Cooler Line Flush; Schaeffer's in 09' Ranger

[panthermike]

Well the truck has 24,300 miles on it now, and I've been wanting to get the FF out of there. The trans is the 5r44e.

I decided not to go with the Motorcraft Mercon V for two reasons; 1. The trans seemed to shift "firm" on the 2-3 shift and 2. I just believe the Schaeffer's is a better ATF.

So, I did the cooler flush method. I actually pumped out 3qts before dropping the pan(no mess!). The capacity is 9.9qts, so I used 10qts for the job.

I'm impressed so far, the trans has "smoother" shifts. Also, 2-3 shift is much improved, none of the slight harshness anymore. I was a little apprehensive to use non-OE fluid, but I've really liked the Schaeffer's before.

Very happy with the flush and the fluid. Can't believe I haven't used the cooler line method before, just do it once and your done!

 

[DieselTech]

Way to go Mike. Glad it all worked as planned!!

 

[panthermike]

Originally Posted By: DieselTech
Way to go Mike. Glad it all worked as planned!!


Thanks, I've now done all of the FF fluids, minus the brake fluid and coolant(not needed I think).

I used Schaeffer's ATF in the PS and Trans and Schaeffer's 75w90 in the differential.

Oh BTW, any harm in the dipstick level 1/4" above full? I don't know how it happened, I measured the old and new fluid.

 

[DieselTech]

No harm no foul Mike!!

Brake fluid at 36k. Next purchase....get some speed bleeders.

 

[Colt45ws]

Id try to get that out. Remember it will expand as it gets hot, too.
Yes, Schaeffers is an excellent fluid. The fact that it was a full synthetic (PAO?) with a Mercon V license is what sold me. Oh, and I can get it anytime from the distributor down the street. Almost as soon as I put it in after I bought my car it eliminated a slight shudder on wide open 1-2. Of course my car now shifts hard enough to screech the belt at wide open, though that was intentional.
It does smell terrible though.

 

[mechtech2]

You put in a nice premium ATF.
But who is to say a fresh fill of MerconV would not have had great results?
Fresh fluid in anything often helps.

 

[Colt45ws]

Yeah, its hard to say that any Mercon V wouldnt have done the same thing. But he has 24k and I had 25k when I changed it the first time and we noticed immediate improvements.
~25k and it showed issues does not exactly impress me.

 

[panthermike]

mechtech2, my reasoning is similar to Colt's. I wasn't impressed how the trans was shifting(mostly that 2-3 shift) after only 24K on the fluid. We'll have to see how this fill does after some miles, then I can report back.

Colt, I forgot to mention, the slight overfill was after checking the fluid on a 30 mile drive.

 

[Colt45ws]

I would still drain a bit out. Remember anywhere in the cross hatch is good to go.
It will be interesting to hear the long term report. I modified the valve body so I wouldnt be able to compare FF to Schaeffer with miles.

 

[panthermike]

Ok, I will. It's not that hard to do anyways.

 

[salesrep]

Glad to hear you're shifting better.
I think Schaeffer's 204sat All-Trans is a highly underated fluid.

 

[panthermike]

Originally Posted By: salesrep
Glad to hear you're shifting better.
I think Schaeffer's 204sat All-Trans is a highly underated fluid.


Yes, plus it's cheaper than any premium ATF I've found.

It also works great in our Corolla and my old Mark VIII when I had it.