So I went to change my oil for the first time and......

[nevrsumr22]

....I dropped about 3 quarts of transmission fluid instead. Just thought I'd share.

 

[Tony H]

Gotta paint the drain plugs two different colors so you don't have to think about it.

Funny stuff

 

[rocket 5979]

....I dropped about 3 quarts of transmission fluid instead. Just thought I'd share.

Hehehehehehe. That is pretty funny. Maybe ya should stick to the $20 oil changes.....

 

[nevrsumr22]

haha The thing that sucks is that I was on a kind of sideways decline so it drained. If I was level none of it would have come out. For anyone that doesn’t know like I didn’t the drain plug and the fill plug are the same thing and that you just shoot it up till it starts to come back out again. I didn't even know I did it until I pulled the pan out and saw the color. I looked at the book and it said 12.7 quart capacity and I knew it didn’t empty it or else it would have been going down the street. I called the closest place and they told me about it and that it should be ok to drive but stop if it slips. I waited a day and drove it the 2 miles to the shop without a problem.

 

[Tony H]

You probably lost, what? 3 quarts? Most of it stays in the Torque Convertor

 

[MONMIX]

yeah that is a mistake you only make ONCE

 

[IAmTodd]

How are ya getting it back in? Did you take out all the bolts for the pan?

Some have to learn the hard way, like me

 

[gijoecam]

This may be a dumb question, but can't you fill it through the dipstick hole just like every other automoatic transmission on the planet? Isn't that why they sell trans fluid funnels with a long neck on them?

Just a dumb question.... sorry.

-Joe

 

[nevrsumr22]

This may be a dumb question, but can't you fill it through the dipstick hole just like every other automoatic transmission on the planet? Isn't that why they sell trans fluid funnels with a long neck on them?

Just a dumb question.... sorry.

-Joe

There is no dipstick because it's a sealed system. I knew I was in trouble when I went to the service section of my manual and it said to contact an authorized ford technician when changing transmission fluid.

 

[gijoecam]

There is no dipstick because it's a sealed system. I knew I was in trouble when I went to the service section of my manual and it said to contact an authorized ford technician when changing transmission fluid.

Are we talking about a manual or an automatic? A manual might be as close as you can get to sealed (it still has a breather line), but an automatic has a dipstick.... I've never seen one without it. On the 4.0 SOHC, the dipstick is on the passenger side of the engine bay, behind the alternator, about even with the PCV hose. Can't recall the exact location on the OHV combo.

-Joe

 

[nevrsumr22]

Are we talking about a manual or an automatic? A manual might be as close as you can get to sealed (it still has a breather line), but an automatic has a dipstick.... I've never seen one without it. On the 4.0 SOHC, the dipstick is on the passenger side of the engine bay, behind the alternator, about even with the PCV hose. Can't recall the exact location on the OHV combo.

-Joe

I may be wrong but I don't think so. I had 3 people in there trying to find one and there is nothing in the manual. I have the V6. Remember I have the 3rd gen also. The way they filled it up is taking off the drain plug and shooting it up in there whith a machine specifically designed for transmissions. They didn't even charge me for the fluid just for the use of the machine.

In the book they show you how to fill up and check a manual transmission by taking off a side plug and filling it up till it comes back out again but still no dip stick even for that transmission.

Oh and yes mine is automatic.

 

[gijoecam]

Don't I feel like a dunce now.... It didn't click that it was an '02 we were talking about...

I'll just go sit quietly over here in the corner and contemplate my navel now....

-Joe

 

[Timoteo]

Make sure they added Mercon V compatible fluid, not just standard Mercon. There are too many instances of tranny problems. There is no dip stick.

 

[nevrsumr22]

I hope they did. I went and bought some before I realized I couldn't fill it out so I returned it. Do you think pep boys would have figured it out? Do you think I should call them and ask if they would have?