Transmission Service?

[HD_F250]

Doug,

I was thinking about this the other day...how often should you service your transmission?

Also when you do service it should you just drain the oil and change the filter (if there is one), or should you flush the whole tranny and then refill?

[PSDPlayer]

If you tow and 95% of us do. Then the interval is supposed to be 30k miles. You can change the filter if you want, but its mainly for when the trans fails and is there to catch large pieces. If you have a mag-hytec trans pan like me, then you can probably get away with 60k easily.

[Grizzly660]

How many quarts would a fluid change take?

[PSDPlayer]

8 quarts in the stock pan. 8 quarts in the converter. Then you can unhook the cooler lines and blow them out. Should hold another 4-5 quarts in there.

[Abrannan19]

good lord..21 quarts..and then the mag hytec allows what..4 more quarts..

good god 25 quarts...

[PSDPlayer]

Mag-hytec adds like another 8 quarts.

[Abrannan19]

holy shit!

29 quarts..I would need a second job just to afford and trans service..

[HD_F250]

Well, I have 64k miles on my truck and no tranny services yet...should I be worried? lol

[mikeym]

probably time for a fluid change...

[Grizzly660]

Im at 75000 and no tranny service. I :eek: :eek: should be really worried????

[npccpartsman]

LOL--I overhauled mine at 75K and serviced it at 30k and 60K. I think mine took no more than 16qts to do a total overhaul and I drained the convertor. I don't think if you emptied all the guts out of the case and filled it completely full it would hold 7 gallons, but it might. After all the insides are back in there's not much room in the case. In fact I started with a case and 4 quarts and had 3 left over--that's with a stock pan and cleaning out the cooler and radiator.

[PSDPlayer]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 border=1><TBODY><TR><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" vAlign=top align=left colSpan=2>Fluid Capacity</TD></TR><TR><TD style="BORDER-TOP: medium none" vAlign=top align=left colSpan=2>
The fluid capacities are approximate dry fill capacities and include the fluid coolers, fluid filter and fluid cooler tubes.
Fluid should be checked with the vehicle on a level surface and at normal operating temperature.</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left>Transmission Fluid</TD><TD vAlign=top align=middle>18.0L (19.2 quart)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

So I was a little over.

[npccpartsman]

But really close with the mag-hytec pan installed

[tjheavychevy]

yeah and if your like me, its not that expensive because I dont have to run that high as heck tranny fluid.When I swapped over to the suncoast they told me just to run dercon/mercon III

[PSDPlayer]

So you changed the pump? You changed the solenoids? You changed the sizes of the ports in the transmission? The new stuff was designed with a different viscosity. So the question is..... Is the mercon III thinner or thicker than SP?

[tjheavychevy]

Well I couldnt tell you that one way or the other, All I know is that suncoast knows alittle more than me and when I was down there talking to teir tech guy he said their 5r110 rebuild uses dercon/mercon III.

[Grizzly660]

Well I figure when this one burns up it will give me the excuse to buy a suncoast tranny!!:D

[PSDPlayer]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 border=1><TBODY><TR><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" vAlign=top align=left colSpan=2>Fluid</TD></TR><TR><TD style="BORDER-TOP: medium none" vAlign=top align=left colSpan=2>CAUTION: MERCON®, MERCON®V and MERCON®SP are not interchangeable transmission fluids.

Use of any fluid other than the recommended fluid may cause transmission damage.
Refer to the fluid level indicator for the type of transmission fluid required.
The transmission fluid should be changed every 48,000 km (30,000 miles) regardless of normal or special operating conditions.
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left>Motorcraft MERCON®SP Automatic Transmission Fluid XT-6-QSP</TD><TD vAlign=top align=middle>MERCON®SP</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


Example. If you put mercon V in a trans needing mercon III. Like say a E4OD It will slip its ass off and burn it up.

[tjheavychevy]

Well I dont really have a explanation for you. I am not going to pretend to know more about this than you,suncoast, or the ford guys. All I know is that I have had the suncoast unit in my truck for about 45000 miles. But this may be what caused the reverse clutches to flake off about 1000 miles ago.Who knows?Maybe I should go back to el-expensivo tranny fluid to see if it makes the tranny last any longer.

[PSDPlayer]

Retooled Mercon May Prove Costly </B>

By Tim Sullivan

Ford Motor Co. says it is seeking greater assurance that automatic transmission fluids bearing its Mercon trademark are worthy to bear its seal of approval.

Lubricant blenders are not happy about the costs they will incur for that peace of mind.

