2011 Edge Transmission fluid change

[R@cerb0y]

hi one and all,

I noticed that the Edge and Fusion 3.5 share the same type motor and tranny, Im curious as to how the tranny fluid is chgd. there are several bolts under the transaxle area, but not sure which one to take out, some look like the type of bolt that may have a thrust bearing behind it with a spring as well. Also, the typical filter like other vehicles that have a deep pan? Looks like there is not one for this type tranny. any thoughts anyone?

[akirby]

You don't need to touch the pan or the filter. Ford has a machine that will use the cooler lines to change all of the fluid. It replaces the old dirty fluid with new fresh fluid as the vehicle runs. Because it uses the tranny pump it gets 95% of the fluid out including the torque converter.

[Depiry]

on the 2010 there is a plug for draining the tranny,also a plug to drain the final drive,the tranny takes 5 qts of Motorcraft LV fluid,Marty

[Dingo]

Why change the tranny fluid on a year-old car?

[dranged]

You shouldn't need to change it for many years.

[akirby]

I have a longtime online friend who was a transmission engineer for Ford. He changes his every 30K miles. Other engineers say to change it at 150K. Personally I'm doing mine between 60K and 90K.

[RJG]

On our 2012.....the owners manual (or mintenance manual) goes into some detail about how often to change it. Mostly depending on if used to tow or not. But there were, as I recall, three different change intervals recommnded depending on use. 150,000 interval is for very light no towing use in low heat conditions. I don't tow, but the 60-90,000 interval sounds about right for my use. That would be at least 5 years. To me....time, not just mileage, is also a consideration.

Edited July 17, 2012 by RJG

[PrinzII]

I would also think that environmental conditions would be a consideration. I know that I changed the trans fluid on my 2008 Edge at 45,000 due to the extreme heat in AZ.

[dre2142]

Only 5 quarts? Or is that all that will drain at any given time?

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

5 quarts is all that will drain at one time.

[macbwt]

Transmission holds 12 quarts of LV fluid.

[dre2142]

And is there a Mecon LV name brand equivalant?

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Pretty much any major brand like Castrol Transmax, Valvoline, even Advance Auto/Autozone versions with the Mercon LV specification will work fine. If you wanted to step up the game, you could put in Amsoil brand fluid (Mercon LV spec) but it would be considerably more expensive upfront (payoff is there though if you are keeping the Edge longterm).

 

You need Mercon V for the Power Steering system though, and Mercon V is not interchangeable with Mercon LV.

[macbwt]

Or just do this and enjoy a cup of coffee. 20 minutes and out the door. 150.00 dollars total cost. Figure in the fluid and time you would spend doing it yourself and even I sometimes find that letting the shops do the work is at times a better choice.

[carguy75]

Or just do this and enjoy a cup of coffee. 20 minutes and out the door. 150.00 dollars total cost. Figure in the fluid and time you would spend doing it yourself and even I sometimes find that letting the shops do the work is at times a better choice.

Not to start any arguments, but I was always told that transmission flushes were bad for older transmissions.

 

Is it true? Do not know.

 

I will just do drain and fills at specific intervals.

 

30k miles for my first fluid change(to get rid of the extra metal bits created during the break-in period), and about every 60k miles thereafter.

 

However,flushes does seem easy enough and not too expensive.

Edited July 25, 2015 by carguy75

[macbwt]

Sometimes there are facts and wives tails. Not sure on the flushes, but I flushed the Orange Crush three times and it was running and shifting great at 285K miles when I traded it in.

Not to start any arguments, but I was always told that transmission flushes were bad for older transmissions.

 

Is it true? Do not know.

 

I will just do drain and fills at specific intervals.

 

30k miles for my first fluid change(to get rid of the extra metal bits created during the break-in period), and about every 60k miles thereafter.

 

However,flushes does seem easy enough and not too expensive.

[akirby]

There is a difference between a flush and just swapping the fluid using the cooler lines.

[macbwt]

Flush = chemical cleaning and sludge removal. Fluid change using machine to swap out fluid can be performed using cooling lines or through the fill tube. I would say my transmisison services are Fluid Changes. Flushing is more time consuming and expensive.

There is a difference between a flush and just swapping the fluid using the cooler lines.

[carguy75]

Flush = chemical cleaning and sludge removal. Fluid change using machine to swap out fluid can be performed using cooling lines or through the fill tube. I would say my transmisison services are Fluid Changes. Flushing is more time consuming and expensive.

