Motorcraft Mercon LV @ 12K miles

[Whimsey]

Originally Posted By: dustyroads

[quote=4WD] Thanks for that. I thought the weight and size of the Explorer would necessitate the stronger transmission regardless of the engine.

Sad to say I wish that was true, but it's not. Whimsey

 

[Nyogtha]

Originally Posted By: Whimsey

Originally Posted By: Nyogtha

I did the first pan drop & filter change on the 6R80 in my wife's V6 Mustang this summer, at 43K miles. The factory fill Mercon LV that came out was a dark wine colored translucent purple but had zero brown or black in it. It was however darker than the Kendall Versatrans LV fluid I put in to replace the drained portion of the factory fill. I got about 8 qts changed of the just under 12 qt capacity. So perhaps transmission model matters.

. What I've read and seen is this transmission model has had issues early on in the Fusion. Hopefully they corrected those issues. I don't know whether it matters but the 2.3 Eco Boost is fairly powerful, maybe that puts more strain on the transmission, though it's not driven like a hot rod. The total factory fill is only around 9 quarts, not a lot. However in the end since it's super easy to change the ATF and costs $20/change using Motorcraft Mercon LV it's a no brainer versus a new transmission down the road from not changing the ATF more frequently. Whimsey

The 3.7L V6 in my wife's 2011 Mustang is no slouch at 305 peak HP & 280 ft-lbs of torque. It sees about 90% city driving.

 

[4WD]

Heard that - Seems the bean counters veto the engineering folks again ...

 

[pbm]

Originally Posted By: Whimsey

[/color]

Originally Posted By: pbm

I have that 6F35 in the wife's 2016 Escape which is coming up on 16K....I plan on changing it when I have the bellypan off at the next oil change which is coming up in about a month. Did you change it cold?....if not, how did you measure the amount to replace....Thanks

Yes I did it cold. I drove it up on the ramps the night before and drained it the NEXT morning into a bucket with quart graduation markings on the inside so I could see how much drained out "cold". The bucket cost $1.67 at Walmart . It filled just short the gallon(4 quart) marking. I estimated that it was shy 5 oz from 4 quarts. I put 3.85 quarts back in, the same taken out cold and it shifts perfectly. Unless yours is a "leaker" just put back in what you took out cold. On this Explorer it's unbelievably easy to do. Whimsey

Thanks Whimsey...that's how I did it @ 25K in my (sold) 2011 Cruze (whose 6 speed A/T is actually related to Ford's) and it worked perfectly....I used Castrol Dexron VI and 10 oz. LG red....I think that tranny felt even better than when it was new after the fluid change.

 

[dustyroads]

Originally Posted By: 4WD

Heard that - Seems the bean counters veto the engineering folks again ...

Yeah, I guess so. That's astounding to me. The Explorer is hefty unladen, and with a considerable size, it can be loaded up beyond it's GVWR pretty easy. It should have one of the more stout transmissions for sure.

 

[MiKe3o]

6f35 non tow package 6f55 factory tow. ( mine is this ) The fluid get dark fast but not indicate an issue .

 

[Tom777]

I did mine two weeks ago at around 13k miles on my 2015 Ford Edge. Fluid was dark and found small metal pieces in the drain pan. Two drain and fills were done now the BlackStone kit has arrived I am ready to do the third one and have it sent to the lab for more testing.

 

[Whimsey]

Originally Posted By: MiKe3o

6f35 non tow package 6f55 factory tow. ( mine is this ) The fluid get dark fast but not indicate an issue .

Thanks for the clarification on the tow vs non tow transmissions, any place they can save a $ or 2 . As said earlier since we keep the vehicles for a long time and many miles, this gives me a piece of mind for the long haul. Besides it was ridiculously easy to do and only cost me $20 worth of Mercon LV. Whimsey

 

[tig1]

W himsey, I did my first ATF change on my 2017 trans(28K) and the fluid that came out was a little dark pink. As you know I re-filled with MC LV. Also where is the code for the trans located? Thanks.

 

[Whimsey]

Originally Posted By: tig1

W himsey, I did my first ATF change on my 2017 trans(28K) and the fluid that came out was a little dark pink. As you know I re-filled with MC LV. Also where is the code for the trans located? Thanks.

There is a "sticker" either on the drivers door or on the door frame opening, mine's on the door frame opening at the bottom. This "sticker" has tire size, inflation, gross weight and other info. Below the bar code is more vehicle code specs. The transmission is "TR". Mine is 6 which is the 6F35 transmission. Whimsey

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: Whimsey

Originally Posted By: tig1

W himsey, I did my first ATF change on my 2017 trans(28K) and the fluid that came out was a little dark pink. As you know I re-filled with MC LV. Also where is the code for the trans located? Thanks.

There is a "sticker" either on the drivers door or on the door frame opening, mine's on the door frame opening at the bottom. This "sticker" has tire size, inflation, gross weight and other info. Below the bar code is more vehicle code specs. The transmission is "TR". Mine is 6 which is the 6F35 transmission. Whimsey

Below the TR is W. What's that about?

 

[ssamaroo01]

This is the report that I got back from Blackstone. I do a drain and fill of the fluid at 15k intervals using Motorcraft Mercon LV and the fluid that comes out is pretty dark. I have a 2015 Ford Fusion with the 2.0L Ecoboost and the 6F35 transmission.

