Has anyone done a transmission oil change yet

[rooster]

If you are going to worry anything about this transmission it should be that pan is completely exposed to abuse from off road adventures and road debris.

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[MTB-BRUH]

You guys going 150k on your drivetrain fluids are nuts, if you never work your ranger like a truck then maybe, but towing near max capacity with summer temps over 110 and pulling steep mountain hills. No way I’m goin 150k on fluids. Every 60-70k for me, which is probably every 15 years. I ride two wheels as much as possible

 

[P. A. Schilke]

You guys going 150k on your drivetrain fluids are nuts, if you never work your ranger like a truck then maybe, but towing near max capacity with summer temps over 110 and pulling steep mountain hills. No way I’m goin 150k on fluids. Every 60-70k for me, which is probably every 15 years. I ride two wheels as much as possible

Hi Tyler

Ford Durability testing is for a useful life for a 90 percentile customer of 150,000 miles. Your usage is not even close to this type of customer. By the way, people that abide by the owners manual are not nuts.. The correct term is prudent.

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

 

[Mokume]

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

ditto with adjusting the carburetor, there ain't any in any new production car that I can think of since the mid to late eighties that has one.
I still remember however, adjusting Ford idle mixtures via artificial enrichment, such was Ford's (and everyone else's) goal to purposely run that circuit lean.
At least, with the advent of modern multi-touch fuel injection the miles of vacumn hoses used with carbs is gone

 

[Mokume]

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.

Just my two cents here:
The concept of owner un-friendly transmission servicing has become full circle, it started with the elimination of torque converter drain plugs.
If a manufacturer can save money on any vehicle produced, they most certainly will.
Remember Ford using plastic air cleaner cover attaching wing nuts? Nine out of ten times removal of it would result in the stud unscrewing itself from the carburetor.
How about the plastic hinge used on higher end Granada's and all Mercury Monarch's fuel fill cover?
Ditto for Ford combining engine oil pressure/temperature monitoring into one idiot light cryptically labeled "engine".
Don't get me started on Ford's cost cutting blunder to move the horn switch to the turn signal stalk, a feature that is thankfully long gone
Not knocking FoMoCo here, just pointing out items that most definitely were not "Better Ideas"

 

[MTB-BRUH]

Hi Tyler

Ford Durability testing is for a useful life for a 90 percentile customer of 150,000 miles. Your usage is not even close to this type of customer. By the way, people that abide by the owners manual are not nuts.. The correct term is prudent.

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

I don’t tow often but occasionally in those conditions. My personal opinion is fluids will not hold up to 150k miles. But to each there own

 

[Mokume]

I don’t tow often but occasionally in those conditions. My personal opinion is fluids will not hold up to 150k miles. But to each there own

I understand your concerns as well, as I am sure you are aware the two words "maintenance" and "repair" have distinct meanings.
" lack of maintenance = repairs = $$$ "
However, modern lubricants have allowed maintenance intervals one would never dream of in the past.
The 2020 SuperCab I have on order will lead a very easy life, it's intended duties will primarily be hauling home project materials from the local Home Depot, which will be maybe 3X monthly, other than that it will be parked in a covered garage. It may see occasional beach outings but that has become a rarity of late. I don't foresee it accumulating more than 5K miles in it's first year in service.
My trusty '02 Honda CR-V has and will remain to be my daily "beater".

 

[tugger]

I have 42,000 Ford points.I will use up all my points for general maintenance, oil changes(mobile 1), ECT.

 

[DavidR]

Hi Tyler

Ford Durability testing is for a useful life for a 90 percentile customer of 150,000 miles. Your usage is not even close to this type of customer. By the way, people that abide by the owners manual are not nuts.. The correct term is prudent.

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

I was also thinking about bringing this up, since it's important and probably one of the reasons there's so much debate about this.

Reliability statistics at the very high end of the mileage scale don't matter to everyone, and as discussed previously, the design process involves input from not just engineers but bean counters and marketing managers as well, hence the "tail end" gets de-emphasized a bit. It's not bad, it's a necessary part of remaining competitive in the market. But it matters if you're one of the folks who regularly operate at the tail end.

We've had very few vehicles that we didn't keep for at least 250,000 miles and in a few cases, 300,000, which is probably a little out of the design range for passenger and life-style vehicles. For people like that, or people who tow a lot or carry 1000+ lb. campers around in the summer (which we do), there will be a tendency to want to bias things for high longevity at the expense of a somewhat accelerated maintenance schedule.

 

[MountainRanger]

I think I will side with the designers of the transmission over you on this one.

This is not 1965.

Here is a 2019 thought experiment....If the transmission fails, say at 130K miles, by default original oil breakdown is not a suspect because the service schedule says the oil is just fine. After all, it's good for another 20K, right? Are not driving conditions a factor? Just food for thought...

 

[newmantjn]

To the OP question. This job is not easy or fun.

