03-06 4R75E Transmission Flush & Fill, Filter Change, and Pan Drain Plug Kit Install

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CSVT#49

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This is merely a guide for a process that worked for me. I am not responsible, if while following these steps, something is broken or damaged.

Alright well I've seen a few How-To's around here but nothing with a great deal of actual on vehicle pictures. Also I have not seen any on the later model Expedition's. So here is a 'How-To' from what I did this afternoon (well now yesterday)...

Vehicle: 2005 Expedition 5.4L, Eddie Bauer w/towing package (includes transmission cooler)
Time for Flush & Fill: 2-3hrs
Time for filter change: Additional 30min
Time for plug install: Additional 15min

Required Parts & Part Numbers:
14qts XT-5-QMC, Motorcraft Mecron V, Automatic Transmission Fluid & Powersteering Fluid (Note: I picked up 18qts as a precaution, Tousley Ford, $3.80 a quart)
F2VY-7A191-A, Ford Transmission Pan Gasket (Note: Pan gasket is re-usable, however I purchased it as a precaution in the event mine was damaged, Tousley Ford, $18.15)
F6AZ-7A098-A, Ford Transmission Filter (Tousley Ford, $17.71)
80250, B&M Automatic Transmission Drain Plug Kit (O'Reilly Auto Parts, $9.99, which they normally stock)

I'm not advertising for Tousley Ford, but I have found them to have the lowest prices around and are amazing to deal with. Tousley Ford Parts Website is:http://www.trademotion.com/PARTLOCATOR/INDEX.CFM?SITEID=214771, if you call (1-800-328-9552) request to talk with Steve and ask for the SVT group discount (same as website pricing).

XT5QMC.jpg

transfilter.jpg
transgasket.jpg

(Note: Old gasket shown over new one)
bmplugkit.jpg

Required Tools for Flush & Fill:
7/8" Wrench
15qt Drain Pan
Long Ended Funnel
Measuring cup (large enough to show a full quart, an old oil quart container will work as well)
Creeper (nice to have, but not necessary)
Remote start (nice to have)
Second person (if remote start not installed)

Required Tools for Filter Change:
10mm socket
10" extension
Ratchet (corresponding to chosen socket/extension of course)
Torque Wrench (capable of 14 N-m/10.33 lbf-ft/123.9 lbf-in)

Require Tools for Pan Drain Plug Kit Install:
3/4" Socket
3/4" Wrench
11mm Socket
Torque Wrench (capable of 25 N-m/18.44 lbf-ft/221.3 lbf-in)
Drill
1/2" Drill Bit
Magnet (I used the one from the pan :cool:)

Draining the Fluid:
Alright to start place the truck on a level surface and put the shifter into Park. Jack up the front end of the truck enough so that you can place two jack stands under the truck, one on each frame rail. I also chose to place another one underneath the passenger side lower control arm at the pivot point as a back up measure (to each there own). Next locate the transmission cooler on the passenger side directly behind the radiator. See pictures below. Note that if you do not have the factory towing package with the transmission cooler you will need to disconnect the line going to the radiator side tank. I believe this would be the line going to the top of the side tank, but I am not certain (this would also involve adding an extension tube to funnel the fluid to the drain pan).

Looking from driverside across to the passenger side:
overviewcooler.jpg

Closeup:
coolercloseup.jpg

Place the drain pan underneath the cooler and disconnect the fitting on the right hand side of the picture above. To do so you will need the 7/8" wrench. It should not be on very tight and should take little force to loosen it. Be careful not to damage the o-ring seal on the fitting.

Now this is where having a remote start is nice, if not you may want to grab another person to help you out. I was lucky enough to have a remote start installed on my truck so I could start it and stop it while working underneath. Grab the line you disconnected and point the fitting down at the drain pan and then start the truck. Watch the oil flowing out once it starts to sputter, shut the truck off. I place the fitting up onto the other line connected to the cooler (facing up) to keep it from constantly dripping while I continue to work.
 
