.........I purchased 12 quarts of Valvoline Mercon 5 Synthetic and a ford filter ! So , first I drop pan and filter , measure quantity in pan and replace with NEW Fluid and new filter and reattach pan ! Next , I remove return side fluid line , attach hose and run engine for about 20 seconds or so , at idle and allow old fluid to be pumped into container with quantity marks , stop engine , measure quantity and add new fluid back into pan . Repeat above procedure until old fluid is removed from the system .
...........My questions are (1) which line is the REturn line on radiator cooler , Upper or lower........I'm thinking lower , but not sure ? , (2) What size hose do I need too slide over the metal return line and , I'll just have too guess at how much length I need . (3)Will I need a new pan gasket ? BTW , this is a 2008 , 2.3 engine which I'm assuming has the 5 speed auto trany . Thanks , rb

 

Would be helpful to know which tranny you have, but yes generally the lower radiator hose is the tranny return line.

If your tranny has an aux cooler (it'll be up in front of the A/C condenser), so that lower radiator line will run foward to it, so you'd want to disconnect the other cooler line (cooler output/return line that goes back to the tranny), so that you get a good flush of the precooler tubing in the radiator & the aux cooler tubing.

Plus it's safer & easier to get at & disconnect the rubber tranny return line at the aux cooler, rather than chance strippng or damaging the lower radiator line if it's difficult to get at.

If you don't have the aux cooler & it's easy to get at, then the lower radiator connection is the tranny return line & will do.

If the lower radiator return line connection is difficult to access, the upper radiator connection, will work.

Disconnecting at the upper radiator connection doesn't get the old standing fluid out of the radiator tubing precooler, aux oil to air cooler(if you have one) or the remaining old fluid in the tranny return line, but is still better than not doing the pumpout at all.

Since we don't know the tranny you have, or with what size line Ford has plumbed it with, just measure it & size the scrap hose ID to fit snug over the fitting, or od of the hose you disconnect.
I used an old piece of heater hose I had saved.

You'll want to also put the disconnected return line in the catch container too, or plug it, (I use a round shaft screw driver) as the open return line will back spit up a bit & make a mess, if you don't deal with it.

If you have an aux cooler, you can first disconnect the return line there, attach the scrap hose to the cooler, the other end in your catch container, then with the vehicle level, start it & let it idle to pump the tranny pan out. When flow slows, or you see bubbles, stop the engine. The tranny pumps 1qt/15 seconds, at warm idle.

Then raise the vehicle on stands to drop the pan & you'll find it mostly empty, easier to handle & a much less messy job.

Let us know how your pan drop, filter change & full tranny pumpout goes.

 

.............Thanks Paw Paw , I have the 5Rxxx 5 Speed ! Holds 11.xx quarts , and NO extra tranny cooler except the one on the left side of the radiator . Anyway I've got the truck up on a set of truck ramps so I should plenty clearance too move a round . I need too reread your post and make sure I didn't miss anything !
..............I was going too have the service performed in town but the owner of the shop neglected too tell me He would charge me an extra $100 too drop the pan and replace the filter . Made me madd so I went next door too O'R's and purchased Synthetic fluid and a Ford filter for about $ 85 or so . So far I've saved $170 by doing it myself , although I don't necessarily , Enjoy the experience . Truck has 29,0xx miles , one shop told me they recommend waiting till it hits 50k miles before changing trany fluid but I don't believe that is very smart , considering how much $$$ it costs too rebuild one of these 5 speeds . Do I need a new Gasket ? Thanks for your help , rb

 

With the front end raised, a lot of the fluid is toward the rear of the tranny pan, so the tranny pump won't be able to remove as much of the old fluid before the pan drop, so it might be a little more messy.

If this is the OEM pan gasket & udamaged, it's likely reuseable.

My 99 OEM 5R55E reuseable tranny pan gasket was cork, coated on both sides & I reused it once, then bought a Felpro felprene reuseable gasket, which imo is better quality. Also have been using the Felpro reuseable pan gasket on the 94 Taurus AXODE tranny with good long lasting leak free results.

Replace the pan gasket in exactly the same orientation as it was removed,so it'll properly reseal.

Be sure to properly torque the pan fastners to spec, in the sequence specified.

DON'T do a final pan wipe with paper or fabric towells, as they're linty & lint is a no-no.
Spray the pan & the magnet clean with something like brake, or throttle body spray cleaner, turn it over on clean paper, or cardboard & let it drain dry, so no lint, dirt, dust, or other derbris gets in, Keep the inside & sealing surface squeeky clean during reinstallation.

EDIT: If it's your first time doing this tranny service, take your time & think each move through before you do it & things will likely turn out just fine!!!!

 

................Loosened all pan bolts , then started removing them from back too front , most of the fluid drained out as I kept removing bolts a pair at a time . Pan is off and When I removed filter there was a minor spill from fluid in the gasket but not bad . I'm headed into town too pickup filter I ordered this AM and I'll check old filter against new filter.......they better match . So far so good , Metal tranny lines take a 5/8's wrench so I'm thinking the actual lines are 1/2 inch but I'm going too buy a short piece of 3/4 and 5/8's heater hose and see which one works the best ! I have another vehicle so I can take my time getting this job done . Thanks , rb

 

Do yourself a favor and replace that tranny pan gasket before you do the refill. Don't want to go through all that work and end up with an annoying leak which requires dropping the pan again just beacause of a gasket. It's cheap insurance. Make sure you clean off both surfaces before reinstalling the new gasket.

 

...............I ordered one this afternoon and it'll be in in the morning ! This tranny has 18 fastners , is there a source of info that will tell me IF there is a specific sequence for tightening ? I was just going too start in the front , and snug one at a time on each side and work my way back and then repeat ; They weren't very tight so I've got to be careful and not over do it . , thanks , rb

 

If you ordered the Felpro gasket for the 18 fastner pan, mine was P/N TOS-18679 & will come packaged so that it will lay flat on the pan, right out of the box.

It's holes are punched a little under sized, so we can screw the fastners into the gasket & it'll hold them in place, while they keep the gasket in place, giving us both hands free to maneuver the pan & get a couple of fastners started to hold it up, all without displacing the pan gasket. So thats a nice feature my OEM gasket lacked.

I run the pan fastners up evenly snug by hand, with a 13mm nut driver.
Then use an in/lb torque wrench to tighten them in a criss cross pattern in three steps, ending in a final mid range torque setting, so as not to warp the pan sealing flange.
The torque range is 96-120 in/lbs, so my final torque is a mid range 108 in/lbs .

If you don't have a troque wrench, most autoparts stores have them in their "Loan-A-Tool" program, for a refundable deposit.
I caught my in/lb torque wrench on sale at Harbor Freight a few years back & it works fine for tranny pan fastners & other light duty torque settings.

I also go back over the pan bolts & retorque them an hour or so later, as I've found that new pan gaskets seem to take a set & some of the fastners are a little loose. Doing that has eliminated any weeps between fluid changes.

 

I always use my 1/4" drive when reinstalling the bolts in pan to avoid overtorqueing them. Not as accurate as a torque wrench but have never had a problem. Make sure the flange on pan is clean and free of any old gasket/adhesive from previous gasket.

 

When you install new filter be sure to coat O rings with tranny fluid and be careful when reinstalling that new O rings don't get damaged/pinched/cut. Found a link on the fluid change for reference.

http://rockledge.home.comcast.net/~r...ange_5R55E.pdf