ATF fluid into oil - strange service record (1 Viewer)

[supercoupe91]

I nearly bought a 2014 lx570 from my local dealer, then found the strangest thing.

Lexus dealer servicing its entire life, including a few post warranty years.
Lexus dealer printed off the redacted records, and check these out.
Customer demanded lucas heavy duty stabilizer (1qt) and mercon V atf (1 quart) be added to engine oil

Why would someone do this??

 

[bj70bc]

engine flush

 

[supercoupe91]

Is that odd to you? Trying to “flush” an engine?

 

[plainjanefjc]

Is that odd to you? Trying to “flush” an engine?

Yes it’s odd - no reputable source would advise this.

 

[bj70bc]

its the old school method of cleaning engine internals.... run it for a few hundred km and dump the oil/atf out
ya its not necessarily 'advisable', but seafoam is not really any different of a process, and that crap says to do it right on the bottle... at least atf has some lube properties

 

[doru]

By modern standards it is not what you should do. Modern standard is: you should add nothing to your engine oil, no mater what is written on any box. If you need better wear you should research a different oil, not add stuff to it.
BTW seafoam doesn't do anything if added to the oil. It is going to evaporate when you start the engine.

 

[185]

im surprised they complied but whoever documented it is smart/risk adverse.

 

[bj70bc]

By modern standards it is not what you should do. Modern standard is: you should add nothing to your engine oil, no mater what is written on any box. If you need better wear you should research a different oil, not add stuff to it.
BTW seafoam doesn't do anything if added to the oil. It is going to evaporate when you start the engine.

agreed

 

[plainjanefjc]

im surprised they complied but whoever documented it is smart/risk adverse.

Yeah I guess they’ll do whatever if you are paying for it.

 

[plainjanefjc]

That valvoline clean and protect oil is showing some promising results from some of the videos I’ve seen so far- I’d go that route before I start pouring in snake oil that my brothers cousin heard about in the internet.

 

[ryanCA]

im surprised they complied but whoever documented it is smart/risk adverse.

typing on paper and complying are not the same thing

 

[supercoupe91]

Ha, RyanCA, i wondered that myself.
Maybe the dealer laughed and threw it away.

I walked away from the purchase of it.
Frustrating as it was the first LX/LC I've looked at out of +-30 where the frame was clean.

Everything has been changed on it, multiple times - coolant, power steering, brake fluid, etc.

Unfortunately the prior owner felt need to put his own little cocktails in the front seat to dump in.

 

[lehiguy]

This used to be a very common thing. ATF is excellent at dissolving gunk and crud than can then be filtered out. It had good lubricity too, so it isn't going to hurt anything by adding a quart to the motor oil.

 

[doru]

There are two major problems with that. First they are diluting the engine oil additives package that is there exactly for engine protection. So you are guaranteed more wear especially when used like above for the entire service interval. Second is the dissolving part, that as proven by past oils that had high dissolving capabilities leads to problems clogging filters. This is why the new Valvoline mentioned above is way less aggressive and you need to use it for extended time.
Bottom line is that in this day and age there is absolutely no justification for adding ATF to the engine. And I would argue that even back in the day there was no scientific or engineering justification just ignorance and lore.

 

[MSLX]

I bought my 570 with ~85k miles on it a couple years ago. Several months later, I discovered the Lexus site after reading about it on Mud. In the service history it states the engine was sludged due to low oil. Lexus (Memphis) recommended and added 1 qt of ATF to break down the sludge. They also recommended follow up oil changes at 2k and 3k intervals - which were done. I'm now at 125k miles...and...I'll knock on wood and keep my mouth shut....

 

[bloc]

I bought my 570 with ~85k miles on it a couple years ago. Several months later, I discovered the Lexus site after reading about it on Mud. In the service history it states the engine was sludged due to low oil. Lexus (Memphis) recommended and added 1 qt of ATF to break down the sludge. They also recommended follow up oil changes at 2k and 3k intervals - which were done. I'm now at 125k miles...and...I'll knock on wood and keep my mouth shut....

Send off a sample for used oil analysis to find out for sure.

Most likely everything is fine.

 

[185]

I bought my 570 with ~85k miles on it a couple years ago. Several months later, I discovered the Lexus site after reading about it on Mud. In the service history it states the engine was sludged due to low oil. Lexus (Memphis) recommended and added 1 qt of ATF to break down the sludge. They also recommended follow up oil changes at 2k and 3k intervals - which were done. I'm now at 125k miles...and...I'll knock on wood and keep my mouth shut....

If need be switch over to a more aggressive oil package.

Folks at bitog recommend HPL or if budget concerns, Valvoline Restore and Protect.

Slow but effective clean is the name of the game.

 

[lehiguy]

There are two major problems with that. First they are diluting the engine oil additives package that is there exactly for engine protection. So you are guaranteed more wear especially when used like above for the entire service interval. Second is the dissolving part, that as proven by past oils that had high dissolving capabilities leads to problems clogging filters. This is why the new Valvoline mentioned above is way less aggressive and you need to use it for extended time.
Bottom line is that in this day and age there is absolutely no justification for adding ATF to the engine. And I would argue that even back in the day there was no scientific or engineering justification just ignorance and lore.

Not ignorance and not lore. We did it because it worked, period.

 

[KLF]

Wonder all you want, but in some cases, it WORKS to desludge an engine.

When I bought my '87 Xtra cab pickup back in '01, it had been sitting for years covered in a garage, rarely driven (but in pristine condition). The timing chain in the 22RE made a horrible rattle when I started it cold. First oil change, I replaced a quart of the oil with Marvel Mystery Oil. Drove it for a few hundred miles, the oil came out very dark. So I did it again. Few hundred miles later, it was dark, but not bad. Fresh oil, timing chain death rattle GONE.

I wouldn't do it as a regular preventive thing, but if you suspect an engine has some sludge in it, this procedure can avoid a full teardown, as long as there is no damage.

 

[kevgentile]

ATF is essentially the same as Marvel's, without the appealing minty freshness. We've been adding these to engine oil for decades in our shop. It works and works well to break down sludge and build up that can occur from either infrequent and inconsistent servicing, and especially vehicles that sit for extended periods of time with dirty acidic oils. We often see engines that sit, with dirty oil and short drive cycles develop tappet clack and adding atf/mmo will loosen everything back up.

If I had looked at 30+ potential buys and this was the cleanest of them all, I would have jumped on it. A clean rust free 570 wins.