[thom]

Can someone tell me where the transmission drain plug is on a 2009 v6 FWD please ? (on the pan...ya ya)
Or where can I find a diagram.

Thanks.
Tom

 

[thom]

Anyone ?

Thank you.

 

[hmiwb]

I haven't seriously looked for mine on my 2010 yet, but there is supposed to be one hidden by a splash shield which has to be unbolted for access.

 

[Mantruck101]

Speaking of the tranny drain plug, when are all of you planning on changing the transmission fluid in your 2009-2011 Escapes with the 6-speed autos?

We change the tranny fluid every 30K in my parents' 2001 V6 because of the less than stellar reliability record of the CD4E. So, do we trust the 6F35 to go longer than 30K between fluid changes? I will likely turn 30K miles in the next week and need to have my Escape serviced anyway. Should I have them flush the transmission fluid too?

 

[thom]

Mine has 68000 kms. And if I can find the drain plug, I plan on changing the fluid.

I do see a small bolt head under the plastic shield but it looks too small to be a drain....thats why I was asking.

 

[Radio Flyer]

Not sure on my 2010.

All Data says to pull the pan and change the filter.

Thats funny, and they are considered pros???

 

[amdgamer]

Speaking of the tranny drain plug, when are all of you planning on changing the transmission fluid in your 2009-2011 Escapes with the 6-speed autos?

We change the tranny fluid every 30K in my parents' 2001 V6 because of the less than stellar reliability record of the CD4E. So, do we trust the 6F35 to go longer than 30K between fluid changes? I will likely turn 30K miles in the next week and need to have my Escape serviced anyway. Should I have them flush the transmission fluid too?

Out transmissions have a drain plug? I always thought that you were supposed to remove the pan, which gives you access to the filter. Like with all my previous vehicles, I plan on doing a change of flush at 30k miles since I always do the first one sooner than recommended. Those CD4E's are actually not that bad as there are plenty of them with lots of miles.

 

[Mantruck101]

Out transmissions have a drain plug? I always thought that you were supposed to remove the pan, which gives you access to the filter. Like with all my previous vehicles, I plan on doing a change of flush at 30k miles since I always do the first one sooner than recommended. Those CD4E's are actually not that bad as there are plenty of them with lots of miles.

I have no idea where the tranny drain plug is or if there even is one. I suspect that there is one since Ford recommends changing the fluid @ 150,000 miles.

Yes, there are a bunch of CD4Es with a lot of miles without a doubt (My parents' '01 V6 has 100K and the tranny still shifts fine.) I have heard about quite a few transmission failures on the earlier Escapes/ Tributes ('01-'03 vintage) though and it makes me nervous.

Anyway, I asked about having the tranny fluid change @ my 30K service and the service advisor quoted me $180 plus tax; I said "no thanks." I think I'll give my mechanic friend a call and get him to do it for me.

 

[jonas1022]

Our 08 has 34K miles on the clock.

I had the engine oil changed at the dealership recently.

They looked at the trans fluid and said leave it alone, it looks good.

 

[kmoose]

I thought these had "permanent filters" and all you do is drain, refill, drain, refill, drain, refill to get new fluid. Am I wrong?

As for timing, 30,000 miles / 48,000km in my opinion is the time to change fluid in a transmission, regardless of how reliable it is. If you are using fully synthetic, like my wife's car, they recommend every 36,000 miles or 60,000km....so that should give you an idea of the maximum time to let it go.

 

[amdgamer]

I thought these had "permanent filters" and all you do is drain, refill, drain, refill, drain, refill to get new fluid. Am I wrong?

As for timing, 30,000 miles / 48,000km in my opinion is the time to change fluid in a transmission, regardless of how reliable it is. If you are using fully synthetic, like my wife's car, they recommend every 36,000 miles or 60,000km....so that should give you an idea of the maximum time to let it go.

I hope someone clarifies this as i'm curious myself. I've never seen a modern car with a permanent transmission filter, as every one one of them had a removable one that was accessible by removing the pan. I know that the manual for my 2011 states that replacing the tranny filter is not necessary, and doesn't seem to clarify.

 

[tomw]

The CD4E does not have the standard replaceable filter accessible by removing the pan. The filter is a permanent screen that you can clean by disassembling the transmission. The drain plug is removable using a 3/8" square drive socket wrench.[at least on the CD4E, dunno about the 6 speed]
They wanted near $200 to flush the transmission, and I didn't say a thing, but left.
The shop manual for '97 Ford CD4E has a few options for service. I assume that a 97 is similar to later models in service procedures.

