If a small amount of engine oil, say 1 ounce were to get into the trans fluid and be driven for maybe 2 minutes, reversing out the garage only, can there, or will there, be damage to the tranny, in this case a 4l80e?

 

Should not but drain it all asap . you need to also drain tq converter so I would get it to a quick lube or other place that can hook it to a machine and cycle all the oil out and back in.

 

If it were me...I would not worry about it at all. That small amount will not effect the condition of the fluid or its properties at all. One ounce in approx 12 quarts of ATF is so minute......like I wrote would not sweat it.

I know a few guys who do automatic transmissions that often times will add 1 quart of 30w oil to the ATF. The ATF is so highly detergent...the oil is so thinned out....that it does not hurt anything but does add some lubrication.

DUB

 

If someone is adding i qt of 30 weight motor oil to a hydraulic system ( Transmission ) I am sorry but that is insane. An important characteristic of automatic transmission fluid is its friction coefficient - an important characteristic of engine oil is exactly the opposite

Drain it , not because you may suffer failure but because it should not be in there at all and doing a trans service should be a part of scheduled maintenance.

DUB your a top guy on this site you have a lot of valuable information I respect you totally , I agree this op may not have issues but man adding a qt of 30 weight is just not a good idea. It can cause total slippage of clutches and bands and that means failure .

 

The 350 and 400 Transmission hold about 12 Quarts of Fluid and a few ounces of 30 Weight oil will not really reduce the effectiveness of the hydraulic fluid as Dub says.

Now if you have not changed the Transmission Filter in a long time then I would say drain it and replace the filter. Transmission Filters should be changed at an interval of every 36,000 miles and to replace the fluid is hard since most of it sits in the Torque Convertor. When I changed my Filter I performed 2 Transmission drains to get the fluid as new as possible. Draining the transmission will only dump about 4 quarts at a time and most places I looked up suggested draining it twice so that is what I did.

At the first drain I also replaced the pan with an after market Drain Pan so I can just remove the plug in the future, I hate the mess it creates by draining to corner of the pan.

My suggestion for cleaning up an old tranny is use the High Mileage Transmission Fluid which will add conditioners and detergents into the transmission. I used 8 quarts of Valvoline High Mileage Transmission fluid on my 1977 because the fluid was almost black on my first drain and the car only had about 44,000 miles on it. It also had more shavings in the pan than I liked even though the car has low mileage.

Personally I will drain it again next year and inspect the metal in the pan again since I had so much on my pan drop. I will probably replace the filter again at the end of next summer. If my tranny still acts up and over heats then I will have it rebuilt.

 

OP/Steve, in your case you are fine.....


BUT, I add a comment in that a quart out of TWO GALLONS of ATF these things hold is almost nothing,

AND I have noted over some 50 years of driving, auto transmissions shift much harder then COLD as hell, and NOT WHEN HOT!@!!!

this goes from Ford/GM/Mopar/name it.....


so what happens to oil when cold, it's thick.....

I like to break the wheels loose on a shift.....


your choice....not that I endorsing adding oil thickeners to the trans....HELL if do that maybe try STP.....


IF you into experiments and all....

 

Lot of advice from members. None of which ever was in the Transmission business.

I did say it may not hurt him , but change it anyways as a maintenance item. Trans fluid has friction modifiers in it which promote clutches to grip steels and bands to grab and hold drums. Engine OIL has the exact opposite , no friction modifiers because , , , , well we really do not want friction inside the engine.

When you change your fluid as part of scheduled maintenance you do not have to get the TQ empty. A scheduled fluid change is more a time to pull the pan and check for general condition which will show up in the pan. After that is done you replace filter , gasket and add the proper amount of fluid.

NEVER ADD MOTOR OIL . .

 

Years ago I had a transmission man who would drill a hole in the torque converter, drill a hole, tap it, and add a plug. He would drain all the fluid out of the transmission every time. And he accomplished all this while the transmission was in the car. Do you want to get all the fluid out?

 

Just my opinion but I think adding a plug to the converter would throw the balance of on it.

 

If you keep up maintenance getting out all the fluid is not an issue, it is a sealed system with no contaminants added to it like engine oil experiences. That is why when you remove a pan and look into it your seeing it's accumulated were of the internals.

If you do not over heat , if you do not get stuck in the snow and rock the car d to r ..And you drive the car as intended and perform required maintenance it is easy to get 200,000 plus miles from one.

I had a Full size blazer .. 700R4 trans ,, PLOW truck. And daily driver.. 325,000 miles and when I sold it and the trans was fine.

 

That little bit of il won't hurt anything. Don't lose any sleep over it.

Just for reference, Allison and other automatic transmissions have allowed/recommended 30 weight oil for years in stuff like the AT500's. Motorcycle clutches run in oil, wet clutches were common in older heavy duty stuff, etc etc.

Not saying it's better for the average auto...just sayin'.......


JIM

 

The million dollar question I have is how did it get in there?

 

My guess is s#*t happens. Or OOPS!

 

Lots of transmission experts here with different opinions!
I will flush the trans asap even though it was done about 4k miles ago, pan oil and filter only.

Million dollar question hey?

My 99 blazer has a factory fit remote oil fiter/oil cooler/trans oil cooler which the o ring seals have failed. All european blazers came with this unit fitted. I tried to rebuild it with new o rings but it didnt stop the leak.

Had to order a replacement from a gm stockist, luckily some nos is still available as this cooler is no longer made.
Thanks for advise guys, happy new year.
Steve.

 

Clutch disk material is different.

An Automatic Allison in a school bus or garbage truck is not your average car automatic transmission. But based on your observed information we all should use 30w oil in our Auto transmissions just to be safe...... Just sayin' ...... Happy New year .........