Operating temperature of the fluid is critical to obtaining the correct level as is installation angle of the powertrain, so you can't just jack up a part of the vehicle. You will probably want a hoist and then you need to make sure you have the vehicle set at the correct angle.

You need to pull the pan to drain it. This will only get you the oil in the bottom pan and whatever may have drained out of the torque converter. You will not get most of the torque converter fluid or the fluid in the cooler. The dipstick is inside the large nut towards the front of the trans, behind the bellhousing.

I would save my pennies and get it swapped out correctly at a dealership using a fluid exchanger a later interval. If you feel you need to go earlier than the recommended interval, pick a mileage like 75k and get it done then. I have a feeling it won't be cheap.

 

[I_smell_like_diesel]

I maintain a fleet of ford E-350's, F-350's, F-450's, F-550's, and a few F-150's. We abide by a very strict 30,000 mile transmission service intervals. This involves dropping the pan, replacing the filter with a Motorcraft or Wix equivalent, and fill with Ford spec Motorcraft trans fluid. We have many vehicles that have the original trans with over 250,000 miles (highest that I know of it 360,000 miles and still going).

300,000 miles worth of a 30,000 trans service interval will cost around $700-800

New transmission at the dealer (best option in our experience) $2500-4000

We like to get the fluid out before it turns into lapping compound full of worn clutch material. But we are under very brutal service conditions (vehicles at GVWR and hauling 2 ton and heavier trailers).


The 10R80 in our trucks seems like it will be much easier to service. In the new F-150's, to drop the pan we have to remove the transmission cross member, remove the transmission mount (supports exhaust y pipe), and jack up the trans (to clear the exhaust). Its a pain in the butt, but we'd rather have voluntary down time maintaining our vehicles, than forced into down time due to a breakdown.

"Take care of your tools and your tools will take care of you...."

 

[P. A. Schilke]

I don’t tow often but occasionally in those conditions. My personal opinion is fluids will not hold up to 150k miles. But to each there own

I maintain a fleet of ford E-350's, F-350's, F-450's, F-550's, and a few F-150's. We abide by a very strict 30,000 mile transmission service intervals. This involves dropping the pan, replacing the filter with a Motorcraft or Wix equivalent, and fill with Ford spec Motorcraft trans fluid. We have many vehicles that have the original trans with over 250,000 miles (highest that I know of it 360,000 miles and still going).

300,000 miles worth of a 30,000 trans service interval will cost around $700-800

New transmission at the dealer (best option in our experience) $2500-4000

We like to get the fluid out before it turns into lapping compound full of worn clutch material. But we are under very brutal service conditions (vehicles at GVWR and hauling 2 ton and heavier trailers).


The 10R80 in our trucks seems like it will be much easier to service. In the new F-150's, to drop the pan we have to remove the transmission cross member, remove the transmission mount (supports exhaust y pipe), and jack up the trans (to clear the exhaust). Its a pain in the butt, but we'd rather have voluntary down time maintaining our vehicles, than forced into down time due to a breakdown.

"Take care of your tools and your tools will take care of you...."

Exactly what I had stated. Your usage is above the 90 percentile costumer and your decisions on maintenance is driven by data. not emotion, by which the majority of the thread posters are driven.

I am done here on this tread. It is now become beating a dead horse to get it to move...

Bye!

Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired.

 

[DavidR]

To the OP question. This job is not easy or fun.

Operating temperature of the fluid is critical to obtaining the correct level as is installation angle of the powertrain, so you can't just jack up a part of the vehicle. You will probably want a hoist and then you need to make sure you have the vehicle set at the correct angle.

You need to pull the pan to drain it. This will only get you the oil in the bottom pan and whatever may have drained out of the torque converter. You will not get most of the torque converter fluid or the fluid in the cooler. The dipstick is inside the large nut towards the front of the trans, behind the bellhousing.

I would save my pennies and get it swapped out correctly at a dealership using a fluid exchanger a later interval. If you feel you need to go earlier than the recommended interval, pick a mileage like 75k and get it done then. I have a feeling it won't be cheap.

Yes, the procedure is relatively complicated. I found the service manual chapter on it in an F150 forum and posted it earlier in this thread, so yeah, I'm aware of the procedure and it's not very fun. Unless you have a lift, it's basically all done on your back.

And I agree. I've always done my own transmission oil changes in the past, especially since getting it done elsewhere has always been expensive relative to the work involved in all of our previous vehicles. For this truck, though, I haven't decided for sure I will do it myself. Like you point out, it will be expensive, but even if you cut the recommended schedule in half, that's still only once every 75K miles.

 

[Mokume]

Exactly what I had stated. Your usage is above the 90 percentile costumer and your decisions on maintenance is driven by data. not emotion, by which the majority of the thread posters are driven.

I am done here on this tread. It is now become beating a dead house to get it to move...

Bye!

Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired.

"house" you say Phil?
I've know some people who've beaten on a house with a Volvo loader or a Case backhoe and they got it move...permanently
(Yes, I know it's a typo Phil, keep your shirt on man! ...lol)

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