Black Tranny Fluid 1998 xlt 4x4 5R55E

[Sedition]

I just changed a transmission cooler hose that sprung a small leak. I removed the hose and let the cooler drain into a container. The tranny fluid is black almost like motor oil. It does not smell burned but it is very dark in color and has me worried as I run on the beach alot and it does get warm.

In this type of transmission (5R55E) do you think it is best to just drop the pan and change the oil and filter all in one go? or get the color back to red gradually? I definately don't want to just leave it and want to do something about it tomorrow.

I will definatly be adding a second tranny cooler also, right next to the factory one.

 

[JohnnyO]

Sounds like it has never been changed. I would change the filter AND get the tranny flushed afterward to change ALL the fluid, then cross your fingers. Late-model Ford automatics are sensitive to not having the fluid changed.

 

[Sedition]

Yeah it has about 80,000 miles on it and its still got the factory fluid in it.

 

[kert0307]

I change the fluid similar to how you drained some out from the cooler. You can pull a trans cooler line, start the truck, and pour new fluid into the trans dip stick until the fluid coming out looks good. I would drive it around for a couple thousand miles after that then take it in and drop the pan and have them do a powered hot flush.

 

[IAmTodd]

If your fluid is black, do not have a power flush done (actually never do a power flush). This will cause more damage. Do as mentioned above and drop a cooler line and allow the trans to pump the fluid out while you pour more in. Helps to have an extra hand to run the key. This will ensure you get all of the old fluid out.

 

[Blee1099]

Like Todd said, don't do a power flush.. Best method in your case is to use a vaccuum type setup, extract all the fluid you can and swap it out with new fluid.. The high pressure pump could possibly break up some deposits and cause more issues.

 

[Sedition]

OK, I think I will get a 6 litre bottle of Mercon tomorrow and cycle it through the transmission as suggested, with a cooler hose hanging down in a bucket. I'm not big on flushes, I'm more of an additive man myself. This fluid is well beyond any additive at the moment.

How fast does the fluid come out of the cooler lines when the engine is running?

 

[Sedition]

I may consider changing my transfer case fluid aswel As I often use the 4x4LOW feature. Its awesome how it loads up the diffs with all that torque at high rpm:exp:

 

[IAmTodd]

Additives in this trans are a waste and could be harmful. Use only Mercon5 fluid in it.

 

[kert0307]

I may consider changing my transfer case fluid aswel As I often use the 4x4LOW feature. Its awesome how it loads up the diffs with all that torque at high rpm:exp:

First time I changed my t-case fluid it came out black, I changed it every spring after that...

 

[JohnnyO]

First time I changed my t-case fluid it came out black, I changed it every spring after that...

The owners manual says to change it every 60k but I've learned that it looks like tar by 30k. I use Mobil 1 ATF.

Powerflushing an older tranny can cause problems if it has never been done, I had it happen to me on a car I used to own. In this case the pros of changing all the fluid outweigh the cons IMO. We don't know how many miles are on it but a 5R55E that hasn't been flushed is on borrowed time anyway.

The other thing you can do is put a drain plug in the pan and change the fluid every 1000 miles or so until it looks kinda pink. What is in the pan is only about 1/3 of the total. Whatever method you choose, get that old black fluid out of there.

My wife has a Taurus, which are known for weak trannys, so far it has 148k on the original tranny. Flushed every 25k since new. It's never been apart other than a filter change at 75k.

 

[Sedition]

Mission complete

Done, It took all day to track down some Mercon 5 automatic transmission fluid, its like $55 a gallon because nothing here in Australia uses it. Aussie made cars use crappy trannys like the "Slushbox" 4L60-E.

I took Half the fluid out of the tranny and replaced it with the Mercon 5. The old fluid looked like the black swamp when it was comming out. I will do the same again every few hundred miles until I'm happy with the state of the fluid. I must say it likes the new fluid, it feels more "cushy" underfoot and through its gears.

I also changed the transfer case fluid, It wasn't as bad as I had expected but needed a change none the less. The 1 litre bottles come with a handy filler straw. I put about 1.8 litres in it before it started to over flow.

I thank you all for giving information on this thread..

 

[SoNic67]

I would drop the pan and replaced the filter first. Your transmission filter might be clogged with crud from the burned oil and that increase the pressure drop across the filter.
That leaves less work pressure for the transmission and leads to accelerated wear.