We have a machine that hooks up in-line with your transmission lines that pumps new fluid in while taking the old fluid out at the same time.

 

Without a factory service manual, it's almost impossible to look at the lines and determine which is the cooling line, and which is the return line. And with a lot of Ford cars, you also need a special tool to disconnect those lines. Just wondering if the transmission fluid on a 6F35 can be easily changed at home. On the F-150, I disconnect the cooling line and turn on the engine to pump a few quarts out. Then I add a few quarts in from the dipstick tube. I repeat this until I see fresh fluid pumping back out. I reconnect the cooling line, fill to proper level on dipstick, shift through all the gears, then check the dipstick again for proper fill level. The Transit Connect is so cramped under the hood, I can't even identify the cooling line. And there is no dipstick. I found a drain plug on the bottom, and a port on the side of the transmission for checking fill level. I could drain the case from the bottom plug. Then fill by manually pumping new fluid into the port on the side until it fills to the hole. But that does not exchange all the fluid in the transmission.

 

Hello everyone , I am new here and been reading on this site for quite awhile now while fixing different problems with my 1995 E 350 Club Wagon and had a serious problem with od light flashing and hard shifting that drove me crazy trying to fix it for a long time and it brought me to this site. Well after doing everything they said on every site I went to. I finally fixed it. Some had suggested to rebuild the transmission to fix it but when the light didn't flash it shifted perfect so I thought it can't be broke if it shifts perfect when lights not flashing.

So anyway glad to be a member and look foward to posting with y'all.

 

Welcome.

What finally fixed the problem?

 

It was the throttle body sensor.

 

No need to worry about that now. The transmission failed.

21,XXX miles

Gears will not engage. In PARK, the vehicle still rolls. When shifter is in R, D, or S, metal on metal noise like gears clashing.

New car warranty covered towing. Transmission should still be under warranty. Now there's nothing to do except wait.

 

Wow. Never heard of a transmission going out that early.

Jim

 

I see brand new Explorer Police Interceptors up on the lift, with the transmissions dropped. So The Highway Patrol's transmissions are failing also. The 6F 6 speed transmissions, jointly developed by GM & Ford, have been in service since 2006. I have no idea what the failure rate is. I know for a fact that this failure was not due to lack of maintenance. They can't say that I failed to exchange the fluid, or check the dipstick. There is no dipstick! With any luck, they rebuild the tranny, and I won't have anymore problems. Or the service writer and I will get to know each other real well over the duration of the remainder of the warranty.

 

I would imagine the Highway Patrol Explorers have a lot more than 21k miles on them when they come in for a transmission rebuild. LOL

Jim

 

In theory, no car should lose a transmission at 21K miles. In theory, no car should fail within the first few years of ownership, and that is why they have warranties and limits on those warranties. The powertrain warranty on a Ford is 5 years & 60,000 miles. Most cars today go over 100,000 miles easily. My 2007 F-150 is still as robust under the hood as it was 10 years ago.

Way back in history......when dinosaurs roamed the planet.....I had a Chevrolet S10 Blazer w/ Tahoe Package. Fully loaded with every option available at the time - including 4WD shift on the fly. Just press a button, and you're in 4WD. No need to get out of the truck to lock the hubs. Transfer case and transmission kept going out. When the factory warranty expired - the dealership advised that I better get rid of it, since I can't get any more free transmissions or transfer cases.

Why would a transmission fail?

Lack of maintenance, or not following the recommended service schedule. Sure. You never checked the dipstick to notice that your fluid was dark and smelled burnt. You never flushed it, and it finally gave out. That would be an owner's fault. But since almost all cars don't even call for a transmission service within the warranty period, the owner's are kind of screwed when that finally happens. This Transit Connect's 6F35 does not even have a dipstick.

Maybe you hit something and there is a hole in your transmission pan. That's the owner's fault if not an accident, but surely not the manufacturer's fault. Or a transmission line broke and all the fluid leaked out. Maybe a wear issue, but seldom do transmission cooling and return lines burst open like a radiator hose, and you almost never see a failed fitting.

Overload the vehicle. Tow too much weight. Mod your engine to produce more horsepower & torque than the transmission is capable of. High Speed Pursuit (fleeing law enforcement)& racing could also be an owner's error. But if the Police Interceptor was sold as a police car, you can't fault the cop for pursuit driving.

Bad engineering, poor design, lesser quality internal parts, untrained & unskilled workers at the manufacturing level......nothing a vehicle owner can do about that. You can only hope that the manufacturer honors the warranty, instead of the dealership blaming the vehicle owner.

As for those California Highway Patrol Explorers, they are suppose to be designed & engineered for pursuit. But all that usually means is that you get an auxiliary cooler. Maybe with 100,000 miles a year, with a lot of high speed pursuits, those transmissions simply reached a wear point which it fails. I don't know what the warranty or extended warranty is for law enforcement fleet sales. The regular warranty is for 60,000. But I'm thinking that with the Police Interceptors, the transmission failures are probably not because of the high mileage. More than likely, the transmissions simply are weak, and cannot withstand the vigorous conditions of being driven around the clock, wide open throttle acceleration, and the fact that they are always loaded to capacity.

 

My guess is that getting city, county, state, federal, and agency fleet contracts revolves around decisions made by committees who push papers and keyboards. And the contract is awarded based on price and perceived value. To win on price, costs have to be cut in areas where no value loss can be perceived by the pencil/paper/keyboard pushers. Perhaps that is why the transmission is not as robust as it otherwise could have been.

 

It depends on the agency. With some agencies, they have certain requirements. California Highway Patrol wants the vehicles to be able to carry the weight of the officers, in addition to all of the equipment. Apparently, that was the deciding factor when selecting the Explorer. At the time of that bid, none of the other vehicles could carry that amount of weight. At the time of the last bid, the Dodge Charger won the purchase contract. Apparently, the current Dodge Charger now meets the payload requirements, and the price submitted was lower than the pricing for Ford Explorer.

 

I keep trying to join. But the sign up part never appears?
. I'm in northern California. Building a 1973 Ford F100. Just finished up my first mock up of my front suspension. Everything fits perfectly. Installed a 1995 Jaguar XJS independent front suspension. Now I need to remove it all Paint and reassemble. Then I can start on the rear suspension. Also 95 Jaguar XJS.

 

Greetings LT. What part of the state are you in? Always good to have another person.

 

Click on the link in my signature, and I will approve you.
Never mind, I just saw your request. Welcome to the Nor Cal Chapter!

Jim