30,000 mile tranny fluid change

[chs]

First let me say, I am going to have it done at 30,000 miles, so I'm not asking (should it be done)
But I am curious how many of you do the (required) E450, 30,000 mile transmission fluid change and if you have, do you have it flushed or just drain the pan and refill it?
Local Ford dealer charges a little over $200.00 to do it. I forgot to asks if they flush it or just drain it though. I would assume they (as the dealer) would flush all the old out.

I guess this should be more of a poll, but do not see this option.

Per 2018 E450 owners manual:
Towing a Trailer or Using a Car-top Carrier

Every 30,000 mi Change automatic transmission

[R.Wold]

Im a believer in adhering to “severe duty” maintenance intervals on motor homes but I also feel that once you dump the pan, change the filter, and refill, you can just do a couple more pan dump/re-fills over the next few hundred miles and sufficiently replenish your ATF. A full flush is going to better of course, but its also a lot more trouble and Im not sure its worth the effort. But if you can get a shop to do it for $200, it would be money well spent. Your transmission holds almost five gallons of the stuff.

[Jandcinok]

So much stuff nowadays doesnt even have serviceable filters. I have no clue if yours does or not. For $200, myself, I wouldnt expect anything more than a drain and refill from a dealership. Changing at 30k sure isnt going to hurt anything, have you considered pulling a sample and sending for testing while youre there?

[Capt Steve]

8+ years and 63,000 trouble free miles ago I purchased our E-350 24' Class C used, with just 6,205 miles on it. At 7,000 miles I switched to full synthetic for the oil, transmission and differential fluids. I only use full synthetic oil and at 33,000 miles and again at 68,000 {+/-} I had the trans and differential done again {always with full synthetic}.

Depending on your mileage and if you have always run Dino oil I'm not sure if switching to Synthetic is advised {check with your mechanic}.

The first time I changed to synthetic I immediately noticed a nearly 10% drop in the trans fluid temps {ya gotta love having a Scan Gauge}. The 5 speed Torque Shift trans has always performed flawlessly and living in Arizona {and having traveled coast to coast}it has seen some pretty extreme weather and road conditions not to mention that over the last 6 years I often tow up to 2,600# {motorcycles, Rzr or Can Am Spyder in my Cargo trailer}.

The addition cost of Synthetic VS Dino is not much especially if your use and ownership plans are long term.

As always... opinions and YMMV.

[Bill Gail]

Originally Posted by chs

First let me say, I am going to have it done at 30,000 miles, so I'm not asking (should it be done)
But I am curious how many of you do the (required) E450, 30,000 mile transmission fluid change and if you have, do you have it flushed or just drain the pan and refill it?
Local Ford dealer charges a little over $200.00 to do it. I forgot to asks if they flush it or just drain it though. I would assume they (as the dealer) would flush all the old out.

I guess this should be more of a poll, but do not see this option.

Per 2018 E450 owners manual:
Towing a Trailer or Using a Car-top Carrier

Every 30,000 mi Change automatic transmission

On our 2000 E350 I changed the transmission fluid at 15,000 mi. .

I had two reasons why I had the trans fluid changed .

First was the coach was 17 yo with 15K mi. , so age of fluid was an issue .

Second was the original fluid was Ford Mercon , which is no longer available . Mercon V was not recommended until Ford changed the Mercon V formula to be compatible . Not knowing how long it will be available , I purchased several cases for future changes.

Ford also says under no circumstances to use Mercon LV ( Low Viscosity ) due to it causing severe damage to the earlier transmissions.

Personally , I'm sticking with the " Severe Duty " service schedule from Ford . It's cheap insurance to keep everything from premature wear.

[sibe]

I have done the complete or near complete on my older Ford ,, 3spOD models..

IMO it is a pain and there area few theories in process.. First time I used a Snap On machine, then changed filter/pan and topped it off with a few more qts..

I do just a pan drop and filter , yearly when towing hard and over 1ok miles.. Just my way on 20 year old iron.. One I had when 200K and put 70 of it on it, still going,,,

My other RV had 28K when I got it, fluid was dark, normal crud in pan. This one I just dumped pan, cranked it do get about 4-5 more qts out..
I changed cooler lines from 5/16 to 3/8 and added a second cooler.. I also changed pan to have a drain..
It took 10qts out of the near 13.8 required..or so.

Ran it 5K and dumped the pan, took a fresh gallon or so..

IMO it is good for a while now, I dont tow as hard if at all now..

Point is fresh fluid is not going to hurt anything but your wallet,, RV work hard, unless you travel easy level roads,,, many of us tow, most of run the RV at capacity, loaded, water, gear and more,,
Harsh / Severe Duty is surely a fact for motoroil and trans oil..

An Extra $500 a year or AVG over a couple years to have good fluid is smart IMO cheap when we talk of a 150-170K C or B or a 300K class A..

Factory longlife changes and such are not intended for RV..

