2015 6R80 transmission fluid drain and refill: How-to
09-23-2018, 07:49 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
2015 6R80 transmission fluid drain and refill: How-to
Long time visitor to this site and have gained a lot of knowledge from many of you. So in advance, I would like to say thanks!
I did a bunch of research before embarking on a transmission fluid drain and refill on the 6R80 found on our 2015-2017? F150s. I, like many of you, don’t trust the 150k oil change interval on these transmissions and wound much rather drain 1/2 of it out (this is all you get by draining) and refill just for the peace of mind. I know there are a few videos online, but I felt like there were a few pieces missing to these videos that might be helpful to the next guy looking to change their fluid. Here we go:
Let me start by saying without a drain plug and a normal fill/ check tube found in the engine bay on this tranny, it makes the job 1000% harder. Anyway, we have what we were given by Ford. I’m assuming the extended oil change interval is the main reason behind not “needing” this.
I started by draining all the fluid out of the pan. As you can imagine, this results in a bit of a fluid bath. Take it slow. I used the dipstick tube as a kind of pressure relief during the drain. Back it out more and more fluid will fall out once the pan is loose. Screw it back in and less will fall. You get the idea.
Drop the pan, give it a good clean. I decided to change the filter at this point as well. Cheap insurance in my mind. My truck has 24k on the odometer and I was surprised at how dark the fluid was. Magnet was also filled with the normal metallic film around it. Found no large metal shavings on mine, good news.
Now the fun begins. Let me start by saying, clean the reusable gasket extremely well before you reinstall. I found this out the hard way after refilling for the first time and found a very small leak. Had to repeat the entire drain and refill process. Good news: more old oil was removed. Bad news: big pain in the ***.
Torque all bolts down to recommended specs (I believe this is 8ft/lbs. Verify before you torque them down. Here is where I hope this write up comes in handy: the refill process. I bought a 10’ piece of 1/2” clear tubing from Home Depot and used a small funnel. I ran the clear tubing straight up from the drain plug, behind the engine and in front of the firewall. I would say near the middle of the back of the engine. I did this because the catalytic converter is very close to the fill hole and that tubing melts quick when everything is hot and you are in the middle of the fill/ check process. More on that later. If you run the tubing out the passenger side wheel well, you run about a 99% chance of melting your refill mechanism. Same is true if you run it out towards the battery in the engine bay. Easy to melt it on the cat. Running it straight up mid engine keeps it out of the way. This may only be the case with the 5.0 that I have, cat may be in a different location with other engine options. Pumping from the bottom is another option but I find those pumps take forever. I was able to fill the trans with 4 quarts of Mercon LV with the engine off before it started to overflow.
Now is is where it gets tricky. Make sure you have a welding glove. You will burn yourself checking the fluid and reinstalling your fill tube unless you have extremely stable hands. After I refilled it with 4 quarts with the engine off, go ahead and start the truck. This is how you get the rest of the fluid in (with the engine running and pumping trans fluid). Let the fluid warm up with the engine idling. Mine made it up to 180 degrees. Leave the dipstick out and stick your fill tube back in. Leave the engine running the entire time. This is the only way to get the proper fill. Engine on and transmission hot.
I added 2 more quarts and went back down to check the level. Another note on the silly little dipstick: remove it from the drain plug that screws into the transmission. You will see 2 little bumps sticking out of the side of the thicker part of the dipstick. When you check your level, make sure the dipstick is inserted to the point where those 2 little bumps are flush with the top of the fill hole. You will feel it bottom out. Spin it 360 degrees to get an accurate reading (this tube sits on a decent angle and won’t read accurate from front to back unless it is spun to read the fluid level.
I ended up adding another 2.2 quarts ( now at 8.2 quarts) until my dipstick finally read at the top of the “hot” level. There is an A and B section to this dipstick. Make sure once warmed up, the level is at the top of the top letter. I forget which letter it was on the upper mark. At this point, I went back in the truck and cycled it through the gears. Left it in each one for about 5 seconds and then back into park. Do not turn off the engine yet, go back and check your level one final time. If all is well, insert the dipstick back into the plug and screw it back in with a 19mm socket. Now, you can turn the engine off. If you turn the engine off too soon, you will flow about 4 quarts of oil out the fill plug if it isn’t inserted to hold the oil in upon shutdown. I found this out the hard way.
I hope this writeup helps helps someone looking to do this project. It’s a pain, but much easier if you follow these few steps. It was vague at best with everything I read before I started it. I’m sure I probably missed a similar a writeup somewhere.
