Tranny fluid change time

rolenna00gt

Founding Member
Jul 11, 2002
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k-town tn
Well it is past time to change the tranny fluid and with 81000 mile on it with the orginal fluid I think I better do it soon. So what is the best tranny fluid and how much do I need, also should i change the fluids in my rearend as well. If so what do I put in there and how much?? :shrug:
 
I ahve a t45 transmission where as you might have the tremec, but regardless you need some kind of ATF. I've used redline atf and its nothin special, atleast I didnt think. Just costs alot. The stuff that I really like that I just put in is Royal Purple Synchromax. Atleast for the t45 you're going to need to buy 4 quarts of it. You'll use about 3.5, give or take. Maybe someone with more knowledge of the tremec can help you out. I believe tremec recommends GM Synchromesh for their transmissions. But the royal purple is pretty much the same thing. I noticed the tranny running cooler (cuz the shifter doesn't get as hot as it used to after driving a while), the tranny not being as noisy, not to mention it shifting smoother. As for the rear end, I've heard synthetics may be a little bit too slippery for the traction lok posi system, which could allow it to one wheel peel. All I could find when I got my gears installed was pennzoil 75-90. Its going to be changed when I do the wheel bearings soon.
 
Not to hijacka thread but I got 37K on mine and have never changed the fluid, shoudl I now? Or what until?

Btw, rolenna00gt, great avatar and how do you like the sylvania silverstars?
 
im gonna assume its a manual and say do what was said above. if its an automatic, get a bunch (45+quarts) of cheap ATF and do a flush service, where you unhook the cooler lines and let it run out into a container as you dump fluid into the fill pipe. you need about 15 quarts for a complete flush. do that, then drvie the car for about a week, then do it again, repeat until you done 3 flushes. then drive for another week, then put the car on jackstands and drain the fluid and replace the filter and fill with Mercon V fluid.
 
well when the fluid has been in there for that long, immediately changing to a super slick synthetic atf can cause damage to the transmission. the clutches inside have, for lack of a better term, gotten used to the old fluid. the computer tends to lower the line pressure because of the older fluid and when you introduce the new fluid the line pressure is too low and the clutches get hot and you burn up the transmission. this is a really hot topic on crownvic.net. another method if you are cash strapped is to drop the pan and then refill the 4 quarts that came out. you can get away with using a cheap dexron3/mercon ATF for this kind of stuff, you can usually pick up some cheap stuff for around .99 a bottle. do that a few times then got a full flush with a filter change. when you do the full flush make sure you use a quality synthetic, like redline, amsoil, or mobil 1. no matter how expensive this sounds, its still cheaper than the 2k you will spend on a new transmission.

EDIT. something ive thought of getting, is an aftermarket traspan with a drainplug. so that when i do an oil change i can let that go and dump in a few quarts of fresh ATF. id much rather spend a little more on routine maintainence then spend a huge amount when something breaks.
 
rolenna00gt said:
So i need to change my fluid 3times before i put the good stuff in. If you dont mind can you explain why I need to do that b/c I am not made of money.. (not meant to be a smart ass)
Do you have an automatic or manual? What BDCardinal is referring to is an automatic.