5R55S transmission ATF change problem | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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5R55S transmission ATF change problem

GiAl

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May 7, 2009
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Year, Model & Trim Level
1998 XLT
Hi everybody, I am new here and I need some help from experts.
I have erroneously drained the transmission fluid in my 2009 XLT 4x4 Explorer (automatic 5x + O/D, hence with a 5R55S transmission) and had to refill it. I pumped in 6 quarts, run the engine 30 sec then went on pumping in the remainder of the 11,2 quarts indicated in the manual. When I got to 9-10 quarts pumped in altogether, the fluid started seeping from the front part of the transmission (am not sure which part of the engine it is, it is between the ATF pan and the motor oil pan). I stopped pumping, closed the pump valve, turned engine on for 10 minutes and then removed the pump and the adapter to purge fluid excess. To my surprise, about 5 quarts of fluid drained before it started spattering. I put the fill plug back in and let the motor run idle. The seeping was still going on, albeit much reduced.
I let the car rest overnight, today I have driven it and then checked it on the bridge, with motor off and on, there was no seeping anymore. I will check again a few times every couple of days.
Now comes the million dollar question(s): has any gasket been damaged by the seeping ?
I am not sure how much fluid I have in the transmission right now, there should be around 5 quarts of fresh fluid plus whatever was still in of the old fluid (I had drained it well until there was nothing coming out of the drain hole, though), do I have to refill it ? Is there any dashboard light to indicate if the level is too low ? Alternatively, which symptoms would I have whilst driving if the ATF level was too low ?
And last: I believe that I have read that the 5R55S is a sealed system. If it is so, in my view, when you pump the fluid in, the air does not have any way to escape until you end the purging and the fluid spatters, thus allowing the pressurized air to escape. The overpressure in the sealed transmission system pushes the fluid out of the system until the compressed air can actually evacuate. Wouldn't it make more sense to put in a lower amount of fluid or find a way to allow the compressed air to escape whilst filling the fluid ? I guess that this compressed air actually contributed to the seeping, but I'd be interested to hear whether anybody else has experienced it.
Thanks a lot in advance for your help.
 



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You just WAY overfilled the transmission and the leaking you found at the front was just excess fluid coming out the vent. No harm no foul. Just a mess. The most you will get out of a pan drain is 4-5 quarts. So if was at operating temp and running at idle when you checked it last you should be good to go. It will drip the extra fluid for a while. Good luck.
IMG_3414.JPG
 






You just WAY overfilled the transmission and the leaking you found at the front was just excess fluid coming out the vent. No harm no foul. Just a mess. The most you will get out of a pan drain is 4-5 quarts. So if was at operating temp and running at idle when you checked it last you should be good to go. It will drip the extra fluid for a while. Good luck.
View attachment 96191
Thanks a lot Brad,
it is a relief to hear this.
Just for info, should it ever happen again, how much fluid should one fill with respect to the nominal capacity quoted in the manual ?
Alberto
 






Best and easiest is to measure what comes out. Usually between 4-5 quarts unless it was low to start with.
 






It's a good idea ! Thanks a lot again.
 






You're very welcome. Good luck!
 






Proper way is to pull the pan and change the filter also..you can go as far as pulling a line off the cooler and draining the whole thing also..

As stated if you just drain the pan your only changing about 4ish of the 12ish thats in it
 






Greetings to all,

I do not have much experience working with Ford, but my wife has a 2006 Ford Explorer XLS and i would like to remove all the ATF in the transmission and do a full change. Is there a specific line i need to pull to drain the entire contents of the AT? Also, can it be refilled by removing one of the speed sensors of the transmission and adding the ATF through that opening or should it be done by removing the T30 nut and inserting a nipple to feed the ATF through? Looking for insight to plan a problem free learning experience with my first ATF change.

Now, i must say that the only instance in which i have had the chance to actually some any of the ATF on this vehicle is when i replaced the radiator last year. It was a clean red color (pinkish) so it appears to be in good condition. Should i just do the AT pan pasket/filter and fill the 4 or 5 quarts and call it a day instead of flushing it all out? The AT works perfectly and has no fluid leaks.

I have not found it yet, but is the transmission on this vehicle a 5R55S?

