I watch A-Rod on You-Tube, he is a Ford Tech and he says to just drop the pan, change the filter and it takes about 10 quarts to fill it back up!

 

Yea I looked at that one today, appreciate it

 

I'm pretty certain there is a "machine flushing" process. The machine heats up the fluid for the flush since the tstat needs to open.

PLENTY of people say DO NOT do the machine flush. Just drain the pan then add back fluid. Or drop the pan, drop the filter/element, change the filter/element, add fluid.

 

A dealer or a good shop should be able to perform a flush without issue. As HA described, a heated flush can be performed on systems that have a mechanical thermostat for the system. It's not rocket surgery.
I've had it done on more than one vehicle including the SD trans. No troubles whatsoever. Now if you have an existing problem on a 250000 mile tranny it isn't going to solve anything.

I have done our 2003 Honda Pilot several times and like it a lot better, wasn't sure on our 6.7's having this so kinda why I asked here first, don't like to sound like a dumba$$ up front to a dealer lol. Not a fan of the dealer ship around me but it's been about 6 years since I used them so may call now about it. Truck has 100220 on it

 

A dealer or a good shop should be able to perform a flush without issue. As HA described, a heated flush can be performed on systems that have a mechanical thermostat for the system. It's not rocket surgery.
I've had it done on more than one vehicle including the SD trans. No troubles whatsoever. Now if you have an existing problem on a 250000 mile tranny it isn't going to solve anything.

 

It's not rocket surgery.

Are rocket surgeons in high demand? [emoji3]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

IMHO most of the folks that say a heated flush gave them transmission problems already had problems. They either didn't know it, thought that changing the fluid would fix it, or needed to blame their problem on something.
At 100k your fluid should be in pretty good shape.

 

IMHO most of the folks that say a heated flush gave them transmission problems already had problems. They either didn't know it, thought that changing the fluid would fix it, or needed to blame their problem on something.
At 100k your fluid should be in pretty good shape.

I agree.
The clutch material floating in the old fluid helps mask problems until it is changed. Then you discover the damage with fresh fluid.

Can Changing your Transmission Fluid Cause Damage? - YouTube

 

Does anyone know if the flushing machines have a filter installed on them?? Or do they just remove the old fluid and fill with fresh fluid??

I want to say the issue was the machines caused the material to dislodge and potentially create new problems. I don't disagree to the aspects of "masking issues" with old fluid.

I'd rather dump the pan every 60k (yes more often) for a fresh top off over a machine flush. If that makes people feel better then sure go for it. If it too much, too often for others than so be it. We can all skin a cat.

 

Does anyone know if the flushing machines have a filter installed on them?? Or do they just remove the old fluid and fill with fresh fluid??

I want to say the issue was the machines caused the material to dislodge and potentially create new problems. I don't disagree to the aspects of "masking issues" with old fluid.

I'd rather dump the pan every 60k (yes more often) for a fresh top off over a machine flush. If that makes people feel better then sure go for it. If it too much, too often for others than so be it. We can all skin a cat.

When I asked multiple places about flushing there was a sump and transfer tank but no inline or pump filters etc.

 

Since I've never seen the machine used here is what I surmise:

To me the machine IS a flush as it heats up the fluid so that the on-truck components and fluid have to be at operating temps to properly circulate thru the transmission. There's a HUGE amount of fluid "trapped" in the torque convertor. So there must be a point at which the old fluid is either filtered or swapped for fresh fluid. That would tell me there's a reservoir holding at least the amount of fluid need to fill the transmission with fresh transmission fluid, if not more. I would expect there to be two or more connection points on the truck transmission system components that allow this "in-n-out" flow of fluid.

A fluid exchange wouldn't need to have heated fluid. As I described draining the pan and adding fresh fluid sounds more like an fluid exchange.

As I said I've never seen the machine Ford uses or any shop uses for that matter. From my conversations (and a small bit of real world experience//Army aviation) the process seems like it would work, but has been reported more than once a bit excessive for most people's needs.

In aviation we had a company providing a system that connected to our helicopter transmissions that would drain and filter the fluids. If needed that fluid could go back into the transmission or be replaced with fresh fluid. Since aviation systems go thru regular fluid samples and testing analysis we had plenty of instances where the component needed to be "flushed" due to a bad sample. Their system allowed us to cut our work time in half when a "drain and flush" testing result happened.

This is why I ended up just draining the truck transmission pan, and adding back fresh fluid. People are SO scared on the 2020+ truck cause the transmission has NO DRAIN. LMAO>....See Tremor Forum for the panic. OMG ....there's no way the fluid can last 200K miles....LMAO

I'm all for understanding the process and products. It's the only way we can get smarter. Sorry this got so long, but it was/has been how I've known it all to work.

 

Sounds very similar to the helo tranny system. Hell, it could be a machine made by the same people. Filtering and reusing good lube is an efficient way to do it.
No matter what, you and I and some others are probably way overdoing it with 50k-60k drain m fills. Considering the recommended interval is 150k
About the Tremor- so it has no drain plug they can't figure out how to drain the fluid?!?

 

Well I'd believe we were raised during a time when we could be whipped for being bad . LOL So PM (preventative maintenance) was ALWAYS being done and ingrained in us. But we were also raised to learn and we learned these newer fluids DO last longer. So we were able to move away from some aspects of the old, embracing the new. I remember watching people replace points and distributor caps. Do we REALLY want to go back to that??

It's not just the Tremor trucks but the 2020+ trucks in general. The transmission has no drain plug. 2020+ trucks have a 150k service life for the transmission fluid/filter and DO NOT have a dipstick. They Tremor Forum) were all wanting to swap out the pans for one's that have a drain, but then HOW do you fill it??
I guess the machine will be getting used (???)

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUID CHECK The automatic transmission does not have a transmission fluid dipstick.Your transmission is filled for life, and does not need to be checked. Your transmission does not consume fluid. However, if the transmission slips or shifts slowly, or if you notice some sign of fluid leakage, have your vehicle checked as soon as possible. Do not use supplemental transmission fluid additives, treatments or cleaning agents. The use of these materials may affect transmission operation and result in damage to internal transmission components

 

there are many machines and last I heard Ford does not make a dealer buy the Rotunda version or any brand for that mater.

but the quality machines exchange old for new so you don't get cross contamination from the machine

I also know on the 5r if it was not up to temp even a hot fluid flush may not be as through as it could be and keeping the truck up to the temp that the cooler is fully in play is hard

https://rotunda.service-solutions.com/en-US/Pages/ItemDetail.aspx?itemVID=166736

 

I haven't laid eyes on one but I bet the new trans have plugs. My E39 BMW had 2 of them. A high and low. If it was hot the fluid should be at the top one. Cold, low one. To drain it you literally loosened all the bolts- more on one end than the other. Then you tapped the pan till it came loose and spilled fluid everywhere. Lol. It also had a lifetime fill. But the manual said 150k intervals. Damn Germans.
My bet is there is a fill port somewhere. Is it accessible with the cab on? Who knows.

 

Lots of feed back, appreciate it fellas. I called the dealer and was put on hold. Finally I hung up and called back and they offer both HE SAID, as mentioned above I asked if they offered fluid change or fluid flush, Yea I believe I will just drop the pan and stay away from the dealer if I can.

A sealed up tranny??? I still have my toploader with gear oil in it!! 😆