Paraphrasing, the manual suggests if there is a suspected problem that the fluid be drained through a paper filter and inspected for excessive metal and friction parts. They say drain the fluid, install the drain plug, add 5 quarts, start the engine and run through all gears for total of 5 minutes at idle. [this will mix the old and new fluids]
Drain the fluid again, and put teflon tape on the drain plug. Tighten to 25-29N-m (19-21 ft-lb). Add 4 quarts, run the transmission through all gears, and re-check the fluid level. They are saying to put the transmission in R, N, D, 2, and 1 while the engine is running. That will apply and release all the 'things' that shift the transmission, thus making sure they are filled with fluid, and not air.
Quoting:
" The thermostatic fluid control valve stores fluid in the area of the main control assembly when the fluid expands due to temperature. When the fluid is cold, the valve allows more fluid from the main control area to return to the sump. The transaxle fluid level check is correctly performed when the fluid temperature is hot."
tom

 

[thom]

OK So here is the answer. On a 2009 V6 front wheel frive: there is no transmission pan. There is a drain plug.
Here is what I did.
I used a 7/16 wrench and removed the bolt that sticks straight down from the transmission (again, no pan).
I removed the closest bolt holding the plastic shield on to gain better access to the bolt.
Approx 5 litres of fluid came out. So I did it twice since there are 9.5 litres total.
It is smoother now.
Tom

 

[hmiwb]

Mine has 68000 kms. And if I can find the drain plug, I plan on changing the fluid.

I do see a small bolt head under the plastic shield but it looks too small to be a drain....thats why I was asking.

That's it, 11 mm plug with pipe threads. I drained and refilled mine at 15,000 miles and plan to continue that practice. The fluid was dark and smelled a little burned so 4 fresh quarts should help things out. I don't trust most shops with their power flush systems. The six speed is supposed to be picky about the fluid used and most places don't seem to know what LV fluid is. I had to go to the dealer to buy some.

 

[Radio Flyer]

Mine has 68000 kms. And if I can find the drain plug, I plan on changing the fluid.

I do see a small bolt head under the plastic shield but it looks too small to be a drain....thats why I was asking.

That's it, 11 mm plug with pipe threads. I drained and refilled mine at 15,000 miles and plan to continue that practice. The fluid was dark and smelled a little burned so 4 fresh quarts should help things out. I don't trust most shops with their power flush systems. The six speed is supposed to be picky about the fluid used and most places don't seem to know what LV fluid is. I had to go to the dealer to buy some.

I just read the proceedure in the ford manual. It says to drain and fill 3 times (running and shifting for 3 min in between drain and fill) to get all the fluid out of the torque converter.

I will probably go 3 years or 30,000 miles before servicing the trans. on my 2010. Probably flush the coolant too.

 

[david]

that`s funny my dealership mechanic recommends automatic transmission fluid and filter changes every 40,000 kilometers. :shrug:

 

[Radio Flyer]

that`s funny my dealership mechanic recommends automatic transmission fluid and filter changes every 40,000 kilometers. :shrug:

I guess it depends on what year it is. The CD4E trans really needs it more often than the owner's manual says. If that is what you have, then yes, It should be done. The six speed seems to be more durable. The manual from my 2010 says no need to change it until well over 100,000 miles. I plan on doing it well before then.

 

[backroad101]

[/quote]

I just read the proceedure in the ford manual. It says to drain and fill 3 times (running and shifting for 3 min in between drain and fill) to get all the fluid out of the torque converter.

I will probably go 3 years or 30,000 miles before servicing the trans. on my 2010. Probably flush the coolant too.[/quote]

Reviving this thread as I need to get this done and seems easy enough to do myself.

I see people recomending to drain and refill a few times to make sure to get everything. Well Ford recomends Mercon LV which seems to be $5-$8 a quart for Motorcraft (are there other brands?) with a required 9 quarts. If you do this 3 times that is 27 quarts @ $135-$216. This does not seem right

 

[backroad101]

mine looked like used motor oil the first time I changed it out at 60k miles. a purplish color is what you need to watch for because that's normally the color of the fluid if aluminum is mixing into it. Buy a 12pk of the mercon LV (used in the 6F35) and do three drain/fills and see how it works after.

I read somewhere that ford explained that the 6F35 uses carbon fiber clutches and that's what discolors the fluid. Make sure you have the newest software available. There is a TSB for a hard 1-2 shift and shift flaring going from 2-3

Found this post here viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23110&p=325388&hilit=Mercon+LV#p325388

So I guess when you drain it the full 9 quarts does not come out. So how much drains on average and how many quarts is good number to get this done? Is 12 the number?

Also, why is a power flush bad on these transmissions? A 12 pk of Mercon LV is around $90 before tax and a power flush at NTB is around $110 before tax.

Thanks

 

[escaping05]

Hi
So if you do a drain depending in how you jack the car up while it's draining you would get 5-6 quarts out.
Any brand trans fluid will work if it is compatible with the ford spec. Regardless of miles I like to flush once a year that's like 15k miles for me. Why not its cheap to do. It's not like I use any crazy expensive fluid.
If you are more comfortable trying to get all the fluid out per say I would drain it and fill it and drive it for a few a couple weeks and do it again. But if ford said you did not need to do any fluid exchange until 100k you are probably fine with just doing 1 drain now and another whenever you choose. But even if your scheduled maintenace was 60k miles dealers do a drain and fill typically and only once not multiple times so that's the standard service.
You get a lot of debate on brands and frequency but 1x a year with a compatible fluid is more than enough in most cases.
Don't do a power flush there is no need to flush the system like that. People are afraid a power flush loosens up the little metals that naturally occur from wear and tear. Usually this is more of an issue in high mileage trans with no flushes ever. Just do it yourself it's so easy. Stick the ratchet up there drain, clean off the metal shavings from the magnetic drain plug, fill, check and you saved some $$