If you are thinking about changing your transmission fluid, read this first

[Dr. Zaius]

Federal Agencies should not be mandating anything until they get their own house in order, For Instance...

• DENVER -- The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday it will not repay claims totaling more than $1.2 billion for economic damages from a mine waste spill the agency accidentally triggered in Colorado, saying the law prohibits it.
• EPA still failing to act on widespread toxic chemical contamination of U.S. drinking water

I'm also pretty sure that eliminating self-performed maintenance is one of the reasons the EPA is pushing EVs.

It's certainly not because the electricity that powers them is produced in environmentally friendly coal fired plants, or the environmentally friendly battery packs when they need to be disposed of.

Back to the transmission fluid:

I have a brand new in the box Mishimoto pan in my garage that I'm hesitant to install until after my warranty is out.

If (maybe when) something goes wrong with my transmission, I wouldn't be surprised a bit if Ford denied warranty due to an aftermarket pan, regardless if it's better than the factory pan.

I'll also remove my Fitzstick if I take it in for the transmission to be looked at.

Ford is apparently becoming as bad as Hyundai about attempting to dodge warranty claims so I don't want to give them anything to throw back at me.

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[Canadian Ranger]

i was probably one of the earlier ones that ordered the Dorman pan. In fact I created a thread on asking others their experience. Didn’t get any thing back saying not to, so I did it. First one I could never tighten the plug tight enough to keep it from leaking. Changed the crush washer two additional times to different types and still no luck. Had to drain it every time and filter the fluid each time to satisfy my ocd of making sure no dirt got back in. Returned it for a new one as defective. Put the new one on and plug did not leak. Fucking gasket did and I couldn’t stop it. I threw the damn thing in the trash and put the stock one back on. I can have it drained, removed and back on in 15 minutes now start to finish. I do not endorse the Dorman pan.

Thanks for your feedback, much appreciated.

 

[Canadian Ranger]

True...but hey, after draining you still gotta pump fluid back in the same hole lol...

All of my fluids come in bags with convenient spouts, it's no hassle at all.

 

[Chris M]

I just had my 2021 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 serviced - Transmission Fluid Exchange and Brake Fluid Exchange. 52,722 miles on the odometer. I wasn't having any issues with either system . . . just wanted to have both serviced as preventative maintenance. Transmission fluid checked out fine - no signs of debris in the system, no burning smell, good color, etc. and same with the brake fluid. The brake pedal now has more "firmness" to it, and I've always suspected that there was air in the system from the factory.

They do not have to drop the pan with a fluid exchange. The machine used to flush/exchange the fluid reads pressures so the technician can tell if the filter is starting to build up with debris. A fluid exchange plus filter change is a lot more involved. First, the fluid has to be exchanged, then the pan dropped for filter replacement, followed by refilling fluid. If the only thing done is a pan removal and filter change, a lot of old fluid still remains in the system. That's what makes the cost go up. I will eventually do a filter change as well, but the service writer said the exchange would be fine for now. It would have been nice to replace the filter too, but it really adds a lot to the cost. As it is, I think they used 16 quarts of fluid - even though the transmission system uses just under 13. Part of that comes from flushing the old fluid out and adding the flush kit. I've always had good luck with my dealership and when I walked around the outside of the building, I could see my truck being worked on, and they definitely put the time in and did the job correctly.

If you don't mind my asking, how much were you charged for that service?

 

[2021Ranger]

My 21 lariat has 8000 miles on it now and have a ppe pan ready for it when I have some more miles on it. I think I’m just going to drill a hole in the stock plastic pan to drain the fluid. I didn’t want to send the $ on a pump I may not ever use again and that stock pan is junk anyway.
has anyone glued in an extra magnet or two in the pan as it seems to be some of the issues with the trans?

 

[Fx4ranger2019Larait]

My 21 lariat has 8000 miles on it now and have a ppe pan ready for it when I have some more miles on it. I think I’m just going to drill a hole in the stock plastic pan to drain the fluid. I didn’t want to send the $ on a pump I may not ever use again and that stock pan is junk anyway.
has anyone glued in an extra magnet or two in the pan as it seems to be some of the issues with the trans?

$7.49 transfer pump from harbor freight can’t beat that price even for one time use. I wouldn’t want to get my drill soaked in trans fluid. Or worst case drill too deep and hit something critical. To risky just my opinion.

https://www.harborfreight.com/multi...-m3rDOJsLqM4qAJaeVEcLEJiMBx1_Ds0aAgu1EALw_wcB

 

[Msfitoy]

All of my fluids come in bags with convenient spouts, it's no hassle at all.

I use a 12v pump...

 

[dtech]

Federal Agencies should not be mandating anything until they get their own house in order, For Instance...

• DENVER -- The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday it will not repay claims totaling more than $1.2 billion for economic damages from a mine waste spill the agency accidentally triggered in Colorado, saying the law prohibits it.
• EPA still failing to act on widespread toxic chemical contamination of U.S. drinking water

The EPA recently released standards geared towards reducing/eliminating forever chemicals. But some of remediation cost must be borne by local munis and it's costly.

The mine spill on the Animas was a blunder that shouldn't have happened but from what I heard there was minimal damage to the downstream watershed, the chemicals released by the spill are always present in the river, the spill just temporarily raised the levels and it looked worse than it really was and like most everything else lawyers were quick to try and get millions but the plaintiffs (many native american landowners) were unable to produce much to validate the damage claims. Some of this info comes from a friend who spent decades working on mining site remediations in the US and Chile .

The EPA is an agency that has it's supporters and it's detractors, some would like the agency to be dissolved completely as they feel it overreaches. But they have set numerous standards that were previously non existent for air and water quality. Enforcing them is a different matter altogether.

 

[DRVMN]

If you don't mind my asking, how much were you charged for that service?

Just over $400 for both services . . . I had a $20 coupon.

 

[pbethel]

Google "transmission pan drain plug kit".

 

[Msfitoy]

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=transmission+drain+plug+kit

 

[Sojourner]

Holding up their reputation I see.

Sorry you've had less than good luck with Dorman. I've actually had great experiences with Dorman products.

In fact, Dorman saved my butt when I had the 6R80 lead frame problem on my older F-150 and Dorman was the ONLY place I could get a replacement (dealer wanted almost $3k to do the repair AND couldn't get a lead frame replacement; some folks had their F-150s sitting at dealerships for over 6 months!).

Did the switch out of the lead frame myself and switched to the Dorman metal trans pan with drain plug as part of the repair (overall cost was under $750). Worked out wonderfully well. It's where I learned all about how ridiculous Ford has made trans fluid replacement.

 

[MountainGoat]

All of my fluids come in bags with convenient spouts, it's no hassle at all.

Looks like forbidden SunnyD.

 

[Ranger1001]

I've read several threads where people say what a mess draining stock transmission with no drain plug.
I plan on doing mine soon. Can you drill a hole in stock pan to drain? Of course I plan on replacing pan with aftermarket pan.

 

[TJC]

Buy the $25 pump. Pump fluid out via the stock dipstick location. Then pull the pan leaving one end loose but still connected. Whatever is left in the pan will pour out through the lower end of the pan and can be easily captured.

Any other way and you are going to get very dirty with ATF.

Once you add a pan with a drain plug things will get simpler. But I think I still prefer to suck what I can out through the MBS dip stick. I can get an accurate measurement of what came out.

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