Should I, or Shouldn't I... 300k miles 2006 explorer change trans fluid & filter?

[roveer]

After running into a number of pesky problems on my 06 v8 explorer which has 299k miles (I'm the only owner), I decided to give it some TLC. Engine was rough, shifts were hard, trans shudder. So I changed the plugs (fearing one would break), but was successful in getting all 8 out. Changed all 8 coil packs. Oil change, used high mileage oil. Air filter. Engine runs 200% better. Still have hard shifts and trans shudder once it warms up. I bought the lubegard shudder fix and have yet to put it in the trans. One user here suggested that I drop the trans pan, drain, new filter and new trans fluid. I did buy the trans filter and Mercon SP oil. I've been hesitant to do this because the vehicle has so many miles and I've read many stories of imminent failure once new oil is introduced. So I have to make a decision before I put the lubegard in. Change the fluid/filter or don't change fluid filter. Would appreciate your opinions on this. This vehicle has always had a little chirp when changing gears (2-3 I think) and now I notice the chirp a little more on some other shifts. I'm assuming this is probably clutch packs slipping? I don't ride this truck hard any more, I'm trying to see how many more miles I could get out of it. The body and interior is in pretty good shape for it's age and has always been garage kept. I'm in the process of doing wheel bearings and soon the annoying whine will be gone.

Oh, after doing a bunch of late night reading I determined that you should clear the transmission adaptive tables so it can relearn. From what I've read this will go a long way to smooth out the transmission. Ordered the proper scan tool piece (35 bucks) and will use the FORscan software to clear the tables.

Fire away...

Thanks,

Roveer

 

[2010 Eddie Bauer]

After running into a number of pesky problems on my 06 v8 explorer which has 299k miles (I'm the only owner), I decided to give it some TLC. Engine was rough, shifts were hard, trans shudder. So I changed the plugs (fearing one would break), but was successful in getting all 8 out. Changed all 8 coil packs. Oil change, used high mileage oil. Air filter. Engine runs 200% better. Still have hard shifts and trans shudder once it warms up. I bought the lubegard shudder fix and have yet to put it in the trans. One user here suggested that I drop the trans pan, drain, new filter and new trans fluid. I did buy the trans filter and Mercon SP oil. I've been hesitant to do this because the vehicle has so many miles and I've read many stories of imminent failure once new oil is introduced. So I have to make a decision before I put the lubegard in. Change the fluid/filter or don't change fluid filter. Would appreciate your opinions on this. This vehicle has always had a little chirp when changing gears (2-3 I think) and now I notice the chirp a little more on some other shifts. I'm assuming this is probably clutch packs slipping? I don't ride this truck hard any more, I'm trying to see how many more miles I could get out of it. The body and interior is in pretty good shape for it's age and has always been garage kept. I'm in the process of doing wheel bearings and soon the annoying whine will be gone.

Oh, after doing a bunch of late night reading I determined that you should clear the transmission adaptive tables so it can relearn. From what I've read this will go a long way to smooth out the transmission. Ordered the proper scan tool piece (35 bucks) and will use the FORscan software to clear the tables.

Fire away...

Thanks,

Roveer

Personally, I would not change the transmission fluid at this point if it has in fact not been changed before in recent history. You could however, siphon out a quart of fluid using the fill plug opening and add some sort of tranmission additive such as Lucas Oil transmission fix to see if it will buy you a few more thousand miles before you need a rebuild.

 

[roveer]

Personally, I would not change the transmission fluid at this point if it has in fact not been changed before in recent history. You could however, siphon out a quart of fluid using the fill plug opening and add some sort of tranmission additive such as Lucas Oil transmission fix to see if it will buy you a few more thousand miles before you need a rebuild.

That was sort of what I was thinking. I've always been leery of changing the fluid, then I went the other way and ordered the filter and fluid based on a recommendation. Now that it's time to commit I'm back to leery. I think I'm going to pull a little fluid (I have pumps and hoses) and see if it's burnt. The little that I did see on the dip stick looked pretty good for it's age. I can't remember if/when it was changed. Best guess would have been around 150k. I think I'll make sure it's at the right level and add the shudder fixx and see what I get. Those steps shouldn't make it any worse. Changing fluid might screw things up big.

