5R55S, drop the pan or flush it?

[Brick]

Hi all, first post but I've been lurking long enough to know this doesn't go in tech. I'm right at 60k miles on my 05 auto v6, with only an intake and Bama tune performance wise. A little searching on here tells me it's time to change the fluid in the trans, and some more searching brings up stories of it slipping after the dealer doing a flush. Which makes me lean towards doing it myself even though it's a pain in the ass to pump it back in.

So which do you guys recommend?
1) Do it myself and only change about 1/3 of the fluid since the majority is in the TC, but be able to wipe the pan and magnet clean.

or
2) Take the risk of letting the dealer flush it.

Also, has anybody tried the Amsoil DOT 4 brake fluid vs. the tried and true ATE Super Blue? It's time to flush that also. Thanks guys.

 

[Greg Hazlett]

I like to do it myself even though you only get 1/3 of it out like you said; I have heard bad things happend when the fluid is sucked/vaccumed out of the system and then you have to trust that they replaced the filter.

I have a brand new motorcraft tranny filter for sale in the classifieds if you end up doing it yourself. http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=96733

I also sell Amsoil so if you do it yourself and are interested in the Amsoil tranny fluid or any other Amsoil fluids let me know.

 

[J2L06GT]

"LatemodelRestoration" vendor on this site, has a replacement
stock trans pan with a dip stick for $230, I installed one on my
car, replaced filter when changed, now every time I change oil I
open trans drain and refill from top in thru tube, little over 3qts.
Now I can drop pan every 2yrs to change filter and fill from top
with no special pump set up, no mess

 

[808muscle]

Do it yourself Refilling the stock pan can be a slippery mess. Make sure you put back in what you drained out. Getting a pan with a dipstick is a huge upgrade. Refilling by the dipstick is so easy. The stock pan requires the use of an adaptor fitting. There is a DIY thread on how to do it at mustang forums.com if you need a guide.

 

[Doug M]

"LatemodelRestoration" vendor on this site, has a replacement
stock trans pan with a dip stick for $230, I installed one on my
car, replaced filter when changed, now every time I change oil I
open trans drain and refill from top in thru tube, little over 3qts.
Now I can drop pan every 2yrs to change filter and fill from top
with no special pump set up, no mess

Awesome!!

Do it yourself Refilling the stock pan can be a slippery mess. Make sure you put back in what you drained out. Getting a pan with a dipstick is a huge upgrade. Refilling by the dipstick is so easy. The stock pan requires the use of an adaptor fitting. There is a DIY thread on how to do it at mustang forums.com if you need a guide.

I would love to be able to afford one, I hate the sealed crap unit on these auto's! If I had the funds, this would be high on my list of things to do. Would be able to check and fill the trans with ease , like you should still be able to do from the factory.

 

[doogie]

Perfect timing for this thread as I am gathering the parts right now for an auto swap and the investment in the LMR pan/tube is a no brainer as I was planning to drop the pan on the tranny I picked anyhow to change the filter.

On a technical note... other than a new filter, will I need anything else for installing the LMR pan like maybe a gasket?

 

[J2L06GT]

Perfect timing for this thread as I am gathering the parts right now for an auto swap and the investment in the LMR pan/tube is a no brainer as I was planning to drop the pan on the tranny I picked anyhow to change the filter.

On a technical note... other than a new filter, will I need anything else for installing the LMR pan like maybe a gasket?

OE gasket is reusable unless you bend it, you will re-use magnet and
drain plug from your pan.

 

[Brick]

I like to do it myself even though you only get 1/3 of it out like you said; I have heard bad things happend when the fluid is sucked/vaccumed out of the system and then you have to trust that they replaced the filter.

That's what I'm thinking now, get the LMR pan J2L06GT recommended and drain/refill the 3-ish quarts every year.

"LatemodelRestoration" vendor on this site, has a replacement
stock trans pan with a dip stick for $230, I installed one on my
car, replaced filter when changed, now every time I change oil I
open trans drain and refill from top in thru tube, little over 3qts.
Now I can drop pan every 2yrs to change filter and fill from top
with no special pump set up, no mess

Thanks! I knew PA made a deep pan but hadn't seen this one. Since it's just an OEM with the dipstick it shouldn't have any problems scraping the ground like there would be with the deep one. I'll be ordering and doing the same as you.

Link for anyone: http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/item/PAI-27456/05-10-Mustang-Transmission-Pan-Dipstick-Kit-For-5R55s

I would love to be able to afford one, I hate the sealed crap unit on these auto's! If I had the funds, this would be high on my list of things to do. Would be able to check and fill the trans with ease , like you should still be able to do from the factory.

I'm gonna bite the bullet on one. The adapter 808muscle mentioned is ~$20 and it's a necessity to pump fluid back up in. If instead you put that towards the LMR pan and factor in the forum discount, that brings it down to $200 with free shipping. Although I think that's still a lot for just a factory pan with a dipstick...

The way I'll look at is the dealership wants $150 to do a flush... after 2 changes the pan should pay for itself. Plus no mess, and no dealer.

On a technical note... other than a new filter, will I need anything else for installing the LMR pan like maybe a gasket?

From what I've read, the gasket is re-usable. Can anyone who has done it confirm that?
Edit: Yes it is.

