what's the real deal w/ Tranny fluid replacement?

nsjuice

nsjuice

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My old man traded his 97 Mk8 LS for my ToyTruck T100 about 8 months ago. He bought a new car, and wanted a truck to haul things around. So I said.. heck, why not? the truck had 200+ miles at the time while the Mark only had 97K!

I still remember when he first bought it in February of 97!! Still a beauty! My dad bought her with the Dealer Landau cloth top... looks great still, but I know the top won't last for another 2 years before it starts to deteriorate.

Aside from everything else, my dad always garaged and really took care of the Mark Except for the Tranny fluid. So far, all I've had to do is recently order a Driver side rear airbag From Mr. Spinks and put some 245/50s shoes on her.


My main concern now is Tranny fluid. I know for sure he has never replaced it. It's now hitting the 127K mark. Ive read some horror stories on here about this but also couldn't find relative posts with the search.

But also experienced one myself with the ToyTruck.. It began to slip often, and with 2 drain/ fills later.. the tranny went back to normal.. again, it's a Toyota tranny with 100+K (had it replaced before). I took a risk there knowing what would come out of it, and got lucky.

The same worries stands with the Mark8 tranny. There are currently no issues with it. It shifts smooth, with no complaints... except I notice maybe twice a month when downshifting to first.. it seems a BIT harsh.


What would be the best step to take?? Should I even bother drain/fill with Merc5? Or maybe Just drain a quart and fill with a quart??

I've grown to love her so much, i'd hate to handicap her in any way. I'd rather drive her till she gives.

Apologies for the long story.

Thanks guys, everyone on here is so much help.


-Ness
 
Take it somewhere that will flush the torque converter and do a full refill with Mercron V. I would not worry about "causing a new problem", there is no way 11 year old tranny fluid can be better for the car.
 
I would drop the pan and replace the filter and fill it full of new merc5 to top it off.... drive a thousand miles or so and then repeat that process
.
 
General rule at the dealership I worked at was if it was over 100k and never had a tranny flush, dont do it because the trans wont last more then 5k.
 
Staffamerica74 said:
General rule at the dealership I worked at was if it was over 100k and never had a tranny flush, dont do it because the trans wont last more then 5k.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, I just had mine done at Ford at 128k miles, but they did give me a 12 month / 12,000 mile warranty on the work. I figure I just need to beat it for 11,000 miles and take it in and complain =)
 
That's what I am referring to.. "the general rule". I've gotten the same from good friends who are Toyota and Honda techs. I guess it applies here too?


I'm stumped.

12k mile warranty? I'll do that in 6 months! lol I take the Mark on long relaxing getaways frequently!
 
The problem with flushing a trans that is that bad, is that as the clutches wear out, that friction material gets mixed in with the fluid. Sometimes, if the clutches are really worn, all that's making it work is the friction material in the fluid. If you take that away, the trans might start to slip, or the car might not even drive off the lift. Where this problem usually comes into play is that people will neglect their trans and never change the fluid, and then as soon as it starts acting up, they take it in for a flush. Usually by that point, it is too late though. If your trans isn't having any issues right now, I would reccomend doing like kustomizingkid said, drop the pan and change the filter, add new fluid, and a month or so later, repeat the process, only the second time around, also drain the torque converter. However if your trans is currently acting up, its probably on its last legs anyway, and I would just start saving to replace it.
 
Blenderhead said:
If your trans isn't having any issues right now, I would reccomend doing like kustomizingkid said, drop the pan and change the filter, add new fluid, and a month or so later, repeat the process, only the second time around, also drain the torque converter. However if your trans is currently acting up, its probably on its last legs anyway, and I would just start saving to replace it.
Click to expand...



Thanks, that's the thorough response I was looking for. Not so much a guarantee, but more of assurance towards my scenario.

thanks for all the feedback fellas.

I <3 my Mark.

