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Trans fluid in forks?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ericzx7
  • Start date Start date
E

ericzx7

Guest
I was reading about fork seal replacement on another site the other day, and this guy said that you could use automatic transmission fluid in place of fork oil when changing seals. Is this guy for real or what? I have never heard of this before, and was wondering about the safety issues that might arise fron using this guys info. Anyone have any opinions?:-s
 
Yes, use ATF. The oil Viscosity is correct, has excellent cold temperature characteristics, has fine lubricating qualities, has lots of additives to prevent corrosion and breakdown depletion, superior hydraulic performance, and readily available. I have been using it in forks since the 60's. Its very common to due so. No side affects i know of, or have heard of.
 
Fork oil has different weights. When I did my fork seals, it was 15w. I dont know what the weight of the tranny fluid is, and I think that's what the problem is. Fork oil is about $6 a quart, and you use about half of it. I'd rather err on the side of caution, that's why I got the fork oil.:-D
 
nert said:
Yes, use ATF. The oil Viscosity is correct, has excellent cold temperature characteristics, has fine lubricating qualities, has lots of additives to prevent corrosion and breakdown depletion, superior hydraulic performance, and readily available. I have been using it in forks since the 60's. Its very common to due so. No side affects i know of, or have heard of.
Click to expand...


I just had someone else tell me the same thing as you. I guess there really is something to it. Thanks for your input.
 
I've used ATF before. Was curious about the weight, though. I searched extensively but couldn't find much info on it. Any idea how ATF compares to standard fork oil viscosities? I had thought it was a little on the thin side so I cut it with a bit of motor oil.
 
It can be used But why fork oil is cheap anyway and you will only need to buy one quart and prob. have left over. Plus you can choose what wieght you want to use, and it has all those cool additives for that specific application.
I not positive but I think trans fluid is equal to like 11-13 wieght.
You can use trans fluid in many 2 stroke gear boxes too.

One of my old dirt bikes actually called for 30wt. motor oil in the forks.
 
t3rmin said:
I've used ATF before. Was curious about the weight, though. I searched extensively but couldn't find much info on it. Any idea how ATF compares to standard fork oil viscosities? I had thought it was a little on the thin side so I cut it with a bit of motor oil.
Click to expand...
Oh? Do trans fluid and motor oil mix ok?
 
Yes, ATF and motor oil mix nicely in my experience.

And I think the anti-foaming additives in the ATF will keep the mixture from foaming well enough (unless you're almost all motor oil).
 
t3rmin said:
Yes, ATF and motor oil mix nicely in my experience.

And I think the anti-foaming additives in the ATF will keep the mixture from foaming well enough (unless you're almost all motor oil).
Click to expand...


I see you have a 85 gs700 listed as a current ride. Have you made any modifications to it?
 
ericzx7 said:
I see you have a 85 gs700 listed as a current ride. Have you made any modifications to it?
Click to expand...

Got a UNI in the airbox and bumped up the pilot and main jets one notch each, that's about it. Although that little change completely smoothed out the power band, cured cold-blooded lean running, and increased gas mileage noticeably. Highly recommend it.

ES body work may or may not be in its future.
 
I'll have to look into that. Sound like just what this bike needs! Thanks.
 
ericzx7 said:
I'll have to look into that. Sound like just what this bike needs! Thanks.
Click to expand...

Mine *almost* pulls the front up under hard accel now. Didn't do that before the jetting change. I love this little bike!
 
As you can see from the responses above, nobody knows what the viscosity of ATF really is. :shock:

I have seen manuals that call for straight ATF or varying ratios of ATF and motor oil in the forks. Since the viscosity is not known, it is hard to tune the damping of the forks. Most engineers are of the opinion that they know best, so you don't need to tinker with their settings, but many of us do not fit their mold of the typical rider, so we have different requirements for the suspension.

Yes, ATF is a decent lubricant and works well in fork applications, but fork oil doesn't really cost that much more, you know what viscosity you have, and you have the flexibility of tuning.


.
 
Sounds nice. And yes, for a 700, its a blast to ride! This one is my wifes bike. Hope she's ready for all of this! lol:-D
 
My wife is currently learning on the 700. Great learner and still a blast for me. ;-)
 
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