What brand of Automatic transmission fluid are you guys using? I am going to change out my fluid this weekend. Also is there anything else I should do to the tranny?
If you're not towing heavy or have a ton of HP I would use the recommendations in the owners manual Mercon,......Mercon V is a little better yet.
Be sure to flush out the cooler. New filter too.
Thats what they say but I am not buying it. For years you guys (ford) were saying you SHOULD NOT use Mercon V in a Mercon/Dexron III transmission and that gloom and doom will ensue. Now you changed your mind. Not for me. Plenty of Mercon/Dexron on the shelf and I am gonna use it!
__________________ Tim
1997 F-350 CC 4x4 PSD Auto 260K
I will keep My Money, My Guns, My home and My Family. YOU KEEP YOUR CHANGE!!
Ahhh...I was waiting for the this thread to explode. I've heard so many rumors...eg all the fluids are the same now, but with the guffafle over mercon vs mercon v and big companies not wanting to look bad by changing previous statements its hard to know without being a chemist.
I've been using NAPA mercon in the PSD, but since the dipstick on the Escape says "mercon V", we used valvoline Mercon V in it.
The price difference in fluids was pretty high, but if I felt sure it was the best fluid to use, I would put the expensive stuff in the F250.
I gather the supposed difference between mercon and mercon V is V is a full synth. Now, back when full synths were new, you'd hear all sorts of things (leaking, eating seals) but supposedly now it's all magically good.
Trolling other forums will get you stories that all the mercon you can buy is actually fully synth now too, but the vendor is trying to cash in on the ambiguity issue and they have since relabeled their product as plain old mercon. Supposedly some of these vendors put out a product that was labeled as "mercon/mercon V", but sales fell because people didn't want to put mercon V in their mercon designation trans. So the vendor's solution was the re-relabing, with no change in formula.
Having no means of analyzing the fluids myself, I just go with whats on the dipstick and what NAPA has that matches.
My buddy who has a buddy who is the diesel mechanic at the ex-local ford dealership tells me they are all using mercon v now.
Who knows what they put in mine after the rebuild. Gotta get whatever is in there out and something I'm confident using in! That and a bigger cooler.
Tj do you still have the pics Kawa sent when he did his cooler / tranny line upgrade?
__________________
Pete in San Ramon
2005 F250 6.0 Lariat 4x4 CC Short bed (stock)
1997 F250 7.3 XLT 4X4 Reg. cab (stock)
1986 F250 6.9 XLT Gone but not forgotten
I have owned and operated an Automatic Transmission repair business for 37 years and I say it's FINE to use Mercon V in everything Ford builds. Just be sure and purchase a quality fluid, not some off the wall brand! (The type F that was recomended for years by Ford was because the old trans, years ago, had brass clutches instead of Raybestos or Kevlar linings).
I even run several qts. of 20W50 motor oil mixed in my C-6, in my 9.80 drag car. Been doin' it for years and it doubles the life of the fluid under an extreme service/extreme heat situation from a high stall converter!
Be sure and change the filter on that E40D!
So should we be using anything different in the E4OD?
Just be sure it says Mercon on the label whether you use regular "dino" oil, synthetic or a blend of the two. Again it depends on how you use (abuse) it. A bigger cooler is highly recommended to increase the life of the trans.
I know the usual direction of these threads is "is it safe to use mercon V in my mercon labeled trans", but honestly, the mercon v synth is a bit pricey.
While I hate to be cheap, I do like to not waste money.
Is it worth the extra price to go mercon V synth as opposed to NAPA mercon ?
My truck was used with little history of the PPO, and the PO didn't have all his service records. When I dropped the pan and replaced filter and fluid after getting it home, it certainly looked clean (and didn't smell when we were looking it over before buying it). Mr. PO claims he never had the trans rebuilt, and he tended to go to places like jiffy lube for his oil changes.
The truck has 250K miles on the odo now, and PO used to haul horses.
I want to treat the trans as best I can, but I don't know if it's a case of "put the most expensive stuff in it" or "it doesn't matter at this point, use the cheapest".
We just moved from sunny socal to the arctic tundra of eastern Ontario, CAN. I'm also telecommuting for the immediate future, so I'm really only driving on weekends to see the countryside, so there is no huge rush.
Is it a bad idea to put any after market additives into the tranny such as lucas oil treatment? I do a lot of towing so I want to protect the tranny as much as possible
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I have owned and operated an Automatic Transmission repair business for 37 years and I say it's FINE to use Mercon V in everything Ford builds. Just be sure and purchase a quality fluid, not some off the wall brand! (The type F that was recomended for years by Ford was because the old trans, years ago, had brass clutches instead of Raybestos or Kevlar linings).
