need some help with fluid changing - Ford F150 Forum

mustangwarrior · 03-11-2010, 10:24 PM

well i'm planning on doing the transmission and rear end oil sometime soon, i'm thinking amsoil,

so what i need to know is how many quarts of tranny fluid do i need w/o draining the torque converter?

should i drain the torque converter and if so, i need to unbolt the tranny right?

how many quarts of oil do i need for the rear end?

dewman · 03-11-2010, 10:41 PM

I don't know the answers to your questions, but I am interested to see the answers myself.

myford · 03-11-2010, 11:18 PM

my rear end took around 3 quarts i believe maybe a little more.

**hackersmovie** · 03-11-2010, 11:27 PM

A Ford 8.8" rear requires 5.5 pints. That's 2.75 quarts. Don't forget, if you have a limited slip differential, depending on the oil you choose, you may have to add a friction modifier. If you run Royal Purple it's not needed. Also, if you substitute one quart for Lucas Oil Stabilizer, you won't need the friction modifier either. If you have a "regular" or "open" (both the same) axle, no friction modifier is needed. I'm rebuilding my entire rear axle next week, going from 3.08 to 4.10 gears, replacing all bearings and seals and putting in a Ford Racing Trac-lok differential. I'll be using 1qt of Lucas Synthetic Oil Stabilizer and 1.75qts of Royal Purple 75w-140 diff lube. The thicker lube will provide better protection and make the LSD lock better.

The trans is a bit different. It can be anywhere from 14 quarts to 18 quarts, depending on the transmission and what/how many external coolers there are.

...and you don't have to pull the trans to drain the converter. (shouldn't need to) AFAIK, they all have drain plugs that are accessible through a black plastic plug you pop out on the bottom of the bell housing.

mustangwarrior · 03-12-2010, 09:05 AM

^^ok as far as the converter goes, that will be easy and to fill it back up you would just pour it in the transmission like normal?

im not re-gearing or anything, just thought i'd get some new synthetic fluid in it since it has never been changed, and after reading ymeski's post about getting like 17mpg i thougt i'd give it a shot, if i can get that much then i'm not gonna bother buying a 2nd car

BigGreyBox · 03-12-2010, 10:45 AM

My 2 cents, replace your axle shaft seals when you do the rear end. You're already 80 percent there when doing a fluid change, and doing it after the fact is a .... not very fun.. I just did mine, it was easier than I thought and no special tools are needed. Just a decent socket set and a rubber mallet. The seals were actually cheapest at the dealer. Cost me 12 bucks for the pair compared to 20 a piece at napa.

**hackersmovie** · 03-12-2010, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mustangwarrior

^^ok as far as the converter goes, that will be easy and to fill it back up you would just pour it in the transmission like normal?

Yup, just fill er' up through the dipstick tube.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigGreyBox

My 2 cents, replace your axle shaft seals when you do the rear end. You're already 80 percent there when doing a fluid change, and doing it after the fact is a .... not very fun.. I just did mine, it was easier than I thought and no special tools are needed. Just a decent socket set and a rubber mallet. The seals were actually cheapest at the dealer. Cost me 12 bucks for the pair compared to 20 a piece at napa.

+1 - it's a good idea to do that, although, you don't even have to pull the wheels off to change the diff fluid, so I'm not sure about the "80% there" part but, still a good idea....

ymeski56 · 03-12-2010, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mustangwarrior

^^ok as far as the converter goes, that will be easy and to fill it back up you would just pour it in the transmission like normal?

im not re-gearing or anything, just thought i'd get some new synthetic fluid in it since it has never been changed, and after reading ymeski's post about getting like 17mpg i thougt i'd give it a shot, if i can get that much then i'm not gonna bother buying a 2nd car

Toss some Transtune in w/ your tranny fluid and run it for a few day's before drain n' change. Important. You will notice tranny function improvement even before the Synth. switch. It will detox the tranny, restoring full flow to fluid port ways & your cooling coil tubes. My Tranny fluid op. temp dropped almost 18 degrees after Transtune treatment & then switching to Synth. This is for Tranny health more than MPG, but I'm sure there's some gain. But the way I look at it, it wouldn't matter if I was getting 20 MPG if the tranny belly's up! 20 degree Tranny Op. Temp. increase = 50% tranny life decrease! It's a lot worse if your fluid had degraded, began to carry moisture & turn acidic! I presonnally think Ford tranny's get a bad rep unfairly. Give them what they need, they'll be there for you! http://fordfuelinjection.com/files/e...rans_temps.gif

ymeski56 · 03-12-2010, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hackersmovie

Yup, just fill er' up through the dipstick tube.

+1 - it's a good idea to do that, although, you don't even have to pull the wheels off to change the diff fluid, so I'm not sure about the "80% there" part but, still a good idea....

I add a little Transtune to the Diff too, running it a little before changing. You have some NASTY SMELLIN SH*T coming your way! I just popped the rear houseing cover when I changed it, cause I wanted to check the gear tolerances anyway & wanted to see the Diff in action (pretty cool). Don't forget to move the shifter into all the gears while idleing, when refilling the Tranny.

BigGreyBox · 03-13-2010, 07:59 PM

haha maybe not 80%, but the most time consuming part is removing and reinstalling the diff cover, so the extra 5-10 minutes per side it takes to change the seals is well worth it.