-
I wouldn't put ATF in anything that wasn't a car autobox, personally. Just because it feels the same doesn't mean it does the same thing. Brake fluid feels just like ATF but you wouldn't want to put that in anything that wasn't a braking system.
I don't want this to turn into a BMW forum -esque discussion about oil, but ATF is not the same as regular oil. I would not risk it unless you know the stuff that Shimano use is the same as ATF. It might be that the demands of a hub from its lubricant are so low that it doesn't actually matter what you put in it, but do you know that? It's an expensive hub.
Jonny69-
I think ATF is the de facto substitute for the pucker shimano stuff. It seems to be what loads of people use/recommend online. Obviously they might all be wrong but you know, seems like an established practice.
-
No material science going on here, but been using it on dozens of hubs for many years, none have failed seemingly from anything to do with the lubricant.
What does actively kill igh hubs is them being left for years /decades with zero clean outs + oil changes, have a nice bucket full of them mostly sturmey aw's (because most popular for half a century).
I think low intensity means you can get away with a lot, average hatch back car gearbox run on only 1 to 2 litres of hypoid oil for 80 to 200k without being changed, but they have better sealing. Higher powered cars or anything doing track /motorsport use yeah, much more intensive. Have seen auto boxes have issues with chemical shock after the wrong oil being used, or even the right oil being used by changed in one go rather than being changed out gradually like you would with a fish tank.
Anyways, maybe its not the exact right oil, but I haven't had any failures on customer hubs in likely a combined 150 to 250k of use.
M_V
BrickMan
No brass in an alfine. Atf is the most inert but breaks down easily with any moisture. From the feel and smell im sure that's what shimano sell in a pot for £60 regular atf
Always clean out and blast anything old from in there as your never sure what's been added to it over its lifetime. Seen full on waterproof grease used before with expected results, sticky!