tranny fluid everywhere...filter change

[Mach1Mike]

I just dropped the transmission pan on my 96 explorer. 4x4, v-6. I am changing the filter and new gasket, then I am going to do a full fluid flush. This is the first time I have dont this, and I guess that what greeted me was not what I expected, and I want to know if I may have something wrong inside. As I dropped the pan, there was very little metal shavings in the pan. This is a good thing I know. However there was fluid everywhere. The whold filter was covered in fluid and there was fluid everywhere inside. There were some wires etc that were all coverd in the fluid. is this right? It seems a little odd that as hot as tranny fluid gets, that the wires etc would be surrounded by fluid. Also I could not figure how the tranny filter would work, if there is not a specific place the fluid went into and came out of. I am not a mechanic by any stretch....just a person that knows that changing and flushing the fluid looked like alot less than 75.00 worth of work wich is what it would cost me....lol. Thanks a ton.

 

[Opera House]

Wouldn't it be nice

If they had a drain plug like some transmissions. The fluid everywhere is just fine. I've noticed that the new filters don't come with new O-rings like they used to. You have to switch them over from the old filter. Be sure it gets seated properly or the transmission will suck in air. There were some design changes in filters and sometimes the new filter nees a shorter screw or spacer. Hope you got the new style glass/dacron type.

About the metal. If the flat plastic magnet has a fine dust, that is probably OK. I always put in a couple of extra ceramic magnets in from Radio Shack. The filter really doesn't filter out much that is small. Some metal can also be left from manufacturing. If you have any identifiable shiny pieces of metal, that would be a concern. Many of us have added external filters. This gives better filtering, added cooling, and an extra quart of fluid to the system. Flter should have a long dip tube to suck in fluid from the bottom of the pan.

 

[Mach1Mike]

o ring

My Old filter did not have an O ring on it. My new filter did come with one. Should I go ahead and put the o ring on. Everything seems to suggest that I should have one.

I did have quite a little build up of metal dust in the tranny, and on the lil flat magnate...but I did not see any actual like metal shavigns or anything like that. (no fingernail clippings or anything that i could actually separate as metal....but lots of really fine dust.

My tranny case did not have a drain plug....just the 500 bolts on the bottom side of the tranny case that I removed. does this mean I should be concerned that there was fuid everywhere underneath? Can fluid be like that all over if it is just overfull?

Thanks.

 

[Opera House]

So do you have a V8?

The V6 transmissions, A4LD through 5R55, that I am familiar with all all use the same filter and have two holes that feed fluid to the valve body. Never took one apart for the V8 so it may have a slightly different filter configuration. The fluid level is normally a couple inches above the valve body so everything should be covered. That dust is normal. You only need to worry if you see larger flakes. Was the old feed tube a plastic design that might have been sef sealing? I would certainly use the new O-ring. The filter should take a little effort then snap up. If it doesn't seal then the pump might suck in air when the vehicle is going up a hilland some of the fluid goes to the back. So was your pan seal scrunched up in a ball. I used to have to stretch them out flat for a couple of hours or else it was really hard to keep them in place when I put the pan on.

 

[dogfriend]

Youre supposed to have fluid everywhere inside. When you drop the pan, about four quarts (one gallon) of ATF comes out. Visualize what happens to one gallon of ATF in the bottom of the pan when you hit a speed bump or turn a corner a high speed. Depending on which trans you have, the whole thing will hold between 10 -12 quarts (2 1/2 to 3 gallons) of ATF. Check out this picture of Robert's trans - there is ATF dripping off everything:Dead Link Removed

Your description sounds like mine when I dropped the pan - fine metal dust but no other particles.

Make double sure that the o-ring didn't get left behind where the filter attached to the valve body. It won't work right with two o-rings where only one should be. My filter has two ports which attach to the valve body - one o-ring for each port.

 

[Mach1Mike]

V-6

I have the v6.

I did go ahead and put the new o rings on each of the two nipples that go into the valve body. I dont think the old ones were self sealing....but who knows. All I know is that the new one had little indents to hold the o rings, and so I put them on. lol.

My gasket was all rolled into a ball...but what I did was lay it out on the pan and put the bolts in. this held the gasket flat on the pan while I put it up. I dont have it tightened all the way yet, because i need to get a socket extention. I took it off without one, but tired of killing my knuckles, and all, so I will get an extention to help me out. I did get 4 corners tighted mostly so that it is up and in place, and I will finish it up later.

The fluid was really bad. In fact what made me do this is my tranny stopped, and I thought I had lost all my fluid. Turns out that it was just really bad fried. That is what I get for thinking that the Ford dealership changed the fluid befor selling the truck to me. but I should have been looking at it more often also. I figured if it wasnt tme (according to miles) to change it, and if it was not leaking.....then why mess with it.

I learned now. So I will finish this up, and flush the whole thing....and see if I did myself any good. Otherwise it may be into the shop for repair or rebuild. But I dont really have the $$ for that. Hopw this takes care of it...

thanks.