Is Motorcraft Mercon V a good substitute for plain Mercon, can;t fine just Mercon for transmission?

[Josh B]

Mercon LV is listed as not being backward compatible for transmissions and transfer cases requiring Mercon or Mercon V. The same goes for Mercon ULV. Unless the manual calls for it for your transmission or transfer case, I would stick with the older specification. That may require going aftermarket.

As a side note, I have noticed that actual Mercon V shifts better in my manual transmission that calls for it rather than aftermarket product that says it meets the same specification. It works, just not as well.

Rock Auto sells actual Motorcraft Mercon branded fluid products, that might be a place to check outside of a dealer. No guarantees they have plain old Mercon but worth a try. Even with shipping, they are cheaper than the dealer.

What if it still has some of the Dexron -VI / Mercon LV in the case, maybe up to a QT, would the result still be detrimental ?

 

[sgtsandman]

What if it still has some of the Dexron -VI / Mercon LV in the case, maybe up to a QT, would the result still be detrimental ?

That, I can't say. I can only go by what Motorcraft posted on their web site. As as expensive as that LV and ULV stuff is, I only ordered it because it was required for the truck. I also hate having a bunch of different product on the shelf if I don't have to. Thus, why I was so happy when Ford said that 5W-30 was the oil of choice in the 2019. Now, I have 3 different Mercon fluids I have to deal with and 2 different brake fluids.

If it one of them was backwards compatible, I would have considered dropping the Mercon V.

In any case, if you've had it in there a while and nothing has happened, a reduced amount left in there after the fluid change probably won't hurt anything.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

What if it still has some of the Dexron -VI / Mercon LV in the case, maybe up to a QT, would the result still be detrimental ?

No, it will just shift crappy. I accidentally put type F in mine and thats all it did. Is fine now though with regular dex/merc. I think its Dexron III actually. My gear shop guru friend ordered it for me.

 

[19Walt93]

For Mark's sake is that through-out or just the main (installation) gaskets? I am NOT well educated on automatics

I'm not sure what you mean by through-out. The valve body sits inside the pan and is bolted to the case, the gaskets seal it to the case. I recommend doing some diag before spending money.

 

[19Walt93]

No, it will just shift crappy. I accidentally put type F in mine and thats all it did. Is fine now though with regular dex/merc. I think its Dexron III actually. My gear shop guru friend ordered it for me.

I wouldn't be comfortable saying LV wouldn't hurt anything. B&M used to sell type F for big bucks as Quick Shift Fluid because it firmed up the shifts on GM's slush boxes that ran the old type A, high parafin fluid. LV is expensive and stinks awful but my Escape calls for it so that's what it gets.

 

[Josh B]

I'm not sure what you mean by through-out. The valve body sits inside the pan and is bolted to the case, the gaskets seal it to the case. I recommend doing some diag before spending money.

Doesn't the Valve Body have a kit that is used with the valve body itself, besides the gasket ir seats to, and one to the filter?

 

[Eddo Rogue]

I wouldn't be comfortable saying LV wouldn't hurt anything. B&M used to sell type F for big bucks as Quick Shift Fluid because it firmed up the shifts on GM's slush boxes that ran the old type A, high parafin fluid. LV is expensive and stinks awful but my Escape calls for it so that's what it gets.

My Fusion calls for LV as well.

 

[19Walt93]

Doesn't the Valve Body have a kit that is used with the valve body itself, besides the gasket ir seats to, and one to the filter?

I've never seen other than a complete overhaul kit, the tech ordered the individual gaskets he needed from the parts room.
Pan gasket, valve body gaskets, a filter, and some fluid. I wouldn't recommend doing it yourself unless you have experience because a mistake could cost a lot more than some shop labor.

 

[Josh B]

I've never seen other than a complete overhaul kit, the tech ordered the individual gaskets he needed from the parts room.
Pan gasket, valve body gaskets, a filter, and some fluid. I wouldn't recommend doing it yourself unless you have experience because a mistake could cost a lot more than some shop labor.

Right. BW helped me do one, he was far away above and beyond, probably banged his head on the doorpost a few times in the process, but it did get done. It was a VB he sent and I just installed it using a bolt holder I made and the one seat gasket. Even that was an adventure for me (the names have been changed to protect the innocent )

 

[Eddo Rogue]

Right. BW helped me do one, he was far away above and beyond, probably banged his head on the doorpost a few times in the process, but it did get done. It was a VB he sent and I just installed it using a bolt holder I made and the one seat gasket. Even that was an adventure for me (the names have been changed to protect the innocent )

Sounds like the only innocent there is that poor doorpost.

 

[markalmand]

About to do a transmission filter change on my 1994 Ranger 4.0 automatic, is it a bad idea to vacuum transmission fluid out the dip stick filler tube with a plastic hose to remove more old fluid, or will this cause problems? Would like to get most of old fluid out of system as it is almost black and smells bad, can someone help me on this?

 

[Josh B]

About to do a transmission filter change on my 1994 Ranger 4.0 automatic, is it a bad idea to vacuum transmission fluid out the dip stick filler tube with a plastic hose to remove more old fluid, or will this cause problems? Would like to get most of old fluid out of system as it is almost black and smells bad, can someone help me on this?

I believe some do just that and leave the filter. I am not certain specifics on that, you'll want to find further input about what they're doing

 

[sgtsandman]

About to do a transmission filter change on my 1994 Ranger 4.0 automatic, is it a bad idea to vacuum transmission fluid out the dip stick filler tube with a plastic hose to remove more old fluid, or will this cause problems? Would like to get most of old fluid out of system as it is almost black and smells bad, can someone help me on this?

It won't hurt anything and will reduce the mess potential. Keep in mind that there will still be some fluid left in the pan. So, take care when dropping the pan.

I would also recommend doing at least a fluid change twice, maybe three times in order to get the majority of the old, burnt fluid out of the transmission. Do some driving, going through all the gears, in between the drain and fills and change the filter after you drain the fluid for the last time. Most of the transmissions I know of hold around twice the amount of fluid that normally gets drained when you drop the pan (most of the remaining being in the torque converter). Since there will be some fluid mixing during the drain, fill, and drive cycles, doing it three times will get the majority of the old fluid out of the system.

Check to see how much fluid the transmission holds so you have enough on hand. There are two amounts. The dropping the pan to change the fluid and filter amount and the total capacity if completely drained after doing work on the transmission amount.

 

[markalmand]

So it is a good idea to get as much of the old trans. fluid out that you can before refilling with fresh Dexlll/Mercon after filter change?

 

[Josh B]

So it is a good idea to get as much of the old trans. fluid out that you can before refilling with fresh Dexlll/Mercon after filter change?

I think they're saying to replace it several, 2 or 3? or4? Qts at a time until you get the system to a cleaner level, without blowing away the system