hi guys, i have a 1997 f150 4,2 v6 with 190,000 miles on the clock and i know nothing about it's service history. the auto box changes perfectly and shows no sign of stress but question is do i change the fluid or not. thanks.

 

That's a good one. Your mileage is pretty high up there. If it has had regular fluid changes say no more than 50K intervals, then changing is usually safe. But if yours hasn't had regular changes, then dirt may be what keeps it running so there may be a risk to changing so some think.

I would check the fluid to see what color it is. If it is pink or worse, brown or worst of all black and bonus point bad if it smells burned, then it probably has been a long time since the last change and so you have to roll the dice and see if it works.

If the fluid is nice and red and smells nice and chemically, then I would not hesitate to change since it probably has had regular service.

I am of the opinion that one of four things happen to a dirty tranny that gets fluid changed.
1) A fluid change is great and you should inspect the pan for evidence of wear.
2) The dirt is what held it together and the tranny will leak and die.
3) The new fluid cleans up the dirt causing chunks to get into the fluid which clogs things up.
or 4) The tranny was old and probably getting ready to go and the fluid change was a coincidence.

I lean most to 1 and 4.

If it was me, I would check the fluid for color and smell. If it looks good I would drop the pan and inspect for particles and color and smell again. Then change the fluid.

If it was black or brown I would probably still drop the pan etc, but I would make sure there is money in the budget for a rebuild just in case.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

I tend to think if the fluid is burnt,just have it siphoned out and drain the converter but don't touch the filter.

 

thanks guys for your replys, so its the devil and the deep blue sea. here in blighty (england) spares are hard to come across so i think i will have to do some ground-work before i make a move. all your advice is much appreciated and very sound. thanks and i will pass-on the advice to the v6 forum as they had passed me on to you guys. bokker.

 

It's not nornal to have a Ford transmission leak like a bloody Rover.

.....=o&o>.....

 

IMHO, it's a no-brainer. Change it unless the fluid looks new.

If the fluid is black there is possibility that you got friction only because of the dirt in the ATF, and so a change will hasten the tranny's demise in that case, but that tranny would've failed anyhow, maybe it just does it in 500 miles vs. 5,000. Not a whole lot difference, IMHO. However, changing the fluid can lengthen the tranny's life quite a bit.

 

One other thing if the trans has high mileage, leaks with dirty old fluid that has never been changed a fluid change will increase the leaking as well increase internal hemorrhage of the hard seals as new fluid will have a lower viscosity vs the old fluid. This will increase internal seals leaking which allows lower applied clutch pressures for more clutch slippage, heat build up and accelerated time to trans failure. Excessive heat is the main killer of transmissions like high stall convertors besides bad (stupid) driving habits, we've all done that.

.....=o&o>.....

 

What about synthetic tranny fluid replacing the conventional?
Can you do that? and what are the benefits?

 

the benefit of using synthetic trans fluid is that it costs more, so it removes cash from your pocket faster..

if you have any kind of leak, or seepage, synthetics will find it, and flow out onto the ground.

 

I have a 97' f-150 4x2 5.4L tow pkg, with 267k- i had dropped the pan and changed the filter and the 7 quarts of tranny fluid in the pan with valvoline synblend fluid approx 5yrs ago. The fluid is still pink with a slight tint of brown. I only put approx 45-50k on the vehicle since the change.
I wanted to go ahead and flush the whole system and again drop the pan and change the filter, but wasn't sure if a fully synthetic like redline would be beneficial or if i should stick with the synblend that the vehcile came with.

Also does anyone know what kind of tranny these trucks came with and what i have in mine?