madmatt83

So this guy fordtechmakuloco or however you spell it, shows a 2012 f150 with almost 100,000 miles on it. He pulls off the tranny pan and says the fluid looks real bad cuz it's black. Then says the fluid in these newer trannys turn black faster, but it's because they break down faster. Then he says this is why you can't follow the Ford recommended service interval.

He then moves on to the front differential and says there's water in one of them which he says is proof that it needs to be changed sooner than Ford says. He shows the rear axle gears which as far as I can tell (I'm no tech or engineer) look great. The fluid looks like crap but whatever. The gears look good the oil must have done its job. He points out the fluid and says "Look at this, it's awful. Follow my service interval recommendations not Fords" or something like that.

My thoughts. I've been told the trans fluid in these transmissions turn black fast and it is normal. Has something to do with the parts used in the tranny but I don't remember. Somebody enlighten me. The rear axle gears looked good but maybe I'm missing something. The front diff has water in it, tells me it was probably submerged. Finally I feel there is one big chunk of the equation missing. HOW IS THIS TRUCK USED. No mention of that. Is it used for towing? Lots of heavy city driving? Or does it have mostly highway driving? Does he drive it through swamp land? Guess we will never know.

Here's the link.

Darknight1974

I follow his service reccomendations.

E. Manuel

Water in the diff doesn't necessarily mean it was submerged. Could have been, yes. But they can also get water intrusion slowly over time if the vent tube is broken/cracked/missing or sits in a position in which rain water/runoff can slowly enter.

I'm Broken

That dude has saved me countless hours on a number of different Ford/Mercury vehicles I've owned. I threw him $25 at his paypal and it was well worth it.

MNgopher

When it comes to how to do service, I agree that he has posted a ton of useful information to help us out. Saved me a lot of grief over the years.

But as far as telling whether a fluid is used up, he is essentially doing the eyeball test - it looks bad, so it must be. The transmission fluid is a good one - it changes color quickly under use. In the old days, that was a telltale that the fluid was bad. These days, it isn't. I'm willing to bet if he actually submitted the fluid for testing, it would come back in spec for continued use with no issues. No correlation to the parts having failed due to the fluid failing, only "it looks bad".

I'll trust a mechanic for how to do a repair, but I put my faith elsewhere for what fluid to use and how long to use it.

Ssls6

I think his point was "the fluid contains a lot of transmission wear materials" so you should change it. You can see the sludge in the bottom of the pan as well. I don't think he said the transmission was about to fail only that he believes fluid without gunk is better than fluid with gunk. I tend to agree. The front diff looked gunky probably because it doesn't get hot enough to burn off the water from normal humidity. Most 4x4 makers say to use your front diff every month for 10 miles or so. I doubt many follow that. If your is gunky, not a bad idea to change it.

He is not alone in saying lifetime often means the lifetime of the warranty. I think the dude is an asset to the F150 community.

RL1990

I like his videos, they are well made for the DIYer to understand and he explains complex things in simple terms.

But he makes his money servicing vehicles. The more you bring it in for fluid changes the more money he makes. The water in the front diff is the owner's fault, Ford states that the fluid should be changed immediately if the differential is submerged in water. And maybe that's what the owner did and why his truck was there, went through deep water and brought it in for a fluid change. He didn't say the owner complained about driveability issues. But the color of the fluid doesn't indicate the effectiveness of the fluid. Modern synthetic fluids have a dye that give them their color. In some of his videos he recommends changing transmission fluid every 30,000 miles.

Personally, I will probably change the transmission and diff fluid at 100,000 miles.

Darknight1974

Iirc he said to change your tranny fluid at 30000 miles then change the tranny fluid and filter at 60000 and then every 60000 miles thereafter. Apparently its due to break in friction material i think from the clutch packs iirc. I will be following his recommended service intervals on my new truck. He is a smart dude.

E. Manuel

Yes he knows his stuff.

gopherman

I can't remember for sure, but I don't think he's really a Ford-specific guy anymore. He's got his own garage BSG or something like that. Either way, I'm sure he still keeps up on Ford specific items and yes...his information is fantastic. According to some on here, he's nothing more than a catch can salesman...but the reality of it is I wish I lived in Chicago because my truck would be taken to him in a heartbeat. He knows his stuff and he knows how to troubleshoot which is more than can be said for most. I also contributed...his stuff is always informative and helpful. His video on the the Duratec 3.0 cam caps saved my motor long ago when the dealership told me that "Ah yeah...that's just the injectors."