my 08 has 40K miles on it and I think it's time to flush the tranny fluid and filter if needed.
How do you guys flush the old fluid out and replace it with new and should I replace the tranny filter?

 

Flushing the trans requires a machine, you can build one. I doubt people on here do it but the PSD guys do.

If your fluid looks clean and smell not burnt then just drop the fan and pop in a new filter then add 4 quarts.

If not it will be easier to take it to a shop for a flush.

If your daring you need a way to store about 3 gallons of old plus what you flush though so about 5 gallons used oil. Then you will need a way to pump in the fresh fluid. Gravity may work If you get the supply in the air a bit.

A shop or the home brew method will use the lines at the cooler and have the trans pump out the old while new is fed in.

 

I would not recommend a flush all you are doing is flushing the contaminates into the trans filter. Just drop the pan and replace the filter and top off with fluid either way you decide to service your transmission be sure to change the filter.

You don't change your oil without replacing the oil filter do you.

 

just suck out some fluid, replace. drive some. do it again. maybe once a day over the course of a week or two.

i wouldn't do a machine flush, expensive and questionable.

also, chiltons says that the 06 up auto trannies are filled for life... i'd still put some fresh fluid in every once in a while, it certainly can't hurt to do it.

 

I read a while ago the differentials didn't not to be drained and re-filled unless the diff's were being serviced for some reason but I don't recall what the manual said about the transmission service.

I had used the word "flush" incorrectly. I intent was to replace the old fluid with new. LOL

On my old Volvo, I disconnected on of the lines at the radiator and started the car. I poured new fluid in the fill tube as the old fluid came out the radiator. It was messy and not a pretty sight. But it worked.

I'm not sure how to go about this on the Ranger and, if it is even needed.

I'll go back and read the manual again and maybe just drop the filter and add new fluid.

Thanks for the ideas.
Dan

 

If your fluid is really bad you need a flush, if it is still clean and red I would just drop the pan install a shift kit, new filter, and top it up.

 

What is a shift kit and can a back yard mechcanic install it?

 

Its a kit of springs, pucks, and maybe valves.

You drop the pan, filter, and then the valve body. It is a messy and delicate process, I have installed 2 in my truck while on my back.

You just need to have an inch pound torque wrench, new gaskets for the separator plate, and about 10 quarts of fresh fluid. Of course the kit is needed too along with a clean stable place to work under the truck.

The valve body is the hydraulic brain of the trans and it has delicate small parts. It takes a high level of commitment and precision to complete the install. I have ford manuals for as late as a 02, but the trans has not changed much since 95, other than the electronics. I also recommend a bottle of simple green to wash your hair with.

A wealth of info on the subject.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=140987

 

I also recommend the same. A shift kit firms up the shifts by a lot and it down shifts at a snap and the shifts are clean and firm. The job is messy and yes you can install it on your own.

 

Wow, that looks like a lot of work.
I'm not having trouble with the tranny now but i will keep the link for future reference should I ever need it. :(

 

Its not too bad...just messy. I've dumped & filled the trans fluid in my '03 twice since I bought it last September, only 62K miles now, but had never been done. Just a drop the pan, let it drain (get lots of drain pans and shop rags, you'll need them), and change the filter. I used motor craft filters and replaced the pan gasket on the most recent dump & fill. Fluid looks great, red and smells fine. I might do it once every couple years now since the truck is not driven that much. Not a 100% replacement but quite a bit gets drained and replaced when you do this.

 

Honestly we are talking about 50 or so small bolts, and just over 2 gallons of trans fluid.

Not really hard but messy and very detailed steps.

If you change the filter you should get out about 4 quarts, drop the vb get another 4. The system holds about 10.

IMHO, install a trans temp gauge. If you go over 215 ever replace all the fluid in your trans.

 

If its just a daily driver, leave it alone. Ford recommended service is 150k miles. I took the info you gave us and did this: Service intervals

 

That's cool, thanks!

