What would you use

[demarpaint]

What are the Ford guys using in the older Ford transmissions calling for Mercon? 1993 Aerostar.

Dex/Merc or Mercon V? Assuming only a pan drop and not a complete fluid exchange. I'm leaning toward Castrol since it is very easy to get around here.

TIA

 

[S2500Dog]

Ford is using Mercon V for the A4LD, 4R44E, 4R55E and 5R55E transmission.

 

[demarpaint]

Does it mix with the older stuff? If I do this project I'd only be draining the pan.

 

[roadrunner1]

i've been using the mobil 1 atf for years in this app with zero issues, it seems to hold up very well

 

[fdcg27]

I used Valvoline Mercon V in our '97 Aerostar when doing a pan drop.
Had to replace about 4 quarts, so only about 1/3 of the capacity of the transmission.
The results were amazing.
Delayed engagement of reverse was gone, as was a shudder on the third to fourth upshift.
Since Ford did not see fit to provide a drain plug, the job can be a little messy.
A good drain container is an old baby bathtub, since it is large enough to hold the length of the pan, which will help you avoid most of the mess.
The magnet in the pan was a blob of metal paste, while the rest of the pan contained the wear materials from the clutch packs.
Cleaned her up nicely, held the new cork gasket in place by tying it on with fine sewing thread through a number of the bolt holes, changed the filter and O-ring, and put her back together.
All in all, not a hard job.

 

[demarpaint]

I had the itch to use the my Miti-Vac today. I bought some Mercon-V, extracted ~ 4 qts of fluid, replaced them and added a bottle of LG Red. The shifting has improved.

About 15,000 miles ago I had the pan dropped and a fluid exchange. The mechanic managed to over-fill the transmission. Now that I have the Miti-Vac that will be the last time I see a mechanic for a transmission service.

I used Castrol Mercon-V, I like their Transmission Fluids.

fdcg27 get yourself a Miti-Vac it will be one of the best investments you can make for servicing a transmission w/o a drain plug. I learned that this past weekend!

 

[fdcg27]

I probably wouldn't use it for much else, and as seldom as you need to drop the pan, it isn't that bad.
OTOH, you could always put a drain plug in the transmission pan, if you wanted to do more frequent partial fluid changes.
OTOH, the vac would be a convenience for the diff.
You could suck out alomost all of the old fluid through the fill hole, and replace it.
Much easier than removing the diff cover.

 

[demarpaint]

As with everything it is a matter of opinion. Not every transmission pan lends itself to installing a drain plug. For my 3 vehicle fleet I can see a lot of uses for this tool, transmission services and bleeding brakes are two that I can see it very useful for. Draining the rear and front differential on a 4x4 would be another, then using it to fill them.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint

About 15,000 miles ago I had the pan dropped and a fluid exchange. The mechanic managed to over-fill the transmission. Now that I have the Mityvac that will be the last time I see a mechanic for a transmission service.

fdcg27 get yourself a Mityvac it will be one of the best investments you can make for servicing a transmission w/o a drain plug. I learned that this past weekend!

The best use of a fluid extractor like Mityvac is to do oil change, because you need to change oil once or more every year. Other fluids such as ATF, brake fluid ... are needed to be changed/flushed every 2-3 years or less often.

If you have German cars, you can change oil and filter with the car on the ground, because the oil filter housing is on top of the engine. Also, the extractor can get more oil out of the engine than the drain plug. There is no chance to get injury for getting under the car to remove/reinstall drain plug.

Demarpaint, I'm glad you like the Mityvac. It's a little expensive, but you will think that you got your money back after 2-3 years using it to do various maintenance on several cars. I have mine 6+ years ago, I had my money back 3 years ago and it is virtually a free tool now.

 

[demarpaint]

HTSS_TR

Thanks for all your help, with just the work I did with it this weekend it paid for itself. Even if I just use if for transmission services and bleeding brakes, it was worth it for me. There are a lot more things I can do with it. It was money well spent!

Again Thanks!