Amazing those who do not know, have a need to post instead of read .

 

Aren't you just so special?

FYI...I built auto transmissions for years professionally...automotive and heavy duty as well as racing. There are many different clutch materials available of course, but many allow several types of fluids. I think you'll find the material differences have slimmed a lot over the years.

And of course even the various fluids have different friction characteristics and originally the clutch materials were different among the OEM's to provide whatever they were looking for. I was addressing your blanket statement that implied no hydraulic transmission system would ever use 30wt. Allison allows both in some transmissions with no issues.

It was just an FYI and as noted I didn't recommend it for his trans...or any other.

He said he added an ounce....no big deal. DUB mentioned adding a QT of 30 wt to all trans a guy he knew recommended. I wouldn't recommend that either in this case.

If you somehow deduced from my statement that "some" autos use 30wt...that I was recommending that everyone should run 30 wt in their T-400, T-350, 4L80E or whatever, then I believe it's obvious who has the reading comprehension problem.

JIM

 

Easy there guys, please dont get into a p......g contest over such a simple
question.
I think the advise given helped me decide how to correct my problem.
End of thread!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE.

Steve.

 

CLARIFICATION...Because I did not take any offense in the replies to my initial comment. It is in post#3

The "original question" was 1 ounce of oil. Which I would not loose any sleep over. Like 1 ounce is going to totally destroy the properties of the transmission fluid in a full system of over 10 quarts+. Really??? 1 ounce. That is a big stretch....and that is my opinion and sticking with it.

Now...to adding a quart to a system with 12 quarts. The oil is diluted by the ATF so much..any fear of slipping clutches is not ever been experienced by my guys who do it. And due the high detergent nature of the ATF...the internals are still clean and no residue/build-up has ever been noticed or found. To each his/her own. If this opinion or comment causes any of you to think differently of me and my value to this forum...I can not help that.

***OFF TOPIC---BUT A PHILOSOPHY I GO BY DUE TO WHAT I ENCOUNTER QUITE OFTEN***
One thing I am sure WE ALL can agree on is that "many things" are being "messed with"....although some improvements are made...but this world has switched to making sure things wear out so you have to buy new. Many things last long enough to just exceed the warranty time and then even with correct maintenance...some things can fail. NOT ALWAYS...but it does occur. Things that are "messed with" are fuel, oils and some fluids including the zinc in coolant and I am not getting into discussing castings, hard parts,etc. Well...the same holds true to ATF. The ATF you buy off the shelf at the convenience store is NOT the same as the ATF I get from AMSOIL. Regardless of its rating that it has to meet. GM changed from Dextron II to the Dextron III/Mercron. Why change it if it was fine all the previous years?

Much like how GM has discontinued the correct sized PF-25 oil filter for a small block engine to the much smaller PF-454. Much less filter material...and yes the PF-25 was much smaller than the "drop-in" cartridge filter that was used from 1968 and earlier( if my memory serves me correctly). Smaller filter material surface area...the filter material will plug up faster.... allow trash to circulate and wear stuff out quicker due to the filter goes in by-pass mode.

Back in the day...using only SAE30W was the only oil you would put in your performance engine...and see how that has changed.

SO when I have guys who build stout automatic transmissions for racing, towing and overall serious abuse...and they rebuild many of their own transmissions and see what is going on inside...and these transmission are run really, really hard...I listen to them. I have been at their shops at night when they are working on their own stuff doing an inspection and have seen what the inside of the transmission pan looked like when it was dropped. They also specifically tell me what name brand of fluid to use IF I do not use AMSOIL ATF. Any transmission service I do...where they did not rebuild the transmission originally..I do not add oil. On the ones they did rebuild...I do add some oil but not a full quart due to 4 quarts are being replaced...so maybe it may be 4 ounces. It is under THEIR WARRANTY. And for numerous years now...not 1 has failed. Fluid/filter changes at 15K+/-....and depending on what the Corvette is mainly used for.

And much like many of us know....the Type F ATF for Fords is thicker than GM Dextron II and back in the day and many guys used it to make the transmission shift harder. And adding the oil to the transmission fluid does not make it so thick that that it drastically changes the way the transmission operates. The oil is so diluted by the ATF...very little change in viscosity is noticed. This is not my opinion but the observation of the guys who do it...along with seeing fluid in the pan when it was dropped and comparing it to fresh ATF. A simple test showed that the viscosity was so close to fresh ATF....it was not worth worrying about. But ...to each his/her own.

I would not have written a word on this if I did not have something to back it up....but if serious testing and proven results is what you have to have to satisfy your dis-belief...I have none of that for you...other than my word...and if you think i am putting something out there to hurt or damage a Corvette....then you really do not know about my integrity....so you can do just like you always have...and I will do as I see fit. simple as that.

DUB

 

Dub, thank you for your very detailed reply to my original post.

I did say "if a small amount of engine oil, say 1 ounce were to get into trans fluid "

I simply guessed at 1 ounce as there is no accurate way to tell, maybe more, maybe less.

As the engine oil i am using is a 5w30 fully synthetic, would it be cheap insurance to the trans to simply do a flush, seems a good idea to me!

Steve.

 

Steve,
If it works for you...it works for me. Why don't you ask a local transmission shop and see what they say....or even some of the companies who build really stout automatics. Just a thought. But..like you wrote...it would be cheap insurance.

If it were my car...I would let it ride.

For what it is worth. Google "using engine oil in automatic transmission" and read . Now..they are talking about using strictly engine oil...so an ounce or two is NOT a big deal. But decide what you want. I am not crazy.

DUB