I've been wondering for a little while now: everyone says the 5R110W needs a heated flush to ensure the thermostat is open. I'm assuming it wouldn't work to just get the trans to operating temperature by driving the truck, and then do a flush?

 

Unless you're pouring in 190° fluid that won't work. The room temperature fluid would cool the transmission down quickly and the thermostat would shut.

 

Oh, okay, I get it now. Huh. It's sure getting tougher to be a shade tree mechanic!

 

Not really just drain what you can from the pan. Change the filter. Refill and go. If you do regular maintence the heated flush isnt going to extend the life that much more. At least thats how I look at it. The money saved by not paying the shop would theoretically make a rebuild cheaper if you keep the truck that long

 

I would still drop the pan and inspect , change the fluid , AND filter . I do see Mark's point though . If the filter is plugged , damage is done . I , however , have seen some good results with a service . Scan for codes beforehand , look for debris , and fix any faults shown by codes before you button it up . Best of Luck !

 

One thing to be aware of: is it is a bit of a trick to break the front filter housing loose from it's base. Almost all failed attempts have been when you don't use an air impact gun (only to take it off). Also there is not just a filter in there, but also a magnet you should clean off (I'm still talking about the front filter housing). You just snug the housing tight when you put it back together.

There was a YouTube vid of a guy who heated his new fluid in the oven first to keep the thermostat open so you can do a fluid exchange yourself. After watching the vid, it looks like handling turkey fry oil while hot and not getting burnt

This won't fix your problem, but it is something all pre-2008 Torqshift owners should know: for about a hundred bucks you can change over to the '08 plus trans pan and internal filter (a true, 100% filtration filter). Doing this you can ditch the front filter if you want, which only sees about 10% of the fluid even when hot. The in pan filter on the pre-'08s is just a fine screen and should last the life of the trans (unless you have trashed the trans, which = life end ).

The solenoids are pretty easy to change if needed -- once you pull the pan they are right there.

Good luck! You have Mark K. on here where much of the info I just gave came from -- he designed or was on the design team at Ford who created these marvelous transmissions (Allison eat your heart out )

 

(Referring to shade tree mechanic) Yes it does seem that way, with all the Government regulations it can't be long before we will need a professional with all the special tools to clean our back sides after we do our daily constitutional

Guess I will need to take the truck in and get the HOT FLUSH that seems to be the most popular answer

 

I think you'd be surprised at what you can do as a shade tree mechanic. I invested in a $400 AutoEnginuity scan tool a few years ago, and with it I can do many of the functions that most think need to be done by a shop. I can pull keyless entry codes, program a new key, bleed the ABS module, and lots of other things. Just a month or two ago I had to troubleshoot an ABS issue, and I was able to identify and correct the problem by reading live wheel speeds on the computer as I spun each wheel.

Some things you've never been able to feasibly do at home from the very beginning. Tire mounting and balancing requires expensive equipment that's just not cost effective for the home mechanic. Likewise air conditioning system recovery and leak detection requires equipment that's just not cost effective unless you own a shop. Yeah, modern transmissions with a thermostat are harder to flush, but on the whole things aren't getting much harder for shade tree mechanics. You just need to keep up with technology.