Tranny Maintenance

[04MRADR]

:cool: At 28,000 miles I went to my mechanic and had the transmission filter replaced whereupon he advised me only half the fluid could be drained. The balance he advised is in the torque converter and could not be drained. I agree with another member's comments that Ford is wrong at suggesting you never need to replace the transmission filter. I did it on my 2000, 1989, 1980, 1977 Grand Marcs at 25,000 and never had a problem. I would like the membership's opinion on my mechanics advice. He suggested I replace the filter and the half fluid that drains at 25,000 miles then a tranny flush with no filter replacement at 50,000 miles so that all the fluid including the torque converter fluid can be replaced, then a filter and half the fluid at 75,000 and so on. Does this maintenance recommendation by my mechanic sound like a good plan? By the way, about 70 % of my driving is turnpike, the balance city.

[fastblackmerc]

:cool: At 28,000 miles I went to my mechanic and had the transmission filter replaced whereupon he advised me only half the fluid could be drained. The balance he advised is in the torque converter and could not be drained. I agree with another member's comments that Ford is wrong at suggesting you never need to replace the transmission filter. I did it on my 2000, 1989, 1980, 1977 Grand Marcs at 25,000 and never had a problem. I would like the membership's opinion on my mechanics advice. He suggested I replace the filter and the half fluid that drains at 25,000 miles then a tranny flush with no filter replacement at 50,000 miles so that all the fluid including the torque converter fluid can be replaced, then a filter and half the fluid at 75,000 and so on. Does this maintenance recommendation by my mechanic sound like a good plan? By the way, about 70 % of my driving is turnpike, the balance city.
There are shops that can drain out all the fliud with the right equipment. You could also get a tranny pan with a drain plug, drain the fluid that is in the pan every other oil change and over the course of 2 or 3 oil changes you will have changed all the tranny fluid.

[jgc61sr2002]

There are shops that can drain out all the fliud with the right equipment. You could also get a tranny pan with a drain plug, drain the fluid that is in the pan every other oil change and over the course of 2 or 3 oil changes you will have changed all the tranny fluid.


What he said.^^^^^:up:

[merc6]

dealership did my entire fluid change. All the other shops was like $80-$89 but..they refered to it as "Yeah we have the...red stuff...?" and coudn't identify what the mystery red fluid is thats is universal from brake, tranny, and powerstering applications so beware of those shops!

[fastblackmerc]

Yeah, forgot to mention, use MercronV. There have been some on the board that have had fluid changes and the shops added a modifier:down: to make whatever fluid they put in "like" MercronV.... I don't think the results were satisfactory.....

[SergntMac]

Use only Mercon V, and flush every23-30K miles...IMHO.

[jgc61sr2002]

Is the Mercon V available at local auto parts stores?

[Krytin]

Is the Mercon V available at local auto parts stores?
Yes it is - I have used CAM II and Castrol Mercon V transmision fluid in the last two changes. Both are semi synthetic. I installed B&M cooler and deep cast finned aluminum pan on the last one.

[jgc61sr2002]

Yes it is - I have used CAM II and Castrol Mercon V transmision fluid in the last two changes. Both are semi synthetic. I installed B&M cooler and deep cast finned aluminum pan on the last one.


Thanks Paul.

[Bigdogjim]

I have mine flushed every 15,000 and the pan dropped and filter replaced every other flush. Note I do not use the power machines. Just the one that exchages fluid.

[JMan]

Your mechanic's philosophy is sound. That should be suitable for the type of driving you do. I am adamantly against using cleaners and sealers/conditioners. If he tries to push them on you, politely decline. If you are using MerconV and keeping those intervals, you should be in good shape barring the unforseen. I use the same schedule as bigdogjim. Here's to many happy miles :D .

J

[MarauderMark]

I have mine flushed every 15,000 and the pan dropped and filter replaced every other flush. Note I do not use the power machines. Just the one that exchages fluid.
Subscribing to this thread.:up:

[Bigdogjim]

I have follow this plan with the Ford E-350 work vans and have 15 over 250,000 miles and 3 over 350,000 miles running very strong. Not the same type transmission I agree. Never the less it works in the real world!
Just sold one last September with 415,000 miles with no problems!
Vans are flushed at 30,000 miles. All van are 3-5 years old!

