I took a week off from work, the beach-no. The Ex.

So I am trying to complete my rear main seal R and R.

Here is the before, just so those who think even a V-10 couldn't have an RMS leak.




Here is the after.





I cleaned everything I could, minus the trans/TC since it was not in at the moment. Looks better. I used the anaerobic sealer like it calls for in the repair manual. I also tossed a little black goo in the lower corners. Hope I am not sorry about not spreading that out across the full width of the Oil Pan gasket too.

I got the transmission back on and bolted the torque converter back to the flexplate. Too dark to get the the cross member in without too much trouble. It will wait until tomorrow. I will take a picture of my lift device for the trans in the daylight also, in case it could help someone else in the future.

Trans fluid. The closest I have found in town to plain old Mercon V is this. Worries me that it says it is good for other things, but here are the labels. What is the consensus?






Thanks

 

That is recommended where Mobil1 and others are tested by Ford to meet Mercon V. After reading several threads regarding the Valvoline ATF I would probably avoid it. I would either run the Mobil1 or Motorcraft. It will definately cost a bit more but thats what fluid is designed for the trans.

Great job on the seal though and definately bring on the updates.

 

Anyone know about NAPA brand (really Valvoline also).




Click on picture for link

They call it Mercon V, for Mercon and Mercon V applications.

The one pictured above says no to Mercon LV, which I thought was the problem with the other Valvolines when they were for LV.

I can't find the Mobil 1 or Motorcraft local.

Amazon has MC for ~20 a qt. Crazy

 

What is youor location? I am in seattle, several dealers and Mobil products are sold at Fred Meyer for $7 a quart. To do by Mark K's method requires about 20 quarts, totaling $140 plus tax. Do you have an advanced auto, autozone or car quest around?

 

Car Quest and O'Reillys, and they only have the valvoline and CQ brands. I went ahead and bought a case of NAPA brand. It states for V and specifically not LV. I only drained the pan.

 

A while back, I purchased some gallons from Ford parts department locally. THey gave me a break on price and it was not that bad comparing to other parts stores.
However, I switch over to Amsoil Synthetic and think it is the way to go for long term protection. So far, 175K and tow 10K load and still not showing any signs of any issue. Knock on wood for me please!
Mercon V is what you use now after Ford reformulated. Supposedly, it is semi-synthetic. Do a search and you will find this info. I have a post on here somewhere documenting the changes to filter/fluid and intro to Mercon V then Amsoil and condition of filters on each change.

 

I added a quart of the valvoline yesterday no I'll effects yet. It was all I could find and figured it was better than nothing

 

This is the contraption I built to lower/raise the trans from it's spot.




It is a Harbor Freight motorcycle lift, 1500lb capacity. Then I built a platform . I keep the platform on most of the time and just build a jig for whatever I am moving. I used 2 24" long 2x6 boards with the left side having a notch in it for the gear selector, then a cross board to support the bellhousing area. Worked pretty good. I just removed the jig to lift the transfer case most of the way up to get it back in place. I would have to raise the Ex up much higher using this if I wanted to actually remove it from underneath.

For tools, this is my favorite one, especially for torque converter nuts. Just toss a short 13mm on there and there is plenty of room to get between the oil pan and the flexplate. Harbor Freight again. It has a 1/4 and 3/8 on the same tool.



Link to Find


I also got to the differentials for changing out fluid and covers. On the front, I just painted up a new stock one. Both front and rear were nasty rusted, and I couldn't put them back on. I really like the aluminum on the rear too.



Used Mobil 1 on both front and rear.



Still just finishing things up. It has taken longer than I hoped, but I haven't spent lots of consistent time underneath it besides last night.

I changed out the front U-joint, and been having a hard time finding the clamps to replace the nasty ones. Y pipe, starter, AT fluid, battery, then try it out.

It is amazing the things I have discovered I need to do while I was staring at things this week. Too much for one week.

 

I missed this thread the first time around.

I love cradle. Well done...makes the job safer and easier.

Stewart

 

Thanks, I really like the stability of the lift over even a regular trans jack.

 

It is semi- synthetic and I would use any known brand with a V rating. No need to get any hyped up oil.