Ford Transmission

[ct78barnes]

I have a 2011 Ford 22,500 chassie and 25,000 miles on it and was wondering about getting the oil changed. We have a big Ford dealer near by so I would have them do the oil change on the Transmission. After 5 years all towing our 4,500 pound Toad would it be a good idea to have it changed. I think Ford says every 40,000 miles but how about the years it would take me to reach 40,000 or 45,000 miles on the coach. What do you experts have to say . Thanks

[RedRollingRoadb]

Interesting discussion on the Ford forum at http://www.irv2.com/forums/f23/changing-your-own-tranny-fluid-326852.html
One poster is a retired Ford transmission engineer.

[Dale_Traveling]

Pirate wrote:
Dale not wanting to call you out or belittle your knowledge here,,,

Not to worry. Getting transmission fluid wrong can be an expensive error. I won't make the mistake a second time when someone asks and only because of your post with a simple question.

[Pirate1]

Dale.Traveling wrote:

Pirate wrote:
Thought it called for Mercon LV.

I'm going to have to fall on my sword on this one. Had to review multiple years of owner's guides to figure this one out. Model year 2006 when the 5 speed first hit the F53 chassis it was SP. For model year 2008 Ford switched to LV. The OP's 2011 is LV and the last model year 2015 was LV. With the 6R140 it's still LV.

If you need to verify what your transmission requires, and all the other needs regarding proper care and feeding, best go by the owner's manual for your chassis model year. Electronic copies can be found HERE.

Dale not wanting to call you out or belittle your knowledge here. Anyone searching for Ford Mercon LV vs SP will find a myriad of confusing Ford guides as to which fluid to use. I spent hours the other night trying to figure it all out again just to make sure I wasn't out of date. From my understanding for my year, 2006, Mercon LV is perfectly fine and prescribed however can be substitued for SP. Anyway, Ford caused this confusion and not the owners. Bottom line, I use LV in mine and will continue to use that but I would caution every owner to spend some time and research exactly which fluid to use as Ford confused many people.

[rgatijnet1]

I also have to fill through the small dipstick tube. I took a piece of clear plastic tubing that fit tight around the dipstick tube and was long enough to extend out past the hood. Then I fastened a funnel to the tube and have no problem pouring the fluid in to the funnel since it is now free and clear of any obstructions.

[CharlesinGA]

Dale.Traveling wrote:
The most difficult part of a drain & fill is pouring 12 quarts of oil down the small dip stick pipe. One of these days I'll get a pump.

You guys are a bunch of wooses 😉

The dipstick an fill tube on my Sprinter based motorhome is so small I use a funnel and have to dribble the fluid in using a small cup and it takes me about two hours to fill the 11 quarts or so it holds (I have a deep aluminum pan that holds about 2½ additional quarts over a standard sprinter.

It seems that no matter what language they speak, mechanical engineers are a bunch of stupid people when it comes to simple things like the size of a FILLER tube.

I am a big fan of the dump and refill frequently camp. I have a Pontiac Vibe (Toyota Matrix in GM clothes) and the transmissions in Toyotas do not have filters, just screens, so I dump and refill the tranny every 10K mile engine oil change. At 160+K the transmission fluid looks like new.

Charles

[Dale_Traveling]

Pirate wrote:
Thought it called for Mercon LV.

I'm going to have to fall on my sword on this one. Had to review multiple years of owner's guides to figure this one out. Model year 2006 when the 5 speed first hit the F53 chassis it was SP. For model year 2008 Ford switched to LV. The OP's 2011 is LV and the last model year 2015 was LV. With the 6R140 it's still LV.

If you need to verify what your transmission requires, and all the other needs regarding proper care and feeding, best go by the owner's manual for your chassis model year. Electronic copies can be found HERE.

[Pirate1]

Thought it called for Mercon LV.