 

The main question that should have been asked though is, do you tow or plow with it regularly? If its just a daily driver and you don't work it hard, then the fluid is fine until Ford says. If you work it pretty regularly though then thats something to consider. Or if you spend alot of time in stop and go traffic.

And everyone whos saying you HAVE to change the filter, Ford recommends just a flush at the lower mileages if you happen to work your truck. I've dissected filters with over 100k on them that are quite clean still.

 

This truck doesn't work hard. Twice now, I've towed a light trailer with a 900# bike on it. It hasn't seen to much stop and go traffic and most of the driving is on the highways.

I have a new Ford filter but I'm going to hold off from putting it in.

I appreciate the help from you guys, thanks!

 

"A shop or the home brew method will use the lines at the cooler and have the trans pump out the old while new is fed in" Do you recall which line at the cooler gets disconnected if the tranny was going to pump old fluid out. I followed the lines back to the radiator but i don't know for sure which line should get disconnected.

 

You should have the aux cooler behind the bumper that will be easier to work with.

With the second cooler the line feeding it should come from the radiator, the other should feed the trans.

I had this done on my truck about 7 years ago and it was 150, not sure what they charge now. It is easier to pay someone if you are not sure about the process. I have not done it, I just dropped the vb and that gets all the fluid but the converter.

 

^^^Win

^^^ More Win, but adding a hose leading to a 5 gallon pail would have lessened/eliminated the hemorrhage and mess.

But before flushing your tranny at home rather than at a shop with cross mixed tranny fluid in their machine, drop the pan, replace the filter, reinstall the pan with the new gasket, and (with engine off) add about a pint less of ATF to the tranny than what you drained into the catch pan when you changed the filter. Have a helper start the engine, and as you're watching fluid leave the system and flow into a bucket, add fluid to the tranny via the dipstick tube at about the same rate. Watch the fluid coming out of the hose and into the pail, and eventually there will be a color change; this is when you're done. Shut it off, restore the cooling line, and finish by adjusting the fluid level. Old ATF is great for killing weeds and for getting slash piles/bonfires started in the winter, so do remember to recycle the old fluid.

*Bonus cleaning points for having the helper, with his foot on the brakes, cycle the tranny through each gear for about 15 seconds.

Ford used ball joints and outer TRE's that were also lubed for life. What I expected, and lived to prove, was that the life is about 50,000 miles. Never think for one second that something that is claimed to be lubed for life is intended to last the life of a vehicle. Lubed for life also means that when a car is evaluated for overall maintenance costs, the score is better because someone doesn't have to spend time servicing lubeable components. Looks great on paper to some car shoppers,, sometimes it's not so great to be an owner and learn what that low cost maintenance and the meaning of *life* are all about.

 

What were here for. Just keep an eye on it. you don't want to wait until its brown and burnt obviously, but if you see it start to get darker, more of a maroon or dark blood red instead of pink, then thats when its time to change it. Before it gets burnt out.

 

Thanks for cutting out the part where I said I'd still change it out anyway. I was just saying what Chiltons said, it wasn't my recommendation.

 

Actually, I trimmed it with full intent to specifically focus attention on the "lubed for life" concept in the eyes of manufacturers, and with no intent whatsoever to degrade or circumvent suggested maintenance. If you didn't see that or perceive otherwise, then I don't know what to say.

 

in my ford maintence guide that came with the truck it says at the 150k mark to change transmission fluid and filter, but nothing before that unless its a torqueshift on the bigger trucks.

 

Yeah i mean i was just thanking you for doing that. If you didn't see that or perceived otherwise then I don't know what to say.

 

I found this video on YouTube a long time ago, kinda the same principle if you really want to get in-depth, like if you were to remove the trans lines from the cooler on a Ranger. And obviously the Rangers do not have the handy drain plug. The pan has to come off and under that is the filter which you should change.