2010 Ford Fusion 2.5L - 23,911 mi - Valv. MaxLife

[SirTanon]

Here's the UOA results for the Valvoline Maxlife ATF that came out of my Fusion's 6F35 Trans.

At the time of the sample, the trans had 223,968 miles on it.

The fluid that was drained was a combination of Valvoline MaxLife ATF that was put in during the last trans drain&fill I did (at 200,057 miles), and what remained of the previous fill, which I am assuming was Motorcraft MerconLV, since it got all its previous service at the dealer. Not sure when the last trans fluid flush/drain&fill was, but it would have been prior to 178,000 miles.. so I can't say the TRUE effective mileage on the fluid. I suspect this is why the wear numbers are as high as they are.




I'm thinking I might do another trans drain&fill in another 25,000 miles and see if the numbers have improved at all. If not, then I'll probably follow THAT one with another drain&fill 5000-10,000 miles after that, just to be safe.

I'm also planning on going back to genuine MC Mercon LV fluid, for the next few changes, just to see how that effects the numbers. I can buy quarts of it from my local dealer for $5.69 each, so it's not terribly expensive.


** I'd like to hear some input from everyone.

 

[toneydoc]

With those miles, any machine is going to have wear and tear and higher numbers due to age.

Look in the mirror. I have more wear and tear everyday.

Here comes another day in paradise.

Enjoy working on the car

 

[dnewton3]

Your fluid is in fine shape. There is no reason to change oil more often ... Yes - changing it earlier will bring the numbers down, but your wear RATE (ppm/mile) will not change much. Your vis, FP are fine. The numbers here are not from a fluid being over-taxed. The numbers are typical of this trans; it just seems to throw metals. But with 225k miles on it, what do you expect?

I would run the lube to 40k miles as they suggest. Then take another UOA. I'll bet your wear rates don't change much at all.


Oddly, the tranny is hooked to one of the better engines Ford has; that 2.5L is a great little engine and will last forever. They wear like granite.

If the tranny gives up at some point, I'd say replace the tranny with a good rebuild and drive it another 250k miles, if the rest of the car is in good shape.

 

[panthermike]

Just curious, how is your 6F35 shifting after 224K? I know some of the early units had some quirks.

 

[SirTanon]

Well, I'm up to 228,000 now, but the trans still seems to be shifting nice and smooth & crisp. I don't notice any odd flare or lag. Knock on wood!

 

[panthermike]

Originally Posted By: SirTanon
Well, I'm up to 228,000 now, but the trans still seems to be shifting nice and smooth & crisp. I don't notice any odd flare or lag. Knock on wood!


Awesome! Good to hear

 

[Matagonka]

Originally Posted By: toneydoc


Look in the mirror. I have more wear and tear everyday.

Here comes another day in paradise.


hahaha, nice

 

[MolaKule]

Since you only removed about a third of the fluid, I would do another drain/refill.

 

[SirTanon]

Actually, it would be more like half.. The 6F35 has a fluid capacity of 9 quarts, and I drained a little less than 5 quarts out of it, and refilled with approximately 4.5 quarts.

IMHO, doing a single drain & refill every 25,000 miles should easily suffice, especially considering that my driving is about 90-95% highway, and about 80% of THAT is cruising in final gear.