[donr103]

I have 1993 ford e150 conversation van.. I bought new in 93... every 30,000 and or 2yrs.. still my daily driver... I believe manual states 50,000 and or 5yrs.. in newer ones I have seen 100,000 but clearly marked and or 5yrs.. coolant on some that I have seen.. say LIFETIME but then say and or 5yrs
I have never seen trans burn out.. because oil was changed too much.. but many because not changed regularly.. if your leasing who cares, if you plan to trade off, who cares... but if you plan to drive it until your dead.. like I do.. change all fluids.. p/s, brake, diff, every 2 to 5yrs.. or 30,000 miles..
The way technology is changing rv's... you really cheat yourself out of all the newer bells and whistles that will be out in 3 to 5yrs.. they will have so many driver assistance on them.. yes my old 93 has nothing.. no abs. No hands free.. ect.. but just get by.. some how..
One thing I believe is that ford under sized trans cooler.. so if you plan to keep it.. you may want to add trans cooler and if you can spring for it.. see if they make a deep pan..
Car makers and dealers.. really want pub public to buy new every 5yrs.. so they use critical engineering to make and size coolers to just get by for 3 to 5yrs.. yes most get more.. but really if you look at paint on my 93.. it's looks old.. she is no head Turner.. and today's generation wants shiny paint and all the trimmings ..
Definitely do severe maintenance.. but also go by how and what weather you use rv it.. look at colors of fluids and get them out.. if starting to turn darker.. good luck and let us know what you did and maybe better members then me will help you

[Ron Dittmer]

Our 2007 Ford E350 rig HERE with the standard 5-speed Torqshift transmission of the time, has both an internal and external transmission oil filter, both are original equipment. The external filter is a bypass (or partial) filter design, a bell jar style that was installed in early Torqshift production from 2005 thru 2007.

Ford eliminated it for 2008 and changed the design of the internal filter. Visually, my bell jar filter looked reasonably dirty and had no metallic particles. The filter resembles a roll of toilet paper.

At 38,000 miles, I replaced the external bypass filter and the fluid that drained from the transmission pan which totaled 9 quarts of Mercon SP. I did not remove the pan to replace the internal transmission filter. I will do that at 60,000 miles along with replacing the bypass filter a second time.

All internal transmission oil filters capture large particles. The external bypass bell jar filter captures very fine particles. I am glad our E350 has it because I think it offers improved filtering of dirt and metallic particles.

[GypsyR]

I like to change fluid because I can pull the pan. Then I can inspect it for debris, the magnet for excessive particles, even cut open the filter and inspect the media if I want. Never really understood the flushes, other than being a way to flush people's wallets.
Synthetic fluid itself will likely last the life of the transmission. The problem is the additives and detergents in that fluid dissipate over time and use. A change of fluid generally adds more than enough of a fresh charge of those additives. The filter takes care of debris in the fluid pretty well. That's why it's in there. If the transmission is showing no signs of any issues, such a service is good enough for me and what I recommend to everyone I know. Nothing wrong with doing it at 30K at all.

[Offramp]

Originally Posted by chs

But I am curious how many of you do the (required) E450, 30,000 mile transmission fluid change and if you have, do you have it flushed or just drain the pan and refill it?
Local Ford dealer charges a little over $200.00 to do it. I forgot to asks if they flush it or just drain it though. I would assume they (as the dealer) would flush all the old out.

Mine was a 2008 E450.I bought it in 2019 with 25K miles. I immediately drained the transmission, dropped the pan, replaced the transmission filter, and refilled with Mercon LV. Since it originally came filled with Mercon SP, I drained and filled the trans two more times.

This year I was about to do the trans again at 50K but we sold it.

Now I am starting fluid exchanges on a 2012 Ford V-10 with 20K miles. Going to be hauling a lot of motor oil, transmission fluid, antifreeze and rear differential fluid to our recycling center after all these fluid exchanges.

[chs]

I would try it myself and maybe even change (only) what fluid comes out of the pan. BUT!
I have an extended warranty and would like to have the required change done by Ford to back me up in case of a failure. I will do most everything else myself. I will also pay ford to put in synthetic fluid.

[chs]

Found this for the differential fluid change. (also at 30,000 miles)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQOonoEK3Fk

[inthepines]

I'm probably in the minority, well I know my opinions are.
Dont ever flush , all it does is break the gunk up and move it where it will cause problems.
Do a full drain, refill and it will be fine.
That include the torque converter.
I know ppl will say it's fine they do it all the time.
Good, but if you dont want opinions you dont ask online

[chs]

Originally Posted by inthepines

I'm probably in the minority, well I know my opinions are.
Dont ever flush , all it does is break the gunk up and move it where it will cause problems.
Do a full drain, refill and it will be fine.
That include the torque converter.
I know ppl will say it's fine they do it all the time.
Good, but if you dont want opinions you dont ask online

I will only have 30,000 miles so I doubt I will have any sludge.