Hello everyone! I am a brand new member. I found the site after I made a mistake with transmission fluid and need some advice.

I have a 1989 F-150. I am the original owner. Anyway, I normally use Mercon transmission fluid, but today by accident I added one quart of Super Tech ATF+4 to my F-150. All of these bottles are blue and look alike to me. I did not realise my mistake until after I added the quart of fluid. The AF+4 is supposedly designed for Dodge, Chrysler, and Plymouth. Will this one quart of transmission fluid harm my transmission? My hope is that one quart mixed with all the other Mercon in there will not make any appreciable difference and not hurt my transmission.

Thank you in advance.

 

1 quart won't hurt anything.

 

Oh, that is a relief! Thank you!

 

an entire quart??? well 1 out of 14 not going to be a big issue.

 

I hoped it would not be an issue. I contacted Aamco, and the man said he thought it would likely not be an issue, but if I was worried, I could have it drained and filled at a cost of $125 + tax. Yikes!

It has taught me a lesson to double check labels before I use anything. I bought 5 quarts, one to use, and 4 to keep on hand. Would you know I picked up and used the only one that was a mistake? {{{SIGH}}}

 

$125 is not a bad price at all if he's also draining the torque converter. This is something that should be done periodically anyway.

Which transmission do you have? C6, AOD, or E4OD?

 

I do not know what all would be drained. He just said "drained" and refilled and about an hour's work. My truck is an F-150 XLT Lariat extra cab with small V8. I have no idea of the type of transmission. I do not think I have ever had that sort of work done before. The truck is about 32 years old now. Someone hit whilst parked on the street a few years ago, and I think the frame is bent now. It really needs to be replaced, so I am not keen to put any more money into than is absolutely necessary. I do not know if I can make it that long or not, but my hope is to keep it going for 5 more years and then replace it. I bought it new in 1989, and it has been a wonderful truck. I have loved it all these years, but it really is at the end of its life now.

No one ever told me draining the transmission and refilling was a part of regular maintenance. Seals have been leaking for quite a while now. They told me they would have to remove the engine to get to the transmission to repair the leaky seals. Just did not seem worth the cost, so I have been adding ATF as needed. If I can get away with this for 5 more years, I will be grateful. I know I shall miss this truck, though. They tell me they do not make them the same anymore. Shame.

 

There are transmission additives that will soften the seals and possibly stop or slow down the leaks. The problem with that stuff is that it doesn't know when to quit softening the seals. I had a quart of TransX that was supposed to soften trans seals intending to put it into a C6 Ford trans but sold the car before doing it. Later I pried on the power steering pump pulley of my 82 Firebird TransAM trying to loosen it in order to replace the belt not knowing about that hidden 4th bolt. The ps pump seal leaked afterwards. I remembered the TransX and put a couple ounces in the PS system. It stopped the leak almost instantly and I was pleased. A year later that stuff had eaten up all the seals and hoses in the system and I had to replace the pump, steering box, and both hoses! Good stuff but drain it out after it works!

 

Wow! Thanks for sharing your experience. I did use something like that in the transmission. In fact, it may have been the exact same product. I used it a couple of years ago. I did not see any change in the leaking seals, though. Maybe I did not use enough? I think at roughly 32 years old, my old truck is just ready for truck heaven. It has been a good truck. I have loved it more than any other vehicle I have owned other than my Volvo. I have a very special place in my heart for my Volvo. That said, I love my truck so much that once I am able to replace it, I will opt for another pick up, probably another Ford, but I would consider a Chevy, too. I have not even test driven any vehicles since I bought this truck, but friends tell me a lot has changed, e.g. some sort of change in the wheel base that makes the new ones less maneuverable or something. I do not want to do any test drives until a month or so before I can afford to buy another vehicle, though.

Good to know about that TransX, though. I think I used a similar type product in my oil, too. I have had the seals for oil replaced twice. I think if I had been able to garage this truck for its lifetime, and if it had not been hit whilst parked on the street, I could get another 10 years out of it. I always tried to take good care of it. These days I use Marvel Mystery Oil as an additive to my petrol, and it seems to help a lot. My old truck still has pretty good acceleration.

 

C6 - 3 speed, PRND21
AOD - 3 speed w/ overdrive - PRN(D)D1
E4OD - 3 speed w/ overdrive -PRN(D)21 with overdrive lockout switch

Regardless - considering what you posted, not worth a drain, 1 quart of ATF+4 won't hurt a thing. I wouldn't put any more additives in it, just keep throwing Mercon in it.

C6 and E4OD are heavy duty, AOD is light duty.

 

I really do not know which it is. I still have the colour brochure that I picked up at the time I purchased my truck. I will look it up at some point just so I know. The important thing is the ATF +4 will not ruin my transmission. I will be very careful next time after this blunder, though!

 

You can tell by looking at the shift quadrant as I posted. (D) indicates D inside a circle.

 

Okay, I will try to remember to look for it next time I need to pop the bonnet for something. Speaking of which, it is becoming harder and harder to open it. That only began to happen after it was hit whilst parked on the street. Over time, it began to get worse and worse. This is one reason why I think the frame is bent. Whoever hit me crashed into the area on the driver's side by the front wheel and driver's side door. They hit the old truck so hard that it knocked the ball joint out of the wheel and bent the axle. The driver left part of his own bumper in the street. Whoever did never was caught. It cost close to $1K to repair the mechanical damage. I never bothered to get a quote on the damage to the body. I only carry liability. It would not have been worth it to try to get the body repaired.

A year or two before that happened, the poor old truck was vandalised one night. They broke open both petrol caps, drained the petrol, and shoved a very old tire under the rear axle to lift the rear up a bit. Stole a rear tire. In the process, they damaged the ABS. That cost me $2K. The miscreants were never caught of course. Both of these were really hard blows for me. The cost of those repairs (roughly $3K should have been saved for a new vehicle. I reported to police both times, but it did not do any good. I asked them, for example, if whoever hit me whilst parked on the street what would happen. They said the driver (he had to be either drunk as a skunk or hight as a kite) would receive a ticket. $1K worth of damage and fled the scene of the crime, and all he would receive would be a ticket. Frankly, though, I do not see police in my area doing much about anything or solving any crimes. I could tell you some stories.....

 

No, I'm talking about the indicator on the dash, the one that has the gear pointer in it. You know - PRND21 or PRN(D)D1 or PRN(D)21 - and if it has an overdrive lockout it's a switch on the dash. Look at post #5 in this thread:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ml#post9711716

 

Oh, I totally misunderstood! Sorry! Okay, well next time I am out there in daylight, I will take a look. Thanks.