do I change the transmission oil or not -am moving from the west coast to the east coast with trailer

[dB2000]

The 2009 Explorer was in excellent condition, inside and out, when I bought it 3 years ago, with 89k miles. It now has 122k miles on the 4 liter V6 that has the infamous 5R55S transmission. I have never replaced the transmission fluid or the transmission filter. I presume the two previous owners never did either. There is the old mechanic tale that if you have a transmission with over 100k miles and never changed the oil you should not change. And there is the Ford tale that the transmission oil is good for the life of the transmission.

On the 2500+ mile trip from Southern California to South Carolina I will be towing a trailer with a loaded trailer weight of 2200 to 2800 lbs. Trailer will not have brakes.

My gut feel is that I should change the transmission fluid and filter before I go. What say you?

The truck has a FoMoCo class III/IV hitch and the 3.73 differential. It has the transmission cooler. The whole truck all still seems to be in very good condition. The odd thing is it has 245 x60 R18 105h tires. Currently Cooper Evolution, H/T 245x60 R18 105H with m/s rating. Has lots of tread.

The repairs I have done or had done:

Replaced the brake switch and shift interlock module.
Replaced the $8 vacuum check valve for the Heater door.
Replaced spark plugs with double platinum plugs at 110k
Replaced the thermostat housing as it was leaking. Last Oct Replaced coolant with Zerex G05, 50/50 mix, at the same time as replacing the housing,
Replaced the left front-wheel bearing assembly. A few months ago.
Replaced the Front brake pads on both front wheels at the same time. But the mechanic gave back the old brake pads because there was hardly any wear on them.
Full synthetic oil changes every 7k to 10k miles.
Power steering fluid looks good and smells okay.

I am going to adjust the parking brake pads or replace the pads before I leave. I feel no resistance when I leave the parking brake on and drive off. It also feels like I am at the end of the travel of the brake pedal. Will replace rear disc brake pads if needed. Got the parts already.

Also,

The manual states that the brakes in the vehicle are designed for the GVWR of the truck, 6010 LB, and not the potential gross cargo weight which includes the trailer weight with all the other cargo and all people on board. It implies that you need to have trailer brakes for most trailers that you would tow. (I estimate that the curb weight of the truck would be about 4523 lbs) note that I am the only person on board.

So do you think this is a foolish thing to use a trailer that does not have brakes.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

i say change the fluid... chances are at 100k its not horribly wormm where the sludge/buildup is holding the tranny together if theres no other issues with it and it shifts fine etc... as fae as the trailer, personally brakes are always super helpful, but as long as you keep speed down and try to avoid peak times/crowded areas, it should be ok given that the trailer doesnt weigh too much... someone esle should chime in though too... three heads are better than one!

 

[94Eddie]

Change the fluid. At 122k I don't think this is too many miles to be concerned about. IMO, you have much greater risk of damaging the transmission by driving it on a 2.5k mile trip towing a trailer on old fluid. While you are servicing the transmission also drain and refill the transfer case if you have one. In fact, I would suggest doing a systematic change of all fluids over the next 5k-10k miles. This means changing the fluids in the front/read differential, power steering system, cooling system and flushing the braking system. This will go a long way in keeping your vehicle reliable for the next 100k+ miles. Also, drain and refill the transmission and transfer case every 40k miles. This should make your 5R55 transmission last longer than most do.

 

[BKennedy]

Towing puts a lot of extra strain on the transmission. Do a fluid and filter change. I have been going to a local transmission shop owned by this old school drag racer dude. He knows everything there is to know about transmissions. He doesn't do flushes when it's unknown if the fluid was ever changed. He recommends dropping the pan to change the filter and replacing whatever fluid was lost, usually 8-9 quarts. Says it's less likely to cause failure. He then recommends that maintenence at 30'000 mile intervals. But like he says, only do that if you don't want to pay for a transmission rebuild. The manufacturer says their fluid is good for the life of the transmission, which is usually right after the warranty expires.

As far as towing, most states require trailer brakes over 3,000 pounds. You are estimating below that. As a general rule, I don't like towing anything over 1/3 the towing vehicles weight without its own brakes. It's mostly due to other people on the road who have never driven a vehicle while towing, and don't realize the distance it takes to slow.

Good luck in your travels.

 

[Littleant]

Agree with the other responses. Change the fluid and filter

 

[dB2000]

thank you all.

 

[Blackhawkxx]

Pan drop on my 4.0 took just under 6qts.

 

[allmyEXes]

What kind of trailer is it and what are you hauling? Rent a heavy large U-haul type truck to pull the trailer, just make sure that it has interchangeable balls to install one that matches your trailer. Put your people in the 2009 to move them. I know from experience you will have a miserable dangerous trip if you try to do all with the 2009. Also if it is a car trailer that you are pulling and the 2009 breaks down then after you make it to South Carolina, you can unload, turn around and go back and get the 2009. Land must be Cheap in South Carolina. I've heard of several Californians pulling up roots and moving east.

