I am thinking about changing my trans fluid i have about 161,000 miles i bought it with 117,000 about 4 years ago and the guy that owned it before my was a transmission guy and put a shift kit in it so i would imagine the fluid got changed. He said that he did this not very long ago before i bought it.

I was thinking about just draining all the fluid and putting new fluid in. Or do i need to flush it. if you guys can give any tips on this that would be great.

 

You need to flush it. If it were me, I would take it somewhere trustworthy to be flushed. Doing it yourself is a good way to make a huge mess in the garage.

 

If you have it machine flushed you may not see if there are any problems brewing from looking at what is at the bottom of the pan. Most people like to drop the pan so they can take a look and also change the filter. I am not sure I like the flushing routine since you don't change the filter and you don't see what is at the bottom of the pan. But then I am NOT a tranny expert.

With the amount of miles you have put on since buying it, you probably should change fluid and filter. Assuming it was maintained properly by the previous owner, you won't have to worry about the "Dirt is all that makes it work" issue. Only issue you might hit is your tranny in a bit past the miles where you can expect it to start playing tricks on you, at least in my experience and from reading.

It it was me, I would drop the pan, look at the sludge and particles in the bottom, check the color and smell of the fluid and change the filter. While the pan is off, you might put in a drain plug so the next change is mess free. I would not recommend the plug if you do much off roading since plugs have been known to hang up on rocks and stuff. Next I would drain the converter, and drain and or air blast out the cooler. Many manufacturers recommend a chemical flush of the cooler and lines. This is probably not practical at home.

You can drop the pan without a mess if you loosen the bolts in a pattern tha leave ONLY one corner free to drop a lot and the reast of the pan loosened just enoug to allow that other corner to move. You will need a big wide drain pan, at least 10 quarts and probably more if you plan to drain the converter without dumping the pan.

Have a bag of kitty litter in case you do make a mess.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

I agree. Also, drain the torque converter as well. On most models there is a drain plug that can be accessed through the bellhousing (rubber grommet installed). That should get nearly all of the fluid out of the transmission.

 

if you drain the converter will it fill up when you fill the tranny or is there a fill spot for the converter.

You guys think i should just stick with the regular fluid or synthic or half and half?


just the regular stuff is in it now

 

Yes, the converter will fill up in the transmission. What I have done, after draining the fluid from the pan and converter, is dump about 6 quarts of transmission fluid in and then start the engine. I added several more quarts while the engine was running, from there, I kept checking and adding fluid until I saw it on the dipstick.
On my last fluid change I dumped just under 19 quarts (from draining the pan and converter), but this was when I installed a B&M deep pan, which holds an extra 3 quarts (E4OD) over stock.

As far as the fluid goes, the Ford stuff works well for a daily driven vehicle. The full synthetics do work better and they they cost quite a bit more. However, for a daily driver, I think the Ford fluid will be just fine.

 

Don't mix synthetic and regular fluid. Just put in the regular fliud and you will be just fine.

 

I have a question about changing the tranny fluid on my 97 F150 4.6 4r70w tranny. I have 197000 on the truck and did change the filter about 30000 miles ago just after I bought the truck with about 170000 on it. For my truck it says that it takes Mercon and i've read that I should put in MerconV. My Question is it safe to have it flushed and have MerconV put in? I am a college student and can't afford a new tranny if this one takes a dive after the change. Where is the best place to go, dealer or a tranny shop? I plan to have the filter done at the same time.

 

yes, Mercon V is fine....
have the dealer do the flush....