Hello,
In the middle of a transmission flush on my 2001 E350 7.3L v8 4x4 RV w 95k miles. I gathered from extensive reading and searching here that I have the 4r100 tranny with a deep pan and that I should use MERCON V ATF(autozone had STP brand on sale for $5/qt, hope its not too crappy). I bought it from the 2nd owner in 2011 w 65k miles. The first owner sold to the 2nd at around 10k miles. have service records and it appears to have had one 'transmission service'. I'm going to say it was only a pan drain and refill as the line item for the ATF on the invoice was for 7 quarts.

disclaimer: I am very mechanically and diy minded so very enthused about learning how to do this. however haven't done much on the vehicle front short of oil changes and basic filter swaps. oh I changed some spark plugs once

I read this thread thru completely twice before I started and one time thru after I stopped midway at my confusion point...
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post12824085
I read marks directions from here https://www.ford-trucks.com/articles...-transmission/
several times, printed it out and had it with me at the vehicle and read it several more times. I don't have a drain plug in my pan, wanted to drop the pan and clean and also change the filter and have a look at the magnet. here are the if/else steps from marks instructions I took based on my situation...

step 2 a(I have no drain plug)
-If you don’t have a drain plug, go to step 4 to
pump out the pan, preventing an ATF shower! Return here after step 4 and
one pass through step 5a.
step 4
-Disconnect the transmission-fluid return line at the
transmission – from where the ATF returns to the transmission from the
cooler. This is the line towards the rear of the transmission. Clamp the
clear tubing over the line that you removed from the transmission. This is
where the fluid comes out.
step 5 a (1x thru)
-Run the engine until you see some air in the
clear tubing. As soon as you see
air shut off the engine.
(-----this all worked beautifully btw. then I questioned this next step as it triggered my common-sense-o-meter...)
Refill through the dipstick tube with the same
amount as you just pumped out.
(----I asked myself, wouldn't this just fill the pan back up again? but I know basically nothing about how this transmission operates short of what I gleaned from this site. I read the instructions several times to be sure but forged ahead as that seemed to be the flow for my particular situation...)
step 2 a
Return here after step 4 and one pass through step 5a. = completed
step 2 b
Remove the pan and clean the pan = very pink ATF came spilling out, alot of it
--------------
so I managed all the fluid fairly well, slowly but surely. Thankfully this vehicle has great clearance so I was able to get buckets and tubs under there for collecting the pan fluids. from step 5a I pumped out 6 quarts of old ATF so then put in 6 fresh quarts per the instructions. the amount of ATF that came out after I dropped the pan amounted to 7 quarts. presumably some amount of old 'fell' back in to the pan plus some amount came out with the filter removal. with the pan off I now see where the dipstick comes down thus now know the fill tube goes to the pan directly

so here I am. the pan and gasket are clean. there was no magnet in my pan . the filter has the short take up tube. the replacement I got has the longer take up tube. here are my questions...

1)I am assuming I am simply at a net loss of 6 fresh quarts of ATF and can jump back in to the flow at step 2 c...
->remove/replace filter->(get a replacement magnet)reattach gasket and pan->drain TC if applicable->pour in fresh ATF equivalent to the amount that was removed. Correct so far?
-----before replacing pan-----
2)do I get said missing magnet from ford dealership?
3)is it not advisable to add a drain plug to my pan?
4)okay to use the new filter with the longer pickup tube?
5) do I put 6 or 7 quarts back in to restart the flushing process?
-----before pumping more old ATF out-----
6)I started this yesterday after driving the vehicle to warm it up. can I finish this successfully even tho its 'cold'(should be about 85 degrees here today)?

here are some pics that might be helpful...
Thank you all soooooo much!
-Chanda