 

[D Hook]

Can't use Uhaul with explorers of 2002 - 2010. Not sure of the model years that CAN tow Uhaul but here's what their website says:

U-Haul has chosen not to rent behind this tow vehicle based on our history of excessive costs in defending lawsuits involving Ford Explorer towing combinations. This policy is not related to safety issues. This is an unusual circumstance for U-Haul – we have built our success for over 60 years by saying 'yes' to our customers. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and are committed to working with our customers to find alternative options to help with their move. ")

 

[allmyEXes]

@D Hook I said rent a LARGE U-HAUL TRUCK to pull DB2000s trailer...

 

[D Hook]

Sorry, missed that. But my post was mainly to inform others what I had to find out on short notice.
Thanks for the clarification.

 

[allmyEXes]

I see what you saying though. Once I wanted to rent a U-haul trailer to pull behind a 1979 F-150 to go get a Ranger and they said "it won't pull it". I said "do what?" then they said "it's company policy" or some BS.

 

[Abramwithda1991fourdoor]

Hey didn't really read much of the post. I am sure there is some really good advice from the posters. One thing that crossed my mind was that if your going threw some cold climates be prepared for ice on the road and your windshield. Especially if it's raining or something. Safe travels

 

[dejen3303]

Good luck getting anything U-Haul for a one way out of the west coast. I moved from western Washington to east Texas a year ago and they completely boned me on a trailer. I requested it (no reservations at U-Haul) a month in advance and 3 days before the move the only one available was smaller and a hundred miles away. U-Haul had zero f’s to give. I ended up buying a cargo trailer, lucky to find one, and selling it on the other end. It was better suited to my needs and ended a wash as far as cost.

 

[jr230]

i say change the fluid... chances are at 100k its not horribly wormm where the sludge/buildup is holding the tranny together if theres no other issues with it and it shifts fine etc... as fae as the trailer, personally brakes are always super helpful, but as long as you keep speed down and try to avoid peak times/crowded areas, it should be ok given that the trailer doesnt weigh too much... someone esle should chime in though too... three heads are better than one!

change but absolutely never flush any thing on car but cooling systems change fluids usually trailers under 3000 gvw don't have brakes
but load carefully not too much on nose or rear. give space for stopping and don't overload the explorer carefull on large hills and dont ride brakes .
for the you haul i read its something in owners manual supposedly they dont like. but if you have the mountaineer its fine with you haul yet except name its the same truck. so its you haul lawyers. and they have some really wierd legal problems read there story you could not make it up

 

[JeffreyM]

Good luck getting anything U-Haul for a one way out of the west coast. I moved from western Washington to east Texas a year ago and they completely boned me on a trailer. I requested it (no reservations at U-Haul) a month in advance and 3 days before the move the only one available was smaller and a hundred miles away. U-Haul had zero f’s to give. I ended up buying a cargo trailer, lucky to find one, and selling it on the other end. It was better suited to my needs and ended a wash as far as cost.

Regarding U-Haul experience, I just purchased an 06 Explorer Limited and wanted to rent a trailer to put the car on. Tow vehicle is a 96 Ford F-350 w/ 7.3 Turbo. Not sure of the hitch rating, but I estimated at least 8,000 lbs. I went online and started a reservation. System said this was an acceptable combo, no problem. I did not complete the reservation, instead just went to U-Haul the next morning. Nice lady put in all the info, and said she could not rent the trailer as the truck was not acceptable. After brief discussion, I pulled out the phone and went online and made the reservation. She said she could rent the trailer now, since my reservation was now in her system. Not sure why I could make the reservation and she could not. Oh well, I got the Explorer home without further incident.

 

[newmantjn]

And there is the Ford tale that the transmission oil is good for the life of the transmission.

There is a difference between "good enough" or "better". The oil is "good enough" for the life of the transmission, at one time, the life of the transmission was considered to be in the 150k range. There are plenty of reports floating around FoMoCo that a transmission oil change can be beneficial for the life of the transmission. In fact, if you are towing, YOUR owners manual states that you should change your oil every 30k, so you are overdue.

https://www.ford.com/support/vehicle/Explorer/2009/owner-manuals/

 

[94Eddie]

Ford's recommended transmission fluid change interval of 150k has caused the premature death of millions of transmissions. Especially with the 5R55 series. The first transmission fluid change should be done at 30k miles and subsequent ones done every 40k-50k miles thereafter. In no case should the change interval exceed 60k miles.

It is crazy that Ford says 150k miles is a normal service interval then under severe duty it drops down to 30k miles. That 120k mile gap between their two recommendations is ridiculous and borders on the absurd.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

i think its a lifetime fluid, because it will last for the life of the vehicle, but it will severly shorten it and anyways most owners are lazy so most likely they said 150 because it may make some switch to the X just for decresed service needed, and i assume that was the maximum mileage possible... and those who tow probably know a thing or two about their vehicles, so thats why they dropped it to 30 probably because thats what they wanted, but the brochure was more improtant

 

[94Eddie]

My take on the much shorter service interval under severe duty conditions is for warranty purposes. If they didn't do this then they would be on the hook for more very expensive warranty repairs. This further implicates them in knowingly recommending a ridiculous lifetime service interval.