'02 Explorer Trans Fluid Change???

[02XLS]

I asked my mechanic to do a trans. fluid flush/change on my '02 Explorer and he said he called the dealership and was told that the '02 Explorer is a sealed case and does not need a flush/change.

True or False? Don't see why the dealership would lie nor my mechanic turn down a chance to make some $$$$. HE IS A VERY HONEST GUY.

I looked underneath and could not find a drain plug and it does appear sealed.

Comments fellas.......

Thx, 02XLS............

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

He is somewhat right...Ford doesn't provide a dipstick on these, so in the eyes of the consumer, it's filled "for life". Whatever that means.

There is, however, a way to drain and refill these trannies. It's not all that hard to do either. On the bottom of the tranny pan, there is a drain plug, and you fill it thru that plug too. The fill plug is inside the drain plug...Kind of a plug within a plug type of design.
You change the filter the same as any other tranny...Just remove the pan, change the filter, and re-install the pan. Only difference is in the filling procedure.

Here's a walk-thru on how to do it...They're not really hard, but having a hoist makes life really easy when you do one.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=118654

I bought the fancy little fill tool from my Matco guy, but a common brass 1/8" NPT hose fitting works just as well, and is about a tenth the price.

For what it's worth, I wouldn't recommend power-flushing one of these, or any automatic transmission for that matter. Just drain the fluid, change the filter, and refill it. If you're worried about not getting all the fluid out, you can change just the fluid again in a little while. Just pull the drain plug, let it drain out, and refill.

 

[tower]

False but most think that way and most likely way there are a lot of tranny failures (that and most places don't want to fix it they just want to replace it)

If you are just doing the drop and fill then you should do that every 20-30k IMHO.

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

Good point on the mileage interval. I wouldn't be afraid to go a little longer with these, just because Mercon V is a synthetic fluid. With petroleum fluids, we always recommend 30K intervals for fluid changes. I wouldn't have a problem going 40-50K on Mercon V or similar full-synthetic fluid though.

 

[EasyRhino]

Good point on the mileage interval. I wouldn't be afraid to go a little longer with these, just because Mercon V is a synthetic fluid. With petroleum fluids, we always recommend 30K intervals for fluid changes. I wouldn't have a problem going 40-50K on Mercon V or similar full-synthetic fluid though.

While I agree in concept and in my own practice, I would add one small provision: Change more often if under severe service conditions or had any indication of having run the tranny at high temps.

 

[nascar_intimid]

good point

 

[BrooklynBay]

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