F150 '04, help changing ATF, should i turno engine on to empty TC???
hi guys, i finally bought my first truck, so i'm really a newbie on truck's stuff
so i'll be here around in the forums getting all the knowledge for a do-it-yourselfer
i have a 2004 f-150 (mexican lobo, which is the same) XLT SuperCrew and with AR70W transmission i want to change the trans oil, and
as far as i have read, ther is no Torque converter drain hole
so my question is:
1.- after removing the pan and cleaning all the stuff around, should i disconect the return line from the
the tranny cooler and turn the engine on???? will this pump all the oil from the TC out??? won't damage running some seconds whitout
ATF????
2.- at the end, when pouring ATF thru the dipstick, should por 6 qrt, the turn engine on, the move shifts??? is taht safe?? i mean,
moving the shifter when the TC is still empty???
being under the truck, i will change Differential oil, i will use motorcraft 75w140 oil (maybe Royal Purple?? ) somebody told me not
forgetting the differential aditive, but mine is not 4x4, so i need this aditive?? what is it for???
maybe i should have written another post with this question but... well is already written....
thnaks in advance for your answers...
No. Drain the pan and replace the filter. You are not going to get every drop of tranny fluid out of the transmission. This is why you service the transmission every 30k miles. When you go to refill the transmission you can take a guess at how much fluid you drained out and add less than that. You don't want to overfill the tranny. Add a little bit at a time until you are full.
As far as the differential goes, you can use whatever flavor gear oil you desire. I typically use the SuperTech 75W-140 myself. You need the additive if you have a limited slip rear end. Also, some synthetic gear oils do not require the additive for limited slip rear ends. It should say on the bottle whether or not you need it.
there's always a tc drain.. but mister is right, regular maintenance is key
__________________
Go Detroit Diesel!!! two strokes can't die
1977 F250 ranger camper special supercab w/ the works, soon to be 7.3l idi c6/e4od trans
1989 f250 2wd 460 c6 4.11TL
1993,1994 broncos EB,XLT 351w e4od 3.55's 4x4
2004 F-150 XLT FX4 5.4L 3V 3.73LS
"they say that i have ADD but i don't underst.. oh wow look at that girl!"
My 2004 F150 does not have a torque converter drain.
I drop the pan regularly and change the filter, and add new ATF to make up what I lost droping the pan.
I use Esso brand gear oil in my diferentials, as I get a good deal on it with my Esso account, since I have a Logging truck to.
Mine has the Ford anti-spin rear axle so I put the aditive from Ford in my rear diferential, but just strait oil in my front.
This has served me well for over 280,000 kilometers on my 2004, and I will do the same on my 2007 I recently purchased.
thanks for your answers guys but i don't feel confortable changing just the half of the transmission fluid.
i recently bought the truck and i don't really know the conditions and previous maintenance of the truck.
is there any pump moving the oil from the cooler to the trannny i guess....
if i start the engine, with the shifter in "neutral" or "parking" the TC should be desengaged, right????
so i just need to put a hose form te returning line from the cooler, and see how it empties???
im just guessing, thats the reason im looking for directions....
i have read in these forums about people that drian about 13 qtr from the tranny, but i'm not sure how they do it....
fmarrufo, Welcome to FTE. Hope to hear lots from you. You can indeed get oll the old oil out of your transmission. You have the right idea, let a couple of quarts drain out of the disconnected line with the engine running in park. Shut off engine, add two quarts of new ATF to the dipstick tube. Repeat untill you see new, clean fluid come out of the disconnect line. Reconnect the line and top off the fluid to the full mark.
__________________ 2007 F150 XLT SCREW 4 X 4, 5.4, 3.73 LIMITED SLIP, TOW PACKAGE. CHROME DOOR HANDLES TRUXEDO TONNEAU COVER, TTT TOW MIRRORS.
"I would rather push a Ford than drive anything made by GM."
I have swapped fluid by pumping it out of the return line with no problems. I always shut off the engine before it pumps the pan dry. Then measure how much came out by using a milk jug or similar. Replace with new fluid and repeat until it is pumping out clean new fluid. A lot of people do it this way.
I have swapped fluid by pumping it out of the return line with no problems. I always shut off the engine before it pumps the pan dry. Then measure how much came out by using a milk jug or similar. Replace with new fluid and repeat until it is pumping out clean new fluid. A lot of people do it this way.
ok....
another detail... my turck has a smaller cooler in front of the main radiator.
this changes something??
somebody answer me somewhere else, that even in "parking" or "neutral" positión, there still be parts moving in the tranny...
