Post by amustangrocks on Sept 13, 2013 20:32:08 GMT -5
Flush Tip: Just dont do it. The factory calls for it. I thought i was doing the right thing, had it flushed twice and just before the 3rd time the trans failed. I lost "R" and "D". My car is a V6 and the V8 trans is similar. Same part # but the housings are different as is a few parts inside.
My symptom: I came out of the dragstrip one night and punched it a little and it revved up and would not engage. I could drop it in low and shift up through the gears and even into OD but didnt have "R". If i tried to start off in "D" it would not go. I did put some serious hard miles on my trans and it lasted to 100k so i have no complaints.
My thoughts on the fix: My first thought was the cable adjustment and or the TCI ratchet shifter i installed some time back or the fluid level. I played with that for a couple days, the fluid was not low, and i did the cable/lever adjustment a couple times, reset the computer and at one point the trans started working and i drove it easy for 2 weeks with no issues till it started doing the same thing the next time i punched it.
A common fail part is the shift solenoid. Seemed to make sense. Hard shifts or erratic are signs, but running a race tune its hard to tell as it shifts real hard to begin with. I bought a brand new one,($275 for fomoco) a new filter and gasket and changed the part(s) myself. You can get a rebuilt one for half that price, and a aftermarket one for much less too. Changing the solenoid is a little tricky. Once you drop the pan and the filter, you`ll see the solenoid. Kinda looks like the old valve body of sorts and is all plastic. It has bolts up into the housing, but the harness which is built into the part plugs up in, the tricky part is theres a bolt that comes down through the housing case and into the solenoid and secures that plug. I had to cut my 10mm end wrench in half and work it blindly with a couple fingertips and feel to deal with the bolt up in the side of the tunnel. After all that it was not my fix anyway.
Time for the trans shop. I was referred to ACE Transmission in Sprng. MO. Great shop. very impressive facility, 12 clean nice bays, separate rebuild shop very organized, with 100+ trans on a wall of racks, where they will swap one out in one day or less, and a separate converter shop. They didnt have one like mine so they rebuilt the one i had, which i was glad of cause i like to keep my own stuff. Turns out Fords made bores in the housing case that hold the servos and they wear bad. That was part of my problem and there were a few other parts wore too. They sleeve those bores with the rebuild, and rebuild the converter too so i had them bump the stall speed just a little at the same time. They also installed a small add on cooler that i had and did the complete job in a few days for $2,100. I was so glad to have my car back working, and chirping the big 275/50-17 tires in 2nd with my little V6
The shop owner said he refused to buy a flush machine and would never use it on someones trans. Its a huge scam and destroys transmissions. Its way better to just drop the pan, replace the filter and replace the 6 out of 13 quarts of fluid that come out while dropping the pan. I will choose to do it more often and keep the fluid nice.(like every 30,000) Over miles, the fluid breaks down and looses the cooling propertys. That in turn kills the trans. So you want to service the fluid, but not with a flush.
How to do it: This is not for everyone. You know if your a DIY kind of person and if your up to it. Or you might want to just have it done. AVOID THE FLUSH!! With the sealed trans and no dipstick its a little tricky and messy. There is a 2 part drain plug in the pan. You can remove the outer part of the plug and drain a good bit of fluid. Then remove the pan bolts and leave one end bolted loose and break the pan loose. Then remove all the bolts and carefully drop the pan. There will still be a bunch of fluid in it and will be hard to balance, if it gets away from you will dump a couple quarts or so on the floor. (did that) Once the pan is off you`ll see the filter and the bolts holding it on. Its mostly plastic and easy to replace and is a cheap part. ($15-$20) If there are any little tiny brass or bronze looking flakes in the pan its not a good sign. Clean the pan out and you`ll see what looks like a donut inside the pan with wet dust over it. Its a magnet. Pull it off and clean it good and the pan and stick it back on. The pan gasket is rubber and is good for many changes. You wont need to buy a gasket. I did, $17, sitting on the shelf.
Reinstall the pan, snug all the bolts and then tighten them in a criss cross pattern till they are all tight. Now the fun part. Install the drain plug. Now in the center of the 2 part plug is a center plug. Hold the outside with a wrench and remove just the inside plug with a allen wrench. When the plug was out you noticed that it has a sort of tube that went up into the trans a bit. Thats your fill level. You will need a fill fitting. I dug through my brass fittings and found a couple parts to make a fill fitting. You can also come up with similar at home depot. One end is 1/8" pipe thread that screws into the drain plug hole, and other end needs to fit the hose on the small hand pump you need to get. (3/8"ID) If you drain and drop the pan without spilling it all, then you have a good idea how much fluid needs to go back in. Perfect starting point.
Hook up your hand pump and start pumping the new fluid up into the pan. Keep doing this till it runs out when you remove your hose. Install the plug. Now you need to start the car and let it run to reach operating temp. After a bit, with your foot on the brake, shift it through the gears a time or two, then back to park and let idle. There is a temp you can read with a lazer thermometer and you can get the specs out of the book. I dont have it handy, but you can also just wing it. Let it get good and warm. Now with the engine running at idle, remove the inner plug again. If no fluid runs out its still low, then pump 1/4 quart in at a time until it does run out. If it streams out its over filled and let it drain till it just spurts out a little with no steady stream. Then its full. Replace the drainplug and your good. Heres a pic of my fill fitting and hand pump.
