i have 97 aerostar and plan to change trans fluid. first, is there a plug in the pan? next, is there a plug in the converter? can anyone help me with this process? it is the first time getting under my van.

 

Look under the "Read First" topic on the front page of this forum, and you will find some instructions on how to do a thorough flush of the transmission.

This transmission does not have a drain plug for the torque converter, and usually did not come with a drain plug in the pan.

 

careful now! check the transmission fluid when hot and if it is not burnt brown, (should be red), leave it alone! Sometimes we get too "maintenance happy" and end up screwing things. I had a 1992 which I bought in 1999 and drove it until March this year without any transmission fluid change, just added new fluid when the level was low.

 

Jose, I have to totally disagree with you. Change the fluid no matter if it is nice and red or burnt brown unless you know the maintenance history. If you know the history, then you can change based on mileage since the last fluid change. Some people claim "I had the old fluid flushed out and know my transmission is failing". This pretty much always a false statement. Firstly, few people ever think about the condition of their trans fluid, so most people don't bother to flush it until they are already experiencing problems. And secondly, it was the flush machine that ruined the transmission, not the new fluid. If you can replace the fluid without using a flush machine, which is what the sticky explains how to do, then it can only benefit the transmission. I have seen new fluid take a transmission that had delayed engagement, hesitant upshifts, and make it work as good as new. On my mom's 1992 Aerostar, it had nearly 200,000 miles and started having delayed engagement. We replaced the fluid with new MerconV, and even though we knew it was on its last legs, it never gave us a hint of transmission trouble after that.

One surefire way that you can for sure ruin an A4LD is to never change its fluid.

Changing the fluid can be a messy business, largely because there are no drain plugs. The pan has to come off, which means the fluid will come out wherever it pleases. This means you need a nice big drain pan that is larger than the transmission pan. Take note of how much friction material and if any metal particles are present on the pan before you clean it off with brake cleaner. Then once you have the fluid drained out and install the new filter (make sure it seals properly) you put the pan on , and refill. If you are going to exchange the fluid in the torque converter (I'm not going to use the word flush here because it seems to cause confusion, the proper method is called a dynamic fluid exchange) and cooler lines, you would do that now. This is only needed if the old fluid is in pretty bad shape and there was lots of friction material in the pan, which means the trans has not been serviced in a while. If the old fluid was still fairly fresh looking, then you just get the trans filled to the right level and call it good. If you continue to change your fluid every 30,000 miles or so, you should never need to do a full exchange.

 

that's my point, some people claim their transmission started to fail after a flushing. Plenty of reports about that in different Ford Truck Forums and other brand forums, that's why I say "careful". I'm not saying "don't change the fluid EVER", even though I got away with it. (not changing the fluid).