tranny fluid

[airjordan2k8]

a quick question... how do i know if i need to flush my transmission fluid??? bought the m.m with 56,203 miles on it.. currently at 64,129

[ctrlraven]

Have you had the transmission pan dropped and the filter changed since owning the vehicle? If not, it might be a good idea just go ahead and have it changed or have the filter changed and a full fluid exchange done.

If the trans pan is dropped and there is a little yellow what looks like a lollipop on in the pan then most likely the pan has never been dropped and the filter never changed.

[RF Overlord]

Is the fluid still pink and clear or is it getting dark? Even if it's pink and clear, the additive pack gets depleted, so that isn't a perfect judge.

If your fluid IS still pink and clear, unless you have proof it's been done in the last 30,000 miles, you should at least do a drain & fill. If the fluid is getting dark, then do a complete fluid exchange. Clean ATF is the life blood of your transmission...you cannot change it too often.

[SID210SA]

Since you just picked it up...you could assume that it was never done.....so just go ahead and have it done...just to be on the safe side.

[fastblackmerc]

Unless you have service records, assume that the tranny fluid has never been changed.

Change it now!

Drop the pan, install new filter and Mercon V fluid ONLY!

[airjordan2k8]

aight ill be sure to do that asap hoping to do it this wknd... thanx guys for the info...

[bolsen]

I also need to do this. What's the cost if I do it myself?

[fastblackmerc]

I also need to do this. What's the cost if I do it myself?

Time and what ever Mercon V tranny fluid costs.

[RF Overlord]

Drain & fill: $25 for fluid and $20 for the filter. For a complete fluid exchange, add another $50 for the additional fluid.

[airjordan2k8]

Im jus gonna take mine to the Ford dealership and pay the $169

[ctrlraven]

Make sure you say that you want the filter changed as well other wise they will just disconnect one of the trans cooler lines and exchange the fluid that way and never touch the filter.

[fastblackmerc]

make sure you say that you want the filter changed as well other wise they will just disconnect one of the trans cooler lines and exchange the fluid that way and never touch the filter.

+1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bolsen]

Is it a pain in butt to do it yourself? I can either do it my driveway with an oil change pan, or take it to a lift and pay $3 an hour.

[ctrlraven]

Is it a pain in butt to do it yourself? I can either do it my driveway with an oil change pan, or take it to a lift and pay $3 an hour.

To flush or just drop the pan and change the filter?

[airjordan2k8]

Make sure you say that you want the filter changed as well other wise they will just disconnect one of the trans cooler lines and exchange the fluid that way and never touch the filter.
ill be sure to do that man thanx.....

[RF Overlord]

Is it a pain in butt to do it yourself? I can either do it my driveway with an oil change pan, or take it to a lift and pay $3 an hour.Take it to a lift and pay the $3/hr. While you have the pan off, install one of the universal drain plugs sold at any FLAPS. That way you can do future drain & fills in your driveway just as easily as changing the motor oil.

*Note* The filter does NOT require changing every time. It's good for 50,000 miles anyway.

[Odinson]

Taking my MM to the tranny shop on Thursday to do a flush and a pre trilogy inspection. Thanks for the tip on the filter I'll expicitly request it in addition to the flush.

Anything else they should do for it while it's apart and up? Little nervous about nearly doubling the RWHP.

[RF Overlord]

Odinson, have no fear. Lidio, who is one of the fathers of the Trilogy setup, did nothing to his transmission and ran 11's with it all day long. If you're especially hard on your car, an aux cooler would be a good idea.

[fastblackmerc]

I definitely recommend a tranny cooler for any car.

HEAT = Enemy of the tranny.

[Odinson]

Cool! Thanks.

I'll look into the tranny cooler. I'd like to keep this on (secondary) DD driver duty eternally. More than a few imports that NEED to get smoked around here.

[Spectragod]

Drain & fill: $25 for fluid and $20 for the filter. For a complete fluid exchange, add another $50 for the additional fluid.

Fluid must be dirt cheap in your parts, to do a fluid exchange takes 17 quarts. Just my 4.6 cents worth. :beer:

[Da Dark Jedi]

Fluid must be dirt cheap in your parts, to do a fluid exchange takes 17 quarts. Just my 4.6 cents worth. :beer:


Thanks for that info, I have asked that question before and now I know.

[RF Overlord]

Fluid must be dirt cheap in your parts, to do a fluid exchange takes 17 quarts. That's why I said to add another $50 to the $25 I already mentioned. 17 quarts at $5/qt is $85...OK, I was $10 off...

[Da Dark Jedi]

WOW thats cheap for synthetic trans oil, if thats what you're putting in. Amsoil and Mobil-1 runs about $9.00 - $11.00.

