My uncle recently bought me a 2000 F150 Scab Lariat (after wrapping my Bronco around a tree and paying for it by spending a month in the hospital). I noticed that the transmission fluid looks REALLY dirty and needs to be changed ASAP. I would do it myself, but I am still recovering from the accident (I can walk now, but not supposed to do anything that would aggravate my still healing pelvis fractures). Also, I am a poor college kid that rents a room in a townhouse...so I would have no where to do it myself anyway. I took it to a local shop today, they quoted me about $90 to do the work. They mentioned that they would also have to add something to the transmission fluid they carry in order to bring it up to Mercon V standards. Have any of you ever heard of this, and is this an acceptable practice, or should I just buy the Mercon V and give it to them to put in?
Don't let them do it. They want to use the cheaper Mercon/Dextron fluid (since that is all they have) and then drop in a couple bucks worth of additives. That is NOT Mercon V. Our trucks call for Mercon V, not Mercon/Dextron with some crap added in.
I just had a shift kit and new torque converter put in my truck, it used 14 quarts of Mercon V. I had over $60 just in fluid.
Squirrel is right! Only Boris Badenov would do that. Also, get a full flush. A pan drain only only gets out about half of the old fluid. You don't have to go to Whats-a-matta U to figure out that your guy is ill prepared to do the job right.
Don't let them do it. They want to use the cheaper Mercon/Dextron fluid (since that is all they have) and then drop in a couple bucks worth of additives. That is NOT Mercon V. Our trucks call for Mercon V, not Mercon/Dextron with some crap added in.
I just had a shift kit and new torque converter put in my truck, it used 14 quarts of Mercon V. I had over $60 just in fluid.
To add to what Rocky is saying, there are a lot of well-known brands of tranny fluid that claim to have mercon/mercon v/dexron applications, and very few brands that are just straight mercon v. To my understanding it is best to use a straight mercon v fluid. The only brands I know of that make this is Castrol and Motorcraft, there could be a couple more out there. I would suggest going to your local auto parts stores to look for these, but you can only find Motorcraft mercon v at your Ford dealer. You don't have to go to a Ford dealer to service your tranny, but make sure you go to a REPUTABLE service shop. Now is a good time to change that fluid, as you said it was dirty. Transmissions are expensive. Good Luck!
No additives will offer you this, and there is no such thing as a "Wonder in a can", save Slick 50 (I can only vouch for the ENGINE formula). Better to buy the correct fluid to start with.
Many (Most) additives contain chemicals than actually break down the seals, and then you have more problems than you had before (If any).
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Squirrel is right! Only Boris Badenov would do that. Also, get a full flush. A pan drain only only gets out about half of the old fluid. You don't have to go to Whats-a-matta U to figure out that your guy is ill prepared to do the job right.
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