What do you want to name it, salesman said

[Tractorcedric]

I never bought a new Ford before. The salesman said the Ford website will need a name for my new Explorer. So I said Ol Blue. Turns out I can go on line and look up all kinds of info about OL Blue. In fact the website knows how many miles it has on it right now. Anyway best I can tell is that the first time the transmission will need service is at the 150,000 mile mark. I wonder if they build the trans and then sorta test and break it in. Then change the fluid before they put it in the car? I know one thing for sure, I plan to make my payments on time. I am most likely to be in a pine box when it hits 150,000. Another neighbor wanted me to service his new tractor and he said it had 300 hours on it. Turned out it had 30.0. Oh well he will have the oil and filters ready for 2022.

 

[Bruce from Can.]

I hope Ol Blue stands up well for you. I have noticed that most folks that look after their equipment, be it a truck or a tractor are usually the happiest with the performance they get.

 

[fastfarmall]

So they say you can put 150,000 miles on the original tranny fluid,what do they make that clutch material out of,would be my first question !

 

[Gambles]

Servicing a transmission is a little harder than it used to be. I doubt your new Ford will have a transmission dipstick.

 

[MarkB_MI]

I would check your owner's manual for service recommendations. Typically there are two sets of recommendations, normal and severe. If you do much towing, you need to follow the severe recommendations, particularly for transmission service. Usually the transmission fluid change for severe service is at half the mileage of normal.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

(quoted from post at 03:52:02 11/23/21) So they say you can put 150,000 miles on the original tranny fluid,what do they make that clutch material out of,would be my first question !

A lot better stuff than they used on that Powerglide you're thinking of right now. The fluid is improved too. So is the filtration.

People haven't been changing their transmