One thing about the stop leak is that it's gonna f*** with the trans oil cooler and reduce oil cooling capability. Wonder if you could bypass the cooler while letting the stop leak recirculate, then do a fluid change and reconnect the cooler? Or, get a cheap sacrificial Chinesium cooler to run while the stop leak rolls around.
My Dodge Truck Project (Cummins Inside)
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Any of the 'stop leak' OTC stuff works by leaving a coating on surfaces. It's that buildup that stops the leaking fluid from getting by. Whether it's got more solids in it, or just heavy viscous compounds, either way that's how it works.
Anytime you introduce any product of that type you're going to coat all sorts of areas - including inside the passage tubes on the cooler. Its not some super scientific formula that exclusively bonds to a precise compound only present on a 30 year old seal but remaining inert in contact with every other surface.
So while you won't plug it solid, you will, potentially, do two things depending on exactly what's in the product you're using. 1) you decrease the passage size to some extend, however limited, and 2) you add a layer between the heat exchange surface and the fluid to be cooled.
Depending on how much build up you get from #1, and what the conduction properties are for the layer in #2, it's going to do something.
The oil cooler doesn't see the high pressures you'd get inside the internals so it's more prone to accretion in the slower moving areas.
And once that stuff is in a system, only way to get it out is replacement, recore, or boil it away.
Lucas doesn't leave any kind of coating. Its just a viscosity modifier. It will make the fluid more viscous, but it mixes entirely with the transmission fluid.
I never thought about the cooler, interesting. I bought the more expensive Spicer cooler that bypasses the cooler until the fluid reaches temperature and thins out then goes through the cooler, or so they claim.
Tru-Cool thermal products. Tru-Cool. Drive Hard. Rest Easy.
Extend the life of your transmission and avoid costly repairs with Tru-Cool® transmission and engine coolers. Keep your operating temperatures low, even in harsh conditions, and protect the vehicle you rely on.
www.trucool.com
Lots of bar and plate coolers make that claim. I'm genuinely curious how much they let the fluid warm up before letting it flow. Seems like a super arbitrary claim.
Dumped a full bottle in last night and drove it to work this morning. It's probably still making it's way down the dipstick tube. No results yet.
I've driven 100 miles since dumping the Lucas transmission fix in, and unfortunately no change. It's lost a quart of fluid in that 100 miles. It's still shifting just fine so I think the governor pressure solenoid and sensor were definitely at fault for my 3rd gear issues and intermittent reverse.
I'll say the Lucas Oil was worth a shot but I don't think I'm gonna get off that easy this time. Fortunately I have some time off for Christmas and New Year's so I should have some time to work on it.
I'll say the Lucas Oil was worth a shot but I don't think I'm gonna get off that easy this time. Fortunately I have some time off for Christmas and New Year's so I should have some time to work on it.
Yeah, a quart in 100 miles is a lot. Yeah, I used two different stop leaks because it's a Dodge Dakota and my Daughter's drive it. I can't remember the last time I added some fluid. Your truck is a no doubt going to be a tow vehicle, mine tows like 2 miles at most. Change the pump seal and gasket. Inspect the pump bushing and torque converter for wear as well. Good luck.
Yeah at $9 a quart that stuff is just a little too expensive for me to want to drip out a quart every 100 miles. I ordered a pump reseal kit today. Hopefully I'll have it before Christmas.
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