My 19 yr old nephew keeps telling me that his 130k Auto trans in his explorer takes only Mercon V. I'm trying to get him to use Valvoline Maxlife Dex/Merc. He has a slight trans leak, so I'm trying to get him to top off with the Maxlife Dex/Merc for high mileage transmissions. Should he stick with the Mercon V? I know nothing about Fords.
96 Ford Explorer XLT 5.0 V-8, Mercon Vtrans fluid?
- Thread starter Cutehumor
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Mercon V is the proper fluid for the vehicle.
I'm about 90% sure regular Mercon would be acceptable. If he still has the owner's manual to the truck, just look it up. If it says use Mercon fluid with no mention of Mercon V, then you can use regular Mercon.
Only use Mercon V in that trans. It is a 4R70W. IIRC, Mercon V was intended primarily for those transmissions to fix shudder issues that happened with Mercon.
He doesn't have the owners manual. He bought it used last year. He said he's adding a quart of Mercon V ATF every two weeks. I'm looking for a suitable trans fluid that will slow the trans leak he has. He's a poor college kid working 7 days a week, is there any high mileage ATF with seal conditioners that he can use?
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I don't know of any Mercon V with seal conditioners, but I wouldn't try my luck by using something that doesn't meet Mercon V specs. Personally, I'd keep topping it off until he has enough money to fix the leak. I don't know that Mercon would actually damage the transmission, but that's not a risk I would take.
Where is the trans leaking from?
Where is the trans leaking from?
ATP Re-Seal would work very well and won't have any adverse affect on the fluid itself.
Maxlife also makes a trans sealer only, you could try that too perhaps...
Maxlife also makes a trans sealer only, you could try that too perhaps...
According to the owners manual, the tranny was originally speced for Mercon, but Mercon V should work fine.
See "Service Station Information"
Linky to '96 Explorer Owners manual
See "Service Station Information"
Linky to '96 Explorer Owners manual
My 96 4.0 specs Mercon which I use. Mercon V would work well I'm sure but I've never had any trouble specific to using Mercon (I did have to get a rebuild but mostly because these transmissions are underbuilt for an SUV; they're known to go anytime after about 100k, plus this truck was neglected in a past life).
The best thing you could do is fix the leak by dropping the pan and replacing it with one with a drain plug (I'm assuming its leaking from the gasket; mine did too) and maybe get a $30 remote transmission filter. Thereafter, do a drain/refill every 15-20k and you may get away with never having to rebuild it.
The best thing you could do is fix the leak by dropping the pan and replacing it with one with a drain plug (I'm assuming its leaking from the gasket; mine did too) and maybe get a $30 remote transmission filter. Thereafter, do a drain/refill every 15-20k and you may get away with never having to rebuild it.
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Valvoline Maxlife is a universal/multivehicle ATF and will work fine in Mercon-V applications. http://www.valvoline.com/pdf/Maxlife_ATF.pdf
If he sticks with Mercon-V, any of the store bought ATF seal conditioners will help.
Lubegard red and Lucas ATF snot are some products that I've successful used to slow down seal leaks when someone doesn't want to use a high mileage ATF.
http://www.lubegard.com/~/C-112/LUBEGARD+Automatic+Transmission+Fluid+
http://www.lucasoil.com/products/display...nsmission%20Fix
If he sticks with Mercon-V, any of the store bought ATF seal conditioners will help.
Lubegard red and Lucas ATF snot are some products that I've successful used to slow down seal leaks when someone doesn't want to use a high mileage ATF.
http://www.lubegard.com/~/C-112/LUBEGARD+Automatic+Transmission+Fluid+
http://www.lucasoil.com/products/display...nsmission%20Fix
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Thanks for the advice guys. I appreciate it. I told him to use this maxlife ATF stop leak stuff they sell at Autozone. It's supposed to be good for 1 qt for 10 qt ATF capacity. He'll probably use it since it doesn't say "Dex/Merc" on the bottle. It just says "ATF stop leak". I'll check back with him in a week or so to see if he can tell any difference. Not sure where it's leaking from, it's leaking drops on the ground he said. I'll try to take a look when I visit for Thanksgiving. One thing about the leaking, if it was my ride, I would drop the pan for sure, but part of me thinks the trans will fail as soon as I touch the thing. So I'm being cautious.
Getting him over his Mercon V obsession may be as simple as showing him the fluids page in the owners manual. I'm pretty sure M-V didn't come about until the 97 model year. If I'm right, he could save a fair amount.
Ya, I think a slow trans leak can actually kind of be a good thing if driven by someone attentive enough which it sounds like your nephew is. You're putting in new fluid frequently (albeit little) and it forces you to look under the hood regularly; you may catch something.
Ya, I think a slow trans leak can actually kind of be a good thing if driven by someone attentive enough which it sounds like your nephew is. You're putting in new fluid frequently (albeit little) and it forces you to look under the hood regularly; you may catch something.
Ford has backspec'd all 1995+ Explorer transmissions to Mercon V. I don't have the Mercon V application chart available right off hand, but they definitely say to use Mercon V in all applications that originally called for Mercon. The one exception I would make to this is E4ODs and some 4R100s (neither was used in the Explorer) because some people are still experiencing problems when they switch them over.
Originally Posted By: FusilliJerry82
My 96 4.0 specs Mercon which I use. Mercon V would work well I'm sure but I've never had any trouble specific to using Mercon (I did have to get a rebuild but mostly because these transmissions are underbuilt for an SUV; they're known to go anytime after about 100k, plus this truck was neglected in a past life).
True for the A4LD, not for the 4R55E.
My '95 4.0 towed a boat regularly with no external trans cooler. It still had the original transmission at 158K miles when I sold it, and it still shifted flawlessly. It was filled with Mercon V for much of its life. Not saying that would have saved your transmission, but it certainly worked well in mine.
My 96 4.0 specs Mercon which I use. Mercon V would work well I'm sure but I've never had any trouble specific to using Mercon (I did have to get a rebuild but mostly because these transmissions are underbuilt for an SUV; they're known to go anytime after about 100k, plus this truck was neglected in a past life).
True for the A4LD, not for the 4R55E.
My '95 4.0 towed a boat regularly with no external trans cooler. It still had the original transmission at 158K miles when I sold it, and it still shifted flawlessly. It was filled with Mercon V for much of its life. Not saying that would have saved your transmission, but it certainly worked well in mine.
Well mine did go 160k...
Plus, I'm pretty sure I have a 4R55E; the A4LD was discontinued in 95, no?
The A4LD was used though 1994 in the Explorer and is not known for reliability after 100K.
The 4R55E is an updated A4LD first used in '95, and is reliable when cared for.
The vehicle in question has a 4R70W though, which is the transmission that brought about Mercon V in the first place to fix shudder issues.
The 4R55E is an updated A4LD first used in '95, and is reliable when cared for.
The vehicle in question has a 4R70W though, which is the transmission that brought about Mercon V in the first place to fix shudder issues.
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