Tranny Flush

[nu2this]

Hello,

Have a 2005 Grand Marquis with 63,000mi. The car was a Hertz rental when I bought it with 18,000 on the clock. Was told the car was serviced as required. I have regularly changed oil, filter etc. at the Dealer as stated in the owners manual. I have never changed the transmission oil however, thinking it was done prior to my purchasing the car.

The manual states a transmission flush should be done at 60K miles. I have read pros and cons about a complete flush. What do some of you folks think ?

Thank you?

[Brown_Muscle]

Hi there!

It is unlikely that the transmission fluid was changed in the past. Since you are at the service interval, and at such low milage, I would definitely recommend doing it/having it done. In your case, unless something is already wrong with the transmission, it will certainly not hurt anything to do it. The manual specifically says flush, and not fluid change?

The cons you've read are mostly for high milage transmissions that have been neglected by previous owners.

[LithiumCobalt]

A flush is going to exchange nearly 100% of the fluid without opening the transmission. A pan drop is a whole lot messier and you also have to drain the torque converter. It does not get as much as the fluid out as flushing, but it's still better than doing just a pan drop only. Don't let anyone tell you horror stories about flushes. They operate on the same pressure as normal operating. One other difference is you need a machine to do the flush which will cost you labor. A pan drop and torque converter draining can be done at home.

[IPreferDIY]

Welcome!

I agree with Brown_Muscle. Any fluid should be changed at some point, including power steering fluid if the manual doesn't say so. In the case of transmissions, there is a filter for large stuff, and the fluid itself has detergents in it to keep the small stuff suspended in the fluid. I'm not convinced that a filter change would be absolutely necessary, but you definitely want fresh fluid every once in awhile.

My lazy and cheap method is to stick a clean tube down the filler tube and suck out what I can from the pan. This saves the hassle of taking the pan off. Since my torque converter has a drain plug, I would drain that at the same time, though I've read that they stopped installing those drain plugs sometime before 2005. If that's the case, you might want to consider a flush.

A "flush" generally refers to unhooking a fluid line and running the car to pump the old fluid out while adding fresh fluid. It's convenient, and I had one done on a prior car without any issues. As with my lazy and cheap method, you would not be bothering with the filter, and that seems to be the biggest realistic criticism of this method.

If you take the pan off, you can at least do a visual inspection and clean the magnet and change the filter. You might want to consider doing a J-MOD while you're at it. A J-MOD is essentially a do-it-yourself shift kit process that makes the tranny shift more firmly, which is supposed to reduce wear and heat. Here's a link for that:

http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthread.php?48789-Rizzo-s-Jmod-video

Progress and outcome reports are always welcome.

[jaywish]

The torque converter drain plug was deleted before 03.

[LithiumCobalt]

The torque converter drain plug was deleted before 03.

Therefore, only way to do a complete fluid change is flush it. Pan drop will only get about half of the old crap out.

[Mainemantom]

I would not let the transmission go beyond another 30,000 without being serviced. Since this is the first time it has been done, I would get all of the fluid changed (by flushing). With only 18,000 miles on it when you bought, I am very sure no one serviced it.
Did you buy it from Hertz or another dealer ?

[nu2this]

Thanks for all the informed input. I will go ahead and get it flushed. The reason I asked was due to the quoted price of $225.00, I didn't expect that but I guess it's good insurance.

Mainemantom, I bought the car from a dealer. Was still under warrantee and I used that warrantee to replace a recalled Catalytic Converter. Can't complain about that!

[Mainemantom]

$225.00 seems high to me. I would get some prices from a few other places. Maybe the Ford dealer is having a special ? Make sure whoever does it uses what the owners manual says to use for fluid. Nothing else.
To clarify my previous post. Have transmission services done every 30,000 miles.

[IPreferDIY]

The price seemed high to me too, but I figured that was probably a Ford stealership price. I would think you'd be looking at about $75 just for the fluid, plus about a half hour of labor. I thoroughly agree with making sure they use the right fluid. Anyone other than a Ford dealer would probably try to use the cheap generic stuff. I'm guessing the 2005 would use Mercon V like my 2000, so the cheap generic stuff would NOT be good enough.

[marquisman]

Running anything less than merc V transmission fluid is not recommended.