Where to buy 20qts of ATF synthetic?

[duke16]

Where do you guys buy you ATF synthetic when it comes time to flush it? I'm thinking I'll need around 20 qts to do the whole job. Advance and Autozone only carry synthetics by the quart, and don't seem to carry 20 at a time.

Thanks

 

[CDW6212R]

You do not need 20 quarts. If the fluid is absolutely filthy, other answers are needed.

Invest the time and money into a valve body kit install, either the minor $35 kits, or the real shift kit for $100. The removal of the valve body will drain everything, except half of the torque converter. Pull the trans front shield off, and turn the torque converter around, there used to be a drain on all torque converters. Do the kit and add a filter, real synthetic transmission fluid(Amsoil), and Lubegard additive, the truck will drive much better. Good luck,

 

[duke16]

Well it smells burnt and is looking pretty dark, but it's not necessarily filthy. If it doesn't take 20qts to flush through the whole thing, how much does it take?

 

[Glacier991]

About 2 or 3 more than total capacity. But on your transmission, it IS possible to drain the TC, and you can do a pretty thorough fluid change without flushing. It's just an option. On the A4LD and 5R55E, you cannot drain the TC and hence flushing is the ONLY way to completely change the fluid.

 

[duke16]

About 2 or 3 more than total capacity. But on your transmission, it IS possible to drain the TC, and you can do a pretty thorough fluid change without flushing. It's just an option. On the A4LD and 5R55E, you cannot drain the TC and hence flushing is the ONLY way to completely change the fluid.

2 or 3 times total capacity of what? The pan?

How do you mean I can do a good fluid change without flushing? How would I change all the fluid if I wasn't flushing?

I just flushed doing the drain/fill method and went through all 20qts and what was coming out was still pretty dark. So I guess it holds more then 20....

 

[Nocturnall]

It shouldn't hold more then 20, hell mine holds 11 or 13, something around there. You could have done it by draining the torque converter and taking out the valve body.

 

[duke16]

It shouldn't hold more then 20, hell mine holds 11 or 13, something around there. You could have done it by draining the torque converter and taking out the valve body.

Yea but that's a little more involved. Doing it the drain/fill way is a lot simplier.

 

[Nocturnall]

....just uses more fluid, costs more, and doesn't get ALL the crap out.

 

[aldive]

I use 16-17 quarts for a complete flush.

 

[duke16]

I use 16-17 quarts for a complete flush.

Do you know if the 4R70w is that much bigger? I just don't understand how I went through all 20qts and it was still coming out quite a bit darker then what I was putting in.

 

[Nocturnall]

I don't think it would take that much more fluid, haynes manual will tell ya how much it holds..... a search...

 

[duke16]

I don't think it would take that much more fluid, haynes manual will tell ya how much it holds..... a search...

I only see the pan capacity in the Haynes manual (5 qts).

 

[Glacier991]

Re-read what I posted. You CAN drain ALLyour fluid on the 4R70W. And as for capacity I meant total fluid capacity...NOT pan. On the 4R70W you can drain the TC.....which drains the last of the fluid.... do when you drain everything and thre TC your drain and fil is more or less a total change.

 

[Nocturnall]

If you goto the trans section it should say total capacity is 13 - 15 quarts.

 

[duke16]

Re-read what I posted. You CAN drain ALLyour fluid on the 4R70W. And as for capacity I meant total fluid capacity...NOT pan. On the 4R70W you can drain the TC.....which drains the last of the fluid.... do when you drain everything and thre TC your drain and fil is more or less a total change.

You said it holds 2 or 3 times total capacity.. I don't understand what you mean by total capacity. I don't know what the total capacity is.

Hm, well next time then I may just do that. Drop the pad and drain the TC, if that's pretty much all the fluid. I thought there was more in the transmission that dropping the pan wouldn't get.

 

[duke16]

If you goto the trans section it should say total capacity is 13 - 15 quarts.

I'm not seeing that in mine. I'm looking on page 7B and the fluid capacity just refers back to Chapter 1.

 

[CDW6212R]

The AOD started in 1980, and holds about 12 quarts total. The latest 4R70W with an extremely slightly deeper pan, may hold 13 quarts or so, and that's it.

Duke, if you have fluid which doesn't look good, or smells very bad, changing fluid, any number of times, will not fix the problem.

Aside from pulling and rebuilding the transmission, installing some kind of valve body kit would be a far better thing to do. Depending on other symptoms, and mileage, also changing the EPC solenoid, or all of the solenoids, may be wise also.

