I have a stock '09 F250 6.4 Super Duty. It has about 75,000 miles and I'm the second owner. The owners manual says to change ATF and filter at 60,000 so I called the local Ford service dept. to schedule it. The service guy recommended I not change the filter because according to him doing so might loosen up some debris or something and be worse for the engine than changing it.

Something about that just doesn't sound right to me. I've seen a YouTube video of a fluid and filter change on a '01 and it looks pretty simple and straight forward: drain the fluid, drop the pan, clean the magnet and any residue in the pan, pull the filter straight down and off, replace filter, reassemble the pan, and refill with Mercon IV fluid.

I realize it would be cheaper to only change the fluid and would not involve dropping the pan, but I want to do what's right for the engine. Is this guy right about not changing the filter?

Thanks for your advice.

Fred

 

I for one would like to see some of these filters that they are saying its ok not to change...maybe they are right and they look good as new...but if the external filters in some models is any indication I would want to change it. My 05's external looked like tar was brushed all over the filter so I am definitely pulling the internal on my 08. Would like to look into convertingback to external just for the simplicity.

 

change filters ., since your the second owner you dont know how truck was treated.,
at our shop we have a flushing machine this changes almost all fluid., we use it before changing filters . then add fluid lost when pan is dropped.,

 

They must only check for a pulse when hiring service people. Obviously they didn't check for brains. And I assume you mean transmission, because the engine doesn't use ATF.

Starting mid year 2008 the internal filter was changed to a real filter. It is a very fine filter and it MUST be changed. If you don't, you will get a new filter with the new transmission you will need.

I think you meant MERCON LV fluid. There is no such thing as MERCON IV fluid.

If it isn't a heated flush machine it will NOT change the fluid in this transmission. The internal thermostat will keep recirculating the new fluid and it will just mix with the old, very little will actually get changed.

 

Yes agreed with Mark. My early build 08 5.4 had the strainer vs a filter. It looks like a filter but it just strained out the big chunks. My current SD, a 2011 6.2 does in fact have a true in- pan filter. I changed it at 40K. It was ready to be changed too. I did the filter and the oil pan contents. Then drove it for 50 miles then dropped the pan content again and added fresh LV. $170 worth of fluid, 25 for the ford motorcraft filter. My fluid was in great shape but I did this anyway. Cheap insurance IMO. You can reuse the pan gasket just be careful with it. It is a steel gasket with rubber laminated on both sides so its quite robust. Remove the pan magnet and clean it well...dont drop it. Dont over tighten the pan.
This method is the only alternative over the heated flush method. If your fluids is not great I suggest getting it a full flush and filter. $300 is better then $5000 for a new trans. Ford should put some sort of bypass in line with that stat to allow the average wrench to do a complete drain. The heated flusher is rather expensive and most dealers or shops dont have one.
The local ford "service" dept is simply trying to go the path of least resistance which is wrong. Find a good local reputable mechanic that will do what you ask for, or at minimum do the right thing.