4R100 Transmission Fluid Change
 

I know, this is probably beat to death, and I have the document printed from this site on the recommended method of change, but when reading the Haynes manual vs this document, I see some confusion.

The Haynes manual says to drain the pan, change filter, then drain the torque converter.
Refill with 6.5 quarts of fluid. This sounds like it is short some fluid on the refill? How much does the torque converter hold? I think they made a mistake there.

I guess that method, if you measured what you took out, and refilled with that amount, you would be ok, but guess you would have to add a few quarts, start engine to pump fluid back into the torque converter, turn off, add more until it was all added. Perhaps about 6-7 quarts per cycle?

Also, saw a post a while back about disconnecting the from and to cooler lines, and blowing them out very gently with compressed air? I would think this would have to be very low pressure so not to cause any damage, but would this be ok to do?

Just curious on your thoughts/experience here. I will most likely follow the FTE document so that I don't screw something up, but the air thing sounds easier than pumping with the tranny pump. :-huh

Sounds like the Haynes manual isn't draining the torque converter. I think this is what the dealership refers to as a transmission fluid drain and refill. A transmission flush at the dealership involves them circulating new transmission fluid through the system so only new fluid is in there, which is basically what the FTE method does.

It actually specifies this:
12. remove the torque converter cover. (see illustration).
13. remove the drain plug and allow the fluid in the torque converter to drain out (see illustration).
14. After the fluid has drained completely, install the new drain plug.
15. Lower the vehicle and add 6-1/2 quarts of automatic transmission fluid through the filler tube.

etc, etc.

Figured I would share this with ya'll since I had been asking questions.....I just finished changing the fluid. Was not a hard job at all. I followed the FTE procedure provided by Mark Kovalsky.
I found that my 2002 did not have a drain plug on the torque converter. I removed the rubber plug to look for one out of curiosity and had a second person bump the engine and Mark was right, there is not one on this model.
So, I drained the fluid out of the pan, removed the pan, cleaned the pan/gasket surfaces, removed the filter and replaced with a new one from Ford.
I have to say that the magnet in the pan does a very good job of holding the metal particles. The amount I found was expected and you could not tell it was metal unless looking at it in sunlight. It was like extremely fine glitter.
I took the filter apart to inspect it out of curiosity. Hit it with a hammer and it split apart easily.
The filter was dirty enough to warrant a change. Truck has 28,000 miles on it. There was some yellow paint particles (very small) in the filter, likely from parts that were marked by the factory.
I replaced the pan/gasket and torqued the bolts per the Haynes manual with my Harbor Freight 1/4" torque wrench ($27) and a good investment!

I measured the fluid that was removed in each scenario.
Draining the fluid from the pan was 7 quarts exactly.
I refilled with 7 quarts.
Disconnected the rear cooler line from the transmission, slid a 3/8" ID clear vinyl hose over the flange. Didn't need to clamp it since it was a good tight fit. Ran the hose to a bucket and used a small woodshop clamp to hold the hose in the bucket.
Started the engine and the fluid pumped into the bucket. When I saw airbubbles start, turned off the engine.
Measured the fluid pumped out.....5 quarts exactly.
Replaced 5 quarts, started engine, pumped out till bubbles.
Replaced 5 quarts, started engine, pumped out till bubbles.
Replaced 5 quarts, started engine, pumped out till bubbles.
Replaced 5 quarts, started engine, moved shifter through gears for a few minutes, checked level, looked like it needed about 1/2 quart, added 1/2 and then drove down the highway, came home checked fluid level again, all is good and on the full mark.
I bought two cases of fluid, had 1-1/2 quarts left over, so I went through 22-1/2 quarts.
Not bad and do recommend the filter change since it is not hard to change.
$30 for filter from ford (didn't need gasket since the original is re-useable.
2 cases of Shell Fluid from BJ's was $25.
Total $55 for doing this myself is better than $2-300 depending upon where you take it.
This did not take in consideration other materials, such as a bucket with graduated marks for measuring quarts from Lowes for $3, 3/8" vinyl hose (20') came in a pre-cut length for I think was about $3, and some rags and mineral spirits to clean up with. I blew out my vinyl hose with a little mineral spirts and compressed air and put in my bucket, ready for the next change at 60,000 miles.
Double checked for leaks, all is dry after another run down the road at highway speeds.

One thing to mention is you need a good funnel to hang under the hood with a hose to reach the dipstick tube to make it easier. It takes a while to put in 5-7 quarts at a time.

