Why don't they put drain plugs in tranny pans? oh well. I drained the pan and the converter today on my '97 F150 4.6 , so i managed to get 12 qts of new fluid in. It has almost 180,000 mi on it and is starting to rust under the doors, so I was wondering if it is worth the effort, but hey the thing runs good, it's paid for, and I average about 16 to 16.5 mpg driving to work every day, so might as well treat it nice. Guess I should post pics, still looks good from a ways off, but get up close you can see the cancer lurking around the edges.

 

production cost, ground clearance are two big points that come to mind. Atleast they put reuseable gaskets on them

plus you are lucky that you have a converter drain plug since they stopped doing that in mid 2000 i believe

 

Actually it was shortly after the start of the 2002 model year.

 

how do you get at the converter drain plug?

 

I would figure that that reason there is not a drain plug becuase when you change the fluid, you should also be changing the filter, which you have to take the pan off to get to.

 

Open the inspection cover under the converter and turn the engine over till you see it.

 

I think the reason is that it is an infrequent operation and they didn't want the owners to do it. Maybe Ford was concerned with Joe Blow getting dirt in the tranny. Maybe it was to help the dealers make money.

I put drain plugs in mine. Buy them in the "Help" section at Advance or Autozone and I had to also buy an oil pan drain plug washer with a rubber inner ring to keep the plug from leaking. Those hard plastic washers the kit comes with do not seal that well.

I bought an Isuzu pickup years ago and the manual trans had a drain plug and the differential had a drain plug.

 

Here are a couple of pics of a factory pan I bought and I TIG welded a 1/4" thread o let onto it for a drain.
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...r/PICT0081.jpg
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...r/PICT0080.jpg

 

My 99 Expy has a drain plug. I assummed it was factory but by what everyone is saying I guess it isn't?

 

I would also say production costs. If you look at a 1994 owners manual, at least the Canadian version, there is no drain interval for the automatic transmission.

.

 

Yes, in the distant past, the manufacturers did not have a tranny fluid change in the maintenance schedule.
I remember my 82 TransAm had a 100k change recommendation. They expected that you would trade it before the trans needed a fluid change or maybe the rest of the car would fall apart before the trans needed a fluid change.

 

I have an 01 with 55,000 and the tranny has not been in for a service. I don't have the confidence to do a drain and fill on my own and from the research I've done, rather than having a flush done, I'd like to bring the truck in, have the pan dropped, TC drained, filter replaced, and tranny refilled. Did all 01's have a drain plug on the TC?

 

My 2001 has a drain plug in the TC - and I've used it. You can just spin the TC from the inspection hole with a big screwdriver or whatnot. Torque spec on the plug is 89 inch-pounds.

Do it yourself - get one of those black plastic trays for mixing mortar at Home Despot. They make a great catch pan for auto tranny service since they easily hold the dozen-odd quarts of ATF.

FORD OEM service manual says use a new TC drain plug each time. Does anyone really do this?

 

Probably a combination of cheaper to produce and encourages owners to bring it to Ford for service (make more money). They are a business, after all.

Yes, but make sure your truck is in neutral first.

I don't remember whether the original got cross-threaded or what, but I had to get a new one last time I did mine. Had to use a roommate's car to drive to the dealership. Probably good to have one handy, then you can return it if you don't use it. BTW, any standard $0.50 1/4" drain plug will "work," but the center of gravity may be a little different for plugs with a hex head. Not sure if that tiny bit will make a difference for TC longevity, but with how infrequently this needs to be done a new factory plug is affordable.

 

The dealer doesn't want you servicing your transmissions. In the later years they even took the filler pipe away. Around 01 the TC drain plug vanished too. Some vehicles did have a drain plug in the pan, it could be stock.

Having the transmission in neutral makes no difference in turning the converter over.
Alan