What the heck was that ? tranny issue

[jman]

2008 EL runs fine if I hold it in first ,second, or third gear but leaving it in drive at around 30 MPH tranny feels like it wants to go into first or reverse. BIG clunk, shakes the whole car. Fluid was close to change interval, nothing out of the ordinary in the pan or around magnet. 125K miles.

I searched before posting and didn't find anything helpful. I hope somebody has some info, not in the cards to drop $3k on a new transmission at the moment.

 

[1955moose]

You or whomever changed the fluid put back in the lv long life Ford fluid I sure hope. Very critical on your unit. I'd run your Dtc codes, and hope something comes up. I'd also spend the bucks and flush your fluid, and install Ford long life fluid made for your 6 speed tranny. I sure hope you dont have to replace that trans. Let us know what happens.

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[JExpedition07]

A 2007/2008 takes Mercon SP

 

[Adieu]

Craigslist is swimming in $750 rebuilt trannies... no idea about reliability or durability though

 

[1955moose]

Actually J, Lv replaced Sp. Either is acceptable. The dealers use the Lv just like on earlier 4 speeds their selling and recommending Mercon v synthetic in place of regular Mercon. As in the earlier tranny's, it's probably good to get as much out as possible, or better still have it flushed. As we've bounced back and forth though with this, any high mileage ones can get iffy, when you flush. After 2001 I believe you can't drain torque converter. So theirs another reason to flush, or know what fluid was in there, and stay with that type.

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[JExpedition07]

Actually J, Lv replaced Sp. Either is acceptable. The dealers use the Lv just like on earlier 4 speeds their selling and recommending Mercon v synthetic in place of regular Mercon. As in the earlier tranny's, it's probably good to get as much out as possible, or better still have it flushed. As we've bounced back and forth though with this, any high mileage ones can get iffy, when you flush. After 2001 I believe you can't drain torque converter. So theirs another reason to flush, or know what fluid was in there, and stay with that type.

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Actually Moose you cannot use Mercon LV in a trans that requires SP. a few years ago Ford discontinued SP and superceded it with LV, but not for long. Dealers were finding that when changed over the Mercon LV was destroying transmissions that required Mercon SP. Ford ended up paying to replace many transmissions under warranty because of this mistake. Ford took corrective action and started to make Mercon SP again and it’s been back on dealer shelves. They are very clear that if a trans is filled with Mercon SP it can accept that fluid only and no substitutes. Basically there is no replacement available for Mercon SP unlike other Mercon fluids. I changed my trans fluid and filter a few thousand miles ago and I purchased brand new jugs of Mercon SP when I did it.

 

[1955moose]

Lovely. It's amazing nowadays how picky transmissions are towards what fluid. Thanks for the update, I'm sure we'll get a lot of 6speeders that will thank you down the road.

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