I would just follow Mark's instructions then you dont have to pull the plug on the torque converter,you will probably put about 3/4 the effort trying to cut corners,I performed that flush by My self with out breaking a sweat,but would have been handier if I waited for Wife to get home & started/killed engine when needed.

 

I was under the impression that all the schools had concluded you were an idiot?

Not really sure why you're so scared to turn the engine on when you disconnect a hose. Fluid just kind of dribbles out. It's not like a fire hose or something.

Perhaps you should start with a power steering flush. You disconnect a hose for that too and you'll be surprised at how slow the fluid comes out. Maybe you'll get enough confidence to do the tranny flush.

If not, either pay someone or do whatever fluid you can drain and change the filter. Have a way to measure how much fluid you get out so you know how much to put back in. If you just do 1/3 or 2/3 of the fluid, you'll need to shorten the next drain interval accordingly. (That is the interval Ford recommends at 30k. Not the I'm Steve 200k one).

Starting the truck doesn't just move 8 different quarts to the pan. It shakes it all up and mixes the new and old together so it's just not as worn out as it used to be.

 

Being content in one's state of idiocy is the path to Heaven......lol

Well when you explain it THAT way......

Zing!

Then again I can be like the smoker who smoked for 70 years and never got lung cancer.......I'd be like "Ha! I never changed the tranny fluid in 200000 miles and NEVER had a problem"! lol

I know, I know.......

In all seriousness, yeah. I kinda got that impression a few posts ago.

***I've got a couple of minor things to be done (parking brake, A/C blower) anyway.........I trust the garage I take it to. I'll just fork over the $150 for the tranny job at the same time. WTH.....They've got a nice lift to work with........

 

tell the garage that you will give them a get out of jail free card if they give you a good deal.

 

Seriously, just pay someone to do it. Find a BG Products shop in your area, and I think the tranny flush for these beasts is something like $150-200. The fluid is going to cost you close to $100 anyway if you DIY. The BG machines flush out all the fluid. Only negative is I don't think they normally drop the pan and replace the filter...but find a shop that will charge you $50 labor to do that real quick. Get your brake fluids done first...but you gotta get this done ASAP regardless of the cost...you can make more money tomorrow (this is coming from a guy who pinches pennies, too). I think I paid $250 or so to have a BG shop do my tranny and brake fluids all at once, and it was worth every penny.

If you decide to do it Mark K's way, make sure you're on level ground, the emergency brakes are set, and ALL WHEELS ARE CHOCKED. Your tranny will not necessarily be providing enough resistance to keep the truck from rolling on it's own while you're changing the fluids. So protect yourself with chocks and brakes. It will be worth it to replace the filter and clean out the gunk. But re-read paragraph #1.

 

i have the local ford dealer do both engine and trans oil changes on mine, they charge the same thing as the area shops.

 

Just don't let the shop sell you on any fancy snake oil additive or other such nonsense.

 

I implicitly trust my mechanic to do the job.......


(see below)


OK (deep breath).


I visited my mechanic today......to discuss the parking brake and other issues......and brought up doing the tranny job.


He was willing to do it........and described the job about the way you guys did.........


And said that there's a small chance....based on the fact of the mileage and the fact it's never been done......that it will actually mess up the tranny (I'm not going to butcher up his explanation......but I'm pretty sure the word 'sediment' was in there somewhere.......). I'd heard the same thing from another recommended diesel shop just to get a second opinion. A while back. Small chance.....but it's still there.


Bottom line, he said that if HE came into ownership of a similar truck with similar mileage and knew the tranny had never been drained or the filter changed, he wouldn't do it. He'd just check it and top off regularly.


Oh yeah......and he said he doesn't put 'additives' or other 'snake oil' crap into the system when he does a tranny flush.


I'd not heard any of you guys.....over 3 pages......recommend that I consider NOT doing a drain/replace on the tranny.


Have you heard of anything like I described????? For sure, he stands to make money by DOING the job. So why talk me out of it??????


Listening to you, though.....I'm guessing ALL of you dutifully did the 30,000 drain/filter interval.....so you personally never ran into that dilemma.......


And yeah, my mechanic DID tell me the '30,000' route for the change was the way to do it right.........


Thoughts?

 

Decades ago the old line of thinking was if you changed the tranny fluid on one that had never been changed in way too many miles, it would break up all the sludge inside the tranny and kill it in short order.

