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2010 4 cyl automatic transmissions?


Ken N.

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I just bought a 2010 Ranger 4 cyl Automatic with 168,000miles. Runs good trans is fine. What transmission is in my truck? I have always heard that if the tranny fluid was not change regulary. DO NOT CHANGE. (I do not know if it was). What is the relability of this tranny? I know the earlier automatics were BAD. I was looking for a 5 spd but this one fell in my lap. THANKS
 


Spott

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I just bought a 2010 Ranger 4 cyl Automatic with 168,000miles. Runs good trans is fine. What transmission is in my truck? I have always heard that if the tranny fluid was not change regulary. DO NOT CHANGE. (I do not know if it was). What is the relability of this tranny? I know the earlier automatics were BAD. I was looking for a 5 spd but this one fell in my lap. THANKS
You can look up transmission applications and door-tag codes in the Tech Library section of the site. That should help you identify your transmission.

Dunno who told you not to change transmission fluid; that advice doesn't make sense to me.

None of the Ranger automatics are true lemons on their own. If mistreated, or worked on by lousy mechanics who don't actually understand what they're doing or what's needed, they do tend to break down, but that's to be expected.

There's a lot of useful information in the Tech Library regarding maintenance and considerations for your transmission.
 
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adsm08

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That will be a 5R44 transmission.

The bit about not starting to change the fluid if it wasn't changed regularly is total B.S. It stems from a misconception about the causes of failure.

Usually when a transmission starts acting up the first thing the tech wants to try is changing the fluid if it hasn't been done in a while. Dirty transmission fluid can cause a whole host of issues, and just changing it can fix the problem some times. Clean a deposit out of the valve body that is causing a valve to stick and cause poor shifting, help to re-swell a seal that isn't holding pressure quite right, etc.

So they flush a trans that already has a problem hoping that fixes it, tell the customer to take it and try it for a few days, and during that time whatever was a little broken finishes breaking, and now in the customer's mind the flush broke the trans. So they go and tell their brother in law, who tells his nephew, who posts it on-line, and now we have a generation of people who think that doing regular maintenance will break their transmission.


My sister's first car was a 96 Volvo S50. I flushed that trans for the first time at 175,000 miles, and that transmission made the trip between Harrisburg PA and Nashville TN many times, even took her to Colorado once, before the car died of a ruptured fire hydrant.
 

Ken N.

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So to ask a stupid question does a flush , flush everything including the valve body? what is an average cost for this service? THANK YOU!
 

adsm08

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There are two types of commonly available transmission services.

One is what I call a "spill 'n fill". They drop the pan, change the filter, and put it all back together with new fluid. This doesn't do much for cleaning, and changes about 30% of the fluid, on most transmissions.

Then there is a flush. This usually involves adding a cleaner, letting the engine run so that the cleaner circulates, then changing the fluid, and adding a conditioner, that helps the seals stay flexible instead of getting dry and hard. Most guys, myself included, will dump the conditioner into the flush machine's tank along with the new fluid to make sure it gets mixed in good. A flush will get between 75 and 95% of the old fluid out.

Then there are multiple types of flushes too.

There are dipstick tube flushes, which basically you stick a tube down the dipstick tube and the machine will suck out as much fluid as it can get, usually about 1/3 of the transmission's capacity, replace it with new, then you start the engine and it will alternate pulling fluid out and putting it back in, about two quarts at a time, until the rest of the fluid that was put in the machine is used up. This is mostly a dilution method, but it is effective. It is also a good method if lack of prior regular maintenance concerns you as it is also gentle.

Then there is a procedure called a "triple flush". It is basically the same as the dipstick tube flush, but it involves dropping the pan three time. Much more of a pain, no real added benefits except that you generally change the filter on the last round.

Then there is the in-line flush. You take the flush machine and use some adapter pieces to plumb the machine in line with one of the cooler lines. Then one of a few different methods (pressure diaphragms, compressed air, electric pump, or the transmission's own pump) is used to pump new fluid into the trans through the cooler line, and as that goes in it pushed the old stuff out. This is by far the most effective as it gets directly at most of the passages. It is also the most likely of all of them to exacerbate and existing condition inside the transmission as it does have the potential for putting pressure on the internal seals in an unusual manner. In 10 years though the biggest issue I have ever had after doing an in line flush was that the trans slipped because I didn't get the fluid level right, left it about a quart low. That was easy enough to fix, I just added a quart.

Also, keep in mind that not every shop will have a machine that does all of these kinds of flushes.

Average cost is going to vary. Most shops will charge you for 12 quarts of new fluid, the flush kit, which is your cleaner and conditioner, and an hour of labor. The price of all of those will vary by brand, location, shop type (a mom and pop shop will charge less than a dealership). Last shop I was at I think we charged about $183 for a transmission service.
 

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My method is basically to just do a pan drop, change the filter and refill but while I have the pan off I install a drain plug. Then drive around for a couple days and drain the pan again using the drain plug and refill. Takes all of 5 minutes using the drain plug so ill usually drain and refill 2 or 3 times after the initial pan drop/filter change. Its cheaper than going to a shop and gets alot of fresh fluid in the trans. Plus it makes it easy to keep adding a few fresh quarts every year or so.
 

Ken N.

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THANK YOU so much. What I have drove for the last 10-15 years is a car that I drive to and from work 8 miles a day at best 2 miles in town and 6 at 55mph. My wife drives a newer car. I am 60 years old and been a Ford guy all my life. I own Ford Falcons. I had an 88 Ranger in early 90's my wife got it hot and traded it off. Missed it but never found a good deal till now. I want this Ranger to last.
 

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