T-Tech at Jiffy-Lube - I made it though...

[FordSVTGuy]

I was a little apprehensive to say the least at the thought of taking my 2002 Explorer to Jiffy-Lube for anything. I have heard the horror stories like everyone else. I needed to have the tranny fluid exchanged (at 45,000 miles for the first time) and the dealer wanted $169.99 for a flush, plus some special cleaner. Too much, no thank you. Probably would have been $149.99 without the cleaner fluid. Still a tidy some of greenbacks. Jiffy Lube was only $89.99, so why not I thought. There was no wait when I pulled up, so that was a plus. The fun part was watching the technicians scramble to find the tranny dip stick, because my explorer does not have one. Then I watched as they tried to figure out which fittings to use... ect. All told it took them about 35 minutes to complete the transfer. As I drove away, my thoughts turned to "oh no...what have I done to my explorer?" But all is well now and I would not hesitate to use them again for that service, BUT only that service.

Just thought I would share my experience with you all in case there is someone out there that has been thinking about it, but has not built up the nerve to go to a Jiffy Lube for the T-Tech tranny service. Probably the same machine that the Ford dealer was going to use. I guess the only real difference is that Jiffy Lube uses the multi-purpose Pennzoil fluid that is Mercon V rated and the dealer would have used MotorCraft Mercon V. Probably not worth the price difference...

 

[outrun]

Have your ATF Pan Filter changed, often J-Lubes totally neglect this during a T-Tech Service.

May also be a great time to slap on a Magnefine inline filter too

The dealer may charge you more, but now most dealers automatically do a pan filter service prior to the T-Tech infuser going to work.

Relax, I have always been a proponent of that service here.

The only thing that will screw up a transmission is one that has been abused from the get go.

Thank you for putting aside the hearsay and getting your fluid out right the 1st time.

 

[JTK]

FordSVTGuy- keep an eye on the shift quality after a few thousand miles. Many of the newer "Merc 5" only ford trannys will start to shutter, slip or bang after awhile when running universal type ATF's. No biggie if it does, you'll just have to swap the ATF out again with mercon V. Hopefully it works out for you.
G/luck
Joel

 

[Whimsey]

Just had the ATF exchange done on the wife's 2002 Explorer and the cost was $110 at the Ford dealer in Northern NJ. They use Motorcraft Mercon V when doing the fluid exchange. I saw 55 gallon drums of Motorcraft Mercon V in the shop. They do not add any chemicals to "flush" out the tranny. They only exchange the ATF fluid. It did make a difference in the shifting quality with the new fluid. And this was at 30,000 miles on the odometer. It shifted fine before the fluid exchange but shifted even better after

.

Whimsey

 

[Big D]

The standard recommendation when installing the Magnefine Inline Magnetic filter is to change the pan filter upon installation and then not service after that. This is due to the fact that the pan filter is a 100 micron filter and the Magnefine inline is a 25 micron, which eliminates the pan filter as part of the filtration system. The pan filter is still necessary as part of the sump system. You would normally add approximately 30% to your change interval with the addition of the Magnefine as the fluid will be ultra clean throughout the interval and replacement of the fluid is primarily to resore the additive package.
( I am the sponsor of the Magnefine banner. -didn't want you to think that I was an impartial user.)

 

[The Critic]

quote:

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Originally posted by JTK:
FordSVTGuy- keep an eye on the shift quality after a few thousand miles. Many of the newer "Merc 5" only ford trannys will start to shutter, slip or bang after awhile when running universal type ATF's. No biggie if it does, you'll just have to swap the ATF out again with mercon V. Hopefully it works out for you.
G/luck
Joel

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I recently e-mailed Pennzoil tech services to verify the Mercon-V compatibility with their Multi-Vehicle ATF product. I was astonished to be told that the product actually carried Ford approval for Mercon-V, as its license # is M5040502.

Thus, given its Ford approval, there shouldn't be any shudder problems while using this fluid.

 

[unDummy]

I've used the Pennsoil MerconV. It felt better than the Castrol and OEM Motorcraft MerconVs.
I've never seen an application where a univeral or multivehicle ATF caused bang/slip/shudder.

I know some dealers that don't automatically change the ATF filter. This is something that you need to insist on.

I don't have any data on Ford transmission filters. I do believe that they are better than the 'screens' that many imports use. The Ford ATF filters that I've autopsied are some of better ones out there.

Besides the Magnefine, there are other remote ATF filter kits.
Even with an extra/external ATF filter, you'll still need to change the OEM filter. Sure, the change interval is extended, but there is plenty of ATF flow that does NOT go through the ATF cooler prior to reaching the pan/sump.

I have only one question, how did the JiffyLube techs check the ATF level when they were finished?

 

[The Critic]

quote:

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I know some dealers that don't automatically change the ATF filter. This is something that you need to insist on.

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None of them do. However, I did give the local Jiffy Lube a call today. They charge $99 to run 18 quarts of Pennzoil Multi-Vehicle fluid through the unit. Some of the Jiffy Lubes are willing to do a filter change as well, for an additional $90.

With these newer fluids, a full exchange every 50K combined with a filter change @ every other fluid exchange should be more than enough.

 

[Gary Allan]

None of them do.

You've got to be stuck in state of the art Asian crap box or neo no stick land.

There are PLENTY of transmissions that get routine fitler changes. There are many that don't have the recent RETRO mesh screen. There are many dealerships that don't have a flush machine ..and I have yet to ever hear of one doing it through the cooling lines like us homy types do. It's not on my 02 Jeep.

The world is not perpetually "state of the art". Some stuff hangs around for a decade or two.