-Ness


ps-Off topic and Not that it matters, but am I the only Asian guy on the Mark8 Forums? lol :shifty:
 
i am surprised nobody mentioned this:

how does the fluid look/smell right now?

if its burnt all to hell and brown/black no longer red you may be in trouble, if its still got some red and doesnt smell or doesnt smell "TOO BAD" changing it wont be a problem.
 
When I had my trans done, I thought I was getting a shudder, but after a month, it actually turned out to be a bad COP.

What I did was had Valvoline do a trans service, long story short all they did was flush it and not drop the pan. I complained, got a refund for the $137 from them. Took it to my local dealer, got a full service done for $209. The tech informed me that it was the first time that pan had been dropped. I put about 600 miles on it inbetween Valvoline and Ford, so I probably did a good thing LOL. No problems and it's been about 4000 miles now.

On the 12k miles, I do that in about 5 months or less as my Mark is a daily driver which gets about 100 miles a day put on it to work and back.

nsjuice said:
ps-Off topic and Not that it matters, but am I the only Asian guy on the Mark8 Forums? lol :shifty:
Click to expand...

I suspected you were Asian from your accent =P
 
Don't worry about the mileage, just consider that it is still working fine right now. Most would say "don't fix it if it isn't broken" but, with an automatic transmission, if you start to experience symptoms then it is already too late (usually). The fact that it is shifting just fine means you will be ok changing the fluid - do it now *before* you start to have any symptoms. Remember that fresh fluid will never actually cause problems, just exacerbate existing problems.
 
If you take it somewhere to have it done, I'd recommend taking it to a Ford or Lincoln dealer and spending the extra cash. Call around to the local dealerships as I ran into a $130 difference in price between the lowest and highest quotes at my local dealers. While the 'quick lube' places do infact flush the fluid, most of them do not drop the pan, they just do a fluid transfusion, at this point you probably want the filter changed if it's never been done. There are some things that are worth having a dealership do. While I was in there, they went ahead and did the Cruise control recall swap as well.
 
At 127k and never being drained before. I would pull the pan, change the filter & replace the 3 or 4 quarts that came out with whatever was in it. If it hasn't been touched then I would use what your owners manual calls for. probally mercon III. Wait about 6 months & do the same thing again. At those miles without prior service I would not do the flush & fill as you very well could shock it & need a new trans. The mercon V is not the cure all that some make it out to be. With those miles I wouldn't chance it.
 
turborich said:
At 127k and never being drained before. I would pull the pan, change the filter & replace the 3 or 4 quarts that came out with whatever was in it. If it hasn't been touched then I would use what your owners manual calls for. probally mercon III. Wait about 6 months & do the same thing again. At those miles without prior service I would not do the flush & fill as you very well could shock it & need a new trans. The mercon V is not the cure all that some make it out to be. With those miles I wouldn't chance it.
Click to expand...

Do not EVER! put mercon3 in a 4R70. MerconV isn't a cure-all, but it was specifically designed to solve certain problems that the 4R70 had while it was running on merc3. Plus the price difference between the 2 fluids is practically nothing now, so there is no reason to put the cheap stuff back in.
 
A Ford TSB on the subject below....

TSB
06-14-4


MERCON ATF IS BEING REPLACED BY MERCON V ATF AS A SERVICE FLUID.

n Date: June 29, 2006

FORD:

1980-1997 Crown Victoria
1981-1997 Mustang, Thunderbird
1981-2003 Escort
1986-1993 Festiva
1986-1997 Taurus
1989-1997 Probe
1994-1997 Aspire
1995-2000 Contour
1980-1996 Bronco
1981-2003 F-150
1981-2004 E-Series, F-Super Duty
1983-1996 Ranger
1986-1996 Aerostar
1991-1997 Explorer
1993-2004 F-53 Motorhome Chassis
1995-1998 Windstar
1997-2004 Expedition
2000-2005 Excursion
2001-2007 Escape
1987-2000 F- & B-Series
2000-2007 F-650, F-750


LINCOLN:

1980-1997 Town Car
1981-1997 Continental
1993-1997 Mark VIII
1998-2004 Navigator
2002-2003 Blackwood


