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Transmission fluid/filter changed!

E.B. Cornburner

Explorer Addict
Joined
April 20, 2007
Messages
1,135
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City, State
Oshkosh, WI
Year, Model & Trim Level
2004 Eddie Bauer
Finally I got the time and ambition to do my tranny service. Got a filter from Carquest and a case of Castrol-branded Mercon V ATF and had at 'er this morning. It's not bad to do at all...Pop the drain plug with a 22mm socket, and let the majority of the fluid drain out, then start taking out the pan bolts with an 8mm.

Once cracked open, I saw it wasn't all that bad looking in there, a little iron "fuzz" on the magnet, and the fluid was a bit dark, but I've seen a lot worse. Installed the new filter (2 bolts hold it in), and buttoned everything up. The gasket is re-useable...Don't use the one supplied in the kits...They're junk.

Now on to the fun part...Filling the bastid. I actually bought the fill tool from OTC just because, but a 1/8" NPT threaded hose fitting is the same thing. Take a T-30 Torx socket and remove the inner plug from the drain plug, and install the tool. Then, one pint at a time, I filled it with a common suction gun. It'll take about 3 quarts initially, then you have to start it and shift it thru the gears.
Now, with it running, it'll take an additional 3 quarts, give or take.

Having a hoist is almost a necessity doing this service...I couldn't imagine doing it on the ground.

Took it out for its initial road test, and the difference was astounding...It shifts like liquid silk now! Definitely something that needs to be done more than the recommended 100,000 miles on these even in light duty service, such as mine experiences.

I also did the transfer case and power steering fluids since I had extra Merc V on hand now. Surprisingly, the transfer case fluid was blacker than the ace of spades! I took a half quart or so and dumped it right thru to help flush it out, then refilled it with fresh fluid. Don't know if it improved anything, but judging by the look of the fluid that came out, it definitely needed to be changed.

The power steering fluid looked fine, but I changed it anyhow. Figure it can't hurt anything.


I have 86,000 miles on the ticker, and it was definitely overdue IMHO for the ATF and transfer case services. If your mileage is close, I'd make it a point to get them done soon.
 



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i did my tranny and transfer case today at 50k and refilled it with mobil 1 syn fluid... i purchased my x as an off lease vehicle at 28k and it had come out of western colorado so am assuming it saw plenty of mountain driving , so was surprised at the cleanliness of the fluid ..tranny was only slightly darkened and the transfer case fluid looked like new ..sure miss having a dipstick though .


brad
 






Spring I will be out doing this on the wifes new explorer. We just bought it with 42k miles. I want to keep it for her until about 100k and then have it around for those really bad winter days and an extra car for me after that for a long time. With those plans I figure all fluids (front and rear ends, trans, transfer case. brakes, ps and coolant) changed every 50k is worth it to keep it running right and smooth and give early detection of problem.
 






Finally I got the time and ambition to do my tranny service. Got a filter from Carquest and a case of Castrol-branded Mercon V ATF and had at 'er this morning. It's not bad to do at all...Pop the drain plug with a 22mm socket, and let the majority of the fluid drain out, then start taking out the pan bolts with an 8mm.

Once cracked open, I saw it wasn't all that bad looking in there, a little iron "fuzz" on the magnet, and the fluid was a bit dark, but I've seen a lot worse. Installed the new filter (2 bolts hold it in), and buttoned everything up. The gasket is re-useable...Don't use the one supplied in the kits...They're junk.

Response:
"Did you drain the torque converter also"?
 






No, I didn't drain the torque convertor. It'll mix with the ~6.5 quarts of new fluid, and since these trannies have a drain plug, one of these days, I'll drain it and refill it again without dropping the pan. That'll get most the old fluid out. Like I said, it wasn't that bad looking...Only a minor discoloration to it, so it's not a real big deal to have a little old fluid in there still that remained from the torque convertor.
 






it's all good I'm sure but with the torque converter and the cooler and the lines your looking at a total of about~ 12 quarts
 






Is there a way to empty all the fluid?
 






Is there a way to empty all the fluid?
Flushing, which I seriously do not recommend, is about the only way I can think of.
 






