6R60 trans fluid change

[waskly]

6r60 trans takes sp fluid at 15 or so a quart......... less you tow it should be good for over 100k it shouldnt need a service less you tow then maybe at 150k this is why the unit is a sealed unit...

a transmission with a dispstick dont matter how well the stick is in, it will still let dirt in. a sealed unit wont let dust, dirt into the unit.

 

[Bill MacLeod]

Dnj:
The check valve will not allow fluid flow to the cooler unless the fluid temp is over 175 F. So you need to monitor fluid temp for extracting and replacing. Because you need to keep the fluid temp above 175 F for it to flow, there really is no practical way to flush and therefore why its advised not to.

 

[Explorer_PL]

I have done 2 flushes so far on my 06 V8 with 118K miles. One at 63K, and another one at 117K - both at Ford dealer. I do it as a piece of mind for me since I tow a trailer from time to time, but I also plow in the winter few driveways. At the same time I also changed the front, rear diff fluid and transfer case fluid.

 

[Dnj06ltd]

I do tow with it, at least 60 miles a week. I'm towing a 3000+lb boat. The fluid is very dark and I have 95,000 miles on it. I don't know the history on the truck, I have only had it for the last 15,000 miles. This is the reason I wanted to flush the trans. I figured it would be alot cheaper in the long run. If I can't flush, is there a way to accurately check the fluid level?

 

[rusty813]

i thought replacing your trans fuild is not recommend, i wanted to do this to my vehicle as well but last time i did this to a 96 explorer with 100k miles on it ruin the transmission...but my 06 has 33700 on it

 

[Dnj06ltd]

Alright, I've talked to my buddy at Ford and done a bunch of research. The 6r60 is the only one that uses the special Mercon sp fluid. It's a synthetic fluid so Ford recommends no fluid change until 150k. They do not recommend flushing at all just dropping the pan to change fluid. The reason flushing isn't recommended is because there is a thermostatic check valve internally that only allows fluid out through the lines if the trans fluid temp is above 185 degrees. A flush can still be accomplished by monitoring your trans fluid temp on a scan tool and drive around a little while until it is hot enough. When hot enough, come back, hook up machine and start flush. While flushing, monitor fluid temp. If it starts to drop below your desired temperature, slightly powerbrake in gear to build back up internal trans temp. As far as not recommending the flush, I think with conventional fluids it's never a bad idea to flush every 30K. Especially if you tow with the vehicle.

 

[thebrakeman]

If you aren't towing, the fluid in this sealed system should be fine for whatever Ford recommends (100,000? 150,000?). As long as there are no codes being thrown, and not towing, there is no reason to suspect fluid breakdown.

Our truck was used to tow before we bought it, and we tow with it now. The previous owner already had it changed, and I intend to change it every 2 years, which will be about every 20,000 miles for us. The method for changing will be by pan-drop (so the internals can be inspected) at the dealer or a shop that knows more about the 6R60 than I do.

 

[rusty813]

no i never towed with it...nothing more then a stove in the in the back of the trailer

 

[waskly]

change it at the service interval in the book, not what a dealer says.

a trans service will never blow up a transmission. it has/had the problem prior to the service. it just happens that after it went.

a trans flush, with a flush machine can blow the trans up!

 

[rusty813]

the service manual says dont change it at it is a superduty trans

 

[waskly]

the service manual says dont change it at it is a superduty trans

its correct, if you have a 6r60, you have sp fluid in it. its maintenance free.


less you have a leak!

 

[adam06mount]

changed my own fluid

Changed my own fluid at about 90k.. put in Amsoil's new Low Visc. trans fluid.. ford uses LV fluid for this trans as well. Link: http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/atl.aspx .... the factory fluid was ok but not too great.. was little mucky and definately past its prime. I would suggest by how mine looked it be changed at 75k if u really want to take care of it. The trans had been doing the bump stop thing and a wierd shift here or there.. no slipping. Sometimes hard shift from park.. Hand pumped old fluid out as per stock spec from hole on top of trans.. there is a dipstick! It is attached to that bolt you take out! Dropped and cleaned stock pan and filter in parts cleaner let dry for about an hour.. Replaced with the new fluid. IMMEDIATE improvement upon changing. Ten times better in all operating aspects... HIGHLY recommend to everybody with the 6spd! Have had in about 8 months now and 6-7K miles. You all need to use this stuff. Trans shifts BETTER than new! Now I believe Amsoil hype. Dont believe the Amsoil haters and screw the dealer and their flush. Buy a new tool do yourself still prob cheaper w/ better results! Next time you can do yourself again. *note: Needed a small piece of bent tubing maybe 8 inches or so? bent into a J to attach in end of hand fluid pump to get it out around the corner. Probably can buy attachment from snap on or something, I just rigged one. I plan on doing every 50k miles. I feel by as good as trans feels right now 200k is very possible with the Amsoil. Yes it is really that much better. DO IT!

