Transmission fluid
- Thread starter 95mustang_gt
- Start date
Swarzkopf
Member
**** that. Don't take it to a shop. They'll "power flush" it, which usually means they drain it while simultaneously filling it.
Do it yourself. It's easy. Get a Hayne's manual and follow the instructions. Use carparts.com to find the filter. Use any brand Mercon V fluid. This is important.
If you plan on modifying the car more in the future, I'd take this oppurtunity to install a transmission cooler as well, another cheap and easy job.
Do it yourself. It's easy. Get a Hayne's manual and follow the instructions. Use carparts.com to find the filter. Use any brand Mercon V fluid. This is important.
If you plan on modifying the car more in the future, I'd take this oppurtunity to install a transmission cooler as well, another cheap and easy job.
I personally would not mix MV and Mercon.
I would read Jerry's article (on TCOA) on flushing it - you can get about 12 quarts out of it doing it yourself. If flushing nearly all of it out, then you could switch to MV.
The cooler is an excellent idea - stacked plate coolers are my choice.
Good luck.
I would read Jerry's article (on TCOA) on flushing it - you can get about 12 quarts out of it doing it yourself. If flushing nearly all of it out, then you could switch to MV.
The cooler is an excellent idea - stacked plate coolers are my choice.
Good luck.
Swarzkopf
Member
Hissin, I wasn't recommending mixing Mercon V and the older stuff. In my experience, it's pretty easy to get "all" of the fluid out...after dropping the pan and filter and draining the torque converter, my AODE took 14 quarts of new fluid.
The biggest issue I had was my buddy spinning the crank too fast for me to get a bead on the torque converter drain plug.
The biggest issue I had was my buddy spinning the crank too fast for me to get a bead on the torque converter drain plug.
abusedstang
New Member
What exactly is involved in adding the trans cooler? Can you remove the original at the bottom of the radiator support and change it out with the new one? Haven't been under the car in a while so I wasn't sure
I gotcha now. I did not have the impression that you were talking about dumping the converter before.Swarzkopf said:Hissin, I wasn't recommending mixing Mercon V and the older stuff. In my experience, it's pretty easy to get "all" of the fluid out...after dropping the pan and filter and draining the torque converter, my AODE took 14 quarts of new fluid.
The biggest issue I had was my buddy spinning the crank too fast for me to get a bead on the torque converter drain plug.
Did you have issues with Mercon before (shudder issues or anything) and/or does the MV perform better?
Swarzkopf
Member
The "original" piece is actually part of the radiator. You can bypass it, or you can run it along with the new one. I installed my aftermarket cooler along with the stock one. I figure two is better than one.
Make sure your engine cooling system is in good order as well, an overly hot radiator can kill your transmission by actually heating your transmission fluid rather than cooling it.
I've had two experiences with this:
1. My stock 96 4.6L Thunderbird w/4R70W- I was experiencing pretty major shudder in overdrive at 65,000 miles. After reading on TCCOA I changed to Mercon V. The shudder problems dissapeared, and the Thunderbird is still shifting and driving great at 115,000 miles.
2. My nitrous's 95 5.0L Mustang w/AODE- The car had had a recent transmission fluid change when I bought it, so I didn't bother changing it. Long story short, after some abuse at the track and on the street, the AODE started overheating and not wanting to shift from 2-3. I swapped to Mercon V and installed a cooler and made the transmission last a little longer, though it's on it's very last legs now (a 125 shot tends to be hard on stock AODEs).
I've got a Street Edge 3000 RPM stall converter sitting in my living room right now waiting to be installed, and next week I'm taking the AODE to be fully rebuilt with upgraded insides.
im going to be doing this at school and they have a snap on flushing machine.Is it hard to drain the torque converter.SO i should use mercon V fluid?
For the transmission cooler,what will i have to do to install it.I live in wisconsin and its getting cold,should i still get it.Right now i have around 114000 miles on the car.
For the transmission cooler,what will i have to do to install it.I live in wisconsin and its getting cold,should i still get it.Right now i have around 114000 miles on the car.
Shawn, thanks for the info. 
Jesse, The TCCOA site will have a ton of info about doing this stuff. It is not hard to drain the converter - getting the drain plug to the bottom (6 o'clock) is the hardest part. It is nice to have someone watch for the plug coming around while you crank the motor over with a breaker bar (that is how I did it atleast).
A stacked plate cooler is nice - it is self-regulating temp-wise (no real need for a t-stat on the trans lines). I found that my radiator's heat exchanger was heating the fluid up in the summer, not cooling it. I run a stand-alone cooler now.
It is not hard to plumb. IIRC, you would undo the top heat exchanger line (this is the output from the heat exchanger - the line goes back to the trans). I put my aftermarket cooler in series right before the trans (to cool fluid off more - in a cold climate you could do it backwards to help keep fluid hot in winter). You would undo the bottom line if doing that.
Just hang the cooler whereever you want (in front of the radiator, dope mounted in the fender, etc) and run the lines.
Good luck.
Jesse, The TCCOA site will have a ton of info about doing this stuff. It is not hard to drain the converter - getting the drain plug to the bottom (6 o'clock) is the hardest part. It is nice to have someone watch for the plug coming around while you crank the motor over with a breaker bar (that is how I did it atleast).
A stacked plate cooler is nice - it is self-regulating temp-wise (no real need for a t-stat on the trans lines). I found that my radiator's heat exchanger was heating the fluid up in the summer, not cooling it. I run a stand-alone cooler now.
It is not hard to plumb. IIRC, you would undo the top heat exchanger line (this is the output from the heat exchanger - the line goes back to the trans). I put my aftermarket cooler in series right before the trans (to cool fluid off more - in a cold climate you could do it backwards to help keep fluid hot in winter). You would undo the bottom line if doing that.
Just hang the cooler whereever you want (in front of the radiator, dope mounted in the fender, etc) and run the lines.
Good luck.
Swarzkopf
Member
Chowder Head
Member
So is Mercon V the best all around out there? Better then the Redline and Royal Purple stuff?
If it's easy like you guys said, I'd like to try this out soon. Any tips or is it pretty straight forward? Do I have to drop the tranny? And where exactly is the plug you unscrew so the old fluid can drain out and where do you put the new fluid in?
Thanks guys!
If it's easy like you guys said, I'd like to try this out soon. Any tips or is it pretty straight forward? Do I have to drop the tranny? And where exactly is the plug you unscrew so the old fluid can drain out and where do you put the new fluid in?
Thanks guys!
MV is a synthetic blend which is made for computer controlled trannies for shudder control.
I dont know how it compares to full synthetics.
Really check out the TCCOA page - it will provide more info than you can get in a lot of posts in here (we, or I at least, am too lazy to write that much info, esp since there is a series of articles outlining what to do).
Good luck.
I dont know how it compares to full synthetics.
Really check out the TCCOA page - it will provide more info than you can get in a lot of posts in here (we, or I at least, am too lazy to write that much info, esp since there is a series of articles outlining what to do).
Good luck.
Similar threads