On my cars, it's the top line I remove at the radiator and put in place a fitting on the radiator with a rubber hose attached running into a bucket when I pump the pan dry shutting engine off when fluid stops coming out. I use a deep bucket as 12 quarts is 3 gallons ... make it nearer to 13 with extra aux cooler on my cars so equipped. I only have done this a few times when I didn't want to chance a mess dropping a pan full of fluid.
I don't yet know for sure, but my book says the "new to me" '07 truck's transmission on a dry fill, can hold as much as 13.9 quarts. Now, I don't always pump the pan dry, I usually install a drain plug in the trans pan near the rear in an area off to one side where room exist in the transmission like where protrusion of bolt will not interfear.
Most times over the last near 40 years that I have been doing my own transmission fluid changes ... I just drop pan and make a mess the first time (I try not to, but it happens) and remover filter and gasket, and make sure to remove the seal from old filter that often sticks up in the hole where filter neck goes. Clean gasket surfaces with lint free cloth, clean pan inside, clean the magnet and reinstall it, throw away the pale plastic bobbin with o-ring if found, install new filter with seal (use some vasalene on it), reuse old gasket (if it's the reusable type, new if not), install pan, and usually on a late Ford, start with 4 quarts and run engine with trans in each gear then top off. Seems to me this method replaces about 8 quarts.
I add the trans pan drains so I don't make a mess next time. I have used the B&M type kit with a bolt and washer and not and a smaller bolt in center ... and then I have made my own using a 2" long piece 1/8" X 1" piece of steel with 1/2" hole center and two 1/4" holes out near ends, weld a 1/2"-20 nut on it and drill three holes in pan, a 1/2" hole and the two 1/4" holes (though only one is reall needed to prevent inside 1/2"-20 nut turning). I sand smooth mating surfaces and deburr the holes. I secure this nut welded to strip inside the pan with 1/4" bolts and nuts and lock the nut on the 1/4" bolts. Then from outside the pan, insert a 1/2" -20 bolt with wide shoulder and gasket as drain, they are available at auto parts stores just for this.
I only started draining TCs when I had Fords with a TC drain (my '98 and '00 CVPIs, my '95 Bird, and I think my '01 Merc maybe has one or maybe I added one to it??? ... anyway the 06 CVPI doesn't have a drain).
(A TC drain can be added, but I do not recommend it unless one is very particular in their method and patience. Use 1/4 brass pipe plug, proper tap and drill bit, and grease the bit and tap to hold chips, and go slow ... backing out and cleaning chips away and regreasing bit and tap often. Air drill is best as fluid will come out. Main thing is ... DO NOT LET ANY CHIPS GET INSIDE THE TORQUE CONVERTER!!!)
what r yall talking about changing every 30k miles? The ford fleet website says 150k miles.
Normal driving, my Haynes book says 100,000 miles.
It depends on ... opinion and most importantly ... the way one works a transmission. I've seen guys go 100,000 on a police teans, but they do occasionally have a failure usually in the summer months. I have always done what the Dept policy says, 30,000 miles. I have always tried to do my personal vehicles at least every 50,000. But on a truck that works or pulls a lot of trailers or sees a lot of high mountain passes or off roading .... 30,000 seems cool.
You can have new fluid and drag a 8,000 pound trailer up Sandstone Mountain on a high '90s day and be in need of a change at the top. That's where a proper cooler and some patience will save you.
You are correct though, in your thinking that a lot of still good fluid goes to the recyclers, but that's cheaper than letting it go too long and loosing a transmission. A truck that seldom works, that carries a coat of Armor All in the bed on the liner, that always has shiney black tires, that is owned by a flat lander who only uses it to sport around in or go to work, not likely to hurt it extending the mileage out.
In a vehicle that doesn't have a TC drain, I just drain the pan, remove it and then replace the filter. I figure that doing so every 30k is just fine and replaces the majority of the fluid. Don't sweat the small stuff, don't worry about the fluid that is left in there. That is why you service the tranny every 30k.
This forum is owned and operated by Internet Brands, Inc., a Delaware corporation. It is not authorized or endorsed by the Ford Motor Company and is not affiliated with the Ford Motor Company or its related companies in any way. Ford® is a registered trademark of the Ford Motor Company.
F150 '04, help changing ATF, should i turno engine on to empty TC???
2007 F150 XLT SCREW 4 X 4, 5.4, 3.73 LIMITED SLIP, TOW PACKAGE. CHROME DOOR HANDLES TRUXEDO TONNEAU COVER, TTT TOW MIRRORS. 
