Greetings,


On past trucks, especially my dodge pickups, I installed a drain plug on my trans pans, so every other oil change I could drain and refill 50% + of the trans fluid. Our 6R140 trannys have a drain plug, so this makes it easy for us to drain the pan and replace the fluid through the dipstick fill point.


I got a 2012 with less than 22k on it, so I have not explored this yet. I put more miles on my previous trucks, but it seemed like cheap insurance and I had great luck with the trannys, even on tuned/modded trucks running 1k hp.


Anyone do this? Thoughts?


I will probably do this at my next oil change, which is 30k. I am aware of the ford service intervals outlined in the manual, so no need to respond with the ford corporate-fueled suggestions. I just know that every engineer I know NEVER used a trans flush machine on their own vehicles, and changed tranny fluid more frequently than the manufacturer's recommendations.


Interested to hear your feedback

 

Sounds like a good idea to me. I know a lot of our old school practices tend to get dismissed as old fashioned and no longer necessary so I appreciate this thread giving me some motivation. Hell yeah its messy but a couple hours on my back sure will be worth it.
Nice to know about the drain plug. Is there a pan gasket or is it RTV?

I always liked the drain + new filter and refill. Some will cry about the fluid trapped in the converter but it doesn't keep me up at night.

I just hate the final adjustment of the fluid level kind of a pain test driving rechecking etc

 

Here's what I have done on every vehicle (auto trans) that I have owned for 30 years....

At 20k miles, I change the filter (due to possible residual/initial wear particulates that may be floating inside) and either drain the torque converter (if so equipped with a plug) or disconnect the trans cooler line at the radiator, fill the pan with fresh fluid, my wife starts the engine and when 2-3 quarts drain into a bucket, she shuts it off, I refill the pan and repeat until the fluid is clear.

I change only the fluid after that (unless I determine substances/contamination in the oil). The intervals vary depending on the type of trans, type of fluid and conditions, but in general, every 30k miles. Heat is a killer on automatic trans fluid and when we lived in the desert area, I changed the trans fluid at the end of summer every year.

In regards to filters, oem is fine, but I typically use Wix.

In regards to trans oil, both in sticks and autos I have always used Valvoline.

I have also never had a trans failure in any vehicle I own and typically keep my vehicles for 10+ years, with over 100k on the odometer.

 

Good info here- I do not know if the pan has a gasket or rtv for sealing it back up but I will certainly check that out. In other trucks, I just measured the amount that came out of the pan, and then simply added that much back in. It usually was about 50% (or more if there was an aftermarket pan).


Still, I think it is a good idea to drop the pan and do the filter as Beechkid pointed out. I may do that this weekend.

 

I don't think those temp are relevant to the current synthetic fluid used in the 6R140...it is designed to run around 200 degrees

 

I DO know - those temps haven't been relevant for ATF in about 40 years. But they keep showing up....

 

Exactly. That is why I keep fluid fresh and clean in all my mechanical stuff. Whether it be lower units in outboards, engines, or the slushbox in my truck- I am going to replace fluid and clean filters 3x more than the manufacturer suggests. Heat and dirt will kill the components and reduce the life of these things


That's why I brought this up- I wanted to pick you guys' brains on the issue and see what y'all think. Even if I only exchange half the fluid, as long as I do it every 20k or so and keep the filter clean, it can extend the life of the tranny significantly. just my experience, anyway.....


EDIT: The pan itself and all sources advise that the "pan is equipped with a reusable gasket".... although I am apprehensive to reuse a gasket, I can only assume it is designed as such for a reason. I did find that Felpro makes a gasket for this pan, number TOS 18714. I have ordered the fluid and filter, so I will update accordingly.

 

You can never go really all that wrong with accelerating the maintenance schedule by 20%, especially on really pricey items like transmissions, where the fluid lubricates and cools.

 

Any idea the amount of Fluid needed for just a pan drop and filter change...


its not the 16.7 quarts the owners manual calls out. is it.?

 

The average seems to be 9 quarts with the pan drop and filter change, and 8 quarts with just a drain and fill.


I have not done this yet- between weather, work, and other challenges, I have been super busy. Hopefully I will get to it soon

 

Hi Mike. My truck has almost 80,000 km on it mostly towing a fifth wheel and its probably due for a trans fluid change. Do you recommend a complete flush or just the pan drain and filter change?

 

Who's Mike?

To flush this transmission you need a heated flush machine. There is an internal thermostat that will interfere with the flush unless the trans fluid is heated.

 

Oops sorry Mark! .Thanks!

 

I did a drain and fill this past weekend with Motorcraft Mercon LV and after I let it drip for 10 minutes or so I measured almost exactly 8 quarts drained. So I put 8 quarts back in slowly and all is well after about 100 miles driven.

 

Yep, mine took 8qts exactly to drain and fill.

Does anyone know of a Mercon LV licensed fluid other than the Motorcraft?