Ok, first let me say the adding brake fluid myth (notice I say Myth) has been around for years. Yes it will get you by, but is only a temp fix.

Have you ever hear of using brake fluid to loosen rusty bolts? Do you know it will eat the paint right off the side of your truck? Ok, with that said, do you know what it does inside your tranny? It will clean all the varnish that has built up on your clutch disks, and make the material swell,(so gives you the effect of it not slipping). Then what happens is it will come apart completely and leave you sitting high and dry, this will be either right before or right after it has eaten away your seals and let you fluid run out on the ground.

So with all that in mind, do you really want to try it? The safest fix I have ever used is a product called transX, yes it is safe, and have used it from time to time over the years, but again it is only a temp fix. As said about, if it is slipping the only way to go is either adjustment or rebuild. Good luck.

 

Well I just bought the transmission and the guy who sold the tranny from the shop told me to put motor oil in it. What does anyone think of that and has anyone used that before?

 

I was only talking about using Mobil 1 ATF in a manual transmission. You should always stick to Mopar transmission fluid if you can afford it. The Mopar fluid is in a class by its self. It has better additives than most other fluids and will help your dodge automatic transmissions last much longer. There is a reason the Mopar ATF+4 and the ATF+3 are expencive, they are much better fluids than anyone elses. If you have doubts about witch fluid to use, your transmission dip stick spells it all out for you (stamped half way down the indicator). If you want your Dodge automatic transmission to last well past the warranty do your self a favor and take it to the dealer and have the filter and fluid changed there. Or buy the parts from the dealer and spend a Saturday afternoon in your driveway doing it your self. This much I know as fact, your Dodge automatic transmission will not last as long if your don't use the correct Mopar fluid!

 

The Mopar tranny fluid is pretty amazing, however, I have had great success (almost 300,000 miles worth) using the Dexron III/Mercon. It is actually a direct replacement, but the Mopar fluid is still much, much better...

Also, whoever told you that band adjustment will not affect your shifting is just wrong. If you don't believe me, open up your tranny and loosen the bands a couple turns. It may shift, but it will be rough and inconsistant and not have any power.

Hopefully you took the time to adjust everything when you replaced the filter, that is the most convenient time to do it, as one band is located on the valve body and the pan must be removed to access it. I don't have my manual with me, but I am fairly certain that the low/reverse band (the one hidden behind the pan) is to be tighted to 72"/lbs then backed off 2 rotations. The high band, which can be found on the drivers side of the tranny, is to be tightened to 72"/lbs and backed off 2 & 7/8 turns (23/8).

 

i second that. I think that sounds like the stupidist thing you could do. just get it fixed the right way.

 

people put brake fluid in their trannys around here sometimes..but it is just to temporarily fix it so they stiff someone who is buying it or a dealership they are trading it too

 

If you look up the spec. on band adj. and set it to the heavyduty spec, which is only al little bit more, you can sometimes get a little harder shift. But to much and it will drag on the drum and wear it out.

 

I hate to tell you but seals have a lot to do with the bands working. The bands are tightened by a hydraulic piston in the trans and these pistons have rubber seals. If the seals are weak causing the slip due to fluid bypassing the seals the brake fluid will fix it but only temporary. Brake fluid will make rubber swell and reseal them. The down side is it also will make the rubber brake down after a little bit. So yes it is very possible depending why it is slipping that brake fluid will make it shift again but it wont last long. But if your trans is trash and you need to get by a week or so then its worth ago as you really have nothing to loose. I have done it on a old ford and it worked almost a month before it went back out. It only takes about a half cup. Yes I know this is a old post but as there are a lot of people saying it wont work I thought I would explain. Please don't do this and then sell to someone as a working car if it fixes it because that is just wrong.

 

Many years ago, a TABLESPOON of brake fluid down the dip stick tube was a field service to get a vehicle in from the road to get transmission work. I've done it in the past but that was on the older style transmissions. It swells the bands and seals up but is short term. It was also a jack leg dealer fix to sell you a car with a worn out transmission. Just like saw dust of banana peels in the rear end to quiet it down until you're gone. A week later it breaks down but you don't have a warranty so you're gouged.

In the 1980's manual transmissions began to be designed to use ATF for fuel economy. Before that, you used gear oil like your rear end now.

 

putting little bit brake fluid in a trans is a old used car trick. i have done it in the past and it has helped. don't know long term effects because i never owned a car long term that it has been done to.
as others have posted it will swell up the seals and internal parts to help the trans work better SHORT term.
the idea is basically it's broke already how much more will it hurt it? you could try it and roll the dice on how long it will last or if it even helps.
if you are going to keep the car fix the trans properly.