Now i look at the lowes, i think it was two of those i bought, couldn't remember as i bought them last year and our lowes and HD are literally in the same parking lot....

 

Ford recommends changing it at 150k and I wouldn't even think about doing it sooner unless I towed a ton. I understood the logic on older vehicles, not to change it it's high mileage and you haven't changed it before (whether it's dislodging metal particles on the magnet with a flushing procedure, or the detergents in the ATF dislodging sludge built up over the years), but given that Ford recommends changing it at 150k, you're at a great place to change it. Transmissions are built different now, as well as ATFs.

I'll probably change mine at 150k, but wouldn't stress it if it didn't get done. If a transmission is going to make it to 200k, it'll do it whether you change the fluid or not. The unfortunate reality is that by 200k in New England, trucks are hardly worth keeping anymore and the transmission fluid is the least of the worries. I take extremely good care of my truck but rust doesn't sleep and my truck will be 15-20 years old by the time I hit 200k and will honestly just buy a new truck at that point

 

I disagree, even Ford added an extra magnet in later models, the suspended metal particles contribute to the electrical issues with the sensitive valving - it's too long, but if you don't care or aren't able to keep it going long in that environment, it probably doesn't matter.

 

I agree with MaXX 👍 . Preventive maintenance goes a long, long ways. I can't even imagine what the magnet and trans fluid would look like with
3 1/2 times the mileage I have now (which would be the owner manual 150K)

 

I recently took mine into Ford for breaks and an oil change, and they told me that my transmission fluid was dirty and needed to be flushed. Its a 2012 FX2 5.0L and its been shifting perfectly fine. Its only got 85k on it. So not sure if its worth the risk.

 

Good time to change it, no risk, not sure why you'd think that.

 

It wasn't for changing the gasket, it was in case my current one breaks or has a problem. I'll probably just order the Ford one and return to dealership if I don't need it. Last thing I want to do is have to run and pick one up later.

 

I have a 2015 f 150 Platinum that I bought with 106,000 miles on it. After purchasing I noticed a vibration at highway speed. My local Ford dealership did a diagnostic run and 3 days later said it was my tires. Because it was intermittent I disagreed with their decision and then went to AAMCO. I asked several questions on fluid changes including if adding Motorcraft friction modifier (suggested in any website) was a right thing to do. He said no flush but just a pan service with new fluid. Presto the vibration is gone and the truck run like a new one. I now have 120,000 with no issues. The end result imho was the fluid had clutch particles in the pan that with running was getting sucked up and run through the torque converter. A flush might clog journals so that definitely not a good choice but the fluid change clears enough that it run smoothly. I’m still looking for a reputable service dealer as the one that did the original diagnostic test failed me. In the end I think no fluids will last a vehicle’s lifetime. I have a 1980 cj5 with over 200,000 and have done all the fluids at least once. An ounce of service is worth a pound of problem prevention

 

I dropped mine and put a new filter in, as well as put a new cover on with the drain plug. Then added aftermarket transmission dipstick under the hood.

 

I realize this thread is almost 5 years old with only a couple of recent posts, but right now I’m pretty stoked and thought I’d share it.

2-3 years ago I reached 100k miles and did several service items, including dropping the trans pan and doing a filter/fluid change. I replaced the stock pan with a Dorman pan with drain plug. Fluid refill took approx 8qts. My plan going forward was to do a drain/fill from this point on every 20-30k miles.

Fast forward to earlier this week after a 1500 mile road trip to bring my total miles to 127k, time for an oil change and a good time to try my new trans pan for a drain/fill.

so yesterday I changed the oil, and let the truck sit overnight. Today while the truck and trans fluid was cold, I pull the plug and drain the fluid into a clean catch pan, plug removed was simple and nary a single drop was spilled, reinstalled the drain plug. I measured, using a graduated container, the amount of drained trans fluid and added that same amount, a little less than 6 qts. I assumed since the filter wasn’t removed, less fluid came out.

using a piece of clear tubing up into the engine compartment, and small funnel, I added the same amount of fluid as drained out, first couple qts with engine off, then rest with engine running. Again, nary a drop spilled.

all this took less time and cleaner than the oil change yesterday. Over the next couple days, I will get the truck to operating temp and recheck the level. But my thinking is if the level was correct to start, I drained cold fluid, replaced with the same measured amount of cold fluid, I should be good.

i may do this every 20-25k in the future.

edit, after thinking of this for a bit, I wonder if I had unhooked one of the cooler lines in front of the radiator, would I have gotten more fluid to drain out. If I had briefly started the engine, 10-15 seconds, would I have gotten more fluid out.