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Got an 06 Camry, 190k miles now. Below is a recent UOA.

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/5140968/1

Anyway, I was driving home and came to a hard stop at a red light. The low oil light flashed on...I haven't checked the oil level for 7000 miles.

I go home and dump in a bit of Redline 75W-85. I had maybe 2 or 3 ounces left in the bottle from doing a diff on another car. I follow that up with some Mobil 1 0W-30.

I then go online and learn that diff oil can damage engines. I put it in thinking that some esters would be good for the car. Maybe I should have Googled diff fluid in engines before I poured it in, but this is a Camry that has gone 190k miles without a single check engine light: it owes me nothing.

Do you think that the diff fluid will damage any of the soft metals in the drivetrain?
 
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How low was the dipstick level? Is that the 4 cyl Camry? They are know for burning oil, so you should be checking the oil level more often.

To answer your question, it shouldn't cause damage. Low level will be worse for that motor.
 
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Gotta check oil in every car now days. No offense but hearing someone say they haven't checked their oil for 7000 miles makes me shake my head. I don't mean to offend but I think this is a lesson learned. Hopefully no damage was done.
 
Originally Posted by Deontologist

Do you think that the diff fluid will damage any of the soft metals in the drivetrain?

I think you mean engine or powertrain, which includes the engine and drivetrain..that said, if it's just a couple oz i don't *think"* it's gonna hurt anything.. just run it for a shortened up oci..or dump it if it really really bothers ya.
 
2-3 ounces probably won't hurt anything. My friends dad put significantly more into their truck, like 2-3qts, to try and limp it along... it lasted about 10 minutes before it seized.
 
Skippy722, siezed up? Couldn't handle the heat maybe in your friend's dad's case. Redline, especially 3 oz should be fine, all high temperature syn.

I'm curious as to what is in full syn diff fluid that will destroy, dissolve, whatever, engines.
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
What was your intention for putting differential oil in a engine?

Exactly what I was thinking. FTR not checking the oil in 7K miles was the problem.
 
My daughter just bought a pos Pontiac with the 2.4 ecotec. She put 3500k on it after an oil change, never checked it and when I did......empty. I added 2 qts and a quart of lucas, because why not. 1k later it's still full. I'm not a Lucas fan but in her cars case there was nothing to lose.
 
D1dad, wow those engines are tolerant of low oil. She had just enough to keep oil flowing, apparently.

What chemical in diff oil can ruin an engine?
Of course in this case, probably not enough to cause problems of any kind.
 
Originally Posted by Deontologist
Got an 06 Camry, 190k miles now. Below is a recent UOA.

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/5140968/1

Anyway, I was driving home and came to a hard stop at a red light. The low oil light flashed on...I haven't checked the oil level for 7000 miles.

I go home and dump in a bit of Redline 75W-85. I had maybe 2 or 3 ounces left in the bottle from doing a diff on another car. I follow that up with some Mobil 1 0W-30.

I then go online and learn that diff oil can damage engines. I put it in thinking that some esters would be good for the car. Maybe I should have Googled diff fluid in engines before I poured it in, but this is a Camry that has gone 190k miles without a single check engine light: it owes me nothing.

Do you think that the diff fluid will damage any of the soft metals in the drivetrain?



Soooo many things in this post have me scratching my head.
1. Not checking oil in 7,000 miles
2. Adding diff fluid to the engine when you obviously have motor oil on hand
3. Thinking a 190K mile Camry owes you nothing.

#1 is just careless and lazy
#2 is just bizarre, I mean, on the other hand would you put motor oil in the differential?
#3 is insulting to Camry owners that take care of their engines and go over 300,000 miles
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
What was your intention for putting differential oil in a engine?


I had some leftover, and I wasn't planning on putting some leftover differential oil kept in an "open" bottle in a diff. The bottle wasn't capped but it did have a pump stuck in it, so it wasn't exactly open to the environment, but it wasn't exactly sealed against moisture.

And I heard that auction houses often pour some 75W-90 into old cars to make them run acceptably.
 
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Originally Posted by Deontologist
Originally Posted by PimTac
What was your intention for putting differential oil in a engine?


I had some leftover, and I wasn't planning on putting some leftover differential oil kept in an "open" bottle in a diff. The bottle wasn't capped but it did have a pump stuck in it, so it wasn't exactly open to the environment, but it wasn't exactly sealed against moisture.

And I heard that auction houses often pour some 75W-90 into old cars to make them run acceptably.


That is no heavier than a 40 weight, not sure what you could hope to gain
 
Perhaps the EP additives are helpful?

I guess I'll do an UOA at 20 or 25,000 miles. I don't plan on changing the oil anytime soon. Last drain interval was 15,000 miles and didn't have an issue.
 
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Originally Posted by Deontologist
Perhaps the EP additives are helpful?

No, not really. It's why the 4-ball test is not meaningful to an ICE environment.
 
involved enough to go through all the UOA steps then doesn't check level in 7k, guy is out for a trol.
 
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