Transmission Fluid change

[Ravengotu]

Hello, First off as new guy to the Ford Expedition and to this great forum.

We just bought a used 2014 Kings Ranch, and just found out that the tranny is pretty much not a DIY job. Very sad as I am an old man and have always worked on my cars in the past... Now the question..... The dipstick is inside the tranny and underneath to check it?

Thank you in advance

I hope you have great day

 

[skinny8021]

Changing the transmission fluid on these isn't too bad, but is definitely easier if you have access to a lift since there is no drain plug on the pan. I used a vacuum pump through the dipstick hole to lower the level before dropping the pan and it went fairly smoothly for me. The dipstick is located on the passenger side of the transmission just above the front side of where the transmission pan is located under a cover bolt (also next to the catalytic converter which makes this job unpleasant).

There are also some good YouTube videos on this like (https://youtu.be/LZGLpsRccAo) and it is the same as the F150 procedure so you may find more resources searching for that platform.

 

[twodollars]

I just changed fluid and filter on my 2013, and while is more difficult to fill and check, it's still pretty straight forward. Just a bit of a pain to fill and check. There is a stubby trans fill tube with a threaded in cap. Remove cap, underneath the cap is a short plastic indicator to check fluid level. You have to pump fluid into the trans, that's the biggest difference from a normal full length tube and indicator. I spent some time getting the truck up in the air and level to make the job a bit easier.

 

[Ravengotu]

Okay, so if 4 floor jacks and a very big drain catch pan can do this in the garage.... Great Idea and sure beats a 200++$$$$ job, plus I get to make sure all is good.

Thanks for that

 

[mr_dave]

The fluid/filter job is the same as most transmissions, the only difference is lack of a normal dipstick and fill tube.

Ford 6R60 & 6R80 Transmission Fluid and Filter Change

This is the Cheapest & Best alternative to fill the transmission-http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BQW5LK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&c...

www.youtube.com

 

[espritv8]

Did mine and make sure your truck is leveled

Ended up overfilling it, probably because the truck wasn't straight and it caused problems.

 

[Ravengotu]

Thanks for the link. This guy is so great for Ford. I did my 06 F 150 as this guy said to with my timing chains and stuff..Came out perfect

Thanks again

 

[71Rcode]

Yes you can do this I did when ours had around 100,000 on it. Agree a thousand percent to do yourself to make sure it's done right. Good luck! Very straightforward

By the way I seem to remember there's a wiring harness that plugs in that has a o-ring that fails or a seal or something like that I want to say replaced that as well just as a preventative.

 

[reklaw]

I'm going to hi-jack this while we are on the subject. I've had my 2008 for right around a year and I'm leaking fluid from the gasket at the rear of the pan. I know these gaskets are reusable and I'm assuming the used car dealer I bought this from or previous owner screwed up tightening the pan bolts. Do you guys think I can just drop the pan and retighten the bolts in the correct pattern or do you think that I need to replace the gasket? I'm really not looking forward to buying 11 quarts of fluid to replace whats in the pan so I would prefer to not have to drop it all the way but I figured I'd ask those of you that have done this in the past.

 

[inmanlanier]

The below post has a lot of discussion on the same topic. Of my note, since you're only partially draining the pan, I ran the math on the number of times to drain and fill to get you to a reasonable amount of new fluid. I chose to do 3 drain and refills when I did mine (drain, refill, start & run until up to temp to open the thermostat and mix new/old fluid - then rinse and repeat). In my case I did it with a new pan with a plug to make it easy. Depending on how persnickety you are, my calcs came up with ~42% of the old fluid remaining after 1 drain and fill, ~18% remaining after the 2nd time, 7.6% after the 3rd, and 2.3% after the 4th (overkill in my judgement)

Tranny Service

Mercon LV. yes, even if you have to spend a couple bucks more a quart, stick with the LV fluid.... for some reason the 6R80 is picky, and the LV fluid is not compatible with the newer stuff. I was able to find it around 6-7 bucks a quart at oreilys... no other shop had it. edit: it is SP...

www.expeditionforum.com

 

[Dustin Gebhardt]

I'm going to hi-jack this while we are on the subject. I've had my 2008 for right around a year and I'm leaking fluid from the gasket at the rear of the pan. I know these gaskets are reusable and I'm assuming the used car dealer I bought this from or previous owner screwed up tightening the pan bolts. Do you guys think I can just drop the pan and retighten the bolts in the correct pattern or do you think that I need to replace the gasket? I'm really not looking forward to buying 11 quarts of fluid to replace whats in the pan so I would prefer to not have to drop it all the way but I figured I'd ask those of you that have done this in the past.

I thought I had a gasket/pan leak at the rear of my trans for the longest time. I ended up stripping the bolts on the back of the pan due to over-tightening them. I've tried multiple gaskets, too. Nothing worked. It turned out that the bulkhead connector (where the wiring harness passes through the trans to the valve body) was the problem. It was a $15 part, but required me to drop the trans pan to replace the bulkhead connector. I also took that opportunity to drop the exhaust lines and repair the stripped out bolt holes with some helicoil inserts.

 

[Trainmaster]

Your "rear pan leak" is probably a bad o-ring on your bulkhead connector. The oil weeps out around the pan and runs to the back. It's a common problem and was a recall in many Fords.

In changing fluid, I found a $6 plastic concrete mixing box from Home Depot makes a perfect huge drain pan...

Don't cheap out. Use the right Motorcraft fluid.

 

[reklaw]

I thought I had a gasket/pan leak at the rear of my trans for the longest time. I ended up stripping the bolts on the back of the pan due to over-tightening them. I've tried multiple gaskets, too. Nothing worked. It turned out that the bulkhead connector (where the wiring harness passes through the trans to the valve body) was the problem. It was a $15 part, but required me to drop the trans pan to replace the bulkhead connector. I also took that opportunity to drop the exhaust lines and repair the stripped out bolt holes with some helicoil inserts.

Yes, I just saw about this bulkhead connector in another thread so I have to get it up in the air and inspect it closer before I take action. And of course, now since I can't find that other thread let me ask. Is this just the O-ring on the connector or is it the whole connector that needs replaced?

 

[mr_dave]

You replace the whole connector sleeve. Check out this video.

Ford F150 6R60 & 6R80 Transmission Fluid Leak Bulkhead Sleeve Repair

This is the Cheapest & Best alternative to fill the transmission-http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BQW5LK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&c...

www.youtube.com

 

[ediddily]

I have an 07 XLT, 285K miles. Had the electrical plug sleeve gasket leaking awhile back. I put the car on jacks as high as they went and had enough room to use a creeper easily. Changed the filter while in there. The fluid was still like new, bright red, so no concerns on wear and tear. The new electrical plug collar was extremely hard to get in so I ended up using the old plastic collar with the rubber seal off the new one. Fit so much easier and now doesn't leak. I filled it with enough fluid to slightly overfill it and let the excess drain out. I used the Harbor Freight battery powered fluid transfer pump to fill it. Worked great for low viscous fluids. Doesn't work for gear oil. When I put the pan back on, the rear bolts weren't tight enough due to the exhaust pipe crossing under that portion of the pan's bolts. So it ended up leaking slightly. I was able to use a wrench and tightening them until they stopped leaking.

I would suggest to replace the pan bolts while doing the job.

Additional question... is the dipstick supposed to be a traditional style range indicator like skinny8021 posted? Because mine has just threads that go into the oil.