Transmission Fluid Change

[LoneWolf31]

Hello guys, I wanted to get your opinion on this, I am planning on changing my transmission fluid along with Front diff, rear diff, over to Amsoil. I am going to do this around 30,000 miles. However at the same time I drive a lot due to living an hour from work and then every month I drive 5 hours to Billings for drill So kinda thinking I should do it soon. I have 1,000 miles on my 24 F-150 but I am going to wait until I get my catch can for it before I drive it more. Im getting a little paranoid with thinking Im dumping a lot of crap into my motor. I just wanted to hear your opinions and thoughts.

Sponsored

 

[Gros Ventre]

Hello guys, I wanted to get your opinion on this, I am planning on changing my transmission fluid along with Front diff, rear diff, over to Amsoil. I am going to do this around 30,000 miles. However at the same time I drive a lot due to living an hour from work and then every month I drive 5 hours to Billings for drill So kinda thinking I should do it soon. I have 1,000 miles on my 24 F-150 but I am going to wait until I get my catch can for it before I drive it more. Im getting a little paranoid with thinking Im dumping a lot of crap into my motor. I just wanted to hear your opinions and thoughts.

I did that but alot earlier than you're talking of. I did it within the first few thousand miles. My rationale is to get rid of any residual manufacturing debris that might be hanging around.

 

[LoneWolf31]

Thank you. That does make more sense. That was another reason i thought of doing it sooner, after initial break in. Speaking of that, I know initial break in on my Yamaha R1 ( street bike) was 500 miles. What do they consider initial break in on truck motors? I thought I had read 1000 miles. I could be wrong though

 

[FORDTEXAS]

What do they consider initial break in on truck motors? I thought I had read 1000 miles. I could be wrong though

extremely subjective question

 

[Gros Ventre]

Breakin... Not sure I have a good answer. Probably 90% occurs within the first hour when Ford starts it up for the first time. Still I'd gentle the engine for at least 1,000 miles (I mean don't floor the gas peddle & don't tow heavy). More importantly, don't do long constant speed runs. You don't want a ridge to build up in the cylinder walls. So if you have to do a long cross country, vary the speed. My thinking is that no matter how hard Ford tries to maintain cleanliness, stuff will creep in. Think about the transmission: assembly, packaging, shipping, unpackaging, moving to the assembly line, installing it, then filling it. All steps that can introduce dust & debris & it doesn't take much. That's what you want to get out if you're keeping it beyond the next trade-in. In the case of the transmission, it is a hydraulic machine, even fine dust can screw up a spool valve. My dealer wondered why I was having the transmission oil & filter changes about every 15,000 miles or so. Recently they remarked that my transmission was as problem free as they'd seen in a while...

 

[RCSB]

As far as the catch can goes it used to be a bigger issue than it is now when the 5.0’s were direct injection only. Now that they’re direct and port injected the fuel spray cleans the valves a little more. I just installed my catch can at 400 miles, but It wouldn’t have bothered me to go even a few thousand miles before I installed it. I’m sure there are higher mileage engine owners who don’t even know what a catch can is.

 

[FaaWrenchBndr]

I did that but alot earlier than you're talking of. I did it within the first few thousand miles. My rationale is to get rid of any residual manufacturing debris that might be hanging around.

Like you, I changed fluids early. I replaced engine oil, differential fluids and transfer case oil all before 1k

 

[Calson]

Ford warranty covers the drivetrain for 60,000 miles and after that you could get an extended warranty for the transmission which is the expensive part that might fail.

Ford recommends these fluid changes after 150,000 miles and absolutely nothing to be gained by either changing thes out soon or in thinking that Amsoil synthetic gear or transmission lubricant is somehow superior to Ford synthetic lubricants that are specific to the seals used by Ford. Incompatible lubricants can damage seals in automatic transmissions.

I only know that Amsoil diesel motor oil is the worst sold today and so I would be very skeptical that anything other than the company's marketing is better than that of any other lubricant.

For my diesel pickup I used Castrol ATF that met the TES-295 specifications and had a useful life of 24 months or 150,000 miles with severe duty use.

Never let the shop do a transmission flush as that is highly likely to damage internal seals.

