I noticed a slight hesitation going from reverse to drive with the transmission in my 97 F-150 4.6 (w/155k mi). In adddition, it was beginning to shift a little clunky in and out of OD. so I pulled the pan, changed the fluid and filter. The fluid didn't look particularly bad, not exactly clear but no real evidence of contamination. A couple of days later I was going to change the coolant and replace the thermostat. Much to my surprise, the recovery tank was filled with strawberry milk-looking fluid. A quick check of the trans dipstick now revealed the same stuff.... Obviously, the trans cooler in the radiator tank is leaking. I'll be replacing the radiator.......

A couple of questions.....

I've drained the pan but is there a drain for the torque converter?

Will a power flush be sufficient to remove the coolant comtamination providing there is no serious damage to the trans?

What's the best product for flushing ATF from the cooling system/block?

What type of ATF goes in this tranny?....Book says Mercon, others say it's been changed to Mercon 5....?

Thanks

 

On a 97, you should still have a drain plug on the torque convertor. Remove the rubber plug on the bottom of the torque convertor housing and have someone turn the engine over by hand until the plug appears by the hole. You can also prop up a mirror below the hole so you can watch as you turn the engine over yourself if you've got no helpers handy.

Being in the AZ heat, I would probably consider going with an add-on external trans cooler and bypass the radiator mounted cooler loop altogether...just my opinion though.

On the flush...I wouldn't do a power flush, even to clear coolant out of the transmission. I'd do a full change, then run it a few miles to see if it's clear...repeat as neccessary. Two or three fluid changes should get it cleared up. ATF is fairly high detergent so the water should bind up with the fluid fairly quickly and drain out. With a power flush I'd be leery of seals getting damaged.

To clear the cooling system, I'd just fire it up and flush it with straight water. remove the top hose and pipe it into a catch can, then run fresh water into the top of the radiator and flush til it comes out clean. Then drain it down as much as possible and refill it with whatever you normally use and test it to get the mix you want since there will always be a little pure water in the system after the flush. (50/50?)

ATF...
The current recommendation from Ford is to use Mercon V, so that's what I've been using. I'm currently running Mobil1 synthetic in my fresh rebuild 4R70W, but the semi-synthetic Valvoline or Motorcraft stuff should be fine too.

 

Will do.......

Thanks Bindernut!

 

Im torn on this, a flush would clear all the junk out of your system but is also risky on higher mileage trucks.

 

The trans may be junk....there was less than 30mi on it after I changed the fluid/filter and the magnet was clean with the fluid showing no evidence of coolant. This time there was considerable gummy black goo on the mag so this thing may be going away. I drained the TC overnight and cleaned the pan, filter and will fill it with regular Mercon. I'll run the cooler lines to a bucket and keep emptying until it runs clear. I'll see how it goes and if OK, do another complete flush/filter change and switch to Mercon V.

Ain't life grand......

 

Man that sucks! I hope everything works out for you, sounds like you have a good plan of attack

 

Update....

Did all the flushes, replaced the radiator (OEM Ford SuperCool), ran it 200 mi with Mercon 3, did another full change to Mercon 5 and all seems well.....time will tell but it shifts smoothly and is quiet.

Thanks for all the help here, this place is an excellent resource.

Rob

 

You defiantly did the best thing you could do. Prayin' for ya buddy.

 

Sounds like your tale will have a happy ending.

Definitely keep an eye on the tranny fluid for the next few months/miles to see if you have any more of that sludge show up or if you've got any strange shifts, but I suspect that you've probably got it all flushed out if it's looking clear now.

I had the same thing happen to me a few years back on a MoPar A904 tranny in one of my old Darts. It took three or four flushes to get all the goo out but that tranny went another 75,000 and was still in good shape when I sold the car.

Good Luck!