I've got a 2003 Ford Escape V6. The manual said use Mercon, not Mercon V. The transmission holds 10 quarts, and you can easily drain 4 quarts via the drain plug. I wanted to do some partial drain and fills (drain 4 quarts of the 10 quarts). If you do several, through dilution, you get most of the old fluid out.
Anyway, I two gallons of Valvoline Maxlife Mercon LV which is also supposed to be good for Mercon. I drained 4 quarts out and put in 4 quarts of the Valvoline. Then I went online to find out if I needed to seal the drain plug. I wish I had gone online sooner! I found out that Mercon was replaced in 2007 with Mercon V now (my manual is wrong now), and also one should not use Mercon LV.
However, the Valvoline Maxlife LV is supposed to be compatible with all Mercons. But then I found out I have the CALIFORNIA VALVOLINE VERSION, which is only labeled for LV, and not Mercon V. So I've got 4 quarts of Mercon LV in my transmission now.
I decided to try to get back to mainly Mercon V. I got 12 quarts of Motorcraft Mercon V from the dealer. I did a drain and fill today and now have 4 quarts of Mercon V in my tranny, plus the mix of old fluid and the Mercon LV.
I figure if I do 2 more partial drain and fills, I'll have 75% new Mercon V, and the rest is a 60/40 mix of old and the Valvoline Mercon LV. This means in the end I'd have about a quart of the LV in my tranny. Is this a problem? Ford says don't use LV if you've got a Mercon/Mercon V tranny, or it will fail.
Thoughts? Thanks.
Anyway, I two gallons of Valvoline Maxlife Mercon LV which is also supposed to be good for Mercon. I drained 4 quarts out and put in 4 quarts of the Valvoline. Then I went online to find out if I needed to seal the drain plug. I wish I had gone online sooner! I found out that Mercon was replaced in 2007 with Mercon V now (my manual is wrong now), and also one should not use Mercon LV.
However, the Valvoline Maxlife LV is supposed to be compatible with all Mercons. But then I found out I have the CALIFORNIA VALVOLINE VERSION, which is only labeled for LV, and not Mercon V. So I've got 4 quarts of Mercon LV in my transmission now.
I decided to try to get back to mainly Mercon V. I got 12 quarts of Motorcraft Mercon V from the dealer. I did a drain and fill today and now have 4 quarts of Mercon V in my tranny, plus the mix of old fluid and the Mercon LV.
I figure if I do 2 more partial drain and fills, I'll have 75% new Mercon V, and the rest is a 60/40 mix of old and the Valvoline Mercon LV. This means in the end I'd have about a quart of the LV in my tranny. Is this a problem? Ford says don't use LV if you've got a Mercon/Mercon V tranny, or it will fail.
Thoughts? Thanks.