Ford Focus ATF Question

[andrewg]

I recently returned from a road trip of about 6k miles in two weeks. I drove from Seattle to Buffalo,NY and back again. My Focus is a 2009 model and uses Mercon LV ATF. I had a fairly heavy load in the car (weight equiv. of four people) and speeds of about 70mph. Temps where in the 80's and 90's most of the time. Some periods of lengthy idle due to road construction. My question is if it would be a good idea to replace a few quarts of of my ATF with fresh fluid in order to be sure it's still providing ample protection.....or just leave it alone until I reach my regular service interval? I am a bit picky about keeping things up to snuff. My Focus started the trip with around 7k miles and finished with about 13k. Any opinions would be appreciated.

 

[Herz]

its fine.

 

[andrewg]

So....no degradation should have occurred despite the rather harsh conditions?

 

[unDummy]

Of course degradation occurred.

If it gives you peace of mind, then do a drain/refill and keep driving.

I practice and will always recommend time or mileage based maintenance intervals for ALL fluids. A yearly or 10k drain/refill is no big deal, won't break the bank, and will help keeping the transmission running well. Since your vehicle is over a year old, and has 13k miles, give it a drain/refill.

UOA your old ATF if you really want to see how well its doing.

 

[bdcardinal]

If you saw how Ford tests their vehicles before production you would see that its not necessary. That being said if it makes you sleep better at night, go for it.

 

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
If you saw how Ford tests their vehicles before production you would see that its not necessary. That being said if it makes you sleep better at night, go for it.

You are probably correct. I'm just very picky about the fluids in all my vehicles. I was just figuring that after such a taxing trip, the ATF would have lost a bit of it's qualities. I thought that perhaps a two or three quart drain and refill would bring it back to a like 'new' condition and negate any need for an early transmission service (30k severe change interval vs. 100+k normal service).

 

[andrewg]

Question: So if I wanted to just do a minor drain (three quarts) and refresh, would it be fine to use a pump/siphon device to suck out the fluid? I hate to drain by removing the pan at this point. Just wondering if any issues could arise from using such a device.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: andrewg
Question: So if I wanted to just do a minor drain (three quarts) and refresh, would it be fine to use a pump/siphon device to suck out the fluid? I hate to drain by removing the pan at this point. Just wondering if any issues could arise from using such a device.


No not at all. I have done that for many years.

 

[andrewg]

Great.....thanks man!

 

[Steve S]

Is there a trannie filter?

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: Steve S
Is there a trannie filter?


Yes. As my practice has been for years, I change the filter every 75K. I did weld a drain plug into the Focus, but pumping the oil out isn't a problem.

 

[andrewg]

Yeah, I'm sure it's not needing a filter change. It's only got 13k on it but after some rather harsh driving conditions during my cross-country trip, I would feel better replenishing three quarts of the fluid. Then I will just get my transmission fully serviced at around 50k or so (the manual is crazy....they say something like over 100k miles).

 

[andrewg]

Well....I sucked out three quarts and put three fresh quarts back in.
I FEEL better now.