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Hey guys I have a 2000 7.3 auto transmission and it's got 247k on it the fluid has been changed before by the previous owner but not sure when. I want to change the fluid and filter because I do not know the last time is was done. I got a buddy that says if I changed it my tranny will slip because of the new fluid having less viscosity than the old fluid because who knows exactly the last time it was changed. The fluid isn't a dark burnt orange or smell burnt or have any particles in it, its more of a light orange color. What do you guys think? And will this improve shifting at all? She shifts hard every now and then. Thanks
Absolutely you should change it if you don't know when it was done! You should also not listen to your buddy anymore! The old fluid will be worn and dirty from however many miles it's been in there. The new fluid will actually be thicker than the old stuff. Use the recommended fluid and a Ford filter, and it is likely it will shift better. For sure it won't make it worse.
If it was not changed before I would worry, the grit in the old burnt up fluid keeps it going, once you put new slippery fluid in you go nowhere, its happened in my shop before, but if it doesn't smell burnt you will be ok, dont forget the drain plug on the converter, you drain the converter you get all the fluid out not just a third. Thats a real fluid change. Good luck, I used royal purple in my trans, transfer case, and diffs, and I dropped the trans temp by 30 degree's alone. awesome stuff if you can afford it.
I would definitely suggest changing it using this process:
echo=on
By - Kovalsky
I’ve done this alone. It’s easier with a second person, and sometimes helps prevent spills.
1. Things you need to get started:
TOOLS: Container for 17 Qts of Transmission Fluid, Socket, Ratchet, Pliers, Rags, Clear Tubing, assistant (optional, but encouraged).
a. The E4OD and 4R100 transmission system holds almost 18 quarts of ATF, and you must waste a couple of quarts to be sure you get it all purged and replaced, so buy 20 quarts of MERCON ATF [For the 4R100, use MERCON V]. You may use either conventional or synthetic, as long as it meets the above requirements. The 4R70W transmission system holds about 14 quarts of ATF. The 4R70W uses MERCON V, and the MERCON V can be used on older 4R70W transmissions that were factory filled with MERCON.
b. I replace the transmission filter every other fluid change. Note that Ford does not recommend ever changing the filter. I’ve opened filters with over 300,000 miles that were not even close to being clogged.
c. Don’t buy a new pan gasket. The original is reusable.
d. A 10 foot length of clear tubing and one hose clamp, sized to fit over your cooler hose. There have been different size cooler lines over the years, so check before buying!
e. If you don’t already have a special funnel that fits into the transmission dipstick tube, then you will need one of those, too.
2. If you are changing the filter, drain the pan if your pan has a drain plug. If you are not changing the filter, jump to step 4.
a. If you don’t have a drain plug, go to step 4 to pump out the pan, preventing an ATF shower! Return here after step 4 and one pass through step 5a.
b. Remove the pan and clean the pan and gasket, including the magnet on the bottom of the pan. Fuzz on the magnet is normal, that’s why it is there!
c. Change the filter. It just pulls out, there are no bolts that hold it. It is held in place by the pan. Make sure that the O-ring is removed, too. Sometimes it does not come out with the filter.
d. Replace the pan, using the reusable gasket.
e. At this point you can drain the torque converter. Some people think it is necessary, but I don’t. Running the engine in the next steps will pump the fluid out of the torque converter. If your transmission was built after August 2001, you don’t have a drain plug in the torque converter.
f. To drain the torque converter remove the shield (or the rubber plug in some models) and turn the flywheel until you see the drain plug. If you also drain the torque converter, then the old ATF will not come out the return line until after the torque converter has filled.
3. If you drained the pan, pour new ATF into the filler [dipstick] tube until you have added about as much as you earlier drained from the pan. At this point overfilling by no more than one quart won’t hurt anything.
4. Disconnect the transmission-fluid return line at the transmission – from where the ATF returns to the transmission from the cooler. This is the line towards the rear of the transmission. Clamp the clear tubing over the line that you removed from the transmission. This is where the fluid comes out.
5. This is where the second person comes in handy. One person starts the engine, while the other holds the line over the drain bucket. A clothes pin can replace the person holding the line in the bucket. Run the engine until you see some air in the clear tubing. As soon as you see air shut off the engine. Refill through the dipstick tube with the same amount as you just pumped out.
NOTE: If you drained the pan and the torque converter, fluid will not run out until you fill the pan a second time. Run the engine for 30 seconds, then stop and add six more quarts.
6. Repeat step 5 until you have added 19 quarts with of new ATF to the system with an E4OD or 4R100. Repeat until you have added 13 quarts with the 4R70W. At least one time while the engine is running move the shifter through each position from P to 1, pausing about 5 seconds at each position. This will change some fluid that would otherwise be trapped in the valve body, accumulators, and clutches.
7. Remove the clear line and reconnect the cooler line to the transmission.
8. Check the fluid level and use the last quart to top off.
9. Properly dispose of the used transmission fluid.
10. Congratulate yourself! And your engine starter/killer person.
echo=off
I got a buddy that says if I changed it my tranny will slip because of the new fluid having less viscosity than the old fluid
The new fluid has the highest viscosity, where the old fluid has the least. The higher the viscosity the lower the friction. Lower friction equates to lower amounts of mechanical energy being transformed into thermal energy. Less thermal energy means longer transmission life.
I got a buddy that says if I changed it my tranny will slip because of the new fluid having less viscosity than the old fluid because who knows exactly the last time it was changed.
Your buddy is repeating old internet myths. Don't believe him. I don't.
Originally Posted by David7.3
If it was not changed before I would worry, the grit in the old burnt up fluid keeps it going,
There isn't a grit of truth (pun intended!) in that. Grit in the fluid does NOT help a transmission. It can kill it, though.