Even then it was pretty much an old wives tale. Folks that had ignored their transmission fluid would often change it in desperation when they noticed it starting to slip or make noises. When the already dying transmission finally kicks the bucket, it gets blamed on the "new fluid" not the lack of maintenance that had already killed the tranny.

Old fluid has likely lost much of it's lubricating properties, so leaving it in there longer is just going to continue the rapid wear on some parts.

If by some chance you've cooked all the detergent additives out of the fluid and you do somehow have so much sludge inside the transmission that it will do more harm than just clog a valve body, then you're on borrowed time anyway.

But did you ever notice that not one mechanic who says don't change the transmission fluid if it hasn't been done in too long will ever say the same thing about engine oil?

Have you ever heard anyone say, you waited too long to change the oil in your engine. If you change it now, you'll just free up all the sludge and destroy the engine?

 

No I haven't. And great point.......

Although you probably haven't run across anyone who's gone 200,000 miles without changing the oil and filter.....lol

Hey. I went 15,000 this last time around. But that's NOT usual for me. I'd been pretty consistent before that.

OK, Chris. Someone died and left you a 2000 superduty psd with 200,700 miles on the OD and the tranny had never been serviced.......and so far as you can tell, it's working OK (no slipping or funny noises or anything else......)

Do you a) pull the plug on the pan, drain 8 quarts, pull the pan, change the filter and check out whats in the bottom of the pan, and put 8 new quarts of stuff in, or b) hook up the hose and flush all the fluid out and put 16 quarts of new stuff in?????

Great post, BTW. Gotta watch out for those old wives tales.....lol

 

i would do a full fluid and filter change if it was mine.

the reason your mechanic is saying to just leave it is because he is afraid if he does it, the trans will go and you will blame him.
but on the same lines, the trans may blow up tomorrow if you leave it alone.

when i got my 02 i was not sure if the trans was ever serviced, there was all kinds of service paperwork with the truck, but i could find nothing about the trans. it had 145,000 on the clock.
45 minutes after buying it it was in the dealer getting engine oil and trans service.
they said the trans did not look bad, but there was some crap in the filter and a film of sludge on the pan..

 

Flush the system. If it's gonna go, it will happen when it wants to and not because of fresh or old fluid. You will only do the tranny justice by putting in new fluid. If we lived by old wifes tales, we'd be dead.

 

Hey Steve,
I hope your expecting more than 200,700 miles out of your 7.3 My 2001 F-250 has 435,700 on it. I do try and change my oil/filter regularly at 5,000 miles but sometimes lapse to 7,500 and I won't say I never went to 10,000. My fuel filter I change at 15,000. My engine is pretty much untouched except for my glow plugs. I changed them once at 400,000.

Now here is where the rest of the guys will cringe. I don't change my tranny fluid but I am on my 3rd tranny. The first one lasted 250,000 miles but when I would tow my travel trailer I didn't take it out of od. My 2nd trans was a remanufactured one and lasted 125,000 miles. I had this one rebuilt and is doing ok so far.

I did have to change out my ring and pinion at 280,000 miles. They said I had some water in the rear housing and rusted it up pretty bad which took out the bearing.

So changing your fluids I am sure is beneficial I won't argue that and my 2015 F-350 I will do better maintenance. But my 2001 7.3 has done me well and still purrs down the road everyday.

 

Thanks.

Hope to keep it up to 300,000 miles anyway......

I mentioned this already, but the only thing (and it's a big thing, unfortunately) I don't like is that it's a short-bed. I need a long-bed.

 

Maybe I wasn't paying attention.....but you guys were making it sound like it was either-or (and even Koval's post made it sound this way)......you either just drained and changed the filter.......or you 'hosed-up' and left everything else closed up to replace all the fluid.

Made it sound like you couldn't do both........don't ask me why.....I just got that impression....

(and I kinda want to see what's sitting on the magnet at the bottom of the pan.......and change the filter)

Regarding your latter point, I've done enough work up at the shop, and know my mechanic well enough to know he's not trying to dodge any potential blame. Again......he'll do it. Just gave me the warning is all.....and said it's a 'small' chance........

Maybe I'm paranoid because when I first got to FTE I kept hearing how the 4R100 is the 'weak-link' of the truck.........

Of course in THAT case I should have been more attentive to it's maintenance.......lol