ATF as Gear Lube

[turdle]

         An automatic transmission has planetaries not gears and uses fluid pressure to apply pressure to the disks so it seems like putting atf in a manual transmission would be more like putting it in a 2 stroke tranny.

         I don't want to insult anyone or flame anyone so I'm just asking here and while my riding ability is above average my mechanical skills are fairly weak but I have owned a couple 500 and 600hp twin turbo 7.3 trucks and had 3 trannys go out when truck pulling then finally purchased a 7k ATS transmission so I am more familiar with the truck trannys. The ford trannys pre 03 had aluminum planetaries and when they got hot the grooves would fail since they were on steel input intermediate and output shafts but ford fixed that and ATS uses all billet planetaries and shafts so no problems.

My truck I just sold and this shows start to finish everything painted plated or polished even the frame and axle housings even springs were powdercoated and 4.10 gears front and back locker in back tru-trac in front best of everything.

http://rides.webshots.com/album/549551609pmDqVO




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i dont mean to be rude, but i believe planetaries is short for PLANETARY GEAR SET, which has straight cut gears, same as our dirt bike trannies. which in an auto  trans is driven by a WET CLUTCH SYSTEM simular to the  trannies in motorcycles. i am no expert by any means, but logic tells me that if the auto trannies use atf for the wet clutch drive system in them . it should be excellent for our trannies.a big  question is gear shear, but i think motorad said that bleach has a better shear value. just some more thoughts to throw in the mix.

[kelcrist]

i love this thread!!! everyone trying to convince everyone else why the oil they prefer is best!!!!

there is only one way to tell if atf is better or worse than the recommended 10w40

you would take 2 brand new never ridden kx500s,  fill one with atf and the other with oil.
now run them under identical conditions until failure and see who wins.       

just because you put ANY brand of oil in ANY bike and then 2 hours later you blow the trans, or clutch probably doesnt mean that oil caused your failure.   

i run atf in my 94.  i think it is the main reason i made it back to camp when i burned up my clutch at the dunes.     at low rpm the plates would grab and pull me up hills but it would let go when the engine wound up. it was 95 degress out,  and i had a 10 scoop paddle tire.  when i did get back to camp i dumped the atf and i put in oil.   the bike lost all forward drive completely.  when i pulled the bike apart i took out what im pretty sure was the original clutch with the aluminum plates.   there were grooves in each plate 1-2 mm deep.    that was not ATFs fault in my opinion.  now of course i know what some of you will say...........how do you know its the original clutch..  ........well i dont!!!   ive had this bike 9 months. but i have taken apart a lot of bikes and its not hard to tell when something has been apart and has not.     
i now have a new tusk racing clutch in with a fresh batch of atf  and it works quite well. i like how my particular bike shifts with the atf so i continue to use it.


 so there is yet another pretty useless testimonial for ATF over the manufacturer recommended lubricant.

[Polar-Bus]

I don't understand why some people get their panties all up in a bunch over  oils .

When was the last time the AVERAGE weekend rider blew his tranny from running the incorrect type of oil ? You're not going to blow a tranny from running 90wt gear oil instead of ATF and your,e not going to blow your tranny from running ATF instead of 90wt gear oil.. However you will possibly notice subtle differences in  clutch performance especially after the plates heat up. The OTHER function of your trans oil is to keep the clutch plates cool and not burn. The smaller the engine, the more critical the choice becomes as clutch abuse get much greater on a KX85 vs a KX500 .  I tend to stay away from thicker viscosity oils as the clutch plates tend to swell and fade under elevated abuse. When I was racing 125's I gained a lot of respect for Spectro Clutch Saver SX . Seemed to do a great job at minimizing clutch fade vs. multi viscosity oils .   Recently I tossed in a qt of 10w40  Castrol MC oil in my KX500, and I didn't notice a bit of difference. So my .02 is run whatever you're comfortable with , don't argue with other peoples oil preferences, and always remember..... "any oil is better than no oil"    

[Big Yac]

I don't understand why some people get their panties all up in a bunch over  oils .

When was the last time the AVERAGE weekend rider blew his tranny from running the incorrect type of oil ? You're not going to blow a tranny from running 90wt gear oil instead of ATF and your,e not going to blow your tranny from running ATF instead of 90wt gear oil.. However you will possibly notice subtile differences in  clutch performance especially after the pleates heat up. The OTHER function of your trans oil is to keep the clutch plates cool and not burn. The smaller the engine, the more critical the choice becomes as clutch abuse get much greater on a KX85 vs a KX500 .  I tend to stay away from thicker viscosity oils as the clutch plates tend to swell and fade under elevated abuse. When I was racing 125's I gained a lot of respect for Spectro Clutch Saver SX . Seemed to do a great job at minimising clutch fade vs. multi viscosity oils .   Recently I tossed in a qt of 10w40  Castrol MC oil in my KX500, and I didn't notice a bit of dirfference. So my .02 is run whatever you're comfortable with , don't argue with other peoples oil preferences, and always remember..... "any oil is better than no oil"    

and change it often     

[Brute]

Oatmeal. Snoqualmie Falls oatmeal. Mixed with non-pasturized milk. Change it once a month. Eat it. Has more minerals in it from clutch and disk wear. Never had a problem, better shifting. Really. No kidding. Smells good too!
Have to see controlled tests on oil types to validate wear on parts to have oils tried and "looks good". Anything else is an opinion only. Had a friend that said sniffing gas was not harmful. Well, not for a few years anyway...

[dieselbeef]

www.bobistheoilguy.com

[Brute]

Funny you should mention that! A shop I worked in got a case of free test kits to send in for our "fleet" vehicles. Not sure any got used for the "fleet" vehicles but they were sure nice to have!

[alexander-vmann]

i got a can of 4 stroke motor oil and wondering if it is safe to use in the 2 stroke transmission?

[alward25]

Yes, 4T Tranny oil would be just fine.

[alexander-vmann]

Yes, 4T Tranny oil would be just fine.

i figured so being that the 4t oil is made for both motor and tranny, but how often do you thing it needs changing?

[umberto]

Most guys will tell you more often is better.  I would shoot for every 4-6 hours, or more often if you are a clutch abuser or go on a hard ride.  Oil is cheap compared to the things it's protecting. 

[Foxx4Beaver]

but how often do you thing it needs changing?

depending on how long of a ride I'll do in one day, I'll change mine between every ride, to every other ride....that's why I had that 2 stage drain plug made...constantly changing it.

[alexander-vmann]

but how often do you thing it needs changing?

depending on how long of a ride I'll do in one day, I'll change mine between every ride, to every other ride....that's why I had that 2 stage drain plug made...constantly changing it.

any chance i can buy one of those drain plugs?

[Foxx4Beaver]

unless you're gonna be running aluminum plates like me...you shouldn't have to change it as often as I do.
it's simple enough to make one, providing you or someone you know has access to a nice stable drill press, and M6 tap....just need to go slow when drilling, with lots of lube.

[brooksie]

Only used ATF in a bike once. In a brand new bike, with less than 30hrs use, every bearing in the transmission was toast. The rollers in one bearing were so badly worn, it would only rotate in one direction. The oil was changed every 3hrs or less. Costly experience. Won't happen again.