 

[Whimsey]

Originally Posted By: tig1

Below the TR is W. What's that about?

Your Fusion might use different transmission codes than the Explorer's 6=6F35 C=6F55 J=6F50 Check your owners manual it's in the Capacities and Specification section. I'd be interested to see what you find. Whimsey

 

[pbm]

I changed the FF ATF yesterday in my wife's 2016 Escape with the 6F35 @ 16500 miles...it was still red but much darker. I drained it cold and got 4.5 qts. out by jacking the passenger side a little higher. It's easy to do once the bellypan is removed although the fill hole in buried beneath a hose that is a little bit of a PITA to get to. I used Castrol Full Synthetic which is approved for Mercon LV because I got it cheap at the AZ Clearance....I also used a bottle of LG Red (which I do in every AT I own). It shifted great afterwards. I also changed the oil (a little earlier than I wanted to at 4400 miles) using Motorcraft 5w20 and a Motorcraft filter. PS:The drain pan has the same type plug as my (sold) Chevy Cruze....it's removed with an 11mm socket. Why do they use this type plug that has threads visible when installed rather than a plug like that on the oilpan that screws all the way in?

 

[Whimsey]

Originally Posted By: pbm

I changed the FF ATF yesterday in my wife's 2016 Escape with the 6F35 @ 16500 miles...it was still red but much darker. I drained it cold and got 4.5 qts. out by jacking the passenger side a little higher. It's easy to do once the bellypan is removed although the fill hole in buried beneath a hose that is a little bit of a PITA to get to. I used Castrol Full Synthetic which is approved for Mercon LV because I got it cheap at the AZ Clearance....I also used a bottle of LG Red (which I do in every AT I own). It shifted great afterwards. I also changed the oil (a little earlier than I wanted to at 4400 miles) using Motorcraft 5w20 and a Motorcraft filter. PS:The drain pan has the same type plug as my (sold) Chevy Cruze....it's removed with an 11mm socket. Why do they use this type plug that has threads visible when installed rather than a plug like that on the oilpan that screws all the way in?

That plug struck me as unusual also by having threads exposed. I put a little dab of thread sealer on the top few threads, like they did in the factory. What engine is in the Escape, is it an EB? If it is I'm surprised it doesn't call for 5W-30 like my 2.3 EB. I'm lucky I don't have a belly pan so oil and atf changes are a breeze to do. Whimsey

 

[Whimsey]

Originally Posted By: ssamaroo01

This is the report that I got back from Blackstone. I do a drain and fill of the fluid at 15k intervals using Motorcraft Mercon LV and the fluid that comes out is pretty dark. I have a 2015 Ford Fusion with the 2.0L Ecoboost and the 6F35 transmission.

Thanks for the report. I was going to do an UOA on my fluid but now I think I'll wait to do a couple more drain and fills first. The fluid from this transmission at 12,000 miles comes out a lot darker than the Mercon V in our other Explorers, even when they were changed at 25-3000 miles via a pan drop with a filter change. Whimsey

 

[ssamaroo01]

Originally Posted By: Whimsey

Thanks for the report. I was going to do an UOA on my fluid but now I think I'll wait to do a couple more drain and fills first. The fluid from this transmission at 12,000 miles comes out a lot darker than the Mercon V in our other Explorers, even when they were changed at 25-3000 miles via a pan drop with a filter change. Whimsey

No problem. I've heard that this fluid gets dark quickly and that it is normal. These transmissions in the Fusions have rough shifts from 1-2 and 3-4. It is a common complaint. My car never had rough shifts, but they were noticeable. After draining and filling a couple of times, the transmission shifting has smoothed out. Now, at 70k, it shifts like cutting through warm butter. Most of the Fusion owners that I know thru forums try to change their fluid at around 30k and they haven't had any issues. I do mine every 15k because it's easy and it's cheap insurance. I agree about Mercon V being lighter than Mercon LV. We have a 2001 Focus and 2000 E250 and both use Mercon V and both come out lighter than Mercon LV.

 

[pbm]

Originally Posted By: Whimsey

Originally Posted By: pbm

I changed the FF ATF yesterday in my wife's 2016 Escape with the 6F35 @ 16500 miles...it was still red but much darker. I drained it cold and got 4.5 qts. out by jacking the passenger side a little higher. It's easy to do once the bellypan is removed although the fill hole in buried beneath a hose that is a little bit of a PITA to get to. I used Castrol Full Synthetic which is approved for Mercon LV because I got it cheap at the AZ Clearance....I also used a bottle of LG Red (which I do in every AT I own). It shifted great afterwards. I also changed the oil (a little earlier than I wanted to at 4400 miles) using Motorcraft 5w20 and a Motorcraft filter. PS:The drain pan has the same type plug as my (sold) Chevy Cruze....it's removed with an 11mm socket. Why do they use this type plug that has threads visible when installed rather than a plug like that on the oilpan that screws all the way in?

That plug struck me as unusual also by having threads exposed. I put a little dab of thread sealer on the top few threads, like they did in the factory. What engine is in the Escape, is it an EB? If it is I'm surprised it doesn't call for 5W-30 like my 2.3 EB. I'm lucky I don't have a belly pan so oil and atf changes are a breeze to do. Whimsey

I have the base 2.5 ....I wanted to avoid the turbo because I had issues with my Cruze 1.4T (coolant issues and not turbo issues). The 2.5 is plenty powerful enough for our needs and it's been around a while.