MERCURY:

1980-1997 Grand Marquis
1981-1997 Cougar
1986-1997 Sable
1987-1999 Tracer
1995-2000 Mystique
1999-2002 Cougar
1993-2002 Villager
1997 Mountaineer
2005-2007 Mariner


MERKUR:

1985-1989 XR4TI

This article supersedes TSB 01-15-7 to update the vehicle application chart.
ISSUE:
MERCON® Automatic Transmission Fluid is being replaced by MERCON® V as a service fluid.
ACTION:
Beginning immediately all automatic transmission / transaxle applications requiring MERCON® can now be serviced using MERCON® V or MERCON® Automatic Transmission Fluid or dual usage fluids labeled MERCON® / MERCON® V. After July 1, 2007, MERCON® Automatic Transmission Fluid will no longer be manufactured, therefore, availability of this fluid will only continue for however long it takes to deplete what remains in inventory.
 
Blenderhead said:
Do not EVER! put mercon3 in a 4R70. MerconV isn't a cure-all, but it was specifically designed to solve certain problems that the 4R70 had while it was running on merc3. Plus the price difference between the 2 fluids is practically nothing now, so there is no reason to put the cheap stuff back in.
Click to expand...

You put what you want in your trans, at 125K on mercon III I have no issues.

Why should he add mercon V fluid to his existing mercon III fluid? That makes no sence, they are not compatible. I don't understand why in the world you are telling him to drain ALL of his trans fluid out & totally replace it. At 127K with no prior service it is a bad idea.

If he had mercon V fluid in there now, then I could see dropping the pan & putting in 4 new qts of V in, But don't mix the two or drain all of your fluid out.

If the trans had been serviced on a regular basis then I may have a different recomendation & the V swap would be just fine. It's not though.
 
my 95, purchased with 68,000 miles..
I put 35K on it, hard miles..many dragstrip passes before it reached 100K.

At 105K I pulled the pan, changed the filter, didn't drain the converter and refilled with mercron 5.

That trans lasted until 360,000 miles and "about" 5000 dragstrip passes.
 
turborich said:
Why should he add mercon V fluid to his existing mercon III fluid? That makes no sence, they are not compatible..
Click to expand...

that's exactly what I did back in 99 or 2000.

while I wouldn't suggest it, I "got away with it".
 
I didn't think this issue would stir this much of a debate.

hmmmmm...


Well, at least I know I'm taking it to the Ford techs so they can drop the pan.


As far as which Fluids.. :confused:
 
nsjuice said:
I didn't think this issue would stir this much of a debate.
Click to expand...

almost any issue around here will spark quite a debate...

just watch..

Chocolate Ice Cream is MUCH BETTER THAN Vanilla Ice Cream

*ducks and covers*
 
XLRVIII said:
almost any issue around here will spark quite a debate...

just watch..

Chocolate Ice Cream is MUCH BETTER THAN Vanilla Ice Cream

*ducks and covers*
Click to expand...



lmao. That's the internet for ya.

*sigh.


forget the Mark, I'm goin back to driving V-TAK cars!!!!!


SYKE!!!!!!!!




ok then, III or V?

since stated that the original in the Mark is III.

How bout a blindfold taste test!? whatever tastes better, I will put in! lol. jk.

So what say you first-handers?
 
nsjuice said:
How bout a blindfold taste test!? whatever tastes better, I will put in! lol. jk.
Click to expand...

No need to "taste", I can tell the difference in a side by side blindfolded SMELL test.

If you have never smelled Mercron 5, DONT.

If your curious dont say you weren't warned.

It's got the worsed "rotten fish oil" smell.

If there is any question if a shop used mercron 5 or mercron III in your car, simply pull the dipstick and smell it.
If you DONT GAG, it's mercron 3.

I used to thing the smell of 90 weight gear oil was bad...until I got a whiff of mercron 5.

You dont even want to know what it smells like when it starts to burn.
The description is definatley NSFW.
 
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