[RF Overlord]

That's for Valvoline Mercon V. Full synthetic ATF isn't necessary if you change it often enough or if you aren't hard on your car, which I'm not.

[Da Dark Jedi]

That's for Valvoline Mercon V. Full synthetic ATF isn't necessary if you change it often enough or if you aren't hard on your car, which I'm not.


Did not mean to imply that you are hard on your car. I just figured everyone probably see alot of stop-n-go city driving mixed in with HWY.

[Spectragod]

That's why I said to add another $50 to the $25 I already mentioned. 17 quarts at $5/qt is $85...OK, I was $10 off...

I paid $8 a quart last time I did mine, if your buying it for $5 a quart, that's a deal.

[MyTMerc]

Had my fluid flushed and filled at the dealer the day before driving to Marauderville 9. I had a little shutter around 30 mph from letting it go too long. Works like a champ now. Dealer price for flush and fill... $241. That does not include a filter change. Add an additional $75 for that.

[RF Overlord]

Did not mean to imply that you are hard on your car. I didn't take it that way...I just meant that unless you do a lot of towing, have a monster motor, or drive your car hard, synthetic ATF isn't going to buy you anything, as long as you keep the fluid fresh. I do a drain & fill every 15,000 miles and the fluid that comes out is just as clean and pretty as the fresh stuff going in...and this is with 153,000 miles on the car.

I also admit that I've had my ATF stash for a while and the last time I bought any it was around $5/qt. Since the price of motor oil has gone up a fair bit, I imagine ATF has, too.

[RF Overlord]

Dealer price for flush and fill... $241. That does not include a filter change. Add an additional $75 for that.$316 for a fluid and filter change? :eek: ...holy macaroni...take an adult ed class at your local voc-tech and learn to DIY, man. It's really easy.

[ctrlraven]

I've been using Castrol Mercon V since I first opened the trans up back about 100-110k miles ago. I think it's $5-6.50 a quart from Advance Auto Parts. I also use it in my 2008 Ford Taurus.

[ctrlraven]

That's a crazy price for fluid exchange! Most Ford dealers around my area want $169-189 and that's just for the fluid exchange, add $75 for the filter replacement (labor included with that price).

The cheap price could be due to the fact most dealers use Coastal ATF, not Motorcraft or any actual good brand name.

[RF Overlord]

I've been using Castrol Mercon V... I like Castrol and Valvoline because they're both approved by Ford. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with the rest of them, but when you need something to make a decision, that's good enough for me.

[Da Dark Jedi]

Here in Chicago the charge for just the use of the trans flush machine is $100.00 and you supply the trans oil.

[ctrlraven]

I like Castrol and Valvoline because they're both approved by Ford. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with the rest of them, but when you need something to make a decision, that's good enough for me.
For me especially if I use a fluid type and it's going to be in the vehicle for sometime I tend to stick to one brand/type until otherwise noted. For me, Castrol I can find just about every where and the price has stayed between $5-6 for years now.

[IwantmyMMnow!]

I'm glad I found this thread! Mine is approaching 80K (57K when I bought it) and assuming the tranny fluid/filter has never been touched, I need to do this, and like yesterday!

Are the filters available in any parts store? I'd like to try and do this myself; the idea of spending about $100 vs $250+ is very appealing to me...

Instructions/pics will be much appreciated!

[RF Overlord]

Filters are common as dirt at any FLAPS. For cross-reference, the Motorcraft number is FT105.

Here's the write-up:

Remove pan bolts.
Drop pan. Save gasket...it's designed to be reused.
Clean pan and magnet with brake cleaner.
Pull filter straight down...no tools needed. Be sure old o-ring seal from filter neck is not stuck up inside valve body (they usually are).
Install new filter with new o-ring (supplied with filter). It just presses in place.
Install pan. Tighten bolts to 10 ft/lbs.
Put in 4 quarts of Mercon V.
Done.

[IwantmyMMnow!]

Filters are common as dirt at any FLAPS. For cross-reference, the Motorcraft number is FT105.

Here's the write-up:

Remove pan bolts.
Drop pan. Save gasket...it's designed to be reused.
Clean pan and magnet with brake cleaner.
Pull filter straight down...no tools needed. Be sure old o-ring seal from filter neck is not stuck up inside valve body (they usually are).
Install new filter with new o-ring (supplied with filter). It just presses in place.
Install pan. Tighten bolts to 10 ft/lbs.
Put in 4 quarts of Mercon V.
Done.

Thank you, sir! Hope to be able to get to this by early next week at the latest....