Some manufacturers like Nissan call removing transmission fluid through the cooler lines flushing(not chemical cleaning) as well, it is recommended in the Nissan/Infiniti service manuals to flush the old fluid out of the transmission cooler lines with fresh fluid added to the transmission dipstick opening during a transmission fluid change.

 

You have to disconnect the trans-cooler return line and let the fluid drain into a pan until only new fluid drain out.

 

Well at least on the V8 models without the CVT transmissions like in my old FX45.

 

I guess the term flush can be used for a various types of fluid changes that pushing out old fluid and replace it with new fluid.

Edited July 25, 2015 by carguy75

[carguy75]

Sometimes there are facts and wives tails. Not sure on the flushes, but I flushed the Orange Crush three times and it was running and shifting great at 285K miles when I traded it in.

I guess it also depends on who did the flushes on the cars that failed soon after a flush.

 

Not every repair shop worker does a good job or pay attention to what fluid they were using or how much.

 

You can do just as much damage with too much transmission fluid as too little.

 

Plus, when most people decided to have their transmission fluid changed the transmissions were probably already slipping and was on the way out most likely(around 100k miles).

 

Especially on the older transmissions from the 90's and early 2000's(when I first heard the flush warning), they had some pretty weak performing transmission fluid back then that should have been changed well before 60k miles in most cars.

Edited July 25, 2015 by carguy75

[macbwt]

I think most the flushing transmission failure tales are related to transmissions that were nearly or already on the DOA list when they flushed it and thus it failed because all that garbage that was in the fluid was what was actually holding it together at that point.

[carguy75]

I read recently that most transmission mechanics discourage the machine flushes due to some shops that do not flush out the old fluids in the flusher machine after each use or different car make.

 

Therefore, a Honda may get up to a quart or more of a Ford spec transmission fluid, so fluid contamination is one of the reasons why some of the car transmissions fail soon after a flush is done.

 

Also I read that the most important reason for early transmission fluid changes were to prevent the in-case transmission filter from filling up with debris and going longer since the transmission has to be removed to changed it.

 

This video helps explains it better.

 

 

Edited July 26, 2015 by carguy75

[macbwt]

The video of my flush of the transmission the machine used purges the new remaining fluid first then purges the old fluid. Is there a residue of another type fluid? Yes but a very small amount. As with everything in when you add your fluid yourself do you thoroughly sanitize the funnel you are using? I used this flush on the Orange Crush and all I can say is there was never an affect from the residual other fluids.

 

As far as filters I am not entirely sure people keep vehicles long enough to worry about a filter and if the filter needs changing there are most likely "other issues" and the transmission is soon to fail. Most likely because they never changed the fluid or towed with it.

 

The 6F50 is a pretty tough transmission when I compare it to past vehicles.

 

It all still comes down to just one thing. Maintence.

[akirby]

My friend the former FoMoCo transmission engineer says if there is enough junk to clog the filter the tranny is already toast.

[carguy75]

The video of my flush of the transmission the machine used purges the new remaining fluid first then purges the old fluid. Is there a residue of another type fluid? Yes but a very small amount. As with everything in when you add your fluid yourself do you thoroughly sanitize the funnel you are using? I used this flush on the Orange Crush and all I can say is there was never an affect from the residual other fluids.

 

As far as filters I am not entirely sure people keep vehicles long enough to worry about a filter and if the filter needs changing there are most likely "other issues" and the transmission is soon to fail. Most likely because they never changed the fluid or towed with it.

 

The 6F50 is a pretty tough transmission when I compare it to past vehicles.

 

It all still comes down to just one thing. Maintence.

LOL. I do clean funnels after I use them, but even if I did not i doubt that the residue from a funnel would be even close in comparison to putting a quart or more of incorrect fluid in my transmission.

 

However, most transmission fluids are similar I heard, but automatic transmissions from car makes like Honda for example are very sensitive to non-OEM fluids.

 

I have no ideal how sensitive Ford transmissions are to different fluid mixes.

 

All said and done, I would trust the shop you used since they seem to be on top of their game when it comes to correctly flushing a transmission.

 

However, not all shops are as competent as the one you use so we(owners looking for shops in our areas) need to use a bit of caution before we let any shop flush our transmissions or avoid flushing it altogether..

Edited July 27, 2015 by carguy75