Time to change the transmission fluid in my '03 Ranger 4.0/5r55e automatic. I dropped the pan and changed the filter but decided to go the extra mile and do a "gentle" flush on the whole transmission also. I picked up 12 qts of Mercon V fluid. After dropping the pan and changing the filter I put 4 qts of new fluid back in.



Next, go under the front of the truck to where the hard trans cooler lines meet the rubber lines going to the cooler. I removed the plastic cover/tray thing under there to make it easier on myself. Remove the hose clamps, pull of the rubber hoses, and use some clear 3/8" ID vinyl tubing. Fits perfectly over the hard lines. Keep a drain pan underneath this because the cooler will drain out some fluid.



I wasn't sure which line would pump fluid once the truck was started but it turned out being the one on the left, closest to the driver side. I put the vinyl tubing on both sides to be safe.



Now get a helper (in this case my wife and my daughter) to start the truck.



I measured and marked out quart levels in an old milk jug to keep track of what was getting pumped out of the transmission. I had the wife start the truck, pump out 2 qts, turn the truck off, and then refilled with 2 new qts. Repeated 4 times I got 8 new qts in plus the 4 qts I had replaced with the pan drop and filter change. By doing 2 qts at a time I didn't risk running the transmission dry and sucking in air.




By the end of this process nice new clean fluid was coming out and the change is complete.



I then idled the truck to get it warm, ran the shifter through all the gears (P, R, N, D, 2, 1) and checked and rechecked the fluid level and then took it out for about a 20 mile drive. Bring it home, check the fluid level again. Successful job!

Since my truck only has 64k miles on it, I was not worried about ruining the transmission by doing a large fluid swap. The trans fluid that was in the truck was still fairly good looking and didn't smell burnt or anything. Not sure if it was the original or not. If yours is a higher mileage truck and the fluid has never been changed I would maybe not mess with it or just do a pan drop and filter change. Its obviously at your own risk!!

 

This is excellent!

I'm going to do this over the weekend. My problem with the 2.3l is that it doesn't have the rubber hoses like your ranger does... I have hard lines all the way from the transmission to the radiator. So I have to disconnect the bottom line.

Great thread!

-Nigel

 

At it again eh? Lol

 

Yea, I did it back 30k miles ago and can't remember which hardline I did... Pretty sure it was the top honestly since the flow is top, going through the radiator then down through bottom hose..lol

It's shifting weird when on the highway via overdrive... dumbass me put that Lube Guard RED in there and since that it's been acting funny, shifting or dropping down a gear depending on how I am adding throttle...arg! My fault but the trans fluid needs changed now because of it so figure I might as well get that **** out of it... I think what it did was make the friction modifiers more because it seems to slip in and out of overdrive.

I'll have the fluid by Monday so at least I can get everything together by then.

-Nigel

 

I gave this a try today but something doesn't seem to be working. I dropped the pan and put in a new filter. I cleaned up the pan and put on a new gasket. After putting the pan back on I put in 4 quarts of transmission fluid. I dropped both lines and hooked up some clear tubing. I had my helper start up the car and I waited for transmission fluid to start pumping out but nothing ever came out. After a few minutes I finally told my helper to shut off the engine. Any ideas on why nothing came out of the lines?

 

Have to ask why you did this

1. Transmission working perfect, just wanted to drain/fill/flush ?
2. Transmission acting up, was hoping a drain/refill might help ?
3. Transmission not working at all, was hoping drain/refill would help?

Is this truck a 2WD or 4x4 ? they take different filters, a 4x4 has a deeper pan and needs a taller filter to reach the fluid,
if it's a 2WD, is it possible someone put a 4x4 pan on so you need a 4x4 filter?