I have a '98 sport that was just at grease monkey for an oil change and they showed me my transmission fluid. It was brown and the original fluid is a pinkish red. I guess its time to get it change but my question is should i dish out the 75 dollars to have them hook up a machine to do a full flush or just have them take the pan off and drain the fluid for 45? is it worth it for the machine?
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transmission fluid
- Thread starter jhiles
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Don't let them do it...
Normal for ATF to turn brown, it's stinky as heck, too.
I assume you have an auto based on the "dropping the pan" comment. My wife's 98 XLT has the 5 spd. auto, and it uses Mercon V. It's a semi-synthetic and lasts a lot longer than a pure natural ATF.
The recommended interval is 100K. I wouldn't sweat it unless you tow a lot or you have gotten stuck in the mud and spent too much time spinning your wheels.
I'm paranoid, and have changed everything in my truck and my wife's that isn't synthetic TO synthetic, but unless you have many miles I wouldn't bother.
When you do have 100K, get the machine flush. The Ford torque converters don't have a plug, so you you only get about 50% fluid replacement (maybe not even that). The hookup to the trans cooler lines gets everything out.
I doubt it will be $65 though - Mercon V is more expensive than the old Mercon, so they SHOULD charge you more. If they don't, be worried.
Regards,
Brian in CA
PS Ford announced a 150K interval with the new autos using Mercon V.
Normal for ATF to turn brown, it's stinky as heck, too.
I assume you have an auto based on the "dropping the pan" comment. My wife's 98 XLT has the 5 spd. auto, and it uses Mercon V. It's a semi-synthetic and lasts a lot longer than a pure natural ATF.
The recommended interval is 100K. I wouldn't sweat it unless you tow a lot or you have gotten stuck in the mud and spent too much time spinning your wheels.
I'm paranoid, and have changed everything in my truck and my wife's that isn't synthetic TO synthetic, but unless you have many miles I wouldn't bother.
When you do have 100K, get the machine flush. The Ford torque converters don't have a plug, so you you only get about 50% fluid replacement (maybe not even that). The hookup to the trans cooler lines gets everything out.
I doubt it will be $65 though - Mercon V is more expensive than the old Mercon, so they SHOULD charge you more. If they don't, be worried.
Regards,
Brian in CA
PS Ford announced a 150K interval with the new autos using Mercon V.
MikeTEC
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Briantf or others:
I have a 93 EB with automatic transmission and was thinking of doing a complete fluid change. Is Mercon V OK for older transmissions using Dextron III/Mercon? Would Mobil 1 100% synthetic be better? My Explorer transmission has 105 K with no problems. I have keep the fluid and filter changed regularly. Thanks for your help. MikeTEC
I have a 93 EB with automatic transmission and was thinking of doing a complete fluid change. Is Mercon V OK for older transmissions using Dextron III/Mercon? Would Mobil 1 100% synthetic be better? My Explorer transmission has 105 K with no problems. I have keep the fluid and filter changed regularly. Thanks for your help. MikeTEC
JamminG4Jim
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Definately Get The Flush!!!
I had the tranny filter replaced a month ago, and the fluid STILL looked brown.....so......
Last friday I had the tranny flushed. They showed me the new fluid afterwards. 1000 percent improvement!!!
Just changing the filter only gets 4-5 quarts out of a possible 12...A waste of money, IMHO.......
I had the tranny filter replaced a month ago, and the fluid STILL looked brown.....so......
Last friday I had the tranny flushed. They showed me the new fluid afterwards. 1000 percent improvement!!!
Just changing the filter only gets 4-5 quarts out of a possible 12...A waste of money, IMHO.......
Mercon V rated for replacement of Mercon
According to Ford, Mercon V is rated to replace Mercon in all applications.
For example, my Ranger 5 spd manual uses Mercon instead of gear oil. When I took it in to Ford for warranty, their garage foreman said that they use ONLY Mercon V in any work they do now.
I put full synthetic in over the Mercon V, but I'm overly partial to synthetics.
I would get the full flush and pay more for Mercon V. Be glad you have a 93, my understanding is the auto trans in earlier Explorers was not as strong.
Regards,
Brian in CA
According to Ford, Mercon V is rated to replace Mercon in all applications.
For example, my Ranger 5 spd manual uses Mercon instead of gear oil. When I took it in to Ford for warranty, their garage foreman said that they use ONLY Mercon V in any work they do now.
I put full synthetic in over the Mercon V, but I'm overly partial to synthetics.
I would get the full flush and pay more for Mercon V. Be glad you have a 93, my understanding is the auto trans in earlier Explorers was not as strong.
Regards,
Brian in CA
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