Opera House
Explorer Addict
- Joined
- August 19, 2002
- Messages
- 2,106
- Reaction score
- 6
- City, State
- Cincinnati, OH
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2014 Explorer 3.5L base
I buy nothing but high mileage vehicles and I change the fluid on each one. If the fluid is brown, it has been getting hot. I put a transmission cooler on every vehicle and it really doesn't change color much after that. I drop the pan and clean it. For any sediment you find in the pan, there is at least three times that still stuck in the transmission. That will come loose with new fluid. For that reason I suggest dropping the pan every month till it cleans up. I also throw in extra magnets. Three or four drops should clean it up. I find a new gasket will easily last that many drops if you are careful. I'm not big on this transmission fluid myth, but totally new fluid could possibly loosen up too much stuff all at once. I don't believe changing your fluid does anything to extend transmission life. Adding a cooler or deeper pan does. Temperature is the killer of seals.
