Has anyone done a transmission oil change yet

DavidR

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Call me old-school, but while the owner's manual states that a transmission oil change is not needed until 150,000 miles, I've always drained and replaced the trans fluid on new cars after a break-in period of 4000-5000 miles or so.

Has anyone tried this yet? In one thread someone stated that there is a dipstick, but it's only accessible with the truck on a lift. I haven't checked for that yet, but I'll assume it's there and that it's also the fill point, which sounds like a pretty inconvenient location. It also appears that there is no drain plug - I assume you need to drop the whole oil pan? I haven't seen that sort of thing for 30 years..
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DavidR

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They don't make it easy because you aren't supposed to do it...
That may be your opinion, and it's obviously Ford's as well. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I don't buy into the trend that all owners are incapable of doing basic maintenance items like transmission oil changes, or even checks, especially on a vehicle like a truck, which can get heavy use. To Ford, even just checking the level should be off limits. From the manual:

"NOTE: Transmission fluid should be checked by an authorized dealer. If required, fluid should be added by an authorized dealer".​

This is the first time we've had a vehicle that makes even just checking the trans fluid nearly inaccessible. I love this truck so far, but this is unacceptable. I don't see any reason this should be made artificially difficult, IMHO.
 

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I'll do mine at around 50,000 probably. I suspect and hope there is a drain plug hidden somewhere. Either way, you will need to carefully measure the amount that drains out and replace only that amount. You're only going to be able to drain about 50 % of the fluid. I suppose a shop would have a vacuum pump to suction it all out. After adding the new fluid you could take it to a quick lane and have them check the fluid level. All newer cars are like this unfortunately. Another overlooked maintenance item you can do more easily is replace the differential oil after 30,000 miles or so. Especially on a 4WD. At the very least by draining some of your transmission fluid you can see what condition it is in, red versus black.
 
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DavidR

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I'll do mine at around 50,000 probably. I suspect and hope there is a drain plug hidden somewhere. Either way, you will need to carefully measure the amount that drains out and replace only that amount. You're only going to be able to drain about 50 % of the fluid. I suppose a shop would have a vacuum pump to suction it all out. After adding the new fluid you could take it to a quick lane and have them check the fluid level. All newer cars are like this unfortunately. Another overlooked maintenance item you can do more easily is replace the differential oil after 30,000 miles or so. Especially on a 4WD. At the very least by draining some of your transmission fluid you can see what condition it is in, red versus black.
That's a good point that there might be a plug somewhere above the oil pan, with the assumption that a pump will be used to extract oil from the pan. It could also be that the dipstick/fill port is designed to be used that way.

A concern I have is that with the fill port being under the car and difficult to access, it will require a pump to get the new oil in. While that's not unusual for differentials and transfer cases, the amount of oil will be much more for a transmission, so the simple pumps people use for those would be pretty inconvenient for the trans fluid.

And yeah, as you point out it's pretty common for the total capacity to be different from the change amount. Since the owner's manual doesn't specify the difference, it could be measured, as you suggest, or maybe it's specified in the service manual (which I don't currently have). Actually all of these questions would probably be answered in the service manual. Maybe time to find one..

Even if I forego the early change I usually do at around 5000 miles, I also plan to change it long before 150,000.
 


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DavidR

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I found the attached excerpt from the service manual posted in an F150 forum.

There are a few interesting things about it:

- The procedure does involve removing the oil pan to drain the oil.

- If I'm reading it correctly, if all you do is remove the oil pan to drain oil, the refill amount is only 3.5 quarts. If you did a complete overhaul, the refill amount is 12 quarts. That's a bigger difference than I've seen with most other transmissions, where it's closer to 50%.

- The procedure does involve pumping the new oil in through the dipstick/fill port.

- There is a procedure for purging air from the trans fluid cooling system. It's not clear whether it's still necessary in the case where you have only replaced 3.5 quarts of oil.
 

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DBRanger

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I would probably want to remove the pan anyway, to change the filter. I do not have a service manual yet but I intend to get one someday soon.
 