I have great confidence now that I did this change on my own. No one was under my truck screwing something up like cross threading the drain plug, not cleaning the gasket surfaces, inspecting anything that doesn't look right, etc.
Thanks to Mark's article and this site for providing this type of information so we can do such things with confidence and keeps us from doing something wrong!
:-tap :-tap :-tap :D :D

2002 4R100 Fluid & Filter Change
 

I just want to know how much fluid needs to be replaced after a simple fluid & filter change. The manual does not tell you and everyone else is doing total fluid replacements.

I asked the exact same question on this forum awhile back and was told 9.25 quarts.

If by "simple fluid & filter change" you mean just dropping the pan, you'll need about 6-10 quarts, depending on how much drainback there is from the torque converter. There ideally should be none, but not many transmissions are ideal. There is a check valve that can leak, partially draining the torque converter into the pan.

I'd never do a "simple fluid & filter change." That only gets about half of the fluid. Then you mix your new fluid with the old fluid. I prefer to change all of it at once.

By the way since this thread was resurrected...I have since changed my fluid at 60,000 miles with the MERCON V semi synthetic fluid. All is well. Was tough to find 24 quarts of a name brand. Had to get from 2 different autoparts stores. Used the Valvoline brand. There just is not much to be found on the shelves yet for some reason. Guess they are trying to get rid of the Mercon fluid first. I dunno.

7 Quarts of Dex/Merc
 

Well I finally called the dealership and they told me between 7 & 8 quarts of Dex/Merc would be enough so since I had started with 6.5 quarts of valvoline dex/merc and got zero on the dipstick I added the remaining 1/2 quart and drove it a while and finally got the dipstick to read 1/2 way up the "Hot" hatch marks on the dipstick. I think I am going to stay at 7 quarts since it is in the "Normal Zone", however I think you could go 1/2 quart more and be good. I am not a big fan of total fluid changes because I do not want to introduce problems to my tranny. I guess to each is own, but in the long run we all like to do things differently. :-wink

I actually found it interesting that Autozone has two different fiters for the 4R100. The TF325 (deep pan) and TF350 (shallow pan), in which after removing mine ended up being the deep pan version even though it is a stock pan.

2002 F350 Powerstroke, 4R100, 36000 miles

It isn't only a stock vs. aftermarket pan question, but also a 4x2 vs. 4x4 question.

Obviously there are aftermarket pans that increase the fluid volume and these may dictate one filter over another. I just installed Mag-Hytec's deep pan which specifies the "deeper" pickup filter.

There are however two diferent filters for completely stock tranys as well. The 4x4s have a deeper pan and thus a deeper pickup on the filter.

Transmission Oil Capacity
 

I have recently completed a Transmission Oil change which included the Pan Filter and Converter drain in a 2001 4X4 V10, the total oil need to refill was between 15 and 16 quarts. Prior to the total change I had drained and refilled the pan using the pan drain plug, that required 7 quarts. I used Vavoline Full Synthetic Mercron 5, after the change to synthetic the transmission usually runs at 140 deg F, I do not have the temperature readings for prior to the change since that is when I installed the gauge.

Is this the same tranny that I have in my 04 4x4 6.0 EX ?

No, you have the 5R110 Torqshift. This post is talking about the 4-speed 4R100. :)

Hi folks, thought I would give an update. Since I towed a lot this summer and ran her hard, I figured I would change the Tranny Fluid and filter to see how the tranny is doing with the new Mercon V.

Well, I have to saythat this fluid MUST be better than the Mercon!

The Tranny pan was absolutely clean! Was not so on the previous change. There was some gray matter on the drain plug magnet, but very little!

Wiping the pan out showed it was very clean!

Then, I broke open the filter and it was nice and red color and not dark gray color like before.

I did the complete flush process and used 22 quarts. Draining the pan and removing it took 7 quarts to refill. Then, each startup until I got the bubbles in the line took approx. 5 quarts each time and I did this 3 times.

I put approx. 23,000 miles since the last change to the Mercon V fluid. Before, it was right at 30K, so not too far different. However, I have towed much more in this 23K than I did with the 30K.

All I can say is that there must be much less wear with the new fluid. Perhaps the semi-synthetic is doing it's job!

Just thought I would share my experience. By the way, the fluid as I was draining it was very clean also. Just was a little concerned in the switch to Mercon V even though they say it is now used in these trannies!
Looking forward to the next 30K change without concern now! :)

What's involved to disconnect the rear cooler line? Is it obvious which line it is?