Lucas Transmission Additive

[Millermagic]

I'd like some second opinions on this stuff. I was thinking of adding Lucas Transmission Fix / Additive stuff to my 2001 ford taurus. I have heard that its good to add even before I have problems for preventitive maintenance. Is it just a $10 bottle of snake oil?

[bluevp00]

As with all aftermarket additives, they dont work. The best preventative mantineance for a transmission is periodic fuild changes. About every 20,000 miles is a good practice.

[Millermagic]

I went and bought it anyway, I figured it can't hurt.

But I had the fluid flushed by the dealer at ~25000 miles and I'll be doing it this summer again at about 35000 miles.

[MagicRat]

I used that stuff after a trans fluid and filter change, and it made my transmission slip like the Pittsburgh Penguins!

Not good at all!!

I had to do a second fluid change and flush to get it out, at which time the slipping stopped, and the trans worked well, again.

[TheSilentChamber]

Your going to hear mixed reviews. Some people will worship it, some will say it cuased their tranny go slip and go crazy. Some logic behind this is not all transmissions are designed to use the same qualities in a fluid, some use the fluid to reduce friction while others use fluid to increase friction. General things like this just mask problems, kinda like using 90w gear oil in your motor to solve a oil leak.

[Millermagic]

I did quite a bit of driving last night. Definitely helped my 1-2 shift at lighter throttle - it would shift very slow.

[sub006]

I use and swear by the Lucas Oil Supplement in my higher-mileage (over 200,000) vehicles. But I did not have a very good experience the one time I tried the ATF formula; perhaps that trans was already too far gone.

[peanut51]

I bought a used 2002 Ford Windstar about 1 1/2 years ago. About 6 months later during a routine oil change the oil change company suggested I add some Lucas trans fix because there was a minor leak in my transmission. At that point 3/4 of the bottle was put in not to overfill the oil and within the next 2 months I proceeded to add the balance of the oil to the transmission. About a year later the transmission started to leak through the pump seal. I brought the car back for another oil change and they suggested the Lucas trans fix again, but I told them they already suggested to add a bottle during the last oil change. So the oil change place suggested I bring the car to a transmission repair shop to repair the seal.

So I brought the car into the transmission repair shop and they estimated between $500 to $800 for the repair of the seal, the difference in price was if they saw anything else that needed replacing. Once the transmission was apart they noticed that the Lucas additive had been added into the transmission. They told me because of this all the rubber and brass parts must be changed in the transmission. They said that the lucas additive caused the rubber to swell and that would cause the transmission to lock up in time. Of course at this point the transmission was all in pieces on their bench and I had no choice but to get it repaired. now the total cost was $1700!!!

So I then called Lucas customer service to tell them about this problem. The people at Lucas told me that there is nothing in their additive that will dammage a transmission! They asked me to send them a sample of the oil for analysis. Of course when I asked the transmission shop for a sample it had already been discarded in their waste tank along with other transmission oil. The transmission shop did write on the receipt that the additive caused the problem. But when I called back Lucas they said without the oil sample there was nothing they could do!

I figure that someone is lying, either Lucas or the transmission shop! Has anyone else had a similar experience? Can the Lucas additive cause the rubber parts to swell so much that it can dammage the transmission?

I had used this transmission shop in the past to fix a leak on another car and all they did was fix the seal! So now I do not know who to trust!!!!

Any comments or suggestions will be appreciated!

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by peanut51

I bought a used 2002 Ford Windstar about 1 1/2 years ago. About 6 months later during a routine oil change the oil change company suggested I add some Lucas trans fix because there was a minor leak in my transmission. At that point 3/4 of the bottle was put in not to overfill the oil and within the next 2 months I proceeded to add the balance of the oil to the transmission. About a year later the transmission started to leak through the pump seal. I brought the car back for another oil change and they suggested the Lucas trans fix again, but I told them they already suggested to add a bottle during the last oil change. So the oil change place suggested I bring the car to a transmission repair shop to repair the seal.

So I brought the car into the transmission repair shop and they estimated between $500 to $800 for the repair of the seal, the difference in price was if they saw anything else that needed replacing. Once the transmission was apart they noticed that the Lucas additive had been added into the transmission. They told me because of this all the rubber and brass parts must be changed in the transmission. They said that the lucas additive caused the rubber to swell and that would cause the transmission to lock up in time. Of course at this point the transmission was all in pieces on their bench and I had no choice but to get it repaired. now the total cost was $1700!!!

So I then called Lucas customer service to tell them about this problem. The people at Lucas told me that there is nothing in their additive that will dammage a transmission! They asked me to send them a sample of the oil for analysis. Of course when I asked the transmission shop for a sample it had already been discarded in their waste tank along with other transmission oil. The transmission shop did write on the receipt that the additive caused the problem. But when I called back Lucas they said without the oil sample there was nothing they could do!

I figure that someone is lying, either Lucas or the transmission shop! Has anyone else had a similar experience? Can the Lucas additive cause the rubber parts to swell so much that it can dammage the transmission?

I had used this transmission shop in the past to fix a leak on another car and all they did was fix the seal! So now I do not know who to trust!!!!

Any comments or suggestions will be appreciated!

I think the trans shop is feeding you a line. Check your state consumer protection laws to see if there is any legislation that protects you against this kind of tactic.

For example, in my province, an automotive repair shop can only increase a repair estimate by no more than 10% without the customers prior approval.

In this case, the transmission shop screwed up by taking the trans apart without getting your permission first. In many jurisdictions, doing this extra work without your permission is against the law, since you only authorized the pump seal replacement. In order to replace the front pump seal, you must take the transmission out of the car, but you do NOT have to disassemble it.

I suggest going to the shop and demand to see your transmission..... it's possible it's still in one piece and they just told you the 'dissassembly' story to put pressure on you. If it's still in one piece they you know they are lying, Get your trans and the car out of there and take it to another shop.

If they have taken the trans apart, find out what your local consumer protection laws are. Then yell long and hard that they did 'unauthorized' work. Threaten to sue if you have to. Chances are they may knock that $1700 price tag down a bit if they screwed up.

BTW that 'seal swelling' idea is an old accusation and IMO a bit of an old wives tale. There is likely no truth to it if you put in the amount Lucas specified for one transmission.