If anyone has any questions, let me know. I made about every mistake during the refill process.
Thanks again to this forum.
I did a bunch of research before embarking on a transmission fluid drain and refill on the 6R80 found on our 2015-2017? F150s. I, like many of you, don’t trust the 150k oil change interval on these transmissions and wound much rather drain 1/2 of it out (this is all you get by draining) and refill just for the peace of mind. I know there are a few videos online, but I felt like there were a few pieces missing to these videos that might be helpful to the next guy looking to change their fluid. Here we go:
Let me start by saying without a drain plug and a normal fill/ check tube found in the engine bay on this tranny, it makes the job 1000% harder. Anyway, we have what we were given by Ford. I’m assuming the extended oil change interval is the main reason behind not “needing” this.
I started by draining all the fluid out of the pan. As you can imagine, this results in a bit of a fluid bath. Take it slow. I used the dipstick tube as a kind of pressure relief during the drain. Back it out more and more fluid will fall out once the pan is loose. Screw it back in and less will fall. You get the idea.
Drop the pan, give it a good clean. I decided to change the filter at this point as well. Cheap insurance in my mind. My truck has 24k on the odometer and I was surprised at how dark the fluid was. Magnet was also filled with the normal metallic film around it. Found no large metal shavings on mine, good news.
Now the fun begins. Let me start by saying, clean the reusable gasket extremely well before you reinstall. I found this out the hard way after refilling for the first time and found a very small leak. Had to repeat the entire drain and refill process. Good news: more old oil was removed. Bad news: big pain in the ***.
Torque all bolts down to recommended specs (I believe this is 8ft/lbs. Verify before you torque them down. Here is where I hope this write up comes in handy: the refill process. I bought a 10’ piece of 1/2” clear tubing from Home Depot and used a small funnel. I ran the clear tubing straight up from the drain plug, behind the engine and in front of the firewall. I would say near the middle of the back of the engine. I did this because the catalytic converter is very close to the fill hole and that tubing melts quick when everything is hot and you are in the middle of the fill/ check process. More on that later. If you run the tubing out the passenger side wheel well, you run about a 99% chance of melting your refill mechanism. Same is true if you run it out towards the battery in the engine bay. Easy to melt it on the cat. Running it straight up mid engine keeps it out of the way. This may only be the case with the 5.0 that I have, cat may be in a different location with other engine options. Pumping from the bottom is another option but I find those pumps take forever. I was able to fill the trans with 4 quarts of Mercon LV with the engine off before it started to overflow.
Now is is where it gets tricky. Make sure you have a welding glove. You will burn yourself checking the fluid and reinstalling your fill tube unless you have extremely stable hands. After I refilled it with 4 quarts with the engine off, go ahead and start the truck. This is how you get the rest of the fluid in (with the engine running and pumping trans fluid). Let the fluid warm up with the engine idling. Mine made it up to 180 degrees. Leave the dipstick out and stick your fill tube back in. Leave the engine running the entire time. This is the only way to get the proper fill. Engine on and transmission hot.
I added 2 more quarts and went back down to check the level. Another note on the silly little dipstick: remove it from the drain plug that screws into the transmission. You will see 2 little bumps sticking out of the side of the thicker part of the dipstick. When you check your level, make sure the dipstick is inserted to the point where those 2 little bumps are flush with the top of the fill hole. You will feel it bottom out. Spin it 360 degrees to get an accurate reading (this tube sits on a decent angle and won’t read accurate from front to back unless it is spun to read the fluid level.
I ended up adding another 2.2 quarts ( now at 8.2 quarts) until my dipstick finally read at the top of the “hot” level. There is an A and B section to this dipstick. Make sure once warmed up, the level is at the top of the top letter. I forget which letter it was on the upper mark. At this point, I went back in the truck and cycled it through the gears. Left it in each one for about 5 seconds and then back into park. Do not turn off the engine yet, go back and check your level one final time. If all is well, insert the dipstick back into the plug and screw it back in with a 19mm socket. Now, you can turn the engine off. If you turn the engine off too soon, you will flow about 4 quarts of oil out the fill plug if it isn’t inserted to hold the oil in upon shutdown. I found this out the hard way.
I hope this writeup helps helps someone looking to do this project. It’s a pain, but much easier if you follow these few steps. It was vague at best with everything I read before I started it. I’m sure I probably missed a similar a writeup somewhere.
If anyone has any questions, let me know. I made about every mistake during the refill process.
Thanks again to this forum.