[mrjones]

What have any of you done about putting a drain in the pan? I was thinking of having a drain bolt put in my pan by drilling a hole and welding a nut in. I know that it would be the prettiest, but it's not in a real visible location.

Are there some reasonably priced pans w/drains out there?

On a side note, my 97 F150 with 175K had developed a bad shudder when going in/out of lockup. A transmission flush fixed it. It had only been 20-25K since the last flush, but the fluid was pretty brown and nasty looking. I think I'm going to start dropping the pan and changing those 4 quarts or so that come out at each oil change from now on. This truck does not require the Mercon V, just the regular Mercon. Would there be any advantage to using Mercon V, or should I just stick to the regular Mercon?

[RF Overlord]

Are there some reasonably priced pans w/drains out there?Depends on your definition of "reasonably"...check into p/n F8UZ-7A194-AA, used on 1998-2004 E-250 Econoline vans delivered to U-Haul; available from the dealer for around $75 (so I'm told). You can also install a drain plug yourself...B&M has a nice one for about $10. Install it in the rear sloped part of that "well" in the middle of the pan.
Would there be any advantage to using Mercon V, or should I just stick to the regular Mercon?If your truck has the 4R70W transmission, then yes there will be a HUGE advantage in switching to Mercon V. Mercon V is a semi-synthetic (also called synthetic blend) and has much greater resistance to oxidation and torque converter clutch shudder. Most likely, after 2 or 3 pan-drops using Mercon V, you won't need to change it quite so often. Even better, Ford has officially back-spec'd Mercon V for all AODE/4R70W transmissions.

[David Morton]

:cool: At 28,000 miles I went to my mechanic and had the transmission filter replaced whereupon he advised me only half the fluid could be drained. The balance he advised is in the torque converter and could not be drained. I agree with another member's comments that Ford is wrong at suggesting you never need to replace the transmission filter. I did it on my 2000, 1989, 1980, 1977 Grand Marcs at 25,000 and never had a problem. I would like the membership's opinion on my mechanics advice. He suggested I replace the filter and the half fluid that drains at 25,000 miles then a tranny flush with no filter replacement at 50,000 miles so that all the fluid including the torque converter fluid can be replaced, then a filter and half the fluid at 75,000 and so on. Does this maintenance recommendation by my mechanic sound like a good plan? By the way, about 70 % of my driving is turnpike, the balance city.I cut and paste this from an earlier thread. I happen to know this guy and he's pretty sharp.


I get a line type flush here for $80.

A line flush is where they take the cooler lines off and use the transmission pumping action to push out almost all of the old fluid while a machine pumps in fresh fluid. This is the best method because it will replace almost all the old fluid.

Yes, the filters are serviceable but replacing them is not necessary. Transmissions don't burn any fuel, so there isn't much they have to filter out. The filters are there to catch the initial flake offs from the clutches and casted aluminum parts that occurs in the first 1000 miles or so and the filters are about as big as a car vacuum cleaner bag. I've done hundreds maybe thousands of "drop the pan" fluid and filter changes and have never seen a plugged filter, unless the tranny was "making metal" in which case it was well on it's way to catastrophic failure already.

Let me say it again so it's clear. Modern transmissions do not need to have the filter replaced. If the filter is plugging up it'll be because the transmission is tearing up anyways, and a new filter won't stop that.

A line flush eliminates many goofs that can occur with a drop pan and filter change such as scratching the pump pickup tube, damaging the new filter installed, causing a pan leak and the wind blowing a dust particle or hair inside the valve body sticking a valve.

All those bad accidents and you still only get to replace about half the fluid, so you have to change it twice as often.

Do the line flush. Trust me it's better all around.

He forgot to mention the magnet inside the pan that catches the small pieces of planetary gear teeth that normally wear off throughout the life of a transmission. Nobodys perfect. :D