Transmission service 1999 XLT Explorer .., NEWBIE

[mobay1517]

Bought used with 88,000 miles . Now at 116,000 . recently converted to daily commuter car ( 90+miles per day , but easy highway miles .., no stop and go at all ).
Never a problem in the 4 years owned. Transmission fluid is pink ( really nice color), not thick, and no odor whatsoever. Don't know if has ever had transmission serviced.

OK ...., I want to service the transmission now that it will be working more. I can drop pan myself but have heard that a part of the Cat is in the way and has to be removed ( I looked , and the pan appeared to be able to clear the car plumbing) . So, do you guys recommend removing the part of the cat near the pan?

Also.., and I know this has been asked before..., my apologies. Should I get the FULL drop oil pan/replace filter/drain torque converter/ add 16 quarts/ service for $160+ ( local indie ) or is a simple pan and filter ( done by yours truly) good enough?

Is is possible for my Transmission fluid to "appear" so healthy ( nice pick color , not thick, NO odor ) and never have been changed ???

Sorry for all the questions .

 

[xFatcatx]

First off I would never take my truck anywhere for fluids/flushes. Who knows what theyll put in it, unless you trust complete strangers/pot head teenagers. You can flush it yourself if youd like, there is a sticky at the top of the transmission forum in the transmission section on "how to flush". I am no expert by any means but if your fluid looks that good i wouldnt worry about a flush, it would be better though......

Now I dont know what transmission you have or exactly what it looks like under your truck, but I have a 99 sport,4WD with the 5R55E. My exhaust bolts were to rusted to get off, I even took it to a exhaust shop and they heated em up and used the impact wrenches to no avail. Although some say they have done it, I could not get the pan off with everything in place. I finally dropped the front of the front drive shaft and pushed it up and towards the drivers side of the car and hung it there (make sure you wrap some electrical tape around the u-joint before you pull the drive shaft out. I could then slide the pan out towards the drivers side. The drive shaft is held in by 4 T30 Torx Nuts (not enough clearance for a socket). I broke off two cheap Torx bits in the heads of them before I went to Sears and got a good Bit. But like i said yours might no be the same, i know nothing about the 5.0. Hope this helps.

p.s. i dont remember what the sticky says on how to flush, but when i flushed my 02 Caravan i simply disconnected the transmission fluid return line from the transmission, started the car, and took 3 quarts out at a time, quickly running through the gears and (with hose pointed into a bucket to catch the old fluid), then refill 3 quarts, i did 12 quarts.

 

[mobay1517]

Found out thru this Forum that I have the Factory aux Trans cooler

I know that it sounds stupid , that I did not know this but I did not realize that it came with the factory towing package. I had noticed the AuX cooler before but like a idiot thought it was for something else.

I think that this had probably helped to keep my Transmission fluid at a cooler temp and hence, a better condition.

It was only after reading in this forum that I discovered that an auxillary trans cooler came with the Factory towing package.

Nice to now, even though I should have known,