Transmission fluid service

[Franklin Jones]

G’morning! One of the pieces of maintenance I need to do before spring (and camper towing) is transmission fluid service. I have two questions for you:

1. Anyone pump fluid out by disconnecting a cooler line and doing a diy at home “flush”? Or is a simple pan drop the preferred method around here?

2. Anyone have experience with Valvoline ATF maxlife? It says it’s spec’d for Merton LV as required for my transmission, but I’ve always been leery of third party fluid in the trans. Anyone use it with success? (The folks over at BobIsTheOilGuy dot com give it glowing reviews)

TIA

 

[JoeZ]

Hey Franklin
I did the flush on my '03 Taurus, I was puckered up the whole time, I didn't like doing it that way but you can't easily drop the pan on a Taurus.

I dropped the pan on my Expy, did the filter and replaced the dipstick, you should have a new dipstick kit on hand when you or a shop does the trans service.

I used motorcraft oil in mine, the original oil had 145000 police miles on it so I figured it was good enough oil to put back in it.
Good luck! JoeZ

 

[762mm]

As per my research, a pan drop and fluid/filter change is the preferred method. Depending on mileage, doing the DIY flush via tranny cooling lines can apparently cause damage.

As for fluid, I stuck with original Mercon LV on mine. Putting "compatible" fluid in my old Explorer's tranny ended up causing major issues shortly after, which cost $3k to fix. Why chance it?

 

[Trainmaster]

you should have a new dipstick kit on hand

Why?

 

[TobyU]

I have never used any manufacturer trans fluid. Don't think I've ever even seen in person a bottle of Motorcraft trans fluid.

Any brand name with same spec rating is fine.
Valvoline, Castrol, Amsoil, and others all make it.

 

[JoeZ]

Trainmaster: after reading posts on here and doing my own trans, the dipstick plastic degrades in the hot oil. On my personal vehicle the stick was in the pan just swimming around. I’m glad I got the dipstick when I bought the filter. Jmho, your results may vary. JoeZ

 

[richs fishes]

you should have a new dipstick kit on hand when you or a shop does the trans service.

Why?

I dropped my dipstick when my hand hit the hot catalytic converter. Hit the concrete driveway and the plastic broke in half. Had to drill out the stub and tap it for a bolt to use as a makeshift dipstick while I finished the job. Not the worst idea to have one on hand!

 

[Gregg Eshelman]

I took mine to a Ford dealer. Cost less than $250 for everything, and they even put in the bottle of Lucas I provided. With over 100 kilomiles on it, the transmission was getting a bit laggy and harsh on shifts. With new filter, fluid and the Lucas it shifts real smooth. (The Lucas additive worked great in my 1997 Taurus that would slam hard into 1st.)

The shop guy dropped the dipstick and it broke so they had to order a new one. The other issue was either the assembly line people didn't pay attention to the build sheet and put the shallow pan on, or someone entered the wrong info in Ford's database. The dealer had to order the proper filter.

I wanted to DIY the job but nobody has the aftermarket dipstick tubes for this generation Expedition or F-150, just Mustangs. When they were available the price for the truck one was over 2x the price of the Mustang tube, for tube less than 2x the length.

Adding up the cost of aftermarket dipstick (assuming one could be found) plus fluid and filter, for a job that should never need done again as long as I'll have the truck with as little as it gets used... it was worth paying the dealer shop. I don't have a way to lift a truck the size of an Expedition EL up level, and I didn't relish the idea of working real close to a hot catalytic converter.

 

[Trainmaster]

I still have a scar on my hand from that %$&^ing thing on my Explorer. I'm avoiding changing the fluid on the Expedition because I still feel the pain whenever I think of it. But when the dealer replaced the bulkhead connector under warranty he over filled the case by two quarts. With 100K miles, I guess I have to suck it up and do the job in the spring. Thanks for the tip about the crappy plastic dipstick breaking. I never would have suspected a thing like that.

 

[TobyU]

It really saddens me to see that we have to pay a hundred and $250 down to get our transmission fluid and filter changed. We used to get this done at the Jiffy Lube places 4 40 '50 bucks. Then they invented their T-Tech thing that was 7995 for the flush.
Now, with the ridiculous price of transmission fluid even if you do it yourself you'll be out 60 to $75 just for parts.