Hello everyone,

Today I called the benz mechanic that my car used to go to before I got it. Now this guy has been working on nothing but mercedes/ bmw's for the good part of 30 years. Anyway I called him to ask him what I should do to clean my fuel system as routine maintenance, and he told me to put some ATF im my fuel tank. he said that i can use as much as i wanted because it won't hurt the engine and since its a detergent itll clean the fuel system. the car is running fine, and my question is, would I be able to run my car off of straight ATF? One of my good friends is the head transmission mechanic at the Ford dealer that i used to work at and he said that he can get me all the used ATF I want, but I'm wondering would i be able to use it for fuel if i were to filter it really well?

Weird ques but im very curious.

The short answer is yes it will burn ATF, heck people even burn used motor oil. However the long answer according to internet lorn is that it will coke the injectors and long term be a bad thing.

DO NOT run used ATF through the fuel system. The tiny metal shavings will tear up your injection system.

If you insist on running ATF through your fuel system, only use new oil.

Maybe new atf,but I wouldn't run used in it.You'd be better off running it on urine,than on used,for the same reasons..shrapnal will wreak havoc on everything dear to you.I've got a waste oil heater in my home shop,and run,new oil,new atf,diesel,or home heating oil in it.I don't even run old stuff in that,and it's actually made specifically for it.When I used to run used oils in it of any kind,I was taking it apart very week for cleaning,and filters.Now,I do it once a year,at the end of each season,and the parts are pretty clean when I open it up.

The Bosch shop that I used for my injectors didn't like the ATF idea. There business is diesel injection so I listen to what they say.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

filter to single digit micron(lower is better) and you should be fine.sometimes the oldtimers(Now this guy has been working on nothing but mercedes/ bmw's for the good part of 30 years) know better than our mostly conservative approaches.

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1984 300D turbo 155k

www.interactivepainmanagement.com

I've used Bio, gasoline, ATF, motor oil (all in one tank too) in less than 30% ratio to regular diesel. It will run on it, no doubt. I agree, though, that you'd be better off to filter it down and maybe cut it with something thinner to get the viscosity close to diesel. I'm told Bosch pumps on old Mercs tolerate higher viscosites better than rotory pumps. I wouldn't use it if its been sitting exposed to air(humidity) either. I just don't know if ATF is water retentive like motor oil is. Trannys have screens mostly not paper filters like the engines(except for Subarus as far as I know). I'd want to filter used ATF better were I might be inclined to pure used motor hot from the sump to the fuel tank since its been through the oil filter and will be going through my fuel filters before it hits the injectors and pump. Also if you react used motor oil with you biodiesel it will precipitate out the particulates between the methyl ester and glycerine layers. Maybe ATF will work the same way. Its worth investigating.

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'83 300DT
'04 Forester XT--modified
'61 Beetle EFI Turbo
Burley recumbant

The only way I would use used atf is if I were to refractionate it some how. That would eliminate all metal particles and dirt in it. Seeing that its no small task to do so, I don't think its practical. If frenchfry grease had metal particles in it I don't think anybody would be doing bio diesel.

Use all the new ATF you want. Every time I change my fuel filter I fill it up with ATF before I put it on the car. The concentrated slug of it really cleans things out.

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green 85 300SD 200K miles "Das Schlepper Frog" With a OM603 TBO360 turbo ( To be intercooled someday )( Kalifornistani emissons )
white 79 300SD 200K'ish miles "Farfegnugen" (RIP - cracked crank)
desert storm primer 63 T-bird "The Undead" (long term hibernation)

http://ecomodder.com/forum/fe-graphs/sig692a.png

so you think that trannys make particles smaller than one micron!I think not,if so then we would all have a enormous buildup of very fine particles that would be like mud in a tranny.collecting "in the corners" so to speak.Not very likely that any particles will pass thru a 1-5 micron filter.that is viral level BTW.pretty darned small!

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1984 300D turbo 155k

www.interactivepainmanagement.com

I was going to screen it, run it thru a 5 micron filter then a 1 micron filter and have a water seperator too. Im just wondering if the car can run on it long term without damage.

I've been running 20% used ATF, Motor Oil, and now free used ISO 32 hydraulic oil from work, two years. Same tank. I have a 10 micron Goldenrod plastic bowl filter on the 240D instead of the tiny primary filter, running metal 8mm tubes over to the filter mounted off the right front shock mount. These are available from farm supply stores, also Northern Tool Equipment mail order. I'm catching a lot of water in the bowl even when I don't run waste (dead of winter), and it is convenient to drain it out with the valve on the bottom of the plastic bowl, instead of spinning off a metal filter. I got disgusted with the tiny primary filter when my car stalled out 4 times on the way to and from Colorado, requiring filter change. Germany is a tiny country and people service their cars a lot there. Anybody have a ready source of 5 micron or less filter please post part number and auto supply, I know Wilkerson sells professional ones but the dealers don't like special orders under $100 and it is a long drive there and they are only open 8-4 M-F. I suspect the stock secondary filter is 5 micron, but of course I don't know. I carry a boat gasoline primer bulb and hose to prime the filter when I change it. It saved me a tow once when I got too much water in the filter, I was trying to burn of the "residue" of Reformulated gas left in the tank of my 59 ford after it sat for a year, the "gas" turned out to be mostly water with some kind of stinky RFG additive in it. It froze hard in December. RFG is why I bought the diesel, it won't run the '59 after it sits for 3 months or so.

So ur running 80% diesel and 20% used fluids? I would definitely install a water seperator filter, in the line before the fuel even gets to the promary filter. the primary is the spin on right? or is it the littel clear one? Just curious. what would happen if u say raised the ratio to something like 50% diesel and 50% used fluids? will it hurt the engine any or what? BTW I live in southern california so it rarely gets below freezing here.

What's wrong with just using 100% diesel or 100% biodiesel, why in the world do you want to run a luxury car on fluids not intended as fuel?

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

i was just looking into other types of fuels for our cars. i mean why would someone use waste oil in their car if its a luxury car? ud be getting rid of a unusable oil and be able to use to to run your car. sounds like a good idea to me.

Anyone have any info on the emissions of ATF? I think this part has been totally neglected in this post. I have no problem at all filtering to 1 micron, as I do that now with my WVO, but one reason I use WVO is to help the environment in some small way, as well as not funding the unstable regions of the world. Although I am sure it is better to burn ATF off as fuel than to pour it down the drain somewhere.

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1996 E300 D
1992 300D
1990 Ford E-350 7.3 Diesel AKA "the Deep Fryer"