adsm08
Senior Master Grease Monkey
Supporting Member
Article Contributor
Ford Technician
TRS 20th Anniversary
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2009
- Messages
- 34,623
- City
- Dillsburg PA
- Vehicle Year
- 1987
- Engine
- 4.0 V6
- Transmission
- Manual
- Tire Size
- 31X10.50X15
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Is a trans flush an approved maintenance procedure by Ford? The flush horror stories scare me. What is the recommended trans fluid maintenance schedule per Ford?
It is really hard to "backflush" a transmission. You would have to fill it completely full and then force fluid to go through it backwards. It wouldn't work very well, especially when it is running and trying to pump it the other way.
Most flushes use the transmissions pump, they unhook a cooler line and as the transmission pumps fluid out it lets new fluid is let in.
What is a problem is a neglected or worn transmission can depend on the clutch fibers floating around in the transmission fluid to get traction. Change the fluid and you have a slip-o-matic because there is no clutch fibers to help it along. Then things depend on heat to swell and grab before eventually there is nothing.
Generally if a trans dies after a flush its days were numbered anyway, only now the car owner has someone to "blame."
Not trying to be difficult. The way the local shop attempted to rope me in on this service? Was to 'brag' about how great a job their "house flush" machine did by reverse flushing all the crap out, and how it would "renew" a filter by back flushing the crud out of it and then it would get sucked up by their wonderful 'Machine', and it would renew/refresh the fluid as well.
They fed you a line that should scare anyone, it would be the equivalent of trying to back flush your engine. You would have to fill the crankcase full before anything would come out the valve cover. The same would apply to an automatic trans, the thing is not full to the brim with fluid and since they can't really force it through the engine has to be running and they can't pump it against the transmission pump...
Unless they were backflushing the coolers...
I change the filter myself and have mine flushed (no converter plug) I just did it a couple months ago and the truck has 104k miles on it and still shifts great. It had just been done when I got it at 25k and I did it at 60k too.