Ive searched around on alot of threads but i just want to see what everyones input is...


I have 56k miles on my 03, and i want to flush my tranny...im mechanically inclined, but everything i do on my truck turns into a PITA.....

I called ford and a tranny flush costs 149.99......he didnt know **** of what he was talking about.....but he said they put ford merc 4 non synthetic in it...even though i think it takes 5.....he said they dont change the filter, they dont even break the seal on the pan.....they pump 15 quarts through the transmision, and send reconditioner through the filter.....

I guess what im asking is do you think it would be better / cheaper to do it myself with amsoil synthetic and a new filter.......or have ford do it, so i dont have to break a sweat...

Rocky

 

...subscribing...

I need to do this too. I'm getting a boat soon and I want to have it done before I start putting the extra stress on the old fluids.

~Brian

 

i went to an automotive center and said i want the pan dropped, the filter changed and the system flushed. takes like 16-17 quarts. and is around 250 bucks, but well worth it.

 

Here is something I learned from six years at a Ford dealership, Get your tranny's flushed every 40K miles or else. I have seen plenty of explorers and rangers come in with 50 to 60K on the clock and they barely register on the pressure guage on the side of the tranny flush machine. It is more important to flush it that drop the pan in my opinion. I would do both, but I am a stickler for maintenance. If you just drop the pan you will leave 75% of the old fluid in the tranny to contaminate the new fluid. You need to flush it to get the old fluid out.

What I do is take it to the store and get it flushed, then go home and do a tranny splash to replace the filter, you end up wasting about 5 quarts of fluid, but it is worth it when you look at the cost of tranny's.

Now you can do it your self with some tranny hoses clamps and two buckets, but it is a huge mess and if you screw it up, there is no one to take action against. Valvoline/Jiffy lube/Walmart will do it for cheaper than a dealer and they usually are better at it, cause they do it more. I know when I worked at Valvoline we pumped 14quarts through every car to flush it clean.

good luck

~HJ

 

That "filter" is more like a screen, it doesnt do much filtering.

im debating weather to just drop the pan or have it flused on teh ranger...dont rlly have the cash to have it flushed. oh well, we have a few more K to decide.

 

Oh one other thing, if the fluid changes color you have already cause damage! Most people wait until the fluid starts to smell burnt or turns orange, don't do this. Change it when it still is doing it's job. It should look the same coming out of the tranny as going in.

~HJ

 

ya and if u dont add enuff fluid, your truck will stall. me and dad learned this the hard way on his E350. we had the fluid flushed at a tranny shop, and they cut off the machine when they saw bubbles in the line... i have never changed tranny fluid so i dont know, but what i do know, is that if ur low on tranny fluid - like down 3-4 quarts your truck wont run right, or like dads truck, will stall in reverse.

 

I brought the Caddy in last year to get the annual Tranny Flush, and the moron that worked their used a tranny hose instead if the coolant lines, becasue he was afraid he'd break off the lines in the radiator. Anyway I kept a close eye on this fool, and when he put it back together I didn't think that he had the line all the way on before he clamped it together, but I thought, "He's a Pro, Right?" Well any ways I get about a mile down the road and smell what could only be burning tranny fluid. I pull over and sure enought this moron didn't get it hooked up right and now my tranny was spewing all over the engine and the paint. I was pissed. I got back in the car and shut it off. I walked over to their shop (This calmed me down a little) and made them call a flatbed towtruck and haul it to a repair facility and get it detailed and cleaned up. These guys hesitated and said no way, so I got on the phone with Corporate and, let's jsut say, he's flipping burgers and I have a nice clean engine compartment.

~HJ

 

I took mine to a local mechanic and had the filter changed /pan dropped for 20$ labor.

Then I brought it home unhooked the tranny cooler In line put some 3/8"? tubing and a pipe clamp on it ran it to a 5gal bucket. (need about 3-4' of tubing at most)

Then you put a funnel in the dipstick hole and start the truck as it pumps out the old
keep dumping new in. If you fall behind shut off the truck and catch up.
after about 12-14qts its 90%+ changed.

Total cost for me.. 18$ for filter and gasket kit.
4qts castrol mercon V(2.49/qt)
14 qts redline D4 (5.99/qt)
about 4$ at the hardware for the tubing and clamp.
20 in labor for the pan drop/filter change

 

So i think im going to do it myself then.....

I need 14qts of a certain kind of tranny fluid? Or just a decent fluid to run through it to flush it.....

And how many qts of fluid does it actually hold when its done flushing...

There needs to be a how to on this

Rocky

 

It holds about 11 If I remember right..
if you just want to flush.. put the hose into a bucket with graduations(measurements)
at the end if there is 14qt in bucket make sure you added 14qt to transmission..
then of course check it hot while running.

If you want some help with it.. I'm in barberton. I have all the tools needed but only
a parking lot to work in.. no big deal on a flush though.
(barberton = zip 44203)

If you do a search I've posted this in more detail and I posted it when I flushed mine.

 

What I was talking about
https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...ighlight=flush
The pics are gone.. I needed web hosting space on my 10meg acct.

 

if u need to host pics, hit me up on aim: buffalo rangers ill host ur pics off buffalo-rangers.com

 

Naw I just am too lazy to sign up with photobucket..
My buddy has a webserver I could use too.. I just decided one day to trash
all the pics over 1 year old on my site. And those were part of em.