...with emphasis on "MORE-ON"

OK, so I'm back...the racing season is just about at an end and it seems I have a little more free time to post and search for maintenance "tips" on my PSD.

Not to mention, Gilligan presented himself on my computer monitor to say I'm a "bad man" as I haven't posted in OVER two weeks! DOH!

Anyway, I now have 30K on the Odo and one of my crewmembers and I were reading the owner's manual on the way back from our last race...we discovered that an ATF change was in the stars.

I read the FAQ that Tim posted a link to, but it raised some questions as it seemed tailored towards the 7.2L models...not sure though.

I have done ALL the maintenance on my PSD so far, to include oil changes every 5k miles with Chevron Delo, draining the water separator (still have yet to see a light) and am going to changing the fuel filters for a 2nd time now...at 30K...I know that changing ATF can be tricky and VERY messy, but is generally a straight-forward task.

Help me understand how to find an "approved" ATF for this Pig! I read up on the requirements but am still unclear, is this ATF available from Autozone, Pep Boys and the like?? If so, what am I looking for?? I'm guessing that purchasing from a dealership will yield the usual high price tag, so what have we, as a group found out there as an alternative that will fit the bill??

I read that there is an external filter, I'm assuming this looks similar to an oil filter...if so, can one of these be had at an Autozone, etc.?? I don't get out much, as you can see... ...so I'm relying on your experience to help me along.

Also, I figured out that my model should not have a drainplug for the converter...past ATF changeouts for me just involve dropping the pan and replacing the internal filter and the amount of fluid I drained with new fluid...do I need to make my best attempt at draining the WHOLE system?? ...or is the drop, drain and replace method acceptable??

The reason why I ask is that I am right on top of the maintenance for my beloved PSD, and I feel replacing ALL the of fluid might be overkill, but won't hurt a thing...your opinions, feelings and findings please.

 

Must reading....just a cool link
http://www.clubfte.com/users/monsta/SuperDutyFAQ.html

 

youare correct about the converter no drain the only way to get it all out is take it a shop and have it pumped out, getting it out of the converter is very important. the fluid is called mercron sp and the only place I have found it is the ford store, do not mix with any other fluid.

 

Do you think that the stealer is the way to go for changing out the atf or do other transmission shops have the equip to take atf out of torque converter etc. I'm sure the stealer would charge a lot more, or at least that's my guess. Thanks

 

I had the trans flushed on my 2001 F-250. Just before I traded it. I had it done at a local trans shop. It was $ 79.00 for just a drain and filter change or $119.00 for the flush.

They hook it up to a machine that pumps all the fluid out of the trans and converter.

I to do all the maintaince on my trucks but to me it makes since to have this done as I don't have one of these pumps.

 

Tim, I read through the "must read" as previously mentioned, while it answered some of my questions...it created more!

Yes, it was very informative, but seemed geared towards the 7.2L setup - and I have NO clue how related it is to the 6.0L drivetrain...as this is my first PSD.

Again, I try to do all maintenance on my "Towpig" and this bit has me investigating more than usual. mejer1, I agree with you, if a transmission shop wants $80 or more to "exchange" the fluid, that's a deal compared to what you call the "stealer" would charge...as 20qts of fluid would be somewhere towards the $50 mark, I'm guessing.

I went to Autozone tonight and looked around at the "Mercon" fluids, most of them "Dexron III and Mercon approved" - didn't ease my paranoia whatsoever. My MAIN question is has anyone found the fluid we're supposed to use at a readily available supply except for at the dealership?? If so, was it reasonably priced??

Again, I'm wondering if the "drain, drop and replace" method is ample if I'm on top of maintenance?? ALL of my previous vehicles maintenance procedures were satisfied by this method...do we really have to exchange ALL of the fluid or just what has to be drained to changeout the filters, etc.??

Sorry if I'm confusing, or I'm just confused myself - just want to get a general consensus of what you guys are doing...I read the post where the guy was drag racing his PSD and burned some fluid, his ailments were cured by draining some fluid and adding new...wondering if this will suffice for the maintenance requirement at 30K??

Thanks!

BTW, Tim...I dropped you a PM in regards to site sponsorship.

 

Got the PM,
... the "must read" ......that is what I am hoping it does create more questions and talk.

 

Racecarhauler,

Part of the reason I have the shop do the flush is, that they always find some metal shavings in the pan on a new transmission. This way the flush should get more of the shavings out.



John

 

OK, so a second review of the handy procedure outlined in the link provided by Tim has proved useful, and answered several of my questions, when coupled with a quick crawl underneath the truck to give a "look-see" this afternoon.

I figured out EVERYTHING the procedure mentions and it makes sense, although a little risky because you don't want your pump to ingest too much air when running the engine to pump the fluid out...if you follow the procedure to a "T", you should be okay.

I went to the dealership today as the only filter that I cannot get MUCH cheaper at Advance Auto if at all is the Transmission filter, the one located up by the radiator, right hand side. Advance now carries the oil filter (with O-ring) and the fuel filter duo...both are MOTORCRAFT products, same stuff the dealership hands to you, at a 30% price hike.

They have yet to handle the external transmission filter...one was had at the dealership for a little over $20 - didn't sound like highway robbery at it's worst, so what the hey?

What floored me is that they charge almost $4 a quart for Mercon SP transmission fluid!!

SO, I guess my only question remaining is: Does someone know how and where to source this fluid at a decent price??

I found out that the local autoparts stores do not carry the SP version, but are MORE than happy to offer up that, "Mercon V is the same stuff" - haha, quite entertaining, as that's the exact version that our owner's manuals say NOT to use!

Has anyone found Mercon SP anywhere besides the dealership??

Thanks for enduring my incessant ramblings...I'm discovering more and more about this beast in my driveway by the day!

 

Short answer- Nope.

As far as I know, the Torqshift is the ONLY transmission to use Mercon SP. If it remains that way, don't expect to see it in retail stores.

 

Okay thanks. I've been looking for it.
ANyway, an International dealer might have it which i recall people saying that they buy cheaper 6.0 cross referenced filters there.
Anyone know about that one?

 

Only the VT365 oil filter. I don't think they have them for the Torqushift. Try www.filter1.com for good prices on filters. Don't know where to get the Mercon SP yet. I'll do some searching.

 

http://www.isgettdistributors.com/septemberspecials.pdf

found this doing a search $2.50 a quart. Let us know if someone gets it from there.

 

pdbd, you're the man! Thanks for the good work!

I ordered two cases from them today, we'll see how that works out as the lady who helped me was new and didn't know if they shipped product or not...guess they're a supply house for dealerships and shops?

I would imagine after paying for UPS Ground, the 300 miles that it has to travel...that I might as well paid $4 a quart at the dealership.

It's nice to know you can get it elsewhere though.

 

Wonder what it will cost me to ship it to TX? But, should be no tax.

D/FW dealers selling at $4.70 + tax