If you are just trying to get rid of the truck, then you have done the cheap remedy, go sell it now. If you are keeping the truck, don't wait for the problem to get worse, trans rebuilds are expensive. Spend the $100-$300 for all of the good in car remedies, and hope that it brings it back to proper functioning, and it lasts many more years. Good luck,

 

[duke16]

The AOD started in 1980, and holds about 12 quarts total. The latest 4R70W with an extremely slightly deeper pan, may hold 13 quarts or so, and that's it.

Hmm, then that's strange I managed to go through 20 qts then.

Duke, if you have fluid which doesn't look good, or smells very bad, changing fluid, any number of times, will not fix the problem. Aside from pulling and rebuilding the transmission, installing some kind of valve body kit would be a far better thing to do. Depending on other symptoms, and mileage, also changing the EPC solenoid, or all of the solenoids, may be wise also.

What do you mean? If the fluid is old, which it probably was, how does replacing it not help? What exactly can a valve body kit do for me?

If you are just trying to get rid of the truck, then you have done the cheap remedy, go sell it now. If you are keeping the truck, don't wait for the problem to get worse, trans rebuilds are expensive. Spend the $100-$300 for all of the good in car remedies, and hope that it brings it back to proper functioning, and it lasts many more years. Good luck,

Well I didn't really have a problem with the truck to begin with, the fluid was just old and needed replacing. It's never slipped or anything.

 

[CDW6212R]

It's very good that you don't have any real symptoms. Usually the fluid doesn't look good when something isn't working perfectly in an automatic. A normal smell isn't pleasant, but there is a difference between that and a burnt smell.

It may be that your fluid is just normal, and you may be fine right now. Ford and many other makers commonly compromise performance and lifespan in a trans to gain smoother functioning. They think that the feel of a shift bothers car buyers, so they try to make the shifting unnoticeable.

If you cannot feel a shift in an automatic, then it is slipping during that shift. Shifting without slippage is the best way to have a trans last as long as possible. That is not how they were designed to function, the valve body controls the shifting.

A valve body kit is intended to help the trans shift better, with less slippage. The result is the trans lasts longer, and the shifts are more noticeable. The TransGo $35 kits aren't designed to make harsh shifts, or anything approaching hard. Thye do make $100+ kits which are supposed to make much firmer shifts, but still not harsh. It takes an expert or very competent mechanic to install a valve body kit.

There are many details that can be missed, if not done properly you can end up with a symptom caused by the installation. I've installed these kits in almost every vehicle I've owned, far more than half. Good luck,

 

[duke16]

It's very good that you don't have any real symptoms. Usually the fluid doesn't look good when something isn't working perfectly in an automatic. A normal smell isn't pleasant, but there is a difference between that and a burnt smell.

I just took a wiff of the old fluid and compared it to the new, and they didn't really smell all that different. So I'm not sure what the mechanic who last worked on it was smelling, perhaps he's getting a better nose then me. But the stuff I was pumping out was definitely darker then the new stuff I was putting in. Now I suppose it could be that the Mobile 1 synthetic uses a lighter die then whatever was already in there.

It may be that your fluid is just normal, and you may be fine right now. Ford and many other makers commonly compromise performance and lifespan in a trans to gain smoother functioning. They think that the feel of a shift bothers car buyers, so they try to make the shifting unnoticeable.

If you cannot feel a shift in an automatic, then it is slipping during that shift. Shifting without slippage is the best way to have a trans last as long as possible. That is not how they were designed to function, the valve body controls the shifting.

Hmm, I thought slipping was when it tried to go into one gear and failed to and went back to the other. My gear changes have always been pretty smooth. So a good transmission will have hard shift changes?

A valve body kit is intended to help the trans shift better, with less slippage. The result is the trans lasts longer, and the shifts are more noticeable. The TransGo $35 kits aren't designed to make harsh shifts, or anything approaching hard. Thye do make $100+ kits which are supposed to make much firmer shifts, but still not harsh. It takes an expert or very competent mechanic to install a valve body kit.

There are many details that can be missed, if not done properly you can end up with a symptom caused by the installation. I've installed these kits in almost every vehicle I've owned, far more than half. Good luck,

Well I'm not mechanic so I think I'll pass on the valve body kit, unless I can find a shop that'll do it fairly cheap. But I definitely want to keep this Explorer for as long as possible, so anything that can help the life of transmission I'm sure would be well worth the money.