In conjunction with its launch of a specification for low-viscosity fluid, the automaker recently amended its Mercon program to require companies producing any Mercon-licensed ATF at multiple plants to obtain approvals for each plant. Market sources say the changes will increase costs by $20,000 or more per plant.

“This is really going to drive up costs for companies that make fluid at several different sites,” said one marketer, who spoke on condition that he not be identified. “I can’t see these changes yielding benefits that are worth the cost. But, of course, Ford doesn’t have to bear those costs.”

Ford’s Service Automatic Transmission Fluid Committee announced the changes in a June 1 letter, ahead of last month’s introduction of the Mercon SP specification for low-viscosity ATF used in new high-torque transmissions. SP is the third spec in the Mercon program, the others being Mercon and Mercon V (Roman numeral 5). The latter two fluids are used in most Ford vehicles with automatic transmissions.

The Mercon program offers licenses to three types of marketers. Original formulators make fluids using formulas that they develop themselves or in cooperation with additive companies. Reblenders produce fluids using formulas for which others have obtained approval. Rebranders typically repackage fluid that others blend. Some 400 to 450 commercial ATF products are covered by the program.

Ford charges $3,000 per original license, $2,500 for reblenders and $2,000 for each rebrander. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The program’s major expenses come from testing required to verify that fluids meet the specs.

Until now, Ford has required original licensees to submit samples from their own labs to third-party testing companies, which determine if the sample meets specification requirements. However, according to the June 1 letter from the Ford committee to current licensees, the automaker will now require companies to submit two samples – a lab sample and a production sample from the plant designated as the primary blending site. The purpose of the former is to test the fluid’s formula, the latter to guarantee the plant’s ability to make a fluid that matches the formula.

The letter says licensees that make fluid at more than one plant will now be required to obtain reblender approvals for all of them. The ATF committee said in its letter that the changes were made to ensure that the quality of Mercon fluids “remains constant.” Ford officials declined Lube Report’s requests for further comment.

Market observers said the changes will indeed give the carmaker tighter control over the quality of products carrying its trademark.

“If they want to understand the quality of what’s actually on the market, this is a good move,” said Katherine Richard, marketing technical service representative for specialty lubricants at Infineum. “But it is going to increase licensing costs for larger companies that have more than one plant.”

Some companies may see their bill for licensing fees increase several-fold. Testing fees will also rise in proportion with the number of plants at which companies blend. Sources said Ford has added new tests that will raise the cost of reblender testing to approximately $20,000 – still significantly less than costs of tests for original formulators. Additive companies have typically covered those costs in the past, but some blenders speculated that they may cease to do so when the bill increases.

The good news for blenders and additive companies is that the changes generally do not take effect for nine months. Companies applying to renew licenses before June 30, 2005 must disclose all plants that blend the licensed fluid but need obtain approvals for just one plant.

Ford officials declined to discuss the SP specification, but market sources said it was developed for high-torque five-speed transmissions built by German manufacturer ZF and used by Ford in some light trucks. The biggest differences between SP and the two older Mercon specs are the viscosity requirements. SP requires a kinematic viscosity of 5.5 to 6 square millimeters per second at 100 degrees C, compared to a minimum of 6.8 for both Mercon and Mercon V. SP also has more stringent requirements for cold-temperature Brookfield viscosity.

Infineum’s Richard said the viscosity and shear stability requirements of SP will drive formulators to use Group III and partial synthetic base stocks, compared to Mercon and Mercon V, which can be formulated with Group I and Group II base stocks, respectively. She and other observers agreed that demand for SP will be small, at least for the time being.

[npccpartsman]

My suncoast kit said no SP required either, but that's what I put back in. I figuered it was something to do with the clutch material, but the solenoids seem to be the picky part of the transmission. I know Ford came out with a screen that goes in the valve body to protect against the very fine particles that get in and make the solenoids lazy since the in pan filter is nothing but a screen. Pricey though at about 200 bucks.

[PSDPlayer]

The screen like the external filter is really there for catastrophic failure. If if a planetary gearset comes apart the large chunks of gear won't get back into the solenoid body. The flow rates of the apply components are different from the older stuff to the new stuff. Also the difference in mercon V and mercon III is that V has some friction modifier in it to make the newer stuff apply smoother. So if you put the III in the V you will be good but if you but the V in something needing III then it probably won't like it.

[Larsonator]

Is a dealer the best place to go to get your tranny serviced. I'm at 55k. Probably time. Wonder what it cost...

[heinzboy]

Is a dealer the best place to go to get your tranny serviced. I'm at 55k. Probably time. Wonder what it cost...

Last oil change and transmission change was 300 bucks.:(