It is not recommended to change the ATF in cars where no change has been performed for a considerable time (generally regarded as 50, 000Km from new, or 40, 000Km for K-cars), or where the maintenance history of the vehicle is unclear. Prolonged usage without an ATF change leads to a build-up of particles on the filter, resulting from wear of the gear and clutch parts, and of sludge, which accumulates as the oil deteriorates. An ATF change at this stage can cause these particles and impurities to circulate and jam into the shift valves or clog up oil ducts, creating more trouble.
Furthermore, ATF changes are not recommended in cases of severe conditions of use such as towing or driving on punishing roads, or where there is an apparent problem with the Automatic Transmission operation.

Not changing the ATF can cause an increase in ‘shift-shock’ and affect system line. It is generally recommended that ATF changes are performed at regular intervals of 20, 000Km or 2 years, whichever is first, although manufacturers recommendations should be observed.
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my vehicle has 297,000 KM's (not miles) but im guessing it is not recommended to switch now, so should i just replace the ATF, or change entirely to gear oil, and how can i prevent clogs and jams when i do change it? im guessing its like changing your rad fliud, but i might be mistaken.

 

re5pect are you talking about an auto or manual tranny?

 

5 spd

 

The part of the website that El Conquistador refers to is no longer operable. I have referred this old information to SynLube and they have forgotten to take it out. SynLube's MT is perfectly compatible with manual transmissions for which ATF is specified by Ford. Both the MTX-75 and the Ranger transmission I had came with ATF and both were quite happy with gear lube.

I talked with SynLube directly about my Ford Ranger and what I have passed along in previous posts is the current information. When you buy SynLube products, you will usually be contacted so that they can be sure that what they have is most appropriate for your vehicle. The MT is definitely appropriate for the Ranger 5-spd (not to mention the transfer case and front axle . . . but then I just did.). I will remind them again of obsolete proviso as it is definitely confusing.

When I converted my Ranger, it already had 95K miles on the ATF and when I converted to gear oil, I had no trouble so I am a bit surprised by what he says. I cannot contradict it but my own experience does not confirm it either. I am also a bit confused by his reference to a filter since to my knowledge (admittedly incomplete), manual transmissions don't have them. My '90 Ranger didn't and the '04 doesn't either.

 

im in canada and never heard of synlube but should i still switch even if it hasnt been changed for that long? and as well, how do i clean out my transmission (where the oil goes thorugh) since the buildup and debris can clog and stuff?

 

RE5PECT: I have 930 miles on my Ranger. I am draining the Ford stuff on Tuesday. The MT will go in the transmission, transfer case and very definitely the front axle which has a very poor quality gear oil in it. I am told that it foams and sludges badly in very little time.

The one bright spot as far as fluids go is if your truck has a Dana rear axle as the 4WD Rangers do (at least 2004 issue). It is an RE assembly which comes from Dana with the lube already in the axle. Ford just bolts it up. It is a true synthetic fluid with a combination of esters and PAO. It is intended for HD truck use and has a 750K mile service life which will probably outlast me. It is the same type axle as on the F150, just a smaller one.

As far as concerns about debris and deteriorated ATF go, I did not have that problem with my Ranger. The mechanic told me there was very little debris from the synchronizers that drained out with the fluid which was less than normal in his experience. I am a fairly conservative driver in that I try to avoid hard starts and stops which are hard on any vehicle so I attribute his findings to my driving habits. In light of this, I am not sure what to recommend but since you're Canadian I am reasonably sure that you have not had to contend with too much hot weather. If I were you, I'd go ahead and change. My guess is that the additive package in SynLube is adequate for any problems you could possibly have. Here's the nice thing, if you call the SynLube number with an order, more than likely you'll get to speak with Miro Kefurt who is extremely knowledgeable about lubrication. You can bank on what he says. This is a good guy. BTW, SynLube was originally a Canadian company.

It is never too early to upgrade the protection for your truck, nor too late as long as the truck is in good basic condition. I began my program the day I got my Ranger home. My experience has been that it is money extremely well spent. I expect my truck to be just as much a pleasure to drive at 150K as it is now. Consider this proactive maintenance to be like making a big payment on a loan right from the start, there is a huge return for doing so.

 

where do you get synlube?

 

SynLube's website is www.synlube.com. It isn't a very flashy site but there's a lot of good information there. If you should decide to order some of the gear oil, or anything else for that matter, you call 800-syn-lube and leave a message, they will get back to you and you can ask what questions you might have. Even if you don't place an order, there a lot of good information on the site as it is geared towards informing rather than selling.

Note that if you wander into the engine oil part of the site, they talk about oil filters. That information for many of our Rangers is a bit dated because the filters many of the Rangers use have a metric thread and Hard Drive and Ultraguard Gold filters, the previous source for most of the filters they used, were not made in this thread. Fleetguard Stratapore filters are what we get and they are quite good.

 

ATF should absolutely NEVER be replaced with gear oil in a manual transmission. Houkster, I have no idea where you heard that ATF was specified in your Focus, but it has never been recommended in any Focus on any continent. Gear oil is and always has been the recommended fluid for that transmission.

You mention separately that your 90 Ranger had a 2.9. The 2.9 was the only Ranger after 88 that didn't convert entirely to the Mazda transmission. It's actually very unlikely for it to have had a Mazda, the Mitsubishi FM146 (4wd) or FM132 (2wd) was dramatically more common, and did call for gear oil.

All of your examples of gear oil working better than ATF in a transmission are based on transmissions that should never have had ATF in the first place. Makes the entire argument against ATF in transmissions that oficially require it bogus, doesn't it?

 

Look at the owner's manual for 2000 and 2001. The MTX-75 was converted to some type of gear oil during the 2001 year and the Getrag transmission came with probably the same stuff. Shift feel on both improved immensely when I converted to a synthetic gear oil. I also got consistantly better MPG than others with similar cars for the same type of driving.

I checked the transmission. The owner's manual was very clear about what transmission I had and it had ATF in it.

No.

 

OK, Ford has been specifying ATF for the Mazda transmission for 16 years now. Do you think that in that entire time, all the examples of damaged Mazda transmissions from using gear oil are hogwash? Did it occur to you that stating ATF in the original manual for your Focus might have been a misprint, since it was so quickly changed?

ATF is the right fluid for the Mazda transmission. If you feel like running gear oil, so be it. Recommending that others do it is both irresponsible and reckless.

Sorry, but you apparently missed the fact in the owners manual that the Mitsubishi transmission DID NOT use ATF, but gear oil. You read wrong.