Hello Everyone, i am new to the forum and i just wanna say whuts up to everyone. I have have a 2001 F150 XLT off road package and it only has 28K miles and last week me and my dad changed oil in tranny we droped the pam and drianed out the oil and put in new filter but we used the old rubber thing 'gasket" ? because it said on pam it is reusable and it looked better then the new one that come with filter and we used Valvoline tranny oil. In pan we found some yellow piece and we were scared so we went to dealer and asked what was this piece and they told us Fords put that in tranny and then when they put stick it goes to pan. I dunno lol well my real question is is it better to flush tranny or drop pan and change filter any everything because filter was dirty ???? Love my F150 gets almost 21mpg 5.4L on highway if no winds if i keep on 65pmh cruiz and about 16.5mpg city if very carefull working throttle.

Nascar fan

Go #16 Greg Biffle

 

Welcome! yes, that yellow plug was in the dip stick tube as a stopper. When they put the stick in for the first time, it pushes through and drops to bottom of pan. There is a lot of debate about the preference of flush or service. My dealer recommened that I not do a flush till about 100,000. I really don't like the idea of the flush and it does not include changing the filter. The tranny service includes dropping the pan, changing the filter and only about half the fluid gets changed as the fluid in the torque converter, pump, and lines do not drain. I plan on doing the service about every 30,000 and at this time, do not plan on doing a flush. That is just one opinion, others will do differently. Good luck with your truck.

 

I agree, dropping the pan is best because when we took out that filter it was very dirty and we plan on droping the pan again on 50Kmiles! Truck has been great since day one but we dont use it much only when we go fishing or when pulling 28.5 travel trailer 8600LBS loaded!

 

Why not disconnect a line at the trans cooler, and use the pump to pump out the fluid (shutting it off at the first sign of "sputtering")? And with an '01, he should be able to drain the TC, and I'd guess you could get 90+% that way.

Andy

 

I had my trans serviced by the dealer and I had them flush and change the trans filter. My truck does not have the drain plug in the torque converter. In my work, with our experience with the Crown Vics and just dropping the pan and changing the filter, we seem to have more trans problems after the trans service.
Not flushing the system might be a bad idea. (Just my opinion.)

Mike

 

I have a 99. I dropped the pan and changed the filter and I also drained the torque converter to get most of the rest of the fluid out. It's nice that they used to put a drain plug the converters.

6000 miles later, no problems. The trans flush is a bit pricey.

Here's how I look at the flush vs. drain debate. Do we flush the engine oil? Very rarely. I know they have engine flush machines now, but 10 years ago was flushing engine oil a big deal? I doubt it because the equipment didn't really exist. Nowadays we have all kind of equipment that flushes fluids. So this kind of service is marketed alot, because any shop can buy these machines and sell the service. Now we have all these people telling us we HAVE to get these services done. They're just trying to make money, which I'm totally fine with. Is it necessary though? I don't think so.

 

When changing the engine oil, nearly all the oil drains into the pan and/or is left in the filter (which you're going to remove). To get a few drops more, I used to pull the coil wire and turn the motor over a few seconds to get what's in the pump, but that was usually very little.

Changing over to a transmission, seems to me there are lots of places for fluid to be if it's not in the pan, so a simple drain and fill (especially if you can't drain the T/C) still leaves a lot of dirty fluid behind. I'd guess that's why we regularly flush transmissions and not engines.

Just my $.02

Andy

 

Uhhmm what's left in the pump should stay there. That way the pump is allready primed when you start it back up after changing the oil. I like to keep zero oil pressure as short as possible.

I agree though, if you can't drain the torque converter then you have no choice but to have it flushed. I'll probably have to do that to my wife's Saturn Vue.

 

Neglected to say that when I did that, I left the coil wire off, and cranked the motor to get the oil flowing before re-connecting and starting. I also pre-filled the filter (and still do).

Andy

 

The same thing happened to me today, I think. I have a 1996 Ford F-150 4x4 and found a plastic plunger that was tan in color with a o-ring at the bottom of the tranny pan. Is that the same thing as this dipstick stopper? Is this common with these Fords? Most importantly, is it important?

Thanks in advance,
Jake

 

Yes that is a stopper that's put in the trans. fluid dipstick tube at the factory. When they put the trans. dipstick in the tube at the factory it pushes the stopper into the pan where it stays, harmlessly, until the pan is taken off for the first time.

 

Dropping the pan, changing the filter and filling it up is a good way to service the transmission if you plan on doing it every 30K. I would have liked to have seen a picture of that filter to see just how dirty it was. There is some debate on these forums whether it is necessary to change the filter and if so how often. It certainly can't hurt but many people never unbutton their pan, they simply flush the system at regular intervals. I have yet to read of a restricted filter or any problem with a transmission filter that has not been changed. Good work doing the job yourself, it can be messy. What fluid did you go with?

 

Hey Steeler, i used some Valvoline oil in blue bottles i think it was 3.48 per bottle and i tell ya droping the pan is the way to go. Even on the pan it self it says the seal is reusable. Hey i still think i have that old filter at my dads garage maybe i can go and check next week and take picture and show you what that thing looks like. If you were to see it you be shocked. My truck is a 2001 F150 had it from day one never pulled a pound always warms up let the rpms drop before i drive it never abuse it works great for me. I let you know if i have a picture by next monday! sone20winks

 

I have always had mine flushed because I like the idea of getting all the old fluid out. I am used to mesh screen that never need to be changed (nissan) so that was not a hang up. I will probably drop the pan at 30k and replace the filter then have it power flushed at 60 then pan drop again at 90. Seems to be the best of both worls and this truck will see quite a bit of towing

 

Hey friends i have one more question about my transmission! After i droped pan and changed oil it runs as good as before no problems at all. I did not change oil in torque converter me and my dad added 4.5bottles and on dipstick it shows that it is on margin at good and almost overfilled is this how much about i was supposed to add ?