(there are writups online from guys that drilled a hole in the pan, installed a fitting and made a fill tube up into the engine bay. They made a dipstick from a old speedo cable. Once you know the level is good you can mark the cable and filling is a breeze) Its really not a bad idea, but once you do the fluid a few times its not all that bad.
My symptom: I came out of the dragstrip one night and punched it a little and it revved up and would not engage. I could drop it in low and shift up through the gears and even into OD but didnt have "R". If i tried to start off in "D" it would not go. I did put some serious hard miles on my trans and it lasted to 100k so i have no complaints.
My thoughts on the fix: My first thought was the cable adjustment and or the TCI ratchet shifter i installed some time back or the fluid level. I played with that for a couple days, the fluid was not low, and i did the cable/lever adjustment a couple times, reset the computer and at one point the trans started working and i drove it easy for 2 weeks with no issues till it started doing the same thing the next time i punched it.
A common fail part is the shift solenoid. Seemed to make sense. Hard shifts or erratic are signs, but running a race tune its hard to tell as it shifts real hard to begin with. I bought a brand new one,($275 for fomoco) a new filter and gasket and changed the part(s) myself. You can get a rebuilt one for half that price, and a aftermarket one for much less too. Changing the solenoid is a little tricky. Once you drop the pan and the filter, you`ll see the solenoid. Kinda looks like the old valve body of sorts and is all plastic. It has bolts up into the housing, but the harness which is built into the part plugs up in, the tricky part is theres a bolt that comes down through the housing case and into the solenoid and secures that plug. I had to cut my 10mm end wrench in half and work it blindly with a couple fingertips and feel to deal with the bolt up in the side of the tunnel. After all that it was not my fix anyway.
Time for the trans shop. I was referred to ACE Transmission in Sprng. MO. Great shop. very impressive facility, 12 clean nice bays, separate rebuild shop very organized, with 100+ trans on a wall of racks, where they will swap one out in one day or less, and a separate converter shop. They didnt have one like mine so they rebuilt the one i had, which i was glad of cause i like to keep my own stuff. Turns out Fords made bores in the housing case that hold the servos and they wear bad. That was part of my problem and there were a few other parts wore too. They sleeve those bores with the rebuild, and rebuild the converter too so i had them bump the stall speed just a little at the same time. They also installed a small add on cooler that i had and did the complete job in a few days for $2,100. I was so glad to have my car back working, and chirping the big 275/50-17 tires in 2nd with my little V6
The shop owner said he refused to buy a flush machine and would never use it on someones trans. Its a huge scam and destroys transmissions. Its way better to just drop the pan, replace the filter and replace the 6 out of 13 quarts of fluid that come out while dropping the pan. I will choose to do it more often and keep the fluid nice.(like every 30,000) Over miles, the fluid breaks down and looses the cooling propertys. That in turn kills the trans. So you want to service the fluid, but not with a flush.
How to do it: This is not for everyone. You know if your a DIY kind of person and if your up to it. Or you might want to just have it done. AVOID THE FLUSH!! With the sealed trans and no dipstick its a little tricky and messy. There is a 2 part drain plug in the pan. You can remove the outer part of the plug and drain a good bit of fluid. Then remove the pan bolts and leave one end bolted loose and break the pan loose. Then remove all the bolts and carefully drop the pan. There will still be a bunch of fluid in it and will be hard to balance, if it gets away from you will dump a couple quarts or so on the floor. (did that) Once the pan is off you`ll see the filter and the bolts holding it on. Its mostly plastic and easy to replace and is a cheap part. ($15-$20) If there are any little tiny brass or bronze looking flakes in the pan its not a good sign. Clean the pan out and you`ll see what looks like a donut inside the pan with wet dust over it. Its a magnet. Pull it off and clean it good and the pan and stick it back on. The pan gasket is rubber and is good for many changes. You wont need to buy a gasket. I did, $17, sitting on the shelf.
Reinstall the pan, snug all the bolts and then tighten them in a criss cross pattern till they are all tight. Now the fun part. Install the drain plug. Now in the center of the 2 part plug is a center plug. Hold the outside with a wrench and remove just the inside plug with a allen wrench. When the plug was out you noticed that it has a sort of tube that went up into the trans a bit. Thats your fill level. You will need a fill fitting. I dug through my brass fittings and found a couple parts to make a fill fitting. You can also come up with similar at home depot. One end is 1/8" pipe thread that screws into the drain plug hole, and other end needs to fit the hose on the small hand pump you need to get. (3/8"ID) If you drain and drop the pan without spilling it all, then you have a good idea how much fluid needs to go back in. Perfect starting point.
Hook up your hand pump and start pumping the new fluid up into the pan. Keep doing this till it runs out when you remove your hose. Install the plug. Now you need to start the car and let it run to reach operating temp. After a bit, with your foot on the brake, shift it through the gears a time or two, then back to park and let idle. There is a temp you can read with a lazer thermometer and you can get the specs out of the book. I dont have it handy, but you can also just wing it. Let it get good and warm. Now with the engine running at idle, remove the inner plug again. If no fluid runs out its still low, then pump 1/4 quart in at a time until it does run out. If it streams out its over filled and let it drain till it just spurts out a little with no steady stream. Then its full. Replace the drainplug and your good. Heres a pic of my fill fitting and hand pump.
(there are writups online from guys that drilled a hole in the pan, installed a fitting and made a fill tube up into the engine bay. They made a dipstick from a old speedo cable. Once you know the level is good you can mark the cable and filling is a breeze) Its really not a bad idea, but once you do the fluid a few times its not all that bad.