In this case, is it better to bring it to a garage and have them hook up the tranny to a machine? This way, the filter doesn't get changed... Unless you reflush through the drain plug, remove the pan etc...
 






In this case, is it better to bring it to a garage and have them hook up the tranny to a machine? This way, the filter doesn't get changed... Unless you reflush through the drain plug, remove the pan etc...

That's the kind of flushing I strongly caution people against doing. IMHO, it's better to leave a little old fluid in the torque convertor than to possibly mess something up having it power-flushed with a machine. The filter should be changed if there's over ~50k on it.

From what I've seen, there's less than a 50% success rate with most commercial power-flush ATF services. Lots of my customers come in with slipping trannies that have just been recently flushed. Now, I don't know if it's because it was acting up beforehand that they decided to flush it, or not, but in any event, the flush certainly didn't help matters any.
 












I know there are detergents in new fluids that wreak havock on old trannies that are close to being gone anyway. The new fluid with the detergents in it accelerate the wearing procedure. Most people start to experience a slight change in there tranny so they do a tranny flush and fill....that is what finishes off the tranny. If they did the service every what????80k then they wouldn't notice the change in the tranny operation and wouldn't need to do the miracle "flush and fill" and when the tranny is on it's last leg you'll know it doesn't need a flush, just a rebuild, so you wouldn't be able to say the flush killed because you've been flushing regularly....understand?
 






The more posts I read about transmission fluid change, the less I know which method is best... There is the pan & filter flush that leaves more than half the old fluid in and the hose hook up without changing the filter...

So if I want to have full synthetic ATF and change the filter, I'm looking at a "double" flush?!? First do the hose method to change all the fluid, then drain again, drop the pan, change the filter and refill... What do you guys think?

Do any of you have pictures of all these steps? I have a 5R55S tranny in a 2004 Explorer with just over 60K miles.

Thanks
 












sorry about reviving a thread, but this one deserves a second chance.

Can you post links to the equipment needed? I don't know where can I buy a "common suction gun" or an OTC fill tool. Also, is this doable on the ground with hydraulic floor jacks? I have no access to a lift for this.

I live in NW Iowa and I called my local auto shop asking if they could do sealed transmission fluid changes, and they don't. Told me they refer to the Ford dealer.

Thanks E.B!
 






I had this done at the dealership a while back. It made mine shift a little better too.
 






I had this done at the dealership a while back. It made mine shift a little better too.

What was the total cost of the change? Not the flush...
 






sorry about reviving a thread, but this one deserves a second chance.

Can you post links to the equipment needed? I don't know where can I buy a "common suction gun" or an OTC fill tool. Also, is this doable on the ground with hydraulic floor jacks? I have no access to a lift for this.

I live in NW Iowa and I called my local auto shop asking if they could do sealed transmission fluid changes, and they don't. Told me they refer to the Ford dealer.

Thanks E.B!
Suction guns can be purchased just about anywhere that auto parts are sold. The basically look like a grease gun but without the pump lever on them...More of a large metal syringe. They're ususally around 10-15 bucks.

As for the OTC transmission fill adaptor, it's not really necessary...A standard 1/8" NPT threaded hose fitting will work too, and they're available at any hardware store. I bought the OTC tool sort of out of laziness, sort of out of wanting the actual "tool" just because. The Matco truck stops here weekly, so I just bought it there rather than having to go somewhere to find a hose fitting.

If you go into the transmissions forum, there's a thread stickied on the top of the page that goes into great detail about how to do the fluid change and refill.

It could be done on the ground on jackstands, but I'm totally spoiled having access to hoists at any time. It just makes the job a ton easier. I've done tranny pans on the ground on jackstands already, but I definitely prefer to use a hoist and air tools.
 






Hey Mike,
I have a 04 Eddie Bauer 4.6L V8 AWD. I was reading your posts and you mentioned something about there is a transmission forum for changing the fluid in explorers like ours that have no dipstick tube.. I guess my question is how do you know if you overfilled it.? I couldn't find the link to what you had said I was wondering if you could send it to me.

thanks,
 



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