 

[adam06mount]

changed my own fluid

Details.. Make sure you use the Amsoil LV low viscosity fluid if you dont want to blow your trans!.. Here we go.. the pan drops like any normal pan.. mine needed to be cleaned.. to the fluid.. on the passenger side, on the bottom/side of the trans, but on the top side facing upwards, you will see a fair size bolt sticking up you can tell when you see it its for that. You unbolt that and pull out.. its actually a dipstick in there. I used a cheap fluid transfer hand pump. You will have to make an end out of something the shape of a hook or a J to get down into the end where you pulled that plug out.. and connect that to the end of the pump's hose.. it cannot bend that much to get in there, you can use something like soft copper or bend a brake line.. make sure no burs. Then all you do is pump out a little at a time until you cant get any more out.. a small amount remains inside.. theres nothing you can do about it, but you can get most out. All "sealed" trans' are this way. Once out, you just do the same with the new fluid to pump it back in. I pumped old fluid into a bottle where I could measure the amount as to not overfill.. when you get near same amount back in you can just keep checking with the dipstick.. once read full (dont overfill very sensitive to it!) plug and start truck and run through gears.. I had mine on lift but you may not be able to.. I put in and out of park bunch of times.. and reverse.. forward gears manually best i could. Then check level again I needed to top off slightly. May be overkill but I then took for a ride and for a mile or two, started and stopped and got up to speed then checked one more time. Didnt need any. Trans shifted way better than it ever had, which is why I recommended Amsoil on here. Hope you have same results and save yours too.. mine had started to act wierd and was doing that bump stop as well.. now it never does anything strange, and seems to find the right gear better. Ive put about 10k miles on since I did. Its a long process but well worth it to me.. I plan on doing again every 50k if it hopefully lasts that long, as of now Id expect it will. Good luck

 

[feetwet]

adam - did you drain and refill more than once to change out the fluid in the torque convertor, etc. or just change what was in the pan?

 

[adam06mount]

No i did not as the fluid costs 100 bucks.. too expensive for me to waste and you use alot of it.. I suppose if you really wanted to you could do that with factory LV fluid.. fill then run then drain again, but I barely had the money for the $100 jug of amsoil.. youd basically have to throw out a whole trans worth of fluid to do that.. it doesnt drain from the pan though.. comes out of trans itself.. i believe I did the entire process with the pan off drying which I did first.. when you pull the pan only lets out fluid thats down in there the trans is still full.. you CAN change the filter.. its a metal filter.. autozone has but they gave me wrong one for the 5spd.. dealer part is expensive.. so I cleaned mine well in the parts washer with the pan, looked like new. Part of reason I plan on doing every 50K, that some fluid remains when you do this way. On the good side.. you actually clean the dirt out of pan and filter this way.. the dealer pumps in and out and forces dirt and metal from pan up into trans (there was way more in the there than I want in my trans) and never drops pan, change or clean filter.. they say un-needed I say theyre full of it and lazy.. charge you same price for doing less work. I will never do any kind of flush.. and knock on wood have never had any trans blow while under my maintenance. There was a small amount of tiny metal shavings in pan (this is normal occurs even first time its driven) and a slight amount dirt/muck (also normal). I do not want this in my trans thanks anyway Ford. As long as it lasts through warranty is all they care about. Once youre out of warranty, they dont give a you know what.. but I do. My brother in law helped me out in this as its the first "sealed" trans I tried to service. I did at his shop.. he oversaw, but I wanted to do. Hes an ase certified master technician and is very very good. Many of these tips were his tips, they can be trusted. He uses almost the same method on his own customer's Mercedes, BMWs, and Cadillacs with similar trans', and said he has done many many lincoln/ford/merc trans this same way with no failures.

 

[feetwet]

Curious how many quarts do you think you were able to get out via the pan. I hear the 6R60 holds 11.2 quarts total including the torque converter and everything in between.

 

[adam06mount]

The Amsoil jug I bought was 2.5 gallons, or 10 qt.. I used almost all of it, so it replaced about 10qts of old fluid with new synthetic fluid. As for previous posts, somebody can call it "sealed and maintence free" all they want.. but at 80k miles in my pan and on my filter was some sludge and metal shavings on magnet in pan. The dealer service recommended at 100k will pressure exchange the fluid without dropping or cleaning pan and filter, possibly pushing this crap into your trans. So do what you want if you want to save money and not service it good luck.. or take easy route and have dealer do for you if you trust their out of warranty recommendations. Real life results.. my trans which was acting up no longer does after 10k miles so far on change.. secondly, I switched to synthetic oil at same time and I took a trip to maine few weeks later and was able to get almost 21 mpg on the highway, and had previously never gotten over 19 for a highway trip. Though should share with the forum for others to make their own decisions. You can maintain yourself if you want and upgrade to better fluid. So to each their own. Good luck!

 

[feetwet]

10 Qts, that sounds pretty good !

I had mine flushed at Ford about 2 years ago... They said they forward flush with their machine and the fluid still goes through the filter. But I wished they would have dropped and cleaned the pan + replaced filter..... next time.

 

[adam06mount]

flush

if thats true I suppose its probably not that bad but but the junks all still in there so I feel the pan and filter cleaning/ replacement is worth doing it yourself to start with.. plus its fairly easy.. just takes some patience, a cheap hand pump and making a small fitting for the end.. and something to clean the stuff with.. I used parts washer and solvent but you can use mineral spirits.. old timers used to clean stuff with kerosene or diesel.. bunch of things u can use

 

[hddude103]

I just traded my 94 Explorer Sport in for an 07 STLTD loaded, and i love it. I bought a filter at adv auto prts, cost was 30.00. Turned out to be for 5 spd. Paid a shop 95.00 to pull pan and install new correct filter. Filter, 14.00. After 89k mi. Pan was very clean. It had an attached reusable gasket. I was surprised there was no material in the pan and very little metal on the installed magnet. It does shift a little funny so ill take it in for a TCM & PCM software checkup up to latest version per the stn. After that flushing into Amsoil. Im sure there is a different thread, but if you havent changed plugs you on a 3v, ure in for a surprise. Great info on this forum. Thanks