I have a 96 Ford Ranger and it has 80,000 miles. I get the oil changed regularly and the last change, the mechanic said I need the tray serviced. I guess this is change the tranny oil, filter I think and replace the pan gasket.
Now I know prices vary from different locations, I am in San Francisco.
He was going to charge me $160 for everything. Any idea if that sounds reasonable?

Thanks, JD

 

Thats about what the Dealer here in SW Va would charge for a pan drop, filter change, & full fluid pump out with their Routunda machine. This kind of tranny service, with a full fluid pump out, can be done at home for about $70, if you have a place to do it & are handy with a wrench. There are several "how to's" posted in the Tech Info thread atop this forum.

 

thanks paw paw!

 

Yeah thats not bad at all, It costs about $60 for oil, filter and gasket. So paying someone $100 isnt to bad, because doin that is a pain last time i got hot tranny oil on my face and arms, that was to plestant because old tranny oil stinks

 

whoever does it I wold suggest a bottle of Lubegard RED

 

Then you can ask them how well they liked it

 

My ranger is a manual but I did the fluid exchange on my toyota car and it was pretty easy. I bought 2 gallons of atf for $80 and the tranny gasket and filter were about $25. I could have bought the $10 gasket and filter from Fram but I stay the hell away from anything made by Fram

 

If you happen to have some of the throwaway aluminum pans used to roast turkeys, you can place them side-by-side to catch the draining fluid. When I have changed the fluid in the past, I leave a couple of the pan bolts just broken loose, and then loosen the bolts on one side of the pan a quarter turn at a time. Eventually, one corner of the pan starts to leak fluid into the catch pans. Loosen the bolts a bit more, and most of the fluid will fall into the pan without mess. Finally, loosen the last few, say three, on the opposite side a bit more, and the pan will lower slowly to release the rest of the fluid.
Using this procedure, I actually didn't even get any fluid on the layers of newspaper set up under the turkey roasting pans.
In this neighborhood, the local Ford 'specialist' shop wanted $160 to flush the transmission on a Mariner, which has no pan nor removable filter. It does require Mercon V, which is semi-synthetic and costs ~$4/quart.
tom

 

I will be doing this precedure on a 2002 ford focus with in a few days. I bought the gasket and filter at Advance for $20 and I also purchased 7 quarts of Valvoline Mercon V at $5.65 a quart. the whole thing was $64. I also bought a bottle of Lubegard Red from NAPA for $13. ...I will post back how long it takes etc, I work in my driveway and I am an OK DIYer. I have never done this procedure before.....

 

From a link at the bottom of our tech info thread, here is how I do my home flushes on the 94 Taurus AXODE & 99 Rangers 5R55E tranny.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...-pump-out.html

I found an Aero Plastics #381 52qt size under bed poly storage container at my local Family Dollar store, thats large enough to catch all of the tranny fluid & drips while I have the pan off for cleaning it & the magnet & changing the filter. Plenty large for oil changes too.

If we'll disconnect the tranny return line at the cooler, with the vehicle level & idle the engine to let the tranny pump all but empty the pan. Then raise the vehicle on stands, it'll make the pan drop much easier & less messy.

A quality, licensed, Mercon V tranny fluid, doesn't need any top treatment help.
Because we don't know whats in them, or when it's recipe might change, nor by how much & that top treatments aren't licensed, so they don't have to pass any tests to see if they meet Fords specifications to determine if they're compatable with All of our tranny components, imo they're best left on the shelf. They can upset our tranny fluids synergy & over time & cause mischief.

More thoughts for pondering, let us know how the tranny service goes.

 

pawpaw I think I will hold off on the Lubegard for now I am getting mixed signals about it and about what color to use with Mercon V. I know vavlovline puts the LG red in every flush they do!

 

Valvolene doesn't do it, the owner/operator of the lube shop does it, so he has to warranty his work. Sounds like he's top treating the less expensive Mercon fluid, trying to bring it up to Mercon V specs & if so, I'd not opt for that recipe, as it's not licensed!!!

Buy & use a licensed Mercon V recipe tranny fluid & you'll not need to top treat it!!!!

Chevron/Texaco also caution against top treatments & for good reasons, I'll see if I can find the link & if so will post it.
Edit: Here is Chevrons take on top treatments, scroll down to read it. https://cglapps.chevron.com/msdspds/...&docFormat=PDF

 

Pawpaw. I think you are right about the Valvoline. The guy at my Valvoline that I Talked to said they added the Red LG but it probably is to bring their reguler Mercon up to Mercon V specs

Pawpaw. I originally bought the LG red to put in my M5OD. What do you think about adding it to that tranny. I have Pepboys crappy atf in there now and when it is hot out it seems to shift rough. But I am thinking also I might have a Bubble in my Clutch MC because it does come and go.

 

I wouldn't top treat any tranny fluid for any extended length of time. If your doubtful about the quality of your tranny lubricant, why not drain it out & put in the specified licensed product & know for sure the recipe is right!!!!

 

I did this on my 2002 Ford Focus

I did the job as Pawpaw described. it was a little messy but not as bad as I thought. it went pretty smooth. I got a little hung up on 2 of the 20 bolts( 2002 Ford Focus) for the pan. it was my first time doing this procedure. I dropped the pan, swapped out the filter, cleaned the pan up and reinstalled it. I then pumped the rest of the old fluid out 1 quart at a time with the help of the Queen. the project took a total of 3 hours. the last hour I spent test driving, checking the fluid level, drinking beer and cleaning up. The car seems to appreciate the fluid exchange. I think that if I did just the fluid swap without dropping the pan I could do the whole thing in less than an hour, easily, and that includes drinking the beer. My return line was held on by a hose clamp. I would encourage all of you to at least do the fluid swap. it would cost $40 and an hour of your time. thanks for all your help!!!!!