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CSVT#49

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Changing the Filter:

At this point if you are going to change the filter (If you are not skip down to the last section 'Filling the Transmission') you can drop the pan as you have evacuated most of the fluid in the pan. To drop the pan you will need a 10mm socket, 10" extension, ratchet, and drain pan. Place the drain pan off to the side while you are under the pan. The bolts should only be tightened to 14Nm so they should break loose fairly easily. You should only need the ratchet to backout the bolts just a little and then you can turn them out by hand. The bolts on the back are a little tight to get to, which is what drives the need for the long extension. I disconnect the extension from the ratchet and turn it by hand to remove all the bolts, all while using my other hand to hold up the pan. Once all the bolts are removed (I place them all in a ziplock bag off to the side to prevent one from rolling off) remove the pan and dump what little fluid is in it off to the side in the drain pan. Note: if your transmission has not had the filter changed before you will most likely find a yellow plug that has an o-ring on it within the pan. Don't worry this is a factory installed plug, which is placed in the dipstick opening of the valve body. It pops out into the pan when the dipstick is installed on the line. You can discard this or keep it as a souvenir.

Pan dropped:
pandropped.jpg


Underside of transmission:

undersidepanremoved1.jpg
undersidepanremoved2.jpg
(Note: Notice how the filter appears to be black in color, that is just debris from the fluid it wiped off clean to show the silver finish of the aluminum shell of the filter)

Factory installed dipstick plug:
dipstickplug.jpg


Now that you have the pan dropped clean up the magnet and the inside of the pan to remove all debris. You don't want to put all that junk back in the transmission when you replace the filter.

Magnet (before/after):
magnetdirty.jpg
magnetcleaned.jpg

Installing the Plug Kit:
Alright with the pan removed now is the time to install a drain plug kit so that you can drain your pan and replace your filter without having to mess with pumping out the fluid from the transmission (If you are not doing this skip down to the filter installation)I chose to use the B&M drain plug kit, which was easy to pickup locally at the O'Reilly Auto Part store. Plus at $9.99, there is no need to think twice. To install the B&M plug kit you will need the take the 1/2" drill bit and drill and put a hole somewhere in the bottom of the pan. I chose to put it at almost the lowest point. I put it on the angled surface of the filter 'bulge' in the pan. Take note of where the filter lies when the pan is installed. Take a look at the pictures below for more detail.

Pan hole drilled:
transpanhole.jpg

Once the hole is drilled take some rough grit sand paper and take a few passes around where you drilled the hole to remove and debris. This is where I also used the pan magnet to pickup any loose shavings form making the hole. Then wipe down the area to clean it up. Now you will need the 3/4" wrench, socket, and torque wrench. B&M says not torque the plug kit at a maximum of 25N-m(18.44 lbf-ft). I torqued mine down to the full 25N-m to ensure no leaks. At this torque spec the plastic washer visible crushes down. For the plug itself I decided to place an o-ring on it for added precaution against leaks.

Inside of pan with plug installed:
pluginstalled.jpg

O-ring on plug:
transplug.jpg

Plug installed:
pluginstalled2.jpg
 
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CSVT#49

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Installing the Filter:
Now before reinstalling the pan remove the old filter. It should come out really easily. However be careful that the seal of the filter has not come off into the filter bore (you can see the seal in the picture of the filter under the parts section above). When you remove the filter you should see this:

filterbore.jpg

With the old filter removed wipe off any debris on the underside of the valve body, be sure to use a lint free cloth. Once finished install the new filter ensuring that it is properly seated, but not pressed into the valve body.

Filter Installed:
filterinstalled.jpg

Now with the filter installed clean & inspect your pan gasket to see if there is any damage. If there is replace it. Mine looked suspicious in some spots so I replaced it to be on the safe side. Just for reference here is the comparison of the old gasket to the new one.

gasketcloseup.jpg

To install the pan and gasket you will need a 10mm socket and torque wrench. Set the torque wrench to 14 N-m(10.33 lbf-ft). Place the gasket onto the pan (only goes on one way because of the bolt pattern) and position it accordingly onto the transmission. Hand start bolts in each of the corners to hold the pan into position. Then proceed to install the remaining bolts by hand. Installing the bolts by hand ensures they do not cross thread. Once all of the bolts are in place torque each of the bolts down to spec. I started in the middle on all the sides and worked my way out to the corners.

