changing trans fluid - need advice

[gostanggo]

drained the pan and changed the filter - how do i remove the rest of the fluid from the cooler and etc to change it all.

any help would be good, im in the middle of the project now

2005 f350 6.0 4wd

[maps6874]

[ QUOTE ]
drained the pan and changed the filter - how do i remove the rest of the fluid from the cooler and etc to change it all.

any help would be good, im in the middle of the project now

2005 f350 6.0 4wd

[/ QUOTE ]

Here is a great link.

[gostanggo]

thanks maps!

i did it! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/warmsmile.gif[/img]

[bigric]

The article at that link is broken and has been for some time, according to several forums. Does anybody else have the procedure?

[Mark Kovalsky]

I don't have a way for a do it yourself person to change all the fluid in a TorqShift. There is no good way to do it without a heated flush machine.

[ralderman]

The best way that I have found from reading through the forums is to drain the pan, I dropped the pan and changed the filter, and change the external filter. Next, refill and drive for about 30 minutes. Drain and refill again. Drive for another 30 minutes, and drain and refill again.

It sucks, but since the transmission has to get to 165 degrees to have 100% flow, you need to have a heated flush machine or drive it. You may not see your transmission reach 165 degrees while driving, but from what I understand there is a 10% fluid transfer all the time.


Good Luck,
Rick

[greasyfingers]

After extensive searching the web, I was not satisfied with the common methods of doing your own transmission flush on the TorqShift, so I decided to make my own DIY heated transmission flush (exchange) machine. I did all this a few months ago, and successfully flushed all of my transmission fluid. The machine has some design flaws, so I have been hesitant to share the design, but hopefully someone can improve the design to fix the problems and make it easier and cheaper to build one of your own. It took me two late nights to complete this build, and about $100 in new parts. Some items were freebies

[Mark Kovalsky]

Very good!

I see one problem. In step #9 you say to run the truck in gear until the gauges are in the middle. The transmission temperature gauge will be in the middle of it's range any time the transmission is warmer than 50°F. That's not warm enough. It needs to be over 170°F to make sure the thermostat is open.

[greasyfingers]

Thanks Mark. On my next revision I will clarify that step to say that it must be up to 170 degrees. I will use my new ScanGaugeII to read the exact TFT and report how the dashboard transmission temp gauge reacts.

[wedge542]

any new news on your setup and temp readings?

[greasyfingers]

I still have some miles to go for the next fluid exchange, but the needle on your stock TFT dashboard gauge needs to stabilize right in the dead center of the range to ensure you are at the right temp for a thorough exchange. The stock gauge isn't bad. There may not be a temperature scale, but it does react accurately to changes in TFT. **Edit: See my next posting below**

[Mark Kovalsky]

Originally Posted by greasyfingers

I still have some miles to go for the next fluid exchange, but the needle on your stock TFT dashboard gauge needs to stabilize right in the dead center of the range to ensure you are at the right temp for a thorough exchange. The stock gauge isn't bad. There may not be a temperature scale, but it does react accurately to changes in TFT.

That's not right at all.

When the gauge is stabilized in the dead center of the gauge all you know is that the trans temp is above 50°F and below 230°F. You need the trans temp to be at least 170°F during the flush for it to actually work. You can't tell that from the factory gauge.

[greasyfingers]

I stand corrected! Wedge, read on for what you wanted to know. Mark, I had to do some testing today to prove what you said is correct. The stock TFT gauge had me fooled. I assumed that since the needle gradually rises up as the transmission warms up, that it actually tracks the temperature at the same rate. It does, but something funny happens when the gauge reaches the middle. When the stock gauge reaches the middle and stabilizes, I assumed that the TFT was stabilized at normal operating temp. I was way off. This is what I found:

<80*F=below operating range, needle moves as temp increases
80*F to 105*F = lower half of range, needle moves as temp increases
105*F to >210*F=dead center of range, needle remains still as temp increases
(I did not want to keep running it beyond 210*F, so I do not have data on how the stock needle behaves over that temperature)

Bottom line: If you run the engine in gear with the brake applied until BOTH the transmission AND engine coolant gauges reach the dead center, the TFT should have reached 170*F, and the engine coolant should be at least 184*F, from my testing. For good measure, run it another minute after BOTH gauges stabilize to ensure the TFT is above 170*F. I hope that clarifies things.

[cyclone3565]

In the years I have had two different F-250 diesels, with Edge Gauges, I have never seen my transmission temperature TFT at 170 degrees. I am lucky if it gets to 160.