I will be doing a shift kit to my truck this weekend. How much tranny fluid will I have to ad back in and what kind should I go with? Also after putting in the shift kit the and the new tranny pan with the drain plug how often should I change the tranny fluid?

Thanks for any help

John

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93 Teal Cobra #4656
2000 Silver Lightning #4524

 

did transgo shift kit with pan and drain plug
about 7 qts. dextron III MERCON

bought a case of fluid didn't drain T. converter thats why 7 qts. will work

 

2000's come from the factory with mercon 5 which is not compatible with dexron 3. Maybe that's why some have been having untimely trans probs.

 

AUTOMAN,

Are you sure about the Mercon V in your '00? My manual *and* the dip stick says Mercon. So Mercon it is...

 

Use only Mercon (and Mercon compatible fluid)in 4R100 (E4OD) transmissions.

At the shop I work at we have seen what happens when Mercon 5 is used accidentally by customers, the trans will not shift properly and burn up.

 

Can I order the tranny fluid from ford? About how much does it cost per quart?

Thanks

John

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93 Teal Cobra #4656
2000 Silver Lightning #4524

 

I wasn't sure which fluid I had when I got ready to do the shift kit so I pulled a sample and sent it to a lab to have it analyzed. In the mean time the shift kit arrived and I was getting anxious so I called Level 10 3 times (twice in one day and once the next morning) and talked to three separate people all who said if it is a 2000 L it DEFINETLY has mercon 5. Level 10 is one of the most respected performance tranny shops in the country so I figured they should know and I went ahead and did the shift kit and went with mercon 5 and a couple days later the analysis came back and it was mercon 5. I think the discrepancy is that 99's probably have dexron 3 and 2000's have 5. The bottom line is the two fluids are not compatible.

 

Hey John,
I'm just curious what Ford put on your dipstick. 3 or 5?

Andy

 

99 SVT BOLT

I don't have my truck at work today but will check it when I get home.

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93 Teal Cobra #4656
2000 Silver Lightning #4524

 

I guess that just about sums it up. Now to make things complicated again - Anyone use Redline or Amsoil in their transmission and/or rear diff? I've heard good things about both of these products.

Thanks,
Adam
01 Black L - Chipenfiltered, splitfired, billetted, and grooved thanks to Blaupunkt, Alpine, Sony, Clarion, Dynomat, and MTX

 

I've got Amsoil in the automatic tranny on my 93 Mustang. It's great stuff. I haven't yet looked into seeing if anyone out there makes a synthetic MERCON blend (not MERCON V lol!). I probably need to start looking as I have almost 11k miles. Owner's guide calls for 30k change intervals but being that I drag race mine I'm thinking I should change it at 12 or 15k.

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2000 Black Lightning
#1326 of 4966
Born on 03/20/2000
PSP Chip
PSP Filter
Best time: 13.248 @ 104.4 mph

 

DEXTRON MERCON III

 

The owners guide states that for automatic 4R100 4x2 applications you should use 15.9 quarts of Motorcraft MERCON ATF. The handle on my transmission fluid dipstick says USE MERCON. The owners' manual goes on to state "MERCON and MERCON V type fluids are not interchangeable. DO NOT mix MERCON and MERCON V. Use of a transmission fluid that indicates dual usage (MERCON and MERCON V) in an automatic transmission application requiring MERCON may cause transmission damage. Use of any fluid other then the recommended fluid may cause transmission damage. I'll let you draw your own conclusions from this.

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2000 Black Lightning
#1326 of 4966
Born on 03/20/2000
PSP Chip
PSP Filter
Best time: 13.248 @ 104.4 mph

 

Gang,

Got some information that could explain why some of us are finding Mercon V fluid in the tranny:

"The correct fluid is Mercon. At the factory we use "H oil" which is a special break in oil not available commercially. At the factory, we also build the 4R70, which gets "B oil" the equivalent of H oil for Mercon V, and there is a tolerance for the two being mixed in the transfer system, (we get it by the railcar, and sometimes the two get cross contaminated). Anyhow, it is possible that some Mercon V could be in a 4R100, and up to the given spec that's okay, but the service fluid is definitely Mercon, and Mercon V should not be used."

Hopefully this clears up some of the confusion.