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I'm sure Ford is basing the maintenance schedule on more than "opinion". It's not 1970, these things really don't need constant maintenance.
I know, I went out last night with my dwell meter to set the points, and couldn't find any , and that feller from down at Ford said they aint any. Dern
 

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That may be your opinion, and it's obviously Ford's as well. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I don't buy into the trend that all owners are incapable of doing basic maintenance items like transmission oil changes, or even checks, especially on a vehicle like a truck, which can get heavy use. To Ford, even just checking the level should be off limits. From the manual:

"NOTE: Transmission fluid should be checked by an authorized dealer. If required, fluid should be added by an authorized dealer".​

This is the first time we've had a vehicle that makes even just checking the trans fluid nearly inaccessible. I love this truck so far, but this is unacceptable. I don't see any reason this should be made artificially difficult, IMHO.
I think I will side with the designers of the transmission over you on this one.

This is not 1965.
 
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I think I will side with the designers of the transmission over you on this one.

This is not 1965.
I think everyone is missing my point. I was never arguing that the maintenance intervals haven't increased over time. I never said anywhere that the transmission oil should be changed every 12,000 miles or whatever it may have been in 1965 or 1970. OK, I'm a little old-school and would like to do a change after break-in, but after that I'm fine with a longer schedule, though like @DBRanger, I probably won't wait until 150,000 miles. 50,000 sounds reasonable though.

My point was just that it doesn't matter whether you choose 50,000 miles or something else, I find it objectionable that they have made it difficult to even keep an eye on the transmission fluid let alone change it. I don't see any technical reason why Ford should think that knowledgeable owners should no longer be told in the owner's manual how to even just check the transmission fluid, and that the dipstick should be hidden away in a difficult to access location.
 
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VAMike

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I think everyone is missing my point. I was never arguing that the maintenance intervals haven't increased over time. I never said anywhere that the transmission oil should be changed every 12,000 miles or whatever it may have been in 1965 or 1970. OK, I'm a little old-school and would like to do a change after break-in, but after that I'm fine with a longer schedule, though like @DBRanger, I probably won't wait until 150,000 miles. 50,000 sounds reasonable though.

My point was just that it doesn't matter whether you choose 50,000 miles or something else, I find it objectionable that they have made it difficult to even keep an eye on the transmission fluid let alone change it. I don't see any technical reason why Ford should think that knowledgeable owners should no longer be told in the owner's manual how to even just check the transmission fluid, and that the dipstick should be hidden away in a difficult to access location.
Again, because it isn't needed. In general, manufacturers don't spend money on things that aren't needed.
 

Hounddog409

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I think everyone is missing my point. I was never arguing that the maintenance intervals haven't increased over time. I never said anywhere that the transmission oil should be changed every 12,000 miles or whatever it may have been in 1965 or 1970. OK, I'm a little old-school and would like to do a change after break-in, but after that I'm fine with a longer schedule, though like @DBRanger, I probably won't wait until 150,000 miles. 50,000 sounds reasonable though.

My point was just that it doesn't matter whether you choose 50,000 miles or something else, I find it objectionable that they have made it difficult to even keep an eye on the transmission fluid let alone change it. I don't see any technical reason why Ford should think that knowledgeable owners should no longer be told in the owner's manual how to even just check the transmission fluid, and that the dipstick should be hidden away in a difficult to access location.
Most cars dont even have a tranny dipstick anymore. Checking the tranny fluid is going the route of the dodo bird.

Just the way it is. So i dont worry about it.

If tranny break in was a thing, this wouldnt be the case.
 

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Hi Folks,

Ford durability is run in accordance with the change intervals as specified in the owners manual and are specified by the vehicle program people. If the owners manual says 150,000 miles for the transmission fluid, then the durability testing will not entail a transmission fluid change during the durability cycle.

The push for today's vehicles is to be as maintenance free as possible, Oil change intervals are way longer than the Jiffy Lube 3000 miles they advertise. Now the oil changes are dictated by a computer algorithm, so you drive until it says change engine oil. Thus the push to extend transmission fluid to the useful life of the vehicle at 150,000 miles. With today's modern materials and machining capabilities, customer maintenance is becoming less and less.

You are wasting time, money and effort on changing the transmission fluid in my opinion.

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
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