Last edited by Pmbaseball24; 09-23-2018 at 08:07 PM.
The following 10 users liked this post by Pmbaseball24:
DD519 (01-03-2021),
drboyddrboyd (01-13-2020),
idrive (09-26-2018),
Jay15F150 (07-18-2020),
johnraz360 (04-29-2020),
and 5 others liked this post.
10-10-2018, 08:17 PM
#2
Thanks for sharing your experience. I too am of the out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new camp. Having religiously changed transmission fluid every 30k miles on the 5R55 on our 2004 Explorer, I believe it has a lot to do with the 210k (problem-free) miles that we have gotten out of that transmission. The 5R55's are/were notorious for problems. Similar story with my daughter's 2006 Sentra w/4-speed auto, 160k on the clock. The visual condition of the fluid on both vehicles now shows relatively little discoloration at 30k change intervals, which tells me that the parts that were wearing and losing material are no longer wearing at the same rate as they were initially - which makes sense. I have decided to now extend the interval on both of these vehicles to 50k miles.
I'm planning on doing a pan-drop at 30K miles on my '15 F150 with the 6R80. If the fluid clears up and stays relatively clear after a couple of pan drops, I'll probably extend it a bit. Some may think me stupid and wasteful of my money for doing this, but my accumulated experience thus far says "no".
I'm planning on doing a pan-drop at 30K miles on my '15 F150 with the 6R80. If the fluid clears up and stays relatively clear after a couple of pan drops, I'll probably extend it a bit. Some may think me stupid and wasteful of my money for doing this, but my accumulated experience thus far says "no".
The following 2 users liked this post by zzkardell:
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Twin snail putput (08-13-2020)
01-06-2020, 09:11 AM
#4
Thanks for posting this! I used it when I did a trans. fluid change on my 2015 5.0L this weekend. I would add the following tips from my experience:
- Much less mess when dropping the pan if you use a hand pump to pump/siphon the old fluid out first. I used a $7 hand pump from HF.
- I used a bottle pump on 1 qt bottles to refill the transmission from below. After reading your comment about melting the hose on the exhaust, I made an improvised heat shield for it. Lol I cut a hole in an old sock and slipped it over the hose and then zip tied it in place. Looked ridiculous, but seemed to work well.
The following 4 users liked this post by fsae150:
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04-29-2020, 11:47 AM
#5
Junior Member
ty for this write up... getting ready to change filter and fluid on my 2015 f150 sport.... it has 67k on it... sometimes it down shifts a little rough from 3-2... im hoping this fixes it.
05-27-2020, 03:41 PM
#6
Just did the transmission oil change on my 2017 F150 STX 2.7L. I only have 26,000 on it but wanted to replace the oil with Amsoil signature series. I do tow at times. My last truck transmission was still going strong at 200K with Amsoil transmission oil.
It was not as bad I thought it would be. The pan bolts are 8mm socket heads. You will need a 1/4" universal joint for your 1/4" socket drive to get the 4 front bolts out that are partially blocked by the exhaust. They come out easy though. I also had to buy a 3/8" to 1/4" converter to be able to use my 3/8" torque wrench (torque to 80 in-lbs). I thought I had every tool already, but was a couple tools short for this oil change.
The drained oil was not super dark, but it wasn't bright red either. I cleaned the pan, gasket, and 2 magnets, then replaced the filter and reinstalled the pan. I had bought a drain plug to install, but decided not to use it as dropping the pan was not bad. I did the refill using the Amsoil hand pump. It worked well and I was able to bend the plastic tubing into the fill hole without being too close the the exhaust. I wore a glove on one hand that was holding the tube. It took 4 quarts before reading half way up the dip stick. Started the truck up, cycled through the gears, drove it around the block, and then let it idle for a while to heat up. I then added another 3 quarts until it reached the high hashed area on the stick, so 7 qts total. I was able to check the level without wearing a glove, plenty of room but be careful. I'm currently making a metal J shape fill tube to use next time, although bending the plastic tube into the hole did work fine, the metal tube would be easier.
So if you are thinking about doing this yourself, it's not too difficult. It took me maybe an hour to do.
It was not as bad I thought it would be. The pan bolts are 8mm socket heads. You will need a 1/4" universal joint for your 1/4" socket drive to get the 4 front bolts out that are partially blocked by the exhaust. They come out easy though. I also had to buy a 3/8" to 1/4" converter to be able to use my 3/8" torque wrench (torque to 80 in-lbs). I thought I had every tool already, but was a couple tools short for this oil change.
