Replaced the transmission fluid in my 2011 Ranger couple days ago. Around 25k miles on the truck.
I did the change due to occasional hard shifting. Most of the time it shifted just fine.
The old fluid was definitely murky, no small chunks of metal though.

Filled using Valvoline Maxlife transmission fluid..
Noticed immediately that it shifted easier. Was fine for a couple days but has started to make definite whining noise the seems to be coming from the tranny in all gears.
Most noticeable when giving it gas.

I have seen no info that says you shouldn't use Maxlife?
All I can think of is that the syncros are making the noise.

I would appreciate and thoughts..
Thanks

 

I did a quick google search "Maxlife in Ford Ranger", and found quite a few sites stating problems with adding it to a Mercon V only transmission.

Additionally, pawpaw, our Ranger forum moderator and guru specifically states to use only Mercon V, and I trust his word 100%.

I would remove all of the Maxlife and put in Mercon V

 

Thanks for getting back to me.
You know, that makes perfect sense to me and is what I have planned to do this morning as soon as the stores open so I can get the Mercon V.
Can't think of anything else at this point.
I'll give it a shot...

 

Welcome to FTE.

Definitely come back and post a couple times on your experience to let others know.

Pawpaw should be along shortly and give you a bunch more experience and advice.

 

Welcome to FTE.

Good idea to opt for the specified Motorcraft, or a good quality licensed Mercon V semi synthetic, or full synthetic fluid for the manual tranny, as Jklnhyd has suggested.

The MaxLife fluid is of a lower 100 deg C viscosity, so doesn't meet the minimum viscosity Mercon V specification & that might be causing some gear noise.

Make sure the tranny refill fluid level is correct & you don't have any signs of the rubber shift rail plugs, or the tranny shaft seals leaking fluid. If they are externally wet with weeping fluid, replace them before refilling with a good quality licensed Mercon V fluid & let us know how it goes.

EDIT: If you don't have a owner manual to look up the specified fluids, filters, scheduled maintenance, ect, you can down load a manual at no cost here. http://www.fleet.ford.com/partsandse...owner-manuals/

 

Thanks for the advice.
Think I have gotten to the root of the problem
Whoever the idiot was who changed the fluid (that would be me) didn't get any new fluid in.
Tried to drain the Valvoline Maxlife out and nothing came out ---

When I originally put the new fluid in, I was pumping from a large container and letting the overflow go into the same pan as the stuff I drained. So, I didn't keep track of how much came out.

Just for the heck of it, today I thought I'd try pumping some fluid in to see why I didn't get any in. Well, none will go in!
No matter how I position the hose from the pump in the fill hole, the fluid immediately starts to run back out.
And, I have left the drain open just to see if any makes it in and comes out the drain, no go.
I can't figure out what's going on. The fill plug is completely out and the hole is open but something is blocking the fluid from making it's way in. I have tried several diameter hoses and none will work. It's crazy.
I have worked on manuals in the past and I have NEVER seen this.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

Figured out the problem.
I am going to refill and test.
I will update my post later.
You will want to read - just so you can get a good laugh.

 

Hey man, we have ALL done things that we can look back and shake our heads at. If you made that mistake, someone down may learn from this thread and NOT make it, so mistakes are welcomed here.

 

Okay, pull up and chair, have a beer and get ready for a laugh.
The solution to my problem was to put the Mercon V in the fill hole on the DRIVER'S side of the transmission.
What I had done is drain the transmission then, went to fill it and didn't see the CLEARLY MARKED fill plug on the drivers side.
So, I crawled around to the passenger side and located what I was confident was the fill plug. Removed that plug and proceeded to attempt to fill that hole..
Managed to get soaked in fluid and mistook the fact that the fluid started coming back out of the hole as an indication that the tranny was full. Of course, it wasn't.

So the whining I heard while test driving was the sound that the 5 speed makes when it has NO FLUID in it. Luckily for me I didn't put many miles on it before I knew something was wrong.

For those of you wondering what the plug I pulled on the passenger side is for - I have no idea, I tried looking it up and checked my Ford 2010-2011 Workshop Manuals, Wiring, PC/ED DVD but couldn't see it ID'd.

All I can say is that I am certain that you can not get tranny fluid to go into that hole!

As far as what I learned,
1. well I took some good advice from the forum here and used Mercon V instead of
Valvoline Maxlife.
2. I know for certain that you can't get tranny fluid in that hole on the passenger side.

3. And maybe Valvoline Maxlife is a good skin conditioner when you apply it liberally to various parts of your body.

In conclusion, I have done stupider things in my life,, I just can't seem to remember any..

Thank you and good night.

 

Okay, grab a beer, sit back and prepare to laugh.

The reason I couldn't get the tranny fluid into the transmission was because I was trying to fill the wrong hole!
When I was changing the fluid, I drained it from the plug labeled DRAIN on the passenger side of the transmission.
I didn't see the clearly labeled plug on that same side labeled FILL.
So, I crawled over to the passenger side and located what I was certain was the fill plug.
When I removed the plug and pumped fluid in, it started coming back out and, I wasn't paying attention to how much I had pumped in as it was coming from a gallon container of Valvoline Maxlife ATF.
So when I saw fluid flowing back out, I took it as indicting that the tranny was full. Of course, it wasn't!
When I drove it, after a while I noticed whining from the transmission.
This was because there was no fluid in the tranny. Luckily I didn't put that many miles on it.
When I went to remove the Valvoline ATF that I thought was making it whine this morning, I discovered there was none in there.
So - I tried to find out what was wrong and discovered the fill hole on the driver side.
Filled it up and it seems fine now.
Don't think there was any harm done.

What I learned -
1. Not sure what the plug on the passenger side is for but - THERE IS NO WAY you can pump fluid in there.
2. I got some good advice from the FTE forum and went with Motocraft Mercon V to fill the tranny instead of Valvoline.
3. Even if you bath in Valvoline ATF, it will never be a good skin conditioner.

Thank you and good night...

 

Ok, good find, fix, feedback & to hear all seems well & your on the road again.
Probably a good idea to have opted for the Motorcraft Mercon V fluid, this way you know it meets the viscosity spec & service grade for your tranny.

EDIT: Let us know if the fresh Motorcraft Mercon V improves the shift quality & stops the random returning hard shifting mentioned in post #1.

 

I experimented on my Ranger and discovered that Red Line High Temperature ATF cured my noise problems and it again shifted smoothly. The Red Line ATF has a viscosity about twice that of normal and I went on to drive it for another 100,000 miles with no issues!

 

Glad you got this figured out! I just replaced the clutch in my Ranger, so I had the shifter off. What's great about that is, is that you can just fill the tranny with fluid through that top shifter hole, until it runs out the open fill hole. Probably much easier to do it through the factory fill hole though.
Other good info in this thread. Thanks!