trans fluid change help

[foolio]

i just picked up a 2000 mountaineer 5.0 for the wife with 108k on the clock. it has a very slight shutter which i read is common so i decided to change fluid including draining torque converter. but when i dropped the pan there was a little plastic doo-hicky in the pan and i have no idea where it came from. it doesnt look broke just like it fell out. please help me i dentify where it goes and if it is something that just needs to be put back in place or is there another problem? heres the picture.

 

[Mike65]

That is the plug that is in the case when the trans is installed in the truck when it is being built, when they put the dip stick in the case it pushes that piece into the pan. I used to see them all the time when I worked at a Ford dealer. It looks like your Explorer has never had a trans service, because they just get thrown out when the first trans service is done.

 

[1998Exp]

Not necessarily -- they might have flushed the fluid through the cooling lines, like many dealers do these days. The filter wasn't replaced, for sure, but filter replacement is not mandated by the manual.

...It looks like your Explorer has never had a trans service, because they just get thrown out when the first trans service is done.