2010 4.6 6r80 trans - mechanic did pan & filter service but added Mercon V? Impact? Help?

[ELeBlanc]

So it's a done thing. Maybe 4 or 5 quarts. What's the impact? He's planning on sucking out 4 or 5 quarts and adding LV tomorrow?

 

[CDW6212R]

I don't know the impact of changing over a 3rd of the ATF to Mercon V(there should be near 13 quarts of ATF in total), I would research a little more before deciding their correction is adequate.

The Lubegard ATF additives are well known and have been great for decades. They made one that was to use with the old Mercon to make it function similar to Mercon V, I used that in my 1999 5R55E when I first got the truck. They may make something that is similar for the Mercon V to perform okay with Mercon LV. But without knowing that, I would want it all changed to remove as much of the Mercon V as possible.

Check first, drive it very little or not at all until you have an informed decision. Dropping the pan doesn't drain much ATF. To get most of the rest out takes loosening the VB bolts, all of them just enough to cause fluid to drain from all of the holes, and wait a couple of hours. 2010 ATF is old enough to want to replace all of it.

 

[ELeBlanc]

So I need to tell them what I want done first thing in the morning. So my only source of educated info will be this forum.
So one other pertinent fact - I've only owned this for 5 months and it is at 143k and I'm guessing this is the first fluid change. My mechanic said everything looked and smelled good. No obvious metal pieces or slivers.
My thought was to suck out what they can tomorrow, add the LV, then I'm away for a little over a week then when back have them suck out what they can and replace.
Alternately instead of just sucking out I could tell them to drop the pan again and replace. They are NOT a transmission shop - just a good mechanic. Although they did totally f**k up the fluid. Their reaction at first was "it will all be fine" until I showed them all the "dont mix V and LV" pages on the web.
I was trying to limit dropping the pan... All advice is appreciated...

 

[Bill MacLeod]

I would do a pan drop & filter change. There is a lot of fluid above the filter. And be prepared to do it a 2nd time.
Is it worth the risk not to?

 

[ELeBlanc]

I'm 0% mechanic but an avid reader of the forum... So you are saying that the new filter should be tossed and a new one installed... I would not have thought of that...

 

[410Fortune]

Any time the pan is off change the filter
Also a good idea to add a drain port if it does not have one that makes fluid changes possible. Dorman pans are cheap enough and come w drain plugs

Lubeguard has a chart might be able to add a bottle to the Mercon v and turn it into lv
I often do this with Mercon iii and convert it to Mercon v w additive

https://www.lubegard.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/12th-Edition-OEM-ATF-Conversion-Chart.pdf

 

[CDW6212R]

I wish transmission shops were not narrow minded money crazed businesses, worrying about liability only etc.

I'd have the pan dropped, loosen every VB bolt just a little(the gasket won't be hurt at all), let it drain for 10 minutes, and snug everything back up. That would get close to nine quarts out. No trans shop will do that, they want a find a reason to force a full rebuild.

If the filter was just replaced, it doesn't need to be done again for another 50-100k miles, whatever your interval choice is.

 

[ELeBlanc]

So filter is new as of today but exposed to Mercon V / LV mix. So that is Ok? No reason to replace...

 

[Bill MacLeod]

Yes, change the filter. It's literally contaminated.

All Ford 6r transmissions are of ZF design and require specific fluids.

 

[94Eddie]

Any time the pan is off change the filter
Also a good idea to add a drain port if it does not have one that makes fluid changes possible. Dorman pans are cheap enough and come w drain plugs

I tried to use a Dorman pan on mine but the sump wasn't deep enough to fit. I think the Dorman part is for a F150 that has a slightly different pan than the 6R transmissions in the Explorers and Mountaineers. With the proper filter it might have worked but I ended up having a drain plug welded into my OEM pan.

Lueguard has a chart might be able to add a bottle to the Mercon v and turn it into lv
I often do this with Mercon iii and convert it to Mercon v w additive

https://www.lubegard.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/12th-Edition-OEM-ATF-Conversion-Chart.pdf

 

[410Fortune]

You do not mix Mercon v and lv never ever ever mix aft types in auto transmission

What we are talking about is using a lubeguard additive to convert the installed mercon v to lv chemically

 

[94Eddie]

So it's a done thing. Maybe 4 or 5 quarts. What's the impact? He's planning on sucking out 4 or 5 quarts and adding LV tomorrow?

I would have them drain and refill at least three times, maybe four to get as much Mercon V out of it as possible. There is a lot of difference in the properties between LV and V and I wouldn't risk running with much V in the transmission. You might want to have them flush it to get a complete fluid replacement. I normally wouldn't recommend this but in your case it might be the only choice to get nearly all the V out. Also, the engine/transmission has to be at operating temperature to do a proper flush. There is a valve that senses fluid temperature and it will only send fluid to the external cooling lines when the transmission is at operating temperature. Also, document everthng so you can come back to them if you end up having transmissions issues. They should be on the hook for any damage that results from their error.

 

[94Eddie]

So filter is new as of today but exposed to Mercon V / LV mix. So that is Ok? No reason to replace...

The filter holds a lot of fluid so it needs to be replaced with every drain and refill they do to get the most V out of the transmission. If I were you, I would stand there and watch them do the work to ensure they actually change the filter every time. Otherwise you will never know if they did this step.

 

[ELeBlanc]

What was surprising to me was that the fluid they took out was all red... I was expecting a color that was a combination of red (new fluid) and black (old fluid).

 

[Motorhogman]

Ford dealer hooked up a pump to my coolant lines and flushed and filled the trans on my 2000 Sport.. That was a few years ago. Is that an option on this model year.

 

[94Eddie]

Ford dealer hooked up a pump to my coolant lines and flushed and filled the trans on my 2000 Sport.. That was a few years ago. Is that an option on this model year.

It is but in order to get the fluid flowing through the cooler lines the 6R60/80 transmissions have to be at full operating temperture/ If not there is a valve that closes and prevent fluid from leaving the transmission housing. Many people who have these transmissions flushed are just dumping good transmission fluid directly into the waste receptacle of the flushing machine.

 

[CDW6212R]

The torque convertor holds about a gallon of fluid, and there is no drain plug any longer. So there will be at least two quarts left in the transmission, even if you removed the VB.

The only good way to remove most of the ATF is to drop the VB, or as I already posted, slightly loosen all of the VB bolts. Most of the fluid is trapped up inside the trans, and the VB keeps it there, until the bolts are loosened. Then it all drains out in a short amount of time. Anyone could do that, but nobody is brave enough(everyone is afraid of an automatic, there's magic inside they think).

 

[gaj0137]

I had the same exact thing happen to my 2010 ford 4.6 explorer with 6r80 during a trans filter change over a year ago. They extracted what they could using a suction machine and and refilled with LV 3 times without dropping the pan. It was driven each time it was refilled to flush the trans. I have since driven another 15,000+ miles with no issues. I actually think it shifted better after the whole ordeal so I wouldn't worry too much as long as they flush out what they can and add LV.

 

[ELeBlanc]

So when this happened you said they did suction out and refill three times... Was this done same day or over a few days or over a few months. Also would it be accurate that each suction out and refill was about 5 quarts?

 

[gaj0137]

So when this happened you said they did suction out and refill three times... Was this done same day or over a few days or over a few months. Also would it be accurate that each suction out and refill was about 5 quarts?

They sucked about 4 to 5 quarts out from the fill hole, refilled and drove it for 30 minutes each time. Repeated for 3 suck and fills. It took a few hours for the whole process and was all done the same day.