifter tick shortly after we got it at 83000 miles. Some jerk was getting it serviced at a fast lube place with **** Penzoil. Some atf and a couple 1000 mile oil changes and the oil actually looks like oil when I change it now instead of tar. But....I digress.

Also, to the OP.......throw a cup at a time on your brushpile. It burns off really hot and will get that pile going!
 
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kelpaso1

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Sep 28, 2009
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3,962
Location
New Brunswick
lifetime supply of "break free" fluid, ****** fluid and acetone, great stuff!

Some people swear by it but I found that **** concoction no better than even the cheapest penetrating spray. Plus acetone and atf don't mix. Shake the spray bottle and the acetone separates within 30 seconds. Old man ******** is what I think.
 

walt_mink

New member
Joined
Aug 16, 2015
Messages
3
It had wonderful detergent properties. I keep a bucket around to toss parts into. I let whatever it is soak for a day and - voila - clean and easy to disassemble.
 
Joined
Jun 30, 2011
Messages
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Location
AZ
Some people swear by it but I found that **** concoction no better than even the cheapest penetrating spray. Plus acetone and atf don't mix. Shake the spray bottle and the acetone separates within 30 seconds. Old man ******** is what I think.

 

bwringer

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Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Messages
10,323
Location
Indianapolis
Keep it till you spill it on the floor, buy 20$ of floor dri, sweep up. Get rid of it.

Just dispose of or take somewhere for burning in a furnace.

As pointed out, its just a mess liability.

Do not put ATF in your engine, that's foolish advice. Damn sure don't put it in the fuel of a modern diesel engine. That's old hillbilly talk.

ATF also makes a poor lubricant.

It's designed to be used in transmissions, so if not there-why fool with it.


Yep. Get rid of that stanky ****, pronto.

If you do need a little ATF for some "old man hillbilly" whatever, use fresh and not leftovers.
 

gtae07

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Joined
Mar 6, 2015
Messages
2,985
Location
Fayetteville, GA
The dirty ATF from our van smelled so bad I didn't want to use it anywhere. I disposed of it.

Clean ATF mixed with kerosene and odorless mineral spirits makes a decent gun cleaner.
 

gearhead1

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 14, 2013
Messages
1,935
Location
NC
Some people swear by it but I found that **** concoction no better than even the cheapest penetrating spray. Plus acetone and atf don't mix. Shake the spray bottle and the acetone separates within 30 seconds. Old man ******** is what I think.

+1, I tried it too. Never heard of before until I saw it here on GJ. It didn’t mix well, and didn’t seem better than WD40. So back to kroil for rusty/frozen stuff and WD40 for everything else.

I use ATF as cutting fluid.

It could also be used to ‘season’ a new set of headers.
 

Dragfluid

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Joined
Sep 15, 2013
Messages
17,671
Location
Pillager, MN
Regular ATF is not a good lubricant, period. If it's synthetic, that may be a different story.
Don't put 'used' ATF in an engine for cleaning rings. New only.

Bring to someone that burns waste oil, or take to recycler.
 

HotrodHR

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 22, 2009
Messages
445
Location
North Alabama
Thanks guys, I was just out last night trying to burn my brush pile that's too green. I didn't even think about trying to use some ATF. I guess I'll keep a bit, and take the rest up to recycle. It stinks too much to use on my guns! And sberry, I already spent enough on oildri in my driveway. I thought I could do the flush without too much of a mess, I was wrong! I ended up discovering rusted out oil cooler lines that I replaced, stripping the oil pan plug, pulling the oil pan to make sure shavings didn't end up in the pan, breaking an oil pan bolt... brag post here, bolt broke off below the transmission housing, and laying on my back in the driveway, I managed to perfectly center a drill in the bold and didn't touch the threads to remove it! Anyway, my "not too mess, 2 hour job" turned into two trips to the parts store and an oil covered driveway.

With this kind ^^^^^ of "luck" do you you really think it's a good idea to keep 5 gallons of dirty fluid?

Just curious as to why you neeeded to flush your transmission, vs drain, replace filter and refill?
 

theoldwizard1

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 22, 2011
Messages
43,275
Location
SE MI
Hi guys, I flushed my transmission and I have 5 gallons of fluid that's pretty clean. I hate to take it to recycle if there is something else I can repurpose it for. I searched, without much luck. Any ideas are appreciated, I have learned so much on this site, hopefully some of you can school me on this!

5 GALLONS ! What kind of transmission ? Most transmission only take 2 or 3 at most !
 

theoldwizard1

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 22, 2011
Messages
43,275
Location
SE MI
Just curious as to why you neeeded to flush your transmission, vs drain, replace filter and refill?

Replacing the filter is a waste of money. It is only there to prevent any leftover debris from manufacturing from getting back into the transmission. Rinse it and clean the pan.

A few manufactures are actually putting drain plugs on the transmission sumps. If you want to be pro-active, drain the pan, measure what came out and replace it, somewhere between 25K and 50K.

If you have AWD or 4WD, it uses different lube. Replace it somewhere between 25K and 50K.

ALWAYS USE THE MANUFACTURER SPECIFIED/BRAND OF FLUID !

Both of these are "peace of mind". Most manufactures do not call for transmission/transfer case fluid changes until 100K. If you DIY, the cost is low, under $50. I hate to see what a "stealership" would charge !
 

brownsmustang

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 30, 2015
Messages
403
Location
SWMO
Why the aversion to getting rid of it? This is how you end up with a shop full of **** that you "might" need some day.
 

Doc995

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Joined
Jan 1, 2019
Messages
615
Location
Sandy Hook, CT
+1 on finding someone who has a waste oil heater. A mechanic friend of mine built an Agway building a few years ago and installed a new waste oil fired furnace in it. On the COLDEST of days, his shop is a toasty 70* or better. As far as finding sources for oil, there is NO shortage. He has a 500 gal tank outside the shop (enclosed so there is no mess to see) and do it yourself'ers bring him their used oil all the time. He's happy to accept it, and they're happy to get rid of it. Win/Win.
 
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