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lucas tranny oil pretty good stuff


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thought I would throw out another 2 cents to you guys...

 

this car has 183k miles and I just rebuilt the engine. Now, the tranny is a different story...I don't know anything about auto trannys, I don't have any interest in trannys, and I'm content believing their operation is purely magical.

 

Anyway, the car has been shifting kind of hard, especially into and out of first gear. I replaced as much fluid as possible during the rebuild (including draining the torque converter), but shifting would still snap your neck occasionally. I try not to put too much faith in quick fix additives, but this Lucas tranny oil was much cheaper than a flush job so I gave it a try. I noticed a BIG difference in the tranny operation...it doesn't slip at all when starting from a stop, and shifting is significantly smoother in all gears. I think it was $8 well spent, and I thought some of you might be considering it.

 

My only complaint is that the stuff is so thick (like honey that's been in the refrigerator) it takes forever for it to ooze down the dipstick tube, and another while for the fluid level to show half way accurate. Took me a few hours of pouring and waiting to get it done. But it's all set now and I'm enjoying the car even more.

 

...so, for what it's worth, I sure like the stuff. (BTW, you only need 12oz for small cars, so my old pickup got the rest, with the similar results.)

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  • 10 months later...

I had good luck with it in a '86 Plymouth K-car that needed a Looooong warm up to drop into gear, and they have the worst auto trans ever made (that may be true of the whole car). The filter change at the same time may have been a big help too. It also seemed to help the (sometimes) power steering pump in my '87 Subie wagon, not a 100% fix, but better.

 

Gary

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The only bad thing I've heard about Lucas is that it promotes aeration of the oil. They showed a video in one of my classes of two differentials running inside a clear container. One had oil treated with Lucas, and the other had regular oil. After not very long, the one with Lucas in it had tons of air in the oil. Aeration is bad for gears and bearings. My philosophy is that one should just get better oil rather than pouring extra stuff in. I've been running full synthetic 75w-90 in my tranny and rear end for three years, and it shifts much better than before, especially when it's cold out. The stuff is also still just as clear as the day it went in.

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The only bad thing I've heard about Lucas is that it promotes aeration of the oil. They showed a video in one of my classes of two differentials running inside a clear container. One had oil treated with Lucas, and the other had regular oil. After not very long, the one with Lucas in it had tons of air in the oil. Aeration is bad for gears and bearings. My philosophy is that one should just get better oil rather than pouring extra stuff in. I've been running full synthetic 75w-90 in my tranny and rear end for three years, and it shifts much better than before, especially when it's cold out. The stuff is also still just as clear as the day it went in.

 

I might be off here, but isn't teasdam talking about an additive that goes in with the ATF, and not with the gear oil? I know Lucas makes many different additives, and I think they have both.

I'd like to know for sure cause my 3AT is in need of a little love and an $8 bottle of love (assuming it helps) is alot better than other options.

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i swear by the lucas products. if it harmed engines, i dont think the local race shop would run it in their supra drag car. anyone thats seen nopi tunervision on spike tv or nopi street magazine has probably seen em, msp racing. i think they won every race they entered last year. amazing car they have.

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i dont think they are confusing. looking at the valve body might intimidate some people though.

 

i went to school for a while for automotive studies (lincoln tech is trast) an i only learned one thing from the auto trans calss, i never want to work on one again. i can rip one apart, replace the seals, but ill be damned to tell you how the thing works.

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