Pan installed (optional drain plug kit shown):
transpaninstalled.jpg

Filling the Transmission:
Now having drained the transmission you need to determine how much was drained. I used an old measuring cup that have in my shop (mine drained a little over 2qts until it sputtered). Remove the dipstick and place the long ended funnel into the dipstick tube. Measure out the drained fluid a quart at a time adding in a new quart for each quart of old fluid drained. Once you have measured out all of the drained fluid repeat the draining procedure above. Continue to repeat this until you have evacuated the transmissions full capacity, which is 13.9qts (which includes the torque converter). I continued to drain the transmission until the fluid coming out looked as good as the fluid going in, which was at about 15qts.

Fluid Comparison:
fluidcomparison.jpg
(Note: New fluid is on the left)

Once you have flushed the transmission to your liking reinstall the line to the cooler. I could not find a torque spec for this, but I tightened it hand tight and then proceeded to tighten it with the 7/8" wrench until it was snug. Jack up the truck and remove all jack stands. Once lowered, start the truck, shift it through a few gears, and look around for leaks. Shut the truck off and clean up your work area ensuring no tools are in the engine bay or sitting on the chassis somewhere.

The mess I had to clean up:
aftermatht.jpg


Test Drive and Completion:

Once you have inspected your work and removed all tools and equipment you will need to take the truck for a test drive. Before you leave make sure to take the long ended funnel, a few quarts of Mercon V fluid, and some rags. To do this properly I would recommend driving the truck on a major interstate or highway at speeds of 55mph or more for 15-20miles. This is to ensure that the transmission fluid is up to operating temperatures. Once you have done this drive the truck onto a level ground. Shift the truck through all gears P-R-N-D-2-1 a few times leaving the truck in each gear for 15-30 seconds. Then engage your park brake and place the truck in neutral. Remove the dipstick, wipe clean, reinstall and then take a measurement. I found that after the warm up test drive I needed to add half a quart to bring the dipstick measurement up to the 'hot' section.

With that, you should be done. Hopefully this helps everyone out and saves people some money. I know seeing pictures of the work is worth a lot and makes things much easier.

Just to give you an idea the dealership by me wanted $240 to change the transmission filter and perform a flush & fill. I had a total of $104.26 in OEM Ford parts and fluid. Total time for me to do the job was just under 2.5 hours, which included installing the drain plug kit. So if you are somewhat mechanically inclined you can save yourself some serious money.
 
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CSVT#49

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Very nice write up Mike, this should be stickied.

Thanks. I did a ton of searching before I finally figured everything out, and felt I had a good enough idea on everything to get the job done quickly and efficiently. Hopefully having this stickied will save people the time I spent researching. Having done this now, with the drain plug installed I could probably get the transmission flushed and filled, and the filter changed within 30-45min.
 

dano

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tranny filter change

Very nice write up. I got a question or two...so when you get everything put back together, you are still draining the old out as you install the new fluid, right? Then, I was at my local ford dealer, they reccommended that I get a tranny flush and fill. They wanted $165 to do it, do you have any preferences as to that way or the tranny fluid and filter change? When I worked in a garage, I always loved to do the trans filter & fluid change, but we worked under racks so it was a lot easier back then... your write up makes me want to get right out there and do it now. Thanks again for the great write up and pics. I just so happen to have and 05 with tow pack too.
dano
 

chadecoen

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Great write up! Just so others know, mine also has the cooler and is a 2004 XLT 4.6 model. Pretty basic truck so I was surprised that it had it. Don't know if they all come with it or maybe mine was ordered with a tow package but it was there, just like yours. I have since found out though, my Ford dealer (with a coupon) will do the flush/filter change for pretty close to what it cost you in parts. Close enough that i will not do it in my driveway again. Great write up and though. I just wanted to let others know, it is the same procedure for (at least for mine) a 2004 XLT 4.6 2x4.

Thanks,
Chad
 

uhaul

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Good Info !! I did my brothers trans filter and had to call a shop to find out that the loose --BOBBER-- in the pan was ok. just toss it, like you said. also, I always add LubeGard additive, it makes trans shift like new.
 

Doug Kuhlman

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Great write up! I just followed this yesterday. I ended up buying a replacement pan with a drain plug. The cooler lines are quick disconnect, so if you use a tool like the Lisle 39660 line scissor, the line will pop right out, no need to remove the fitting from the radiator.
 
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