Will Lucas trans additive or similar do anything for overheated trans?

[urbex]

Short story - '86 K5, built a full manual 4L80E that I swapped in, and overheated the engine a couple months later..I had MAYBE 500 miles on the trans at that point, and it worked perfect before overheating the engine. Built a 489ci that I put in, and immediately found that the overheating episode hurt the trans too - delayed engagement going into drive or reverse from park, and dropping out of gear at idle, but once it engages, trans again works perfect, and is not slipping at all. Usually takes about 10 seconds of revving just above idle to get it to engage again. Revving higher does make it kick in faster, but that motor makes a lot more power, and it slams HARD into gear doing that. It is NOT low on fluid, even tried overfilling it by a few quarts, and I changed the fluid and filter twice afterwards hoping that I'll get lucky, and just got a defective filter or something simple. 1st a Delco, 2nd a Power Torque, 3rd a Wix. None made a difference.

I parked it to avoid hurting the trans more, with about 50 miles on that fresh motor...about 6 months ago. Life happened, work got busy, other priorities are higher, etc and it's looking like I won't be able to get to the trans rebuild for another 4-6 months. Now I'm getting concerned about the fuel pump seizing, seals drying out on the motor, axles, etc., from not driving it. Can't run a stock trans as I don't have a ECU/TCU in the truck, I don't have the budget to pay a shop to build me a trans, and I don't have any place at the moment to do the R&R anyways as my currently not movable Samurai project is occupying the shop.

I was thinking about adding a bottle or two of Lucas trans additive to it to see if it would help at all just so I could drive it into the city once a month or so to keep other things from failing until I can get to going through the trans again, but wondering if that kind of stuff would actually do anything useful in a situation like this, or am I just wasting a case of beer's worth of cash trying? I know it's not some kind of magic bullet, and I'm not trying to avoid the rebuild, just trying to avoid having to leave it parked for a year...

 

[Wes Harden]

Well if you are planning on having the trans repaired, what do you have to loose.
I think that additive was designed to make old hard seals soft and playable again. Yours might be melt damage, or if sat awhile for new motor could be flat spot.

Give it a go, I have used TransX in furds with slow late engagement, results were 50/50

 

[urbex]

Well if you are planning on having the trans repaired, what do you have to loose.

About $50 in trans goo and fuel?

 

[Wes Harden]

Yeah suppose there is that. How much is the mucus sounds spendy, I will be surprised if more than a quart of treatment was recommended.

 

[ZooMad75]

Lucas transmission fix I thought was for more leak related issues. Internal and external. I've used it on a '56 Pontiac with it's original hydramic and it totally stopped the front seal from puking quarts of ATF on my driveway.

The only way it could help on the 80e is if the lip seals on the clutches and valves were damaged by the heat. It might make them swell enough to work ok.

I've used transx on a slipping th350 and as long as you put more in on a regular basis it seemed to not slip as much.

You know what the real fix is gonna be. I get why you want to try a bottle of something until you can fix it right. Just keep in mind there is normally not many fix in a bottle substance that totally fixes a problem. It might help make it better but not fixed like if it was repaired.

 

[diesel4me]

I've seen & heard about many experiences some guys had with Lucas transmission treatment,including some "miracle" cures..

One friend I know had an old 78 Ford Granada (grandpa's car),that had a "junk transmission",it would slip badly and though it would move and drive,you could tell it would not live long if you drove it far..it took up to a minute to go in forward or reverse gears after you shifted it out of park,even after a filter & fluid change..the fluid stunk bad and smelled burnt and was dark,so some clutch damage had been done..

He put the car up on jack stands and added a quart of Lucas to the trans,and left it in first gear--at this point the car would barely move it slipped so badly...after a minute or so,the rear tires started to turn,and he revved it up and shifted to second,let it run awhile,and then revved it up and shifted to third (drive),and let it run about 10 minutes in gear..then he stopped the tires with the brakes and did the same in reverse,let it spin in reverse awhile..

After he put the car back on the ground,he tried driving it--to his amazement,it now pulled strong enough to squawk the tires taking off,and it shifted "hard" into second and third..there was no doubt the clutches were wounded--but he drove it almost 6 months before he got another vehicle,and sold it ,so how long it lasted is a mystery,but after it barely making it home from his grandfathers house to his (only a few miles!),it was a miracle it revived it at all..

I had a TH350 in a '72 K5 that refused to go in forward gears after a cold start,until the engine had warmed up to operating temperature..the colder out it was,the longer it took--I was told it may have had bad "lip seals" on the forward clutch,once it went in gear,I could drive it across country with zero issues--reverse worked perfectly though,instantly....next morning,same thing all over again..other trans "experts" said it could have had a sticking pressure relief valve,or a valve body sleeve sticking,or a gasket leaking between the valve body and plates and the case..

I tried every "fix in a bottle" we sold at the parts store,nothing made any difference..Lucas was not around back then,but I bet if it was I would have possibly had some positive results using it..

One guy who came in the parts store had a old AMC he had let sit behind his shop for several years ,he decided to start driving it again,and after spending a lot on getting the brakes working safely and new tires,etc,the automatic trans started leaking badly out of the front pump seal and tail shaft,the seals dried up from sitting..It also had a delay going into drive and reverse of several seconds,especially when cold..

He added two quarts of Lucas to it after draining the old fluid out and installing a new filter--but he didn't refill it with Dexron II,he used "Tractor/Hydraulic Transmission Fluid",after a local race car driver told him "it's what we use in our race cars transmissions and we've had very few failures"...he bought a 5 gallon pail of the tractor fluid and filled it with that,and he noted the following day,it went right into drive instantly,and after he drove it around a few hours,the fluid level was still full and the leak at the front pump had almost stopped completely..he also said it "shifted into second and third much harsher and firmer than it ever had"...he bought a salvage yard transmission for it "just in case" his died,but far as I know it never gave any further trouble..

Of course I've also had angry customers return telling me "this crap ruined my transmission",after they tried it...but they cant blame the Lucas when it was on death row already..it may have finished it off,but wasn't the actual "cause"..

 

[chulisohombre]

I’ve used Lucas for a few different teams and it did definitely help. Had a cavalier that wouldn’t shift into Second gear. Did a trans fluid change with trans x fluid and a quart of Lucas and after about 1/4 miles in gear going around the block, it unstuck the valve I believe was the problem and shifted fine the rest of the time my buddy’s sister had the car. I had a Cherokee that was sluggish off the line and leaked a quart of trans fluid a week. Added a quart of Lucas and within two weeks the leak was gone and the trans had a bit more grip off the line. It does really work but it depends on how bad your trans was hurt. It basically gives the clutches more pressure and helps the moving parts slip better while conditioning all the seals. Not a miracle but it’s always worked for me so far.