ATF OCI?

[tom slick]

Or is it ATFCI?

2004 F-150 4.6l, 60k miles.
I did a drain/filter/fill at 35k with Mobil MERCON V. I don't tow, the truck sees commuter duty, 30 miles per day, 90% of that at 55-60 mph. Do I need to drain/filter/fill again or is okay to go 60k on the fluid?

Same question on my '02 Protege5, 135k miles. It has had at least a drain/fill every 30k. It sees commuter duty, 90 miles per day. last drain/filter/fill was Mobil MerconV.

I know the first answer is "to play it safe..." and "you can't go wrong..." but I am an advocate of good fluids and extended drains. anyone going with extended ATF intervals? or do I really need to stick to the 30k rule?

 

[c3po]

How did the fluid look at 35,000 miles.

Was there any junk on the magnet in the trans pan.

Did you notice anything strange with the trans filter that was changed.

 

[ChiTDI]

I just read much of the Ford service manual for that vehicle, (new arrival in our family) and they say 30k for regular service.
Don't know about the Protege.

 

[tom slick]

everything looked normal including the filter and magnet and the fluid was not burned or discolored.

I should also add that I live in extremely mild weather, no freezing, hardly ever gets above 90*.

 

[tig1]

I go 40-45Ks on OCIs. I use M1 ATF and have never had a tranny fail.

 

[HTSS_TR]

The weather in your area is mild and your driving style is easy on all fluids, I would go with 60k miles with quality ATF fluid without worrying.

 

[c3po]

Originally Posted By: tom slick
everything looked normal including the filter and magnet and the fluid was not burned or discolored.

I should also add that I live in extremely mild weather, no freezing, hardly ever gets above 90*.


Does your Ford truck have an external trans cooler from the factory.

 

[tom slick]

yes, a nice big aluminum unit.

 

[Rustyknife]

since drain and fills remove jack squat amounts of fluid, yes I'd say every 30 is a must. And dont bother changing the filter

 

[c3po]

Originally Posted By: tom slick
yes, a nice big aluminum unit.


tom, I have a nice big unit on my 2004 Mercury Marauder, its aluminum.

It also has a section in the cooler that cools my powersteering fluid.

We probably have the same big aluminum unit.

 

[tom slick]

So is 30k the consensus no matter what? tow or no tow, hot weather, cold weather, big cooler, no cooler. still gotta do a drain fill every 30k?

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: tom slick
So is 30k the consensus no matter what? tow or no tow, hot weather, cold weather, big cooler, no cooler. still gotta do a drain fill every 30k?

Have you considered a full 16 qt flush every 60k instead?

 

[tom slick]

Is there a measurable difference in fluid/transmission life by a full flush less often? I'm certainly up for it but I'd like to see a good reason to go through the work.

I ask these questions to see if there is a reason for any of the fluid change rules of thumb. We seem to have engine oil down to a relative science but ATF discussions seem to be about fluid spec's application, and how to flush or best type of flush but not service life.

OEMs are spec'ing transmission fluids out past 100k but we still seem to come back to 30k or 60k intervals. OTOH engine oils are OEM spec'd 3-5k and we are pushing out 7-15k and bragging about it.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: tom slick
Is there a measurable difference in fluid/transmission life by a full flush more often? I'm certainly up for it but I'd like to see a good reason to go through the work.

I ask these questions to see if there is a reason for any of the fluid change rules of thumb. We seem to have engine oil down to a relative science but ATF discussions seem to be about fluid spec's application, and how to flush or best type of flush but not service life.

OEMs are spec'ing transmission fluids out past 100k but we still seem to come back to 30k or 60k intervals. OTOH engine oils are OEM spec'd 3-5k and we are pushing out 7-15k and bragging about it.

Under normal service, there's no reason why the transmission cannot go 150k on the original oil fill. Any maintenance that you do is probably overkill anyway. If it were my vehicle, then I'd do a flush every 60k for peace-of-mind.

 

[StevieC]

I change my AMSOIL ATF every 50,000KM (30,000 MILES) and it runs like a clock and is very smooth. It is very clean when I drain it and refill, but I intend on keeping the truck for a long time so I'm ok with that...

 

[tom slick]

but why do you change it at 30k miles? why use a premium ATF if you change it that often? at that change interval any properly spec'd atf will work.

do you change your amsoil engine oil every 3k to keep it running like clock?

 

[StevieC]

These Transmissions are very picky about fluid (Diamond SPIII) and at 30,000KM it seems to start acting differently than it normally does. This is with any fluid, but not hardly as bad with AMSOIL. So I change Amsoil at this interval to make sure. It has to do with this Transmission Fuzzy-Logic learning mode controlling the solenoids based on fluid temperature/pressure which changes as the fluid ages from what I understand. The manual also calls for a 48,000KM change in normal conditions and a 30,000KM change in severe service. I climb a mountain each day on my way home, and I'm on the road for 8-10 hours a day. We also have brutal winters and hot summers and my truck is usually fully loaded with junk I'm hauling around for stores so IMO the transmission is wearing out the fluid I guess.

 

[tom slick]

Thank you for your answer, it has some logic.
All I am looking for is the reason ATFs still get changed at relatively short intervals and why use a premium fluid in normal service.

 

[StevieC]

I use a premium fluid because I want my truck to last a long time, I also change it at short intervals as listed above because it's a fussy transmission. In my last vehicles like my Tempo, Caravan, Pontiac-6000 I never changed them. The Caravan went to the scrap-yard with only 1 change in 400,000KM and it was done somewhere around 200,000KM when my dad replaced the head that cracked on the engine. It came out reasonably clean. I think because this transmission had an external cooler and never seen a hard life at all... Guess it depends on the vehicle!

 

[WishIhadatruck]

I've typically done pan drops and filter changes at 30k mile intervals. The cars I've had usually lose more than 50% of the ATF when doing a pan drop as well. I had a '94 Grand Prix with a 4T60E trans that had 30k pan/filter drops using only normal cheap (name brand) Dex III for the 212k miles before I gave it away and it worked great still. My current Grand Prix is an '01 with the 4T65E trans and I've been doing the same service but with Mobil 1 ATF until changing to Dex VI this last change at 90k. I did get a UOA done, see link below. It looked good but I don't think I'll extend the intervals any. I'll probably do a UOA in the future.

I think people don't push ATF intervals as much because we spend all our money on engine UOA's and can't afford to do the transmission UOA's. Just kidding, I don't know why we don't do many UOA's on the ATF but there are very few of them. I think the engine UOA's give people confidence in brands of oil as well as extended intervals. On top of that most of us have never had to get a new motor but many people have had to get a new transmission, I'd be curious to see the actual statistics on that however, I'm guessing.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1228387