My 2004 fx4 with 158k 6.0 with torque shift tranny started acting wierd it will jump into reverse not shift and do all kind of crazy shifting patterns sometimes it would shift fine then you would stop and start again and the problems would reoccur. Anyway I bought a tranny from a 2005 King Ranch with 22K, a friend of mine whos wife just wreck it let me have a good deal on it because he wanted only the interior and engine. I believe my tranny is good but the solenoid pack is bad and I was going to change just the solenoid assm. but when I took off my pan it was a mess, lots of debris and fine silt, I would imagine this is normal for a tranny with 158k, but the tranny I got from my buddy is like new inside so I have decided to swap the whole thing. I have already removed my transmission today.

My first question is I want to try to put the tranny and tranfer case in one piece. Is this possible or do you suggest separating? also the manual says I should put the torque converter (TC) on the tranny before I install it on the engine, then put the nuts on through the inspection port, man that little hole is a bugger to get a socket on and if I go this route whats the easiest way to turn the TC? It seems easier if I bolt it onto the flywheel then slide the tranny into the TC. and last I have read that it is necessary to replace the tranny cooler, is this correct, if not whats the best way to flush the cooler, parts cleaner and air pressure? Sorry for all of the stupid questions Im just not very familiar with autos.

 

DO NOT INSTALL THE TORQUE CONVERTER ON THE FLEX PLATE FIRST! If you do you'll NEVER get it to seat into each of the splines that need to seat. If they are not properly engaged you will destroy the torque converter, pump, and possibly the rest of the trans when you start the engine.

There is no way to effectively clean a trans cooler. Your truck has two, one in the radiator and an aux cooler out front. Replace both.

 

Quick question, With all that debris in the 1st tranny, was it ever serviced and the external filter changed??

 

Hi,
I recently bought the truck used, the transmission was doing all kinds of crazy stuff that got worse after I replaced the battery. Anyway It was supposed to have been flushed at 130K. but who knows, there was alot of fine metal covering everything, I think that is what took out the solenoids.

 

Yeah DO NOT put the TC on the flexplate first, BAD BAD things will happen. You can back flush and flush the cooler with some aftermarket solvents that are designed just for this, but its best to replace the cooler(s) and flush the lines.

 

Thanks, I put the TC in the tranny before I mounted it, I hope I got it in correctly, I put it on the shaft and turned it a couple of times, it kind of fell into place, anyway it wouldnt go down any further and it didnt have much side to side play. It is 3/4" from a straightline across the bellhousing lip of the tranny. I have one other question, Ive got the tranny mounted with a couple of bolts and Ive got the TC studs in the flexplate holes but I only have a nut on one of the TC studs, my question is, how do you rotate the flexplate in order to get to the other studs? do I need to rotate the crank from the crankshaft nut? or do you guys have a trick I can use?

 

Rotating the crankshaft pulley would be your best bet for accessing every TC nut,

 

best way to do it is a remote starter. plug it into the positive terminal and there should be a one pin connector (black squeez type release). plug the other terminal of the remote starter into that and baby it into place. works everytime. do small jolts at a time. and mak sure the key is off! lol that would be bad. -6.0L tech

 

OK Ive got my tranny bolted in. Im flushing the lines out tommorow evening and replacing the tranny cooler ,Im going with a fluidyne instead of the stock ford cooler, how many quarts of mercon sp will I need? Is there anything that I need to be aware of and check before I fill it with fluid? Do I just fill it up , crank it, let it run, check it and top it off? Whats method dl you use to clean the cooler lines?

 

run fuild through the lines to clean them if you really want to. but it should take 16-18 quarts, around 7 bucks a quart i think at cost to the dealership. fill with fluid disable ignition crank until lowwer lever add more, leave one cooler line unhooked to vent air out of the system. its a little like bleeding brakes. make sure you un hook the line that returns fluid to the tranny because you want the cooler to fill. once it starts flowing cnnect it and continue to fill then crank. should suck up all the fluid. the pan only carrys about 5 quarts so it might take a while cause the whole system takes about 16-18.

 

You don't need to bleed trans cooler lines. The pump will force out all the air, fill the cooler, and dump the air into the trans pan.

If you're talking about using a cooler line to suck in the new fluid, that won't work. There is no suction in the cooler lines. It's not clear from your post if that is what you meant.

 

Ok, So all I need to do is blow the lines out, hook up the new cooler and fill the tranny up, right? How do you suggest I fill it up? My plan was to dump 8 quarts into the tranny then crank it, let it run for about a minute, check it, dump a couple of more quarts in run it and keep doing this until I get it to the mid point on the stick. Also do I check the dipstick in park or neutral? and should I shift the gears while Im filling it?

 

After adding 8 quarts, run it for one minutes, then shut it off. Add five more quarts, then start the engine again. Run the shifter through every position for at least 5 seconds. Check the level with the engine running in park or neutral.

 

If you have Oreilly auto parts in your area, you can get mercon SP (the real stuff, manufactured by Motorcraft) for around 3.50 a quart, half of what the dealer wants. Makes buying 17 quarts a little easier on the budget.

 

I have an oreilly auto parts but the manager said he couldnt get it??????? I thought that was wierd because they have other motocraft oils, maybe he just didnt like me. I should have sent in the wife with a low cut shirt.