mercon in my villager

[digitaldrifter91]

i have a 1999 mercury villager, kinda feel bad for it cause i spend way more time on my car.

well i need to change the transmission fluid and the filter becuase it has 40k.

the book says use motorcraft mercon atf (8.8 qts). does anyone know the price of mercon and where can i buy it? is there any other reasonable price substutue for that fluid that i can find in other places?

...should i use a OEM transmission filter, or a wix...how about a fram (just kidding )

never really changed a filter. none of my cars needed it.

after i change the filter im going to flush the fluid through the cooler lines. get the most out of it, this is why i want to know if there is a cheaper reasonable equal fluid to motorcraft.

thanks!

 

[thrace]

The Quest is identical to the Villager as you know. According to the '99 Quest owners manual, it uses Nissanmatic "D" or genuine Nissan ATF. Also, a footnote says DexronIII/Mercon or equivalent may be used (owners manual page 10-2). Mercon is usually sold as DexronIII/Mercon and is the most easily found and cheapest ATF. Price about $0.99-$2.00. Many brands are available. Drain the pan by removing the drain plug, unbolt the pan, and then unbolt the filter. Make sure to write down where each bolt came from as not all are the same. The filter is a bolt on item. The Nissan Altima and Maxima transmissions are similar to the Villager if you need to look up how to do it.
Here is a place to get an owners manual online:
http://www.nissan-techinfo.com/nissan/deptog.asp?dept_id=34

 

[digitaldrifter91]

i believe the transmission filter is the same as the quests...but im not sure about the fluid though. going to look it up.

 

[digitaldrifter91]

i did some calling around and asked...mercury and napa said that they looked at the filter and they think it may be metal...is it ok if i just clean out that screen then?

 

[unDummy]

Buy the OEM filterkit and use a quality synthetic ATF.
This is an expensive transmission that is known to be abusive to fluid. 40k is way too long for regular ATF, and most filters in Nissans that I've looked at usually last more than 40k miles.
Or, don't bother with changing the filter and start regular transmission drain/refills(using drainplug(?)) during oil change intervals, and wait until 100k for the ATF filter change.

 

[digitaldrifter91]

thanks man. volvo is charging me 60 bucks for the filter and 30 bucks for the seal. napa is charging me 15.29 for both. motorcraft atf is 5 bucks a quart as well. ill see wha ti can do though...still thinking hah

 

[Ray H]

Just don't confuse Motorcraft Mercon with Motorcraft Mercon V.

 

[digitaldrifter91]

no doubt i wont. ill probably buy the filter and seal, but ill look at the origional filter to see what conditin it is in. if its good then ill return the one i bought. im concidering napa though...and im going to do more frequent transmission changes with this car, probably 20k intervals maybe less.

napa ok...if i change the filter you think? i will replace the seal though. probably find some other brand either than motorcraft.

 

[widman]

I'd get a good group II like Chevron, they change it with the filter and all the first time. Then next time change it through the hose at the cooler to make sure you get 100% out. Dropping the pan on most Auto Trans leaves a qt or two inside the converter.

 

[digitaldrifter91]

im going to go through the cooler lines....the fluid has been in there wayy to long. ill drop the filter, and then change it, then fill it and start flushing.

 

[digitaldrifter91]

i was looking for some fluid today and actually the Dexron 3 thats in my honda, is a mercon compadable product. but i could only find that one which is Valvoline. i cant find castrol, and i can only find synthetic blends. i kinda want a fluid that is strictly for mercon. combinations that can support differnt types of transmissions i am a little werry of, at least for this car.

ill look around tomrrow again, at last resort im going to get Valvoline.


o wildman i think: when i drain my fluid in my honda, i get 5 quarts out. the capacity of my car is 12 quarts...crazy torque converter haha.

 

[digitaldrifter91]

well i changed my fluid today with the same fluid i used in my honda (Dexron 3/mercon Valvoline.)

i started unscrewing the pan after i drained the fluid and all of the screws were very hard to take off, small screws 20 of them my gosh. takes me at least 30 secongs to get one off.

i got discouraged and just drained and filled the transmission. i put in about 7 quarts amazing cause the capacity is 8. i was too tired to flush through the lines.

it shifts alot better now of course. in about 10k ill do the fluid flush.

im gong to change the filter next time, i think the OEM filter has a metal screen that is fine and small...so probably clogging up with metal fragments. i wish my drainplug was magnetic!

well just to update you guys and a big thank you.

 

[unDummy]

7 quarts removed with an 8 quart capacity

Gravity works better where you are.
Are you sure that you check your fluid level with the transmission hot and vehicle running? This is one of the reasons why I see a lot of automatics seriously overfilled.

The drainplug isn't magnetic but there is a magnet sticking to the inside of the pan.

The ATF filter(unless vehicle is abused) should easily last 100k miles. Stick with regular & simple ATF drain/refills(every 6 months) and wait until 100k to wrestle with that pan. Power tools make life easier.

 

[digitaldrifter91]

thanks. yea i been checking the fluid alot these last 2 days and its just under the lines. though im concerned cause i saw some shavings in my oil pan on the floor and the mesh for the filter are very thin. i am concerned that there might be too much stuck in the filter causing a lack of flow.

maybe i exadurated...6.5 quarts to a 8.8 capacity...hah i got confused

why should i check the level with the vheicle running? i have 2 levels, hot and cold and i test them both.

i may just think of replacing the filter/

 

[unDummy]

Cold is worthless since vehicle is only cold for 1st few minutes of driving. People who do frequent short trips might be better off using the cold marking(and of course new fill since fluid from the bottle is cold).
The hot line is what I recommend that everyone use. Check fluid after normal drive(home from work)....
Read your owners manual concerning the running engine for ATF level checking.
In most vehicles, the car must be running, on a level surface, and in park(usually after shifting through all gears) in order to get an accurate dipstick reading.
So, the hot and cold level should be checked with the vehicle running.

 

[digitaldrifter91]

thanks im checking it from now and then...probably will change the filter at another 15k instead of now