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Trans Fluid Change


jmckinley
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Good to know that Lord Motor Co. did the right thing for you.

 

I'm running grille covers too but would probably remove if I have to take it in.

 

So far tranny is doing fine. No funny noises, probably towed 20 K miles by now.

 

Speaking of mpg, mine never got much over 40 until early this year when suddenly it started to get in the high 40s. Don't know why.

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I wonder if Ford has started to go into full phase damage control with the 2013 transmissions, looking for excuses to not replace the trans.  Though I suspect that case of towing cancelling out the warranty could be changed.  Things often so depend on which person you get to handle a situation.  I am thinking some significant percent of the people first denied would just give up, and that could be Ford's thinking.  

 

It might be worthwhile to Ford to have a transmission team which could swap out a trans in 1/3 the time or less of a person that has done like 0 or 1 of them, even if they are consultants rather than Ford employees.

 

And this is not just a Ford thing.  I had a friend with a Saturn engine that went bad at 70K like a bunch of other engines, but it was not under warranty because of over so may years.  I had a similar thing with my Toyota Sienna transmission that had a design problem and was not fixed because of time.  But really expensive problems are worth looking for ways to not give fairness.

 

And it may be that towing does speed up the trans problem.   Though there is no disclaimer about towing invalidating warranty as far as I know.

 

I personally have no plans to change my trans oil.  

Edited by obob
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  • 1 year later...

Thank you. The reason I'm asking is that I noticed fluid weep (red) along the bottom of the transmission halves.  I assume the loss is minimal since nothing seems to drip onto the ICE bottom cover.  Since there is no way to check fluid in this car(which is kind  of stupid); I'd like to top off the oil every 10K or 15K miles.

Edited by cmax-nynj
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Thank you. The reason I'm asking is that I noticed fluid weep (red) along the bottom of the transmission halves.  I assume the loss is minimal since nothing seems to drip onto the ICE bottom cover.  Since there is no way to check fluid in this car(which is kind  of stupid); I'd like to top off the oil every 10K or 15K miles.

The way one checks fluid level requires a little "work".  You need to add fluid until it drains out the check plug.   There are 3 plugs: one on top that can be used to fill, one in the "middle" which also can be used to fill but is the check plug, and a drain plug at the bottom.   You fill until fluid comes out the check plug.  You can buy a tool that screws into the check plug and attach a pump to it to add fluid. I believe the tool link is the correct one or you can fill from the top via a hose and funnel until fluid comes out the check plug.

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Here is a video showing how to do it.  

 

Paul

One should do the procedure in the video at least two times with 10 miles on ICE driving between the procedures so that one can also get most of the old fluid left in the cooler after the first change out after the second change.  If you get a fluid change at the dealer, the dealer should hook up lines to the cooler to flush the old fluid out in addition to draining the transmission.

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I believe the guy in the video used the middle plug (which is the Ford standard procedure).  I posted an image of the top plug before but deleted it (reached image limit) and can't find it anywhere yet.  But to get to it you would have to remove the engine cover and duct work (probably not worth it) and I don't know how easy it would be to remove it.

 

I would use my FloTool  funnel (which I purchased at Walmart for my VW probably 8 years ago) with a vinyl extension hose and use the middle plug.  I suspended the funnel above the engine via the handle and a hook attached to the open hood.  With the other end of the vinyl hose inserted into the middle hole, you can open up the FloTool funnel flow valve and add fluid slowly.  When the fluid begins to overflow, you can quickly shut off the flow valve.

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About this HF35 transmission:   Anybody know if there is a magnet in there somewhere to grab the loose iron particles from the new gears and long-term wear? ( In differentials, the drain plug is often magnetic.)  Drain plug magnetic here?  Anybody know if there is a fluid filter somewhere inside (likely not serviceable, but I guess it could catch the big chunks).

 

Odd story, this person's C-Max HF35 transmission somehow survived with very little fluid:

http://theotherpta.com/a-strange-lesson-about-the-durability-of-the-ford-cmax-transmission/

"The CMax had been driven just over 1,000 miles during extreme heat with a transmission that had next to no fluid in it. "

 

Its worth noting again here that our C-Max has a temperature sensor in the tranny to warn us of problems.  Low fluid, then you get high temperature, its as simple as that.

That should make us worry less.  Still, it would be nice to get the iron dust out by changing fluid, for lower wear.

 

I've got 65,000 miles & have never checked the level!   My bad. I should at least look for leaks along the bolts and seams.  

Ford says we should check the transmission level once a year or 10k miles, whichever comes first.

 

And, who knows where we can get really geeky-cryptic, but cool, shirts to puzzle everybody about?

HF35 shirt:

0ny2V0C.jpg

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ptjones, Yes, maybe no need to worry about checking the level annually as Ford wants. Mercon LV is red, making it kinda easy to spot seeping out from the seals I'd assume.

 

What's the hottest temperature you've ever seen on the the ScanGauge? I've got an app on my phone and with a bluetooth OBDII port adaptor, etc., to take a look at temperatures. I could hit it hard going up some mountains in some warm ambient temperatures and see what temperatures I see.

I want to establish a baseline maximum acceptable temperature, of course below where the sensor warning happens.

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Agree with Paul on TFT based on my observations.  176F is the highest I recall seeing with no grille covers.  In normal driving, TFT is around 30F lower than ECT.  TFT increases during regeneration due to heat losses from the traction motor and no TF circulation to the cooler because ICE is not spinning.

Edited by Plus 3 Golfer
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