fluid change?

[miked.]

hey all, got a question and need yalls input. got a 2001 f350 190000 miles. don't know if ever the trans fluid has ever been changed. should i leave it or change it? any info would be great.

[retmotor]

I was told by a Ford tech that if the fluid looks good, change it. If it looks dirty as all heck, don't change it and drive it until the trans fails. That just doesn't seem right to me, but that's what I was told.

[madpogue]

The old "don't change it if it hasn't been changed" adage goes back at least to the '70s. I know for a fact that with some newer trannies, that no longer applies. But your truck probably has a 4R100 tranny, and the folks in this section with automatics have the E4OD. You should post this question in the "Tranny Problems" section for your year; that's where you'll find people with the same tranny, and perhaps the same issue.