I accidentally added a quart of ATF to my van's oil. I haven't overfilled, just added enough but added ATF. Do I need to drain the oil now? If there's even the slightest chance I'll mess something up, I'll drain it.

 

To be safe, why not drain it. Especially if its still under warranty.

 

Yes.... there is always a slight chance.

 

There's a Jiffy Lube less than 2 miles from my home. I figured I would just take it there for an oil change in the morning. Unless even going a couple miles is a bad idea. No warranty. It's still a great van, but has about 180K miles on it.

 

Shouldnt be an issue at all. I would still change the oil and filter. the atf doesnt have the viscosity of motor oil.

 

many people use atf as an engine cleaner. wont hurt if changed soon.

 

I've also used it as an engine cleaner a time or two although I've never drove far with it the crankcase. The 2 mile trip to jiffy lube shouldn't be an issue.

 

ATF has a very high level of dispersant chemistry, which is why it has been used as an engine cleaner as noted. Sometimes used as a hand cleaner for really greasy mechanic hands!

I think one quart will do no harm, you could drive it about 500 miles, after that you will have a lot more gunk in the oil as its dispersant qualities will clean the engine deposits more than a regular oil would. Might do your engine a favour, but sometimes removing deposits can expose latent leaks from gaskets and seals. If that happens, it was not that the ATF did any harm.


The base stock is not much different than engine oil. But the additive pack that allows engine oil to withstand combustion is necessary for long term requirements. So change it out within the next 500 miles or so.