[Da Dark Jedi]

So RF Overlord, tell me more about your collection. How many quarts of motor oil and trans oil do you have? I'm down to 24 qurats of Amsoil ATF, 4 quarts of Amsoil motor oil and 8 gallons of Motul 8100 motor oil. OH, 4 bosch oil filter and 2 Amsoil filters. And 7 bottles of Royal Purple 75-140w gear oil.

[MyTMerc]

$316 for a fluid and filter change? :eek: ...holy macaroni...take an adult ed class at your local voc-tech and learn to DIY, man. It's really easy.
I've rebuilt automatic transmissions before. Don't have a flush and fill machine (~$1600) or the time to chase one down. Sometimes it's a matter of more money than time. Thanks for the advice though. I should have change the fluid routinely.

[RF Overlord]

Thank you, sir! Hope to be able to get to this by early next week at the latest....If you haven't done this before, I should add one thing: you'll find a small yellow plastic "lollipop" or "baby rattle" floating around in the pan. Don't panic. It's a dust plug for the filler tube that is dislodged when the dipstick is inserted at the factory. Just throw it away. If you don't find one, that means someone had the pan off before.

[IwantmyMMnow!]

If you haven't done this before, I should add one thing: you'll find a small yellow plastic "lollipop" or "baby rattle" floating around in the pan. Don't panic. It's a dust plug for the filler tube that is dislodged when the dipstick is inserted at the factory. Just throw it away. If you don't find one, that means someone had the pan off before.

Thanks again...I'll post up how it went when I get 'er done...

[fastblackmerc]

Filters are common as dirt at any FLAPS. For cross-reference, the Motorcraft number is FT105.

Here's the write-up:

Remove pan bolts.
Drop pan. Save gasket...it's designed to be reused.
Clean pan and magnet with brake cleaner.
Pull filter straight down...no tools needed. Be sure old o-ring seal from filter neck is not stuck up inside valve body (they usually are).
Install new filter with new o-ring (supplied with filter). It just presses in place.
Install pan. Tighten bolts to 10 ft/lbs.
Put in 4 quarts of Mercon V.
Done.

If you remove all the pan bolts at once you'll get a fluid bath.

Loosen all the bolts a couple of turns.

Remove the rear bolts and a few up both sides.

The rear of the pan will come down and the fluid will drain into your drain pan.

Once most of the fluid is out you cam remove the rest of the bolts.

Might be a good idea to either modify the pan for a drain plug or to get a pan with a drain plug.

[IwantmyMMnow!]

If you remove all the pan bolts at once you'll get a fluid bath.

Loosen all the bolts a couple of turns.

Remove the rear bolts and a few up both sides.

The rear of the pan will come down and the fluid will drain into your drain pan.

Once most of the fluid is out you cam remove the rest of the bolts.

Might be a good idea to either modify the pan for a drain plug or to get a pan with a drain plug.

Thanks fbm...where can I get a pan w/plug and how much do they run?

[fastblackmerc]

Thanks fbm...where can I get a pan w/plug and how much do they run?

You can get a kit to add the plug like this....
http://www.ebay.com/itm/JEGS-60175-Transmission-Pan-Drain-Plug-Kit-/310315668973?pt=Other_Vehicle_ Parts&vxp=mtr&hash=item48404155ed

Or buy a new drain pan like this.....
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TCI-438000-Aluminum-Trans-Pan-Ford-AOD-AODE-4R70W-/310341792133?pt=Other_Vehicle_ Parts&vxp=mtr&hash=item4841cff185

[88LTDCV351]

As far as I know, mine has never had the original transmission fluid drained. I always ask them to check it when the car is serviced. They never said it needed replaced. However, at 120,000 miles, I think I might have them drain and replace. Haven't noticed any problems but sounds like its definately a good idea.

[RF Overlord]

Most places will just pull the dipstick and look at the level...they really don't know much about oil or transmission fluid and unless it's black as tar, they have no idea of its condition. Even if it isn't oxidised and smelly, the additive pack gets depleted. Also, the filter is not a very fine one and you can start circulating what amounts to grinding compound around. At that mileage I would get a complete fluid exchange, not just a drain & fill.

[IwantmyMMnow!]

Haven't had much time to try and change my tranny fluid on my own lately, so stopped by Tread Quarters (where I take my car to have stuff done) on the way home to have my oil changed. Out of curiousity, asked how much for a transmission flush. Jason (the one guy I usually chat with since buying my tires and his admiration of my MM) says, "let me see what kind of deal I can work for you"...after several dozen clacks and clicks on his keyboard, he says, "oil change and transmission flush will be $165, including tax".

I was astonished! I figured I'd be looking at 200-300 bucks. They also use Valvoline products. Sure am gonna miss taking my car there after I move.

[blkZooM]

Would warranty cover a trans flush? Or is that coming out my pocket

Edit. Never mind think Ill just try this on my own