ATF as a fuel additive?
 

After a week-long debate with my dad about this, I wanted to ask you guys' opinion on whether or not it's a good idea to use ATF as a fuel additive in the 7.3 liter powerstroke.

According to the newest issue of Diesel Power Magazine, ATF is a good idea and can serve as a good cleansing agent in any diesel that has mechanical injection (and specifically mentions the 7.3 motor as being the only Powerstroke in which to use ATF). The magazine states that using ATF in Direct Injection vehicles is a bad idea, however, because the high-pressure systems the 6.0 uses causes this ATF to break down and harm the motor and clog the fuel lines...http://images.ford-trucks.com/forums...es2/smhair.gif

Old school mechanics have been using ATF as an additive for some, what 50 years? I've never run ATF in my truck but my dad fills his cummins' fuel filter with ATF every time he changes it.

Anyone had any good, bad experiences with this practice? I've talked to some 6.0 guys who just about lose their sanity when I talk about using ATF ...but to be understood since it shouldn't be used in those motors.

Since i've been visiting this forum i've never read any recommendations on using ATF in the 7.3 and using only a good DFA. I talked to a fellow camper who uses it in his 7.3
and said it works fine. I'd rather have a DFA chemically designed to be used as an additive in my motor. Benefits include: added lubricity, cetane boost and moisture handling.
Biodiesel would be a good additive for lubricity too.
Nut

About 15 years ago I started putting it in my CAT powered motor home on the advice of an old 18 wheeler but dicontinued its use after about a year after noticing no difference good or bad. I was using a gallon to 150.

More on ATF adding to diesel HERE.

Interesting info on additives
 

I'm re-posting a post from BITOG because it's very informative and Terry Dyson analyzes oil so he knows his stuff:
Terry responding to a post from another member:
"I genuinely in good faith have recommended products with solid chemistries here that I use and have validated with oil analysis.

Many of the popularly accepted diesel fuel adds HARM the bearings in your engines or do nothing to DROP NOx or reduce SOOT. I see it in oil analysis all the time. The place that means the most to me not some bench testing that is not your unit.

Strjock81, you've never used Lubecontrols FP60 additive but you sure act like you KNOW that the above mentioned adds are better. Please be more fair to the product than that. I don't care about crow eating but for the $ I do not see as good a diesel fuel add on the market as FP60 and soon FP3000.

Intelman34, I share your frustration from a technical point of view but the REALITY is this. If the formula of FP60 was given out freely the company would be destroyed. Lubecontrol is small and competition is stiff.

I have shared as much tech data here as I was allowed from our testing of the products.

Gelling with FP60, I don't buy that. Its been in use for 60 years in cold weather climates with no gelling issues, as long as the fuel was winterized or blended for the cold climate. There is no wax in FP60 to gel. If your girl friends Dad had untreated #2 in Wisconsin then sure it will gel, thats not FP60's fault.

FP60 is not a cetane booster, it is a cleaner and lubricant that does improve combustion energy.

What I do know more about as far as bench and standardized testing is FP3000. That product will be released any day. I was asked to assist in formulation validation tests and it will do everything FP60 does with EPA registration and modern testing data collected. It is EPA registered now.

LC just finished EPA bench and OTR HDD fuel economy testing ( all DD60 series 4 cycle engines) and we saw 2.6% gains in MPG on class 8 trucks. These tests are biased against the additive so in the real world MPG gains could easily be 6% or so while adding lubricity, cleaning, (UCL) and all with a real honest chemistry. It is unique as no other fuel add is using the chemistry FP3000 is.

I'm no pimp, but I am honest and would share more if I could and hopefully in the future I can.

I am only a humble INDEPENDENT tribologist/oil analyst not a marketer of any product.

I run both FP60 and FP3000 in my cars and recommend BOTH to my oil analysis customers because for the money and effectiveness, WITHOUT harming the bearings in the host engine, they cannot be beat.

Please be patient as the LCD guys are trying to take chemistries that have been effectively hidden from the public for many years, because Odis did not have the cash to broadly market.

One of the cool things about this site is you can flame on a product. You must realize that not every company is a major player. They may have a unique and effective chemistry but since you have seen so much bull poopoo over the years you automatically think that they are defective when the company is just doing the best it can with the capitol available.

Terry "

Thanks for the info Nut...We have a few bio stations in North Denver...perhaps i'll just run a tank of bio to clean out the system (& have a fuel filter handy for the occasion!)