The drained oil was not super dark, but it wasn't bright red either. I cleaned the pan, gasket, and 2 magnets, then replaced the filter and reinstalled the pan. I had bought a drain plug to install, but decided not to use it as dropping the pan was not bad. I did the refill using the Amsoil hand pump. It worked well and I was able to bend the plastic tubing into the fill hole without being too close the the exhaust. I wore a glove on one hand that was holding the tube. It took 4 quarts before reading half way up the dip stick. Started the truck up, cycled through the gears, drove it around the block, and then let it idle for a while to heat up. I then added another 3 quarts until it reached the high hashed area on the stick, so 7 qts total. I was able to check the level without wearing a glove, plenty of room but be careful. I'm currently making a metal J shape fill tube to use next time, although bending the plastic tube into the hole did work fine, the metal tube would be easier.
So if you are thinking about doing this yourself, it's not too difficult. It took me maybe an hour to do.
The following 2 users liked this post by Pilot048:
Jay15F150 (07-18-2020),
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05-27-2020, 05:25 PM
#7
has left the building
Just did the transmission oil change on my 2017 F150 STX 2.7L. I only have 26,000 on it but wanted to replace the oil with Amsoil signature series. I do tow at times. My last truck transmission was still going strong at 200K with Amsoil transmission oil.
It was not as bad I thought it would be. The pan bolts are 8mm socket heads. You will need a 1/4" universal joint for your 1/4" socket drive to get the 4 front bolts out that are partially blocked by the exhaust. They come out easy though. I also had to buy a 3/8" to 1/4" converter to be able to use my 3/8" torque wrench (torque to 80 in-lbs). I thought I had every tool already, but was a couple tools short for this oil change.
The drained oil was not super dark, but it wasn't bright red either. I cleaned the pan, gasket, and 2 magnets, then replaced the filter and reinstalled the pan. I had bought a drain plug to install, but decided not to use it as dropping the pan was not bad. I did the refill using the Amsoil hand pump. It worked well and I was able to bend the plastic tubing into the fill hole without being too close the the exhaust. I wore a glove on one hand that was holding the tube. It took 4 quarts before reading half way up the dip stick. Started the truck up, cycled through the gears, drove it around the block, and then let it idle for a while to heat up. I then added another 3 quarts until it reached the high hashed area on the stick, so 7 qts total. I was able to check the level without wearing a glove, plenty of room but be careful. I'm currently making a metal J shape fill tube to use next time, although bending the plastic tube into the hole did work fine, the metal tube would be easier.
So if you are thinking about doing this yourself, it's not too difficult. It took me maybe an hour to do.
It was not as bad I thought it would be. The pan bolts are 8mm socket heads. You will need a 1/4" universal joint for your 1/4" socket drive to get the 4 front bolts out that are partially blocked by the exhaust. They come out easy though. I also had to buy a 3/8" to 1/4" converter to be able to use my 3/8" torque wrench (torque to 80 in-lbs). I thought I had every tool already, but was a couple tools short for this oil change.
The drained oil was not super dark, but it wasn't bright red either. I cleaned the pan, gasket, and 2 magnets, then replaced the filter and reinstalled the pan. I had bought a drain plug to install, but decided not to use it as dropping the pan was not bad. I did the refill using the Amsoil hand pump. It worked well and I was able to bend the plastic tubing into the fill hole without being too close the the exhaust. I wore a glove on one hand that was holding the tube. It took 4 quarts before reading half way up the dip stick. Started the truck up, cycled through the gears, drove it around the block, and then let it idle for a while to heat up. I then added another 3 quarts until it reached the high hashed area on the stick, so 7 qts total. I was able to check the level without wearing a glove, plenty of room but be careful. I'm currently making a metal J shape fill tube to use next time, although bending the plastic tube into the hole did work fine, the metal tube would be easier.
So if you are thinking about doing this yourself, it's not too difficult. It took me maybe an hour to do.
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05-27-2020, 11:23 PM
#8
Senior Member
Dorman makes a pan of similar quality to the oem, but has a drain plug. $35 or so depending where you buy it. Makes the next change a lot easier.
The following users liked this post:
Twin snail putput (05-27-2020)
05-27-2020, 11:43 PM
#9
has left the building
I think there is a thread where a user installed the drain pan from Dorman and and get the plug to stop leaking.
Can't find the thread now so don't mean to start a rumor that isn't true.
Can't find the thread now so don't mean to start a rumor that isn't true.
05-28-2020, 08:20 AM
#10