Transmission fluid change-now or later ?

[Mgerteis]

Good morning everyone!
My name is Nick, and I'm new to this forum. It is well made and I have enjoyed all the info I've found here. The reason I started looking for online help was transmission trouble on my 2004 Mountaineer with 110K miles on it. The dealership read the codes and pointed at a worn OD servo bore as the likely cause. So I ordered the o-ring upgraded replacement servos I've found on this site and I'll install them on Thursday. When I removed the original servo, a little fluid leaked out, definitely more black than red in color but not burnt smelling(yet). So I want to change the fluid now instead of @150K miles(as per manual) Now to my actual question: Can I do this at the same time as installing the new servos(while it's already on jack stands, hands already dirty etc.etc.), or would it be better to install servos, test drive to let the fluid get hot and then change it ? From some of the other posts I understand that hot fluid will do a better job of carrying out all the contaminants, and this fluid is ambient temperature(Mississippi+July=98'F). Then again, the fluid of course was hot when I jacked the vehicle up, about a week ago, and it should be nicely drained by now. Which way do I go ???
Also, do I disconnect the two lines going to the radiator and drain the ATF cooler separately or will it drain when I take off the pan? Thank you for your help, Nick.

 

[Triton8273]

Yes, if you do any tranny work, you might as well always change the fluid. And the manual is just ridiculous, changing the fluid at 150K doesn't make sense when most of these don't last that long lol.

 

[arco777]

The only way to drain it all would be to drain the cooler, the lines, the pan, and the torque converter. I doubt your converter has a drain plug so you'd have to drill a hole in it, then seal it back up (like with a rivet and sealant).

Or, you could do a running flush, but that's more involved. Or just do several fluid changes and the old fluid will get diluted out.

150k is ridiculous but I can believe the book said it. I would recommend fluid changes every 50k. As expensive as a trans rebuild is, and hard to remove the tranny, in my opinion it's worth it to use quality filters and fluid. I have had good luck with Wix filters.

 

[Triton8273]

The only way to drain it all would be to drain the cooler, the lines, the pan, and the torque converter. I doubt your converter has a drain plug so you'd have to drill a hole in it, then seal it back up (like with a rivet and sealant).

Did you see that on extreme 4x4 or one of those shows on Spike this morning? lol

 

[arco777]

Did you see that on extreme 4x4 or one of those shows on Spike this morning? lol

Yeah, I love the Powerblock! And Courtney Hansen is easy to look at

 

[Triton8273]

Yeah, I love the Powerblock! And Courtney Hansen is easy to look at

She is, but painful at the same time. She just act's so unnatural. Like her expressions seem so fake, like she isn;t interested in cars and trucks at all.

 

[arco777]

She is, but painful at the same time. She just act's so unnatural. Like her expressions seem so fake, like she isn;t interested in cars and trucks at all.

Not interested in cars and trucks??? Check out her wikipedia page for a short history - I'd say she has plenty of interest in them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtney_Hansen

I will admit that she smiles a little too much, but I'm sure that's the producer's doing.