Roveer

 

[jupiterak]

Check the level of the fluid. Mine was almost 3 quarts low at 125k miles and had shudder issues. Toped it off and I did add a tube of shudder fix and worked fine.

 

[JAWIT]

In my opinion, if you change the trans fluid and filter and it fails shortly thereafter, it would have failed anyway. I think the thought of failure caused by changing to new fluid is/was an old wives tale.

 

[Explorer_PL]

I would still drop the filter and pan. You are not doing the flush which would break loose any sediments.
Drive it for a month or so, and repeat the procedure.

 

[94Eddie]

Also, dropping the pan will show if there is metal debris in it indicating whether or not you have a major problem in the works.

 

[roveer]

Today a did a little work on the Explorer. First, the stupid dipstick after 14 years is brittle as could be. Just trying to wipe the oil off of it caused it to break in half. Then while trying to glue it back together it broke again. Now I have a 3 piece dipstick. I actually drilled small homes in the pieces and wired it back together. What drama. What's worse is that the part shows "discontinued" so I have no idea if I will be able to get a replacement.

So I decided to not pull the pan at this point, just get the shudder fixx in and make sure I have enough fluid. with the 2 oz of shudder fix I still had to add a full quart and a bit more to get it up to the right level. The test drive had better shifts and no shudder and it should have been warm from all the running it had done while setting the proper level. Since I really had no where to go it wasn't a great test drive, I'll have to do more over the weekend. Tomorrow I'm going to tackle the two front wheel hubs. I've got two new timkins waiting to go. I'm sure that's going to show me I have to do the rears, but I had to start somewhere.

I ordered a ForScan tool to clear the transmission adaptive learning tables. Should be here in a week or two. Hoping it will also let me remove the NAV legal warning, but hey it's only been 14 years. Guess it really doesn't matter at this point. I want to see this truck through 400k miles if its possible. It's become a mission at this point.

Roveer

 

[07EddyB]

I have a 2007. I changed my fluid last year and I didn't have any trouble at all with the dipstick. It may be that your fluid was low and the stick had been dry for a while. I understand that you want to shoot for 400K - but I don't think you are going to get there without spending some serious money.
I guess if your miles were from pulling pilot car duty all on the interstate you might have a shot at it. Otherwise, even for a pretty reliable V8 it takes a lot of intermediate maintenance to hit 200K. Yes, it can be done. But if you don't start until 299K then you are already behind the curve.

 

[Explorer_PL]

When I did the first flush, I went to Ford and they lost the dipstick or forgot to replace it. So I had only the nut most of the years. Then, when I started doing the pan and filter myself, I went to ford and got the yellow dipstick. It was part of the package with the plug, you can't get it by itself

Part # 6L2Z-7A010-C

, 9L27 Ford 6r60 6r80 dipstick 6r75 filler tube drain plug gauge | eBay

Like a 6r60 6r75 6r80 and it has the oil gauge built into it. this is the plug that screws into the side of the zf6hp26 6r80 on a ford pickup mustang explorer.

www.ebay.com

 

[roveer]

When I did the first flush, I went to Ford and they lost the dipstick or forgot to replace it. So I had only the nut most of the years. Then, when I started doing the pan and filter myself, I went to ford and got the yellow dipstick. It was part of the package with the plug, you can't get it by itself

Part # 6L2Z-7A010-C

, 9L27 Ford 6r60 6r80 dipstick 6r75 filler tube drain plug gauge | eBay

Like a 6r60 6r75 6r80 and it has the oil gauge built into it. this is the plug that screws into the side of the zf6hp26 6r80 on a ford pickup mustang explorer.

www.ebay.com

That's the one I bought yesterday afternoon! I also sent messages to two dealerships with that part number but I've been seeing it listed as "discontinued" so I'm not expecting a positive response from them.

 

[Littleant]

As Explorer and 94Eddie said I agree. Do a pan drop new fluid and filter. Check the pan and magnet for debris. Let us know what you find