ATF change
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 610
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From: NE Kansas
ATF change
According to the book, the fluid only should be changed every 30K, and then filter at 150K.
I really don't want to do more than necessary, but also don't want to significantly shorten the life of my tranny.
It's got 65K on it now. What should I do? ( I have seen the ATF flush procedure, and was planning to follow that without the filter change).
Thanks,
Kevin
I really don't want to do more than necessary, but also don't want to significantly shorten the life of my tranny.
It's got 65K on it now. What should I do? ( I have seen the ATF flush procedure, and was planning to follow that without the filter change).
Thanks,
Kevin
Sit. Stay.
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 18,308
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From: Washington State
While it doesn't hurt to change the filter it does add to the cost & time of the tranny service. If money is tight then just do the FULL fluid swap via a flush.
However, your tranny has drain plugs for both the tranny & torque converter. This simplifies the drain & refill procedure significantly. So much so, that I would suggest doing it yourself and dropping the pan to change the filter.
However, your tranny has drain plugs for both the tranny & torque converter. This simplifies the drain & refill procedure significantly. So much so, that I would suggest doing it yourself and dropping the pan to change the filter.
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 649
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From: Cottageville, WV
I do not know about a flush in an Excursion, but in the Caddyinfo Forum I frequent for my Cadillac Deville the message is do not ever flush the transmission. Most people that flush their transmissions in Cadillacs experience transmission trouble with in a year. Also a GM engineer that developed the Northstar did not recommend flushing. His concern was that if the flush machines were not cleaned properly they could introduce the contaminants from the last flush into your transmission. Just drain and fill. I did that with my 96 F250 but you only get 1/2 the fluid out because you can not get the fluid out of the torque converter. I would not recommend a flush.
Tuned
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 363
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Which vehicles/transmissions have plugs in the torque converter and which do not? More to the point .... Does mine??? Thanks!
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Joined: Aug 2007
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From: NE Kansas
The "flush" here refers to an article Mark wrote-up for the FTE folks. Great article. I'm just looking to short-cut a bit at the very slight risk that I don't do quite the same thorough flush as Mark describes. But in terms of a commercial flush - I agree - I'd rather do nothing in most cases than risk someone doing something wrong.
Given that I may leave 1 Qt of old fluid out of about 18 total Qts, I think I'm pretty happy just to drain the pan and TC. And with the pan empty, I may spend 30 minutes to drop it and replace the filter even though it's not likely to be needed. It will give me a sense of how the tranny is running since I bought it used about 9 months ago.
I assume the TC plug on the Ex is in about the same place as it was on my '97 F150. That was simple enough. I do recall one uncertainly -- how tight to put the plug bolt back into the TC. Is there some spec on that? The plug originally had thread lock on it, but there's no way I can get the threads dry enough to reapply. How tight should I torque it? It seems it's one of those that could strip out fairly easily..
Given that I may leave 1 Qt of old fluid out of about 18 total Qts, I think I'm pretty happy just to drain the pan and TC. And with the pan empty, I may spend 30 minutes to drop it and replace the filter even though it's not likely to be needed. It will give me a sense of how the tranny is running since I bought it used about 9 months ago.
I assume the TC plug on the Ex is in about the same place as it was on my '97 F150. That was simple enough. I do recall one uncertainly -- how tight to put the plug bolt back into the TC. Is there some spec on that? The plug originally had thread lock on it, but there's no way I can get the threads dry enough to reapply. How tight should I torque it? It seems it's one of those that could strip out fairly easily..
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Joined: Apr 2008
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From: Cottageville, WV
I would not change the transmission fluid unless it is discolored or smells bad. Transmission fluid should be red not brown. My 96 F250 fluid was brown and really smelled bad. I had used it to do a lot of towing and neglected to check it regularly. If it is red and not dirty I would not change it.
Frmr Ford Trans Engr
Joined: Aug 1999
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From: SE Florida
Ford put torque converter drain plugs in almost all rear wheel drive transmissions until August, 2001. Any torque converter built after August, 2001, does not have a drain plug in the torque converter.
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Joined: Aug 2007
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From: NE Kansas
Paul T - yeah good point. But color and smell are subjective. Fresh ATF is bright - cherry juice - red. But over time is gets darker. So the question is when is it "brown" enough to change? I think I'll change every 30K unless it "seems" like it's time to change sooner. I don't do much towing.
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Joined: Jun 2008
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hi guys topdog here got a question on transmission fluid what is the best fluid to use in a 2000 v-10 just reg atf fluid or something better I dont haul heavy stuff right now but i do have 10 horses and might need to pull a horse trailer with three or four horses in it at sometime