Someone put ATF in my SLS!

[Lambrettaman]

And I know who did it... It was I on a roadside emergency last night around midnight.

Question: Should I go hunt down some MB SLS fluid and get it out this instant... or can I drive it the 400 miles home and do it then?

[kerry]

No worries, drive it home. Probably would have been better to use power steering fluid. Why was the ATF added? Is there a leak?

[Lambrettaman]

I'm not sure if there was a leak or just neglect... This is my first MB and I have had it just over a year... Although I did Dieselgiant's "Extreme Makeover" soon after I got it, I had *never checked the fluid level in the SLS.

We were driving to San Diego for a soccer tournament last night and the left rear wheel was rubbing on something when we pulled out of a rest stop. The rear of the car looked *really low to me... So I checked the SLS reservoir and it was quite low. I had some ATF in the back (nothing else) so I used it.

I'm pretty sure the SLS has been low for as long as I have had the car because the difference in the ride quality and attitude is huge now.

[OldPokey]

ATF is very similar to the Mercedes/Febi SLS hydraulic fluid, which just seems to be ISO 46 hydraulic fluid with a different dye. The biggest differences between ISO 46 and ATF are that ATF includes a bunch of friction modifier additives, and ISO 46 has some anti-foaming additives.

Just be sure to flush your system ASAP. ATF is a petroleum oil while SLS fluid is a mineral oil.

[OldPokey]

Petroleum oil is a synonym for mineral oil, which is also known as liquid petrolatum. Mineral oil is one of the by-products of of the distillation of petroleum into gasoline. Both ATF and hydraulic fluid are based on mineral oil. Brake fluid is something else entirely.