 

[Gros Ventre]

I posted this over on a Diagnostics posting: I've been criticized for doing transmission fluid & filter changes early. Like each 15,000 miles. Yet my view of the world is that there is a real possibility of dirt & debris finding its way into the transmission. I know Ford set a higher standard of cleanliness in manufacturing this transmission. Yet think about it: manufacturing, packaging for shipment, un-packaging at the assembly pant, moving the transmission to the assembly line, installing the transmission in the truck, filling the transmission with fluid. At each step there is a possibility of something getting in. Keep in mind that the transmission is a hydraulic machine. Clearances are really tight in the spool valves and some other places. If even fine dust gets in it can disrupt the smooth movement of just one of these. That can throw a real monkey-wrench into the inner workings and hidden mechanisms of the great sidereal clockwork. ) ) Interestingly, my dealer who asked why I wanted the changes of oil & filter early, has now remarked that I have one of their trucks with the least transmission problems of any that went out the door. Oh, and By The Way, think about a seal leak of one drop per mile... Then add up how much transmission fluid leaks out by 150,000 miles. I had that kind of seal leak on my front axle and it was down from 2 qts to 1/2 qt in the differential when noticed... I was headed for a major failure. Do the math and at least have your fluid level checked several time along the way to 150,000 miles. And you know maybe changing that fluid early might be good for your truck.

 

[Calson]

The fluids are designed to hold solids in suspension until they go through the filters for removal. It is exceedingly rare to have a transmission fail for any reason in the first 200,000 miles of use unless the owner uses the wrong ATF or does not keep the level up.

Most people do not realize that filtration media is least effective before the expected loading takes place. That applies to oil and ATF and air filters in vehicles. This is needed to insure that even after mid life the fluids and air can pass through freely and lubricate the moving parts or feed the engine. Changing filters early results in less protection for the engine.

 

[Gros Ventre]

The fluids are designed to hold solids in suspension until they go through the filters for removal. It is exceedingly rare to have a transmission fail for any reason in the first 200,000 miles of use unless the owner uses the wrong ATF or does not keep the level up.

Most people do not realize that filtration media is least effective before the expected loading takes place. That applies to oil and ATF and air filters in vehicles. This is needed to insure that even after mid life the fluids and air can pass through freely and lubricate the moving parts or feed the engine. Changing filters early results in less protection for the engine.

The stuff held in suspension is the very fine sub-micron wear products. As to the filter's capability the best out there are on the order of 20-40µ while probably most are more like 50-80µ. There may well be stuff between the sub-micron particles that can be held in suspension and that 20-40µ the filter is capable of holding. That's what I'm going after.

 

[FaaWrenchBndr]

The fluids are designed to hold solids in suspension until they go through the filters for removal. It is exceedingly rare to have a transmission fail for any reason in the first 200,000 miles of use unless the owner uses the wrong ATF or does not keep the level up.

Most people do not realize that filtration media is least effective before the expected loading takes place. That applies to oil and ATF and air filters in vehicles. This is needed to insure that even after mid life the fluids and air can pass through freely and lubricate the moving parts or feed the engine. Changing filters early results in less protection for the engine.

Very poor ideology and horrible advice.

 

[Gros Ventre]

Very poor ideology and horrible advice.

You got that right!!

 

[Scott Maxson]

Breakin... Not sure I have a good answer. Probably 90% occurs within the first hour when Ford starts it up for the first time. Still I'd gentle the engine for at least 1,000 miles (I mean don't floor the gas peddle & don't tow heavy). More importantly, don't do long constant speed runs. You don't want a ridge to build up in the cylinder walls. So if you have to do a long cross country, vary the speed. My thinking is that no matter how hard Ford tries to maintain cleanliness, stuff will creep in. Think about the transmission: assembly, packaging, shipping, unpackaging, moving to the assembly line, installing it, then filling it. All steps that can introduce dust & debris & it doesn't take much. That's what you want to get out if you're keeping it beyond the next trade-in. In the case of the transmission, it is a hydraulic machine, even fine dust can screw up a spool valve. My dealer wondered why I was having the transmission oil & filter changes about every 15,000 miles or so. Recently they remarked that my transmission was as problem free as they'd seen in a while...

Varying the speed is good practice for the all of the power train systems. But cylinder ring ridge is not one of them. The new motors are built with aluminum blocks and sprayed bores. The metal deposited in the bore is extremely hard and does not wear like the old iron bores. I have seen motors with greater than a 100,000 miles and still showing the factory cross hatch from the honing of the bore during its manufacture.

 

[Gros Ventre]

Disagree... a wear pattern can develop if you don't vary the speed. ...And BTW The 3.5L engines have sleeves.

Sponsored