My son changed his ATF and trans filter on his 17 f 350 dually with the help of youtube and owners manual. The book says 17.4 quarts oil capacity so that's what he put back in but now it's showing way overfull on the dipstick. He didn't flush, just dropped the pan. Is the 17.4 quarts assuming empty torque converter, cooling lines etc? I didn't give it a lotta thought at the time but didn't think it looked like 17 quarts in the drain pan.

 

Unfortunately, a large percentage of automatic transmission fluid is contained in other portions of the transmission aside from the oil pan. It is very difficult to get all the fluid out of the transmission by just dropping the pan. Generally, you are only able to remove about 1/3 of the ATF fluid when you drop it, so maybe he needed to add 5 or 6 quarts. I would assume that he has overfilled it. You definitely do not want to drive the vehicle until you get the ATF at the right level. I hope this helps, and I hope he did not damage his truck. Good luck.

 

Yep great way to cause issues. A pan drop takes about 10 quarts. Drain or pull fluid with and extractor to proper level. Also make sure he used Mercon LV.

 

Thanks guys. I was afraid of that. He's driven it some--hopefully not too much. I would have thought the guys at the dealership or whatever videos he watched would have pointed that out.

 

Now my wife is stressed out over it. He says it has shifted like normal but temps were running higher (never over 217) after he over filled it but temps have been in range for the most part. He has put about 1,000 miles on it over filled, what is the likely damage and worst case scenario? Thanks guys
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edit--he drained ~7 quarts when i got the first response here and took it for a ride on the interstate. Says temp was running around 208 at highway speed (overfull) and is now staying below 200going fast. He says the 217 degree he saw once was at close to 90 MPH (he's 19) and has never shifted funny at all.
fwiw--he says the youtube video never mentioned putting fluid back in, just torque specs and filter and the guys behind the counter at Felix Sebatis Ford knew exactly what he was doing but didn't know to tell him he didn't need that much. I know this sounds like I'm talking about me and blaming it on the kid but thats not the case. Thanks for the helpful replys

 

If the transmission was severely overfilled then wouldn't the excess get blown out the vent tube? I would expect to see problems from an underfilled transmission. Overfilled, not so much.

 

Temps probably ran high because fluid was foaming and not lubricating properly. I can't believe it held that much fluid and didn't start leaking or, as mentioned above, start running out of the dipstick.

Also, why was he changing the fluid on a 2017? High mileage already?

 

I'm fairly certain it didn't lose any fluid because dropping 7 quarts put the level in the middle of the crosshatch and there's no evidence of any blowing out on the firewall or driveway. It had about 75 k miles. I told him it was not due for that especially considering it was hundreds of dollars in materials to do it. The truck had unknown history and he was antsy to work on it and made a rookie mistake. Hopefully it didn't hurt anything

 

I would have changed the fluid at that 60point as well. Good news is he circulated it well and then removed some of the old but with the new.

I would have him check the fluid when it has been driven several miles, then idle it for a 3 to 5 minutes and check it on a level surface to ensure the level has not changed again since removal of the fluid.

I would also consider the transfer case (if 4x4) and the rear diff.

Owners manual addresses those change intervals as well but I tend to change them at 60-65K myself based upon my use.

 

I'm glad I mentioned it here and that you guys responded. My truck is also a 17 f 350 4x4 6.7 I have been thinking I need to swap my ATF and 90 wt's at 150 k (currently 114k) from the scheduled maintenance chart in owners manual. I always thought gear oils every 100k as a general rule but thought maybe these new high tech synthetics may last better.
My son showed me a video of a Ford tech doing trans service and saying every 60 k miles. That's what he was going by for changing his. I occasionally pull 12,000 lb's around but mostly empty highway driving. What intervals should I try to hit? I do fuel filters every other oil change.

I appreciate it

 

I do fuel filters every 15K

 

First pan drain at 30’000 then drain and filter at 60’000 then drain and filter every 60’000 after. I change fuel filters every 3rd oil change or 15,000 miles.

 

Try this guide https://www.transmissionfluidchange....tenance-guide/ , which I found. It's about your question

 

Jesus, 17 quarts??? It only takes 6 quarts for a pan drop, and 9 quarts for a pan drop+new filter. Mercon LV only.

 

parts guy at the dealer needed to get his quota!