OK, here is a variation on ATF in the petrol. A sage mechanics trick is to
put a quart of ATF in with an oil change. Run for a short period of time to
clean everything up. The ATF cleans all the sludge and gunk, at least in
theory.
I did this to my Spit because you could see the gunk in the return passages
in the head. I could only guess what was lurking inside. After running the
engine at high idle for about an hour, I drained the oil and installed
fresh oil. The valve area and returns were considerably cleaner than before
the process. It seems pretty safe but I was reluctant to run it for any
longer period of time (e.g. 500 miles). I've had no problems to date
either.
I don't know if this would help the stuck ring or bad valve guide. In fact,
it might it might clean the valve guides and allow even more oil. Of
course, the same thing would be true for a top end cleaner.
Vic Whitmore
76 Triumph Spitfire
Thornhill, Ontario
----------
> From: Joe Curry <curry@wolfenet.com>
> To: Zempel David <Zempel_David@spmm.lmms.lmco.com>
> Cc: triumphs <triumphs@autox.team.net>
> Subject: Re: ATF in the petrol
> Date: Tuesday, November 04, 1997 1:11 PM
>
> Zempel David wrote:
> >
> > On Sunday I finally got the TR4 on the road. Had to rebuild the
hydraulics..
> > And with all of the unexpected travel out of town due to work that task
took
> > much longer than expected. Where did the great weather go? Anyway,
the darn
> > thing has taken up smoking (read, stuck ring or bad valve guides). Now
I'm
> > wondering, I knew someone in college some 25 years ago that used to add
> > Automatic Transmission Fluid to every tank of gas in order to keep the
engine
> > clean (on the inside dummy). In fact their dad had installed a 2
gallon
> > container with a small crank pump and a feeder line to the fuel tank.
The
> > instructions were to give one turn on the crank every time the tank was
> > filled. I digress. Anyway, I'm thinking a adding a small amount of
ATF to my
> > tank and crossing my fingers. Has anyone done this? Did it work? Did
it
> > cause any problems?
> >
> I recall seeing somebody at a gas station sometime during the late 60's
> pouring the stuff directly into the carb. of a full size Yank Tank. He
> said it was to lubricate the upper valve system. I don't know if it
> helped, but it created a smoke screen reminicent of WW2 movies..
>
> BTW, If you try this, Make sure to rev up the engine high enough to burn
> the mixture otherwise you'll kill the engine and with ATF collecting in
> the carbs, you'll have a terrible time starting it..
>
> Joe Curry '63 Spit
>
>
>
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