[techy]

Hi guys

Understand that this is a mainly US forum but I've seen a few Australian users around.

I've been experiencing some hard gear shifting* in my 2005 escape auto at 85000kms lately so I'm thinking of changing the ATF . Manual states ford MIII standard but no luck in finding an exact match. I've called up a dealer and they said they use Dexron. So i'm wondering if what ATF have been used if anyone have had theirs changed lately.

thanks in advance!

cheers

*note: I had a post about hard shifting together with high rev some time back but a reset of the ECU fixed that. now its just hard shifting in the lower gears.

 

[christophera]

G'day Techie,
I did a bit of research and Dexron seems to be the go.
Unluckily for me, I didn't really get the chance to see how it went because the transmission failed and has now been replaced with a recond unit.

 

[SUVord]

Can you be a little more specific as to "hard gear shifting".Hard as in prolonged or hard as in abrupt.
Like christofphera said Dexron is ok to use and is identical to Mercon which is not made any more.
CAUTION:You have to follow the exact procedure for the oil change in order to end up with a complete change and not a partial one.

 

[techy]

Hi SUVord

hard shifting in my case is more of abrupt shifting. when starting from stop with average force on the accelerator, it'll start and rev up to almost 3000rpm and then a jerk when shifting to the next gear. I usually lift up slightly on the accelerator after the initial press in order for it to shift smoothly. Everytime i try to accelerate gently I'll most certainly encounter this problem.

when its traveling on the road and it starts to go uphill, it'll first lose speed first (about 5km/h if at 60km/h) before it downshift a gear with a slightly longer jerk. (this could be normal for the 2.3l engine?)

and oh, if no ATF change was done before up to 85000kms (all log book service records so far, no mention of ATF). flushing is strongly not recommended I presume?

thanks!

Can you be a little more specific as to "hard gear shifting".Hard as in prolonged or hard as in abrupt.
Like christofphera said Dexron is ok to use and is identical to Mercon which is not made any more.
CAUTION:You have to follow the exact procedure for the oil change in order to end up with a complete change and not a partial one.

 

[techy]

G'day Techie,
I did a bit of research and Dexron seems to be the go.
Unluckily for me, I didn't really get the chance to see how it went because the transmission failed and has now been replaced with a recond unit.

Hi christophera

sorry to hear about that. what was the mileage when it failed? And Dexron would be Dexron or DX-3? any brand to recommend too?

regards

 

[christophera]

Hi christophera

sorry to hear about that. what was the mileage when it failed? And Dexron would be Dexron or DX-3? any brand to recommend too?

regards

I used Castrol TQ DX 3...probably because it was the first one on the shelf that said it was compatible with Mercon. The tranny failed at 170,000kms.

 

[SUVord]

Well techy, the symptoms you report point to worn clutch disks.
The disks are slipping due to the loss of pressure and that is why there is a delay in gears change.
It is something that can be fixed by an auto tranny mechanic at a much lower cost from getting a new or reconditioned transmission.
These clutch disks can be found at the dealer.They are ridiculously cheap but it is the labour hours that might cost you around $1500.
I had this done on my car at 85000km because of the excess punishment the transmission was getting with my rally-raids.
As I have mentioned before, you may want to try the LUCAS ransmission conditioner.It really does the job it says it does and may prolong major service.

Christophera's 170000km with that transmission is quite an achievement.

PS:You probably have noticed that the symptoms you mentioned are not as evident when you first drive after a night's rest but they show up after a few minutes when the transmission has warmed up.

 

[andjayik]

Just had my fluid changed at the dealer today as it was very dirty at 45000km. I found out that mine does not have a filter.

 

[SUVord]

Well, it actually has a filter which is internal and you cannot change it at every oil change but only after dissasseblying the transmission.