 

[Doug M]

Yeah, it is high for just a dipstick..lol..why of why Ford did you take away our ability to check and fill our fliud easily! I wished I had the money, I do agree with you about it paying for it's self , I just don't have the money right now.

 

[skwerl]

A week ago I mentioned to my mechanic that I wanted to change the transmission fluid in my bucket truck. He said that he had a machine that would make it a snap. You simply tap into a coolant lines at the fitting and hook it up to the machine. You fill the machine with the amount of fluid that the transmission holds and then turn it on. It swaps the old fluid for new at a 1-1 rate and when the tank runs out it just recirculates it until you turn the machine off.

Once we got it hooked up to my bucket truck (the lines were huge so we had to make up adapters) we swapped out 28 quarts of fluid in about 10 minutes. No draining the transmission and worrying about air pockets or anything else. I have to assume most modern transmission shops would have this machine.

 

[Greg Hazlett]

^^ what about changing the filter doing it that way?

 

[skwerl]

Greg, I didn't worry about the filter this time It was changed 1.5 years ago when I had the transmission pulled to replace the leaking front seal. I was having some slipping issues when hot and I wanted to replace the old cheap fluid with synthetic. Made a huge difference.

 

[Greg Hazlett]

Makes sense...I have heard of shops using that machine, my concern would be whether or not the filter was changed.

 

[Doug M]

The ford place supposedly changed mine when it went out at 38k miles. I bought a filter from Greg, because I need to get it changed again soon probably 55k now. The last thing I need right now, Is for something else to happen. I need the money for that new pan though! What fluid are you guys going back with for your auto? I know ford put the Motorcraft back in mine.

Also the machine that you guys are talking about, I heard one of the techs say that is what they used to pump it in. IIRC.

 

[slagburn]

Most of the time when you pay for a trans flush, you are getting a flush only. Then there's a filter service, which is filter and gasket if needed and reset level. But no flush.
I would specify a new filter, refill and then flush.

We use the BG machines. They are powered by the transmission's own fluid pump, in series in the cooler lines. There's an accumulator, as mentioned above new fluid goes through at the same rate the old comes out and then bypasses when complete.

Using this type of machine I see nothing that could hurt a transmission. Flushes get a bad rap IMHO mostly because people with a trans issue decide to get it flushed as a repair, not maintenance. Then the damaged unit continues its slide, a clutch pack fails and now it's the trans flush's fault.

One thing I have seen a lot of. Many transmissions have a thermal bypass valve in the cooler lines. Cold trans, cold bypass, no flush. The machine can be running for an hour and not complete. So how do the UTI whiz kids complete the flush: brake torque the car for 5 minutes, turning the torque converter into a purple balloon.

 

[1BigDog]

That's what I'm thinking now, get the LMR pan J2L06GT recommended and drain/refill the 3-ish quarts every year.



Thanks! I knew PA made a deep pan but hadn't seen this one. Since it's just an OEM with the dipstick it shouldn't have any problems scraping the ground like there would be with the deep one. I'll be ordering and doing the same as you.

Link for anyone: http://www.latemodelrestoration.com...stang-Transmission-Pan-Dipstick-Kit-For-5R55s

Thanks for posting that link. I had my fluid flushed by the dealer and replaced with full synthetic oil. Cost was 199. I had about 52k when I had it done. Car shifts much better now. Replacing the stock pan will be a spring time project and ill be able to swap out the filter and top off now. I still cant understand the reasoning behind Ford eliminating the dipstick in the first place.

 

[Doug M]

^^So it will cost US a crap load of money to get it changed

 

[Brick]

A week ago I mentioned to my mechanic that I wanted to change the transmission fluid in my bucket truck. He said that he had a machine that would make it a snap. You simply tap into a coolant lines at the fitting and hook it up to the machine. You fill the machine with the amount of fluid that the transmission holds and then turn it on. It swaps the old fluid for new at a 1-1 rate and when the tank runs out it just recirculates it until you turn the machine off.

Most of the time when you pay for a trans flush, you are getting a flush only. Then there's a filter service, which is filter and gasket if needed and reset level. But no flush.
I would specify a new filter, refill and then flush.

We use the BG machines. They are powered by the transmission's own fluid pump, in series in the cooler lines. There's an accumulator, as mentioned above new fluid goes through at the same rate the old comes out and then bypasses when complete.

This got me thinking... could a guy just take off the line that is going into the cooler and feed it to a drain pan. And then take off the line coming out of the cooler and attach a hose and funnel to it (like a beer bong). Have one guy keep the funnel full of new fluid and another guy to start & stop the engine. I assume the transmission pump is only on when the engine is running. Would this accomplish the same thing as using the machine at a dealership or am I overlooking something here and there's more to it than that? Guess we're starting to get more technical now.

Thanks for posting that link. I had my fluid flushed by the dealer and replaced with full synthetic oil. Cost was 199. I had about 52k when I had it done. Car shifts much better now. Replacing the stock pan will be a spring time project and ill be able to swap out the filter and top off now. I still cant understand the reasoning behind Ford eliminating the dipstick in the first place.

No problem, though J2L06GT deserves the credit. Thanks again to him for pointing it out to all of us!