Hey all, I have been searching around about servicing the transmission and am kind of skeptical now. Reading about a few people having failures after fluid flushes makes me a little weary of getting it done. There is nothing really wrong with the tranny at this time, it seems to run and shift fine. Although at times it can be a bit rough intermitently, and shift a bit hard, but that might be attributed to the edge programmer. The truck is at about 66K right now, on previous vehicles I have never messed with tranny flushes/fluid changes and never had a problem. Those vehicles where not lifted like this one though, the only real reason Im thinking of getting it flushed/serviced is the mileage, lift, and the feeling it will crap out before 100k (just have that strange feeling it will )

So what do y'all think and/or recommend?

 

If all is well, don't rock the boat.

 

Servicing a tranny is only a problem if the tranny has NEVER been serviced on a regular basis!

 

I flushed mine around 40,000 and now at 92,000 well, you can see the p0731 thread.

 

I've never had my transmission "serviced" but I have had generous amounts of transmission fluid removed once for a leaky seal at around 22,000 miles and most recently 7 quarts (torque converter drained) with the short block install. Truck's at 77,000 miles, no towing. Still running strong. I plan on a fluid change soon though.

 

you guys seem pretty divided on the subject

 

If it seem ok, I would leave it for now. No expert, but let it go for a little longer would be my advice.

 

Five years ago we mandated our guys start flushing the transmissions on the company trucks at every 30K, have not had to replace or service one since. We run our trucks to 120,000 miles before trade and before routine tranny service, we averaged replacing one tranny a year, this is on all three major brands of trucks.

You would be suprised how much wear yours will have with a lift, tires and wheels.

 

Yeah im gonna have mine done and with all this talk going around made me skeptical as well to having it done. But my 05 only has 44k on it. I think im gonna have ford do it so if something does go wrong they will warranty the tranny lol plus i still got extended warranty. Its also going to suck to have to pay 160 for it

 

I tend to trust the engineers who designed/built our trucks -

They say to change the trans fluid at 30K intervals - there must be good reason to do so.

 

And that's only when the truck is operated in heavy hauling or towing situations. Otherwise the transmission is supposed to have "lifetime" fluid.

Still trust those engineers?

 

I too wasn't sure about transmission servicing, so I skipped the first one at 30K....with no problems, but when came around to the 60K, I thought I would treat my truck and do the full tune up (oil, air, tire rotation, fuel filter, transmission flush, coolant flush - $523).

What a mistake. After I got it back from the dealership, the truck started bucking at 45-50mph with very light throttle (feathering the accelerator), as if it had a problem choosing a gear. To be fair, it isn't easy to duplicate the problem, but as every owner knows, when it does happen, it's a pisser. Took it back to the dealership after about 3K miles, showed them TSB 0416 (Driveline clunking/grunting noise or shudder sensation during light to moderate accelreation and/or braking), told them i just had the transmission flushed, and they need to look into this. They couldn't duplicate the problem but for the TSB recommended fix (PCM reflash, remove driveline to clean slip yoke, lube with teflon grease and reassembled) would cost me $202 WTF!! I told them go ahead, because after reading on here, it seemed like the PCM reflash would fix the problem.

When I picked up the truck the service attendant, suggested that I get the trans fluid changed because the tech said it was dirty....WTF?! I told him on the spot that "I had it changed by you guys 3 months ago!!" So he said he would confirm with the tech, calls me back and says that sometimes the residual fluid will still show up and would give me a second flush for free. Whatever. Picked up the truck from the dealership, still the same shudder problem!!....went back and got the second flush (blindly hoping what ever changed after the first flush would fix the problem)....got the truck back...still have the shudder.

I was real disappointed by the dealership because it was the same place i bought the truck....i just learned to live with it. At 66K now, powertrain works great exept right at that 45-50mph with light throttle. But now that I write this out, i'm thinking of going back again and complaining, but (1) I dont know if they'll be able to do anything about it (2) I dont want them to screw with it, and make it worse!

 

I've been following the advise given by a transmission guy. Change it after two years, or not at all. This only applies to a commuter vehicle, not towing. If you want to change it regularly then continue changing it every two years.

Some transmission specialists will admit there may be a problem with the new fluid bringing in a fresh dose of cleaners which may dislodge a piece of varnish which can get lodged and instigate a new problem.

 

IMO a fluid and filter change is much safer than a transmission flush.

 

and cheaper!