i am going to change the tranny fluid in my 05 excursion diesel. i am going to drop the pan but not do a complete flush. i am going to change the external filter but i see there is also an internal filter. is that gonna be accessible when i drop the pan and should i change it? the truck has 80,000 miles and i dont know if the fluid has ever been changed before. it does look very clean on the dipstick. just wondering if i need to change the internal filter.
thanks.

 

it is just a screen ,, I did mine but in hind site it was a waste
also make sure you are using the proper fluid ..oh the pan gasket is re usable

 

this method will leave over half your system with old fluid just FYI so you may want to do it again and bring up the new fluid%
.and you can't flush these at home like some it needs a hot fluid flush

 

yea i'll change it again in a couple of months to try and get most of the old fluid out.

 

Use Mercon SP or LV only. You can also save some money on the external filter by buying NTZ. They are the manf. for motorcraft and can be bought from dieselfiltersonline.com. The int. filter stops trees and boulders and needs to be changed only at rebuild time.

 

the pan filter I bought at auto zone was 21$ I was going to return it if it weren't OEM the packaging was not Motor craft but it was the identical part ,, markings and all ,, this was the pan filter ,, I didn't try the trans remote I went to ford for that

 

well i finished the fluid and filter change. wasnt to bad just took a little time and was messy. now that i've done it i'm sure i could do it quicker and cleaner the next time. i changed both filters and added about 8.5 quarts of fluid. the internal filter seemed to be in contact with the pan once i installed it but i pressed it in as far as it would go. it felt like 1 or 2 of the pan bolts were stripped but i drove it and it shifted smooth and no leaks so i guess all is well. the extenal filter was DIRTY as heck but the fluid didnt look to bad. i'll change it again in a month or two since i didnt do a complete flush. thanks for all the help guys!

 

next time you only have to pull the drain plug ,

 

yup, no way am i gonna drop the pan again just to get out the small amount of fluid still in there.

also i will say the magnet in the pan had a good bit of "gunk" built up on it, not sure what the norm would be for a 83,000 mile tranny but it's clean now though.

 

about 2 M&Ms worth IMHO

 

How does the internal transmission fluid filter come out. I am changing my Temperture sensor

 

The internal filter comes out by pulling it. It is held in place by the pan and an o-ring.

 

It just pops out. It will have a bunch of fluid come when you do. Make sure the Gasket comes out. There should be a new gasket with the new filter.

 

Mark beat me! Should have known you were watching in the wings. Good to see you here Mark.

 

i wound up replacing mine when i swapped the transmission pan for the derale air cooled pan. piece of cake.