Thoughts on Lube Gard automatic trans additive

Hi guys, I’ve been seeming some recommendation on using lube gard in our 1st gen Tacoma automatic transmissions, I have the a340f. I was curious if you were running this additive and which one as lube gard has multiple toselect from. And why should I run this in my trans. Thanks

 

Highly recommend this product for any automatic transmission. Add it to clean fluid for the best results.

Ive had great luck with this in finicky honda transmissions

 

Ok, keeping an open mind for this one as I normally go against the grain for any additives with the exception of water wetter (for my drag Vette).

Why would anyone need this if our Aisin transmissions are very stout and require little servicing?

 

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it's snake oil, especially for transmissions (like ours) that are known to be stout and reliable.

I don't know what your ATF needs to be protected from, lol...

 

Why do you feel like you need it?

What issues are you experiencing? If no problems, why not a drain and fill with quality ATF and call it good?

 

God dammit, that's me lol I came in with "an open mind" so I had good intentions

 

Im not a snake oil guy, im really not. But man ive had some really fragile transmissions brought back from he brink by this stuff.

 

Coming from a skeptical but curious stand point as well. I've had the Lucas "transmission fix" help some with slipping in a high mileage transmission. If it wasn't already having issues it would have gotten a drain and fill.

 

At best, this type of stuff masks problems, it does nothing to really fix anything.

The other thing is that the a340f's are anything but fragile.


My recommendation with this stuff is the same as with any of these other oil additives that claim to "fix" problems. If you've got a POS that's on its last legs, sure, toss this stuff in and see what it does - you don't have anything to lose.

But if you have an otherwise good truck, and just a minor trans problem, I think you'd be better served to make an attempt to actually address the problem, rather than trying to mask it with this stuff.

And if your trans shifts smoothly etc... there is no earthly reason to put this stuff in there, despite what the directions on the can will tell you.

 

I have no reason for needing this, I was just on the 1st gen Facebook group during the boredom of the quarantine, and a couple guys said they use it, so I figured I see if anyone else does. Don’t think I’ll be using it.

 

Smart man.

FB is full of weirdos anyway

 

Our transmissions were built to run Dexron III or Toyota T-III. I'm running Valvoline Max Life in all of my Japanese transmissions that call for Dexron III. I'm seen several members recommend this fluid. The friction additives became popular with transmissions that were originally designed for fluids with a whale oil additive. There were some cases of clutch chatter on some later transmissions where the additive helped.

While I can't blame a problem on Lubeguard, I did have a transmission once that had chatter. So I changed the fluid and used Lubeguard. It helped the chatter.

Not long afterward the torque converter started to disintegrate and sent shrapnel into the sun gears. The transmission basically self destructed. So I had problems in the works before Lubeguard. If you have problems in the works, an additive may mask the problem long enough to trade off the vehicle. Otherwise, keeping transmission fluid fresh seems to work best.

 

@gearcruncher recommends it. IIRC

 

if AISIN decided the trans should operate on a formula that works best in their design, I would trust them as to what I put in my transmission

 

I am completely wary myself


However I believe it saved my transmission. I did a full fluid swap with max life and the tranny pretty much died. The additive saved it and now the trans works better than ever

 

so you used Maxlife ATF and it smoked the transmission?

 

No something got jammed in the trans somewhere during the swap and nearly locked it up.
@gearcruncher walked me through some things, including Lubeguard, and saved my teansmission

 

This place has us, so....

 

FIFY

 

You're the weirdo with spiders...