Originally Posted by David7.3
once you put new slippery fluid in you go nowhere, its happened in my shop before
Yes and no. What often happens is that people ignore the trans and never change the fluid. Then a problem develops and they change the fluid. Then the trans fails. So now they blame the new fluid, totally ignoring that they caused the problem by ignoring the fluid. That's what you see when the trans fails right after a fluid change. It would have failed if you didn't change the fluid, too.
Thanks for all the quick responses looks like I'm gona be changing the fluid and filter this weekend wish me luck any other advice with changing it and what fluid is the best would be appreciated!
Stupid question, I'm planning on changing out the fluid in my 2001 with an aftermarket ATS tranny. I also bought a new 6.0 cooler. How do I flush the system without passing that old fluid through the new cooler?
Volcom
Flush it before you install the 6.0 cooler, maybe even a new filter after flushing if you think that it is really that dirty. If you are set up properly to do the cooler swap (clean pan and a couple of plugs for the lines) you should not loose more than a quart of fluid.
Mark beat me to the punch while I was typing!
Last edited by hydro man 17; 03-04-2015 at 12:52 PM.
Reason: slow typing
I would definitely suggest changing it using this process:
echo=on
By - Kovalsky
I’ve done this alone. It’s easier with a second person, and sometimes helps prevent spills.
1. Things you need to get started:
TOOLS: Container for 17 Qts of Transmission Fluid, Socket, Ratchet, Pliers, Rags, Clear Tubing, assistant (optional, but encouraged).
a. The E4OD and 4R100 transmission system holds almost 18 quarts of ATF, and you must waste a couple of quarts to be sure you get it all purged and replaced, so buy 20 quarts of MERCON ATF [For the 4R100, use MERCON V]. You may use either conventional or synthetic, as long as it meets the above requirements. The 4R70W transmission system holds about 14 quarts of ATF. The 4R70W uses MERCON V, and the MERCON V can be used on older 4R70W transmissions that were factory filled with MERCON.
b. I replace the transmission filter every other fluid change. Note that Ford does not recommend ever changing the filter. I’ve opened filters with over 300,000 miles that were not even close to being clogged.
c. Don’t buy a new pan gasket. The original is reusable.
d. A 10 foot length of clear tubing and one hose clamp, sized to fit over your cooler hose. There have been different size cooler lines over the years, so check before buying!
e. If you don’t already have a special funnel that fits into the transmission dipstick tube, then you will need one of those, too.
2. If you are changing the filter, drain the pan if your pan has a drain plug. If you are not changing the filter, jump to step 4.
a. If you don’t have a drain plug, go to step 4 to pump out the pan, preventing an ATF shower! Return here after step 4 and one pass through step 5a.
b. Remove the pan and clean the pan and gasket, including the magnet on the bottom of the pan. Fuzz on the magnet is normal, that’s why it is there!
c. Change the filter. It just pulls out, there are no bolts that hold it. It is held in place by the pan. Make sure that the O-ring is removed, too. Sometimes it does not come out with the filter.
d. Replace the pan, using the reusable gasket.
e. At this point you can drain the torque converter. Some people think it is necessary, but I don’t. Running the engine in the next steps will pump the fluid out of the torque converter. If your transmission was built after August 2001, you don’t have a drain plug in the torque converter.
f. To drain the torque converter remove the shield (or the rubber plug in some models) and turn the flywheel until you see the drain plug. If you also drain the torque converter, then the old ATF will not come out the return line until after the torque converter has filled.
3. If you drained the pan, pour new ATF into the filler [dipstick] tube until you have added about as much as you earlier drained from the pan. At this point overfilling by no more than one quart won’t hurt anything.
4. Disconnect the transmission-fluid return line at the transmission – from where the ATF returns to the transmission from the cooler. This is the line towards the rear of the transmission. Clamp the clear tubing over the line that you removed from the transmission. This is where the fluid comes out.
5. This is where the second person comes in handy. One person starts the engine, while the other holds the line over the drain bucket. A clothes pin can replace the person holding the line in the bucket. Run the engine until you see some air in the clear tubing. As soon as you see air shut off the engine. Refill through the dipstick tube with the same amount as you just pumped out.
NOTE: If you drained the pan and the torque converter, fluid will not run out until you fill the pan a second time. Run the engine for 30 seconds, then stop and add six more quarts.
6. Repeat step 5 until you have added 19 quarts with of new ATF to the system with an E4OD or 4R100. Repeat until you have added 13 quarts with the 4R70W. At least one time while the engine is running move the shifter through each position from P to 1, pausing about 5 seconds at each position. This will change some fluid that would otherwise be trapped in the valve body, accumulators, and clutches.
7. Remove the clear line and reconnect the cooler line to the transmission.
8. Check the fluid level and use the last quart to top off.
9. Properly dispose of the used transmission fluid.
10. Congratulate yourself! And your engine starter/killer person.
echo=off
These instructions were awesome! Thank you!
The main issue I had was fluid leaking out of the return line inlet at the rear of the transmission. I put a hose on the line but was not expecting fluid to come out of the inlet. Is this normal? It was a mess.
If it comes out of the inlet either the coolers are partially clogged or the cooler bypass needs to be rebuilt. The cooler bypass takes a $25 kit and is very easy to install.
If it comes out of the inlet either the coolers are partially clogged or the cooler bypass needs to be rebuilt. The cooler bypass takes a $25 kit and is very easy to install.
Thank you very much, we put a new 6.0 cooler on it, so I am assuming by-pass kit. Much appreciated!
03-03-2015, 02:57 PM
