Change is good? Yes? No?
I m catching up on maintenance on my truck. I m curious to the cost of this transmission fluid change I heard mentioned here. I think it's called a Hot Flush? My truck has 148K mi on it. I have no records on tranny maintenance.

Would this be a good idea to have done? Or have a regular transmission shop hook up and change it? Or..???

I m also thinking about changing the front/rear differential and transfer case fluids also. Those I could handle myself, I believe.

But any advice on the transmission change would be appreciated!

We are going on a long haul towing trailer, probably around 6K miles in September and I would like to have this done by then.

Thanks,eh?

Brad

 

Yes, change is good. If they don't have a hot flush machine they can only mix the new and old fluid, they can't change it.

 

Is this "hot flush" machine something special that Ford dealers do, or are you referring to the basic transfer machine that oil change places have that hook up to the lines on the transmission cooler?

I called the local Ford garage, and they quoted me $325 including filters. I mentioned the term "hot flush" and got silence for 5 seconds then he repeated what he just said, so he had no clue about it. If this is the same "flush" that other transmission shops/oil change shops offer for around half that price, then I'll head to Pennzoil to have it changed and save around 50%, I m guessing.

 

This trans has a thermostat, so the flush has to be hot to keep it open. A hot flush is a heated flush machine. Pennzoil isn't going to have one of those. Many Ford dealers don't, either.

 

Thanks for the clarification,Mark. I had no idea aboot the thermostat.

 

i second the info that mark put out. to elaborate, the torque converter didnt come with a drain plug like most TCs do.

to check, u could drain a little, and check the color of the tranny fluid. they're supposed to be bright cherry fruit punch kind of red. if they're kinda dark, tat means the fluid is starting to burn, and if it's darker kind of red, u can smell the burn smell from it.

u could drain, then drop the pan, clean it up underneath, change the internal filter if u want (ford # ft-144) and rebolt the pan after it's all clean. torque those 20 bolts (i think) to 10 ft/lbs. (again, i think tats right)

the drain plug should be torqued to 18 ft/lbs.

now for the external tranny filter. it's best to use an impact wrench. so much easier! couple of hits, and she's loosened. remove, empty, clean, install new filter. put in a few ounces of fresh tranny fluid into the cup, let the "toilet roll" filter (ford # ft-145) soak tat fresh fluid up, then hand-screw it back on until u cant hand-tighten it any more. then hit it with the impact wrench for a couple of hits, and ur done with BOTH filters.

for the external filter, the filter bowl needs a 22mm socket.

refill tranny fluid thru the tranny refill spot, and ur good.

if u drain from plug, then ur gonna need about 7 to 8 quarts of tranny fluid. if u drop the pan, ur gonna need between 8 to 9 quarts.

if i forget anything....... guys, please chime in any time. lol.

 

in case ur wondering, the hot flush machine is very specific for our fords cos of tat thermostat. the thermostat works with an internal valve. only at about 165 degrees will the valve open, and allow tranny fluid to pass thru. watever u drain by dropping the pan is only part of the tranny fluid. i believe the entire quantity is about 18 quarts. we're only getting about 8 to 9 quarts coming out. sheesh.

 

$325 for a flush seems very high I think the last flush I did on my truck was around $175 .

 

My hot flush in April cost $180+tax that included 17qt. of synthetic. Hot flush machines aren't cheap, that's why some dealers opt not to buy one.

 

$325 is to much.
Tat cos
Dude, come on now. It's getting old. No offence.

 

Me? If I offended anybody, my apologies.

 

Here is a link to flush the trans fluid.
http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/6-0...-7-quarts.html

 

See if your local Ford dealer has the Hot Flush system. It is really the only way to do it properly. Some of those other ways might work as well, if, you change it a lot more often. You don't get near enough of the old fluid out.
See if you can get them down to $200 or less. Realize that the the tool is a big investment for the dealership.

 

I m done searching. The last quote for a chemical/hot flush including filters was $487.

Looks like I ll be crawling underneath it after all!

Thanks,everyone.

Brad

 

I would NOT use a chemical flush on an automatic transmission!