Regards,
Mark
 






Greetings to all,

I do not have much experience working with Ford, but my wife has a 2006 Ford Explorer XLS and i would like to remove all the ATF in the transmission and do a full change. Is there a specific line i need to pull to drain the entire contents of the AT? Also, can it be refilled by removing one of the speed sensors of the transmission and adding the ATF through that opening or should it be done by removing the T30 nut and inserting a nipple to feed the ATF through? Looking for insight to plan a problem free learning experience with my first ATF change.

Now, i must say that the only instance in which i have had the chance to actually some any of the ATF on this vehicle is when i replaced the radiator last year. It was a clean red color (pinkish) so it appears to be in good condition. Should i just do the AT pan pasket/filter and fill the 4 or 5 quarts and call it a day instead of flushing it all out? The AT works perfectly and has no fluid leaks.

I have not found it yet, but is the transmission on this vehicle a 5R55S?

Regards,
Mark

the nipple fill is to get the level correct as when it warms up it will dump out the over fill but depending on your mileage you might just open up a can of worms playing with the fluid as over filled systems can foam up and damage things... lets say it has 150k and never been changed you would be better off leaving it alone because the clutches might be great with some added friction in the old fluid but once you change it they will slip with clean fluid and to my knowledge there is no drain bolt on the torque converter so you cant drain all the fluid no matter what with out pulling the whole transmission and alot of fluid is inside the converter
 






Greetings to all,

I do not have much experience working with Ford, but my wife has a 2006 Ford Explorer XLS and i would like to remove all the ATF in the transmission and do a full change. Is there a specific line i need to pull to drain the entire contents of the AT? Also, can it be refilled by removing one of the speed sensors of the transmission and adding the ATF through that opening or should it be done by removing the T30 nut and inserting a nipple to feed the ATF through? Looking for insight to plan a problem free learning experience with my first ATF change.

Now, i must say that the only instance in which i have had the chance to actually some any of the ATF on this vehicle is when i replaced the radiator last year. It was a clean red color (pinkish) so it appears to be in good condition. Should i just do the AT pan pasket/filter and fill the 4 or 5 quarts and call it a day instead of flushing it all out? The AT works perfectly and has no fluid leaks.

I have not found it yet, but is the transmission on this vehicle a 5R55S?

Regards,
Mark
@se9303
Regarding filling 5R55W or S, shown many times earlier, wish an easier way to search back in the forum were available. I go through hundreds of images to find, always, but here is where you can refill without the mess and hassle of trying to pump it uphill into the pan:

 






@se9303
Regarding filling 5R55W or S, shown many times earlier, wish an easier way to search back in the forum were available. I go through hundreds of images to find, always, but here is where you can refill without the mess and hassle of trying to pump it uphill into the pan:

Great information imp, thank you. That's the first mention of a fill plug that I have seen, that should come in handy when I get ready to do mine...
 






Great information imp, thank you. That's the first mention of a fill plug that I have seen, that should come in handy when I get ready to do mine...


I second that. Great info!!! Thank you!!!!
 






The fill plug in the diagram will only be found on early units. 02-04 I believe. Later units have the boss on the case but no machining done.
 






The fill plug in the diagram will only be found on early units. 02-04 I believe. Later units have the boss on the case but no machining done.

Awwww shucks ! If that's true, it's probably why I haven't seen it mentioned previously here in the gen 4 area. Good to know though.
 












If you follow this thread to post #13, the picture shows the fill plug to only be on 4WD models but the discussion is about a 2002 model. In this .pdf about the 5R55 transmission, the bottom image on the first page seems to show the fill plug, and on Page 7 is another image and text saying to use the fill plug to refill with fluid. Then page 8 also shows access to a drain plug on the torque converter. It is probably for an older model but it doesn't say what year or years. Never-the-less, as soon as it warms up a little here, I am going to crawl under mine and take a look just satisfy my curiosity.
 






The fill plug in the diagram will only be found on early units. 02-04 I believe. Later units have the boss on the case but no machining done.
@transman304
Thanks for taking time to mention that! Cannot count on duplicity like years ago, where changes were only made in big, important ways. For example, the first Ford OHV V-8, their "Y-Block" had eng. mount holes in identical place and size on the following new big-blocks, the FEs. Putting a 390 in an earlier Y-block vehicle was a drop-in, on the same mounts!
 






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