[Gjac]

I would drop the pan and drain the fluid, check the magnet on the bottom of the pan for, material buildup(don't be surprised at the stuff stuck to the magnet), change filter and reassemble pan bolts. You would be better off using the OEM gasket rather than the new rubber gasket from the kit from Autozone or wherever you buy the kit, I have had these rubber ones leak. The OEM gasket that came with mine has steel bushings around each hole for the pan bolts. Once you fill the pan if you disconnect the input hose to the oil cooler and start the engine it will pump out the rest of the old fluid from the TC while you add new fluid to the filler tube. When you see the new fluid coming out red you know you have all the old fluid out. I use white tissue paper with new fluid on it to use as a guide. Each fluid change I saw less stuff on the magnet. I have changed mine 3 times,every 30,000 miles. Knowing what I know now I would have put an extra magnet in the bottom of the pan to pick up more of the magnetic wear particles.

[DrewE]

Dale.Traveling wrote:

DrewE wrote:
Based on my 4R100, I would agree that this is an annoyance. Trying to suss out the level using the dipstick after pouring a few gallons down the long little tube is also rather a difficulty.

I've got a 5 gallon bucket I marked for quarts and refill the same amount I drain. Only works if the level is correct before you drain.

That's basically what I ended up doing, though I poured the old fluid into old five-quart oil jugs (which are marked off on the sides). I know I got it pretty close to what it was, but it was still slightly worrying to me as the owner's manual has all sorts of dire warnings about transmission death if the fluid level isn't perfect. I guess it must be about close enough because I drove from Vermont to Washington, DC and back without incident afterwards.

[ct78barnes]

Thanks for all the help. When I get it out out of storage next month I will call Ford for service.

[Dale_Traveling]

DrewE wrote:
Based on my 4R100, I would agree that this is an annoyance. Trying to suss out the level using the dipstick after pouring a few gallons down the long little tube is also rather a difficulty.

I've got a 5 gallon bucket I marked for quarts and refill the same amount I drain. Only works if the level is correct before you drain.

[chuckftboy]

Dale is correct, 30,000 mile change. I had an 09' 5R110W, mine did not have an external filter. I believe it was eliminated the year before. Recommended change is just drain and refill. Replace the internal filter at 100,000 miles and use the Ford recommended trans fluid. Its not too expensive and way cheaper than a rebuild.

[DrewE]

Dale.Traveling wrote:

The most difficult part of a drain & fill is pouring 12 quarts of oil down the small dip stick pipe. One of these days I'll get a pump.

Based on my 4R100, I would agree that this is an annoyance. Trying to suss out the level using the dipstick after pouring a few gallons down the long little tube is also rather a difficulty.

[Dale_Traveling]

Going early certainly will not hurt. A few items concerning your transmission.

1. You have a TorqShift 5R110W electronically controlled 5 speed transmission. There are actually 6 forward speeds but it will normally skip 4th gear. For some reason that's how Ford programmed it. The gear ratio difference between 4th and 5th is only .09 which is kind of strange also. 6th is overdrive at .71 to 1
2. For RV applications scheduled change interval is 30,000 miles (listed under exceptions in the back of the scheduled maintenance guide).
3. Liquid capacity is 19 quarts unless the house builder or owners modified the external cooler.
4. Use of Motorcraft Mercon SP XT-6-QSP oil is highly recommended. Substitute at your own risk.
5. There is no torque converter drain. As such the only way to drain it is removal.
6. There are two filters with the F53 configuration. Internal to the transmission and a external mounted on the passenger side frame in the line to the cooler.
7. The transmission has a thermostat just like the engine cooling system. The thermostat opens around 160 degrees so if you decide on a flush it must be a HOT flush.

I do a driveway drain and fill. Of the 19 quart capacity I have only been able to get 12 out using compressed air to blow out the cooler. Considering the 7 quarts I could not remove is mixing with the new I reduced the interval to 20K miles. I also send a sample out for analysis of potential problems. So far at 56K miles all is good.

The most difficult part of a drain & fill is pouring 12 quarts of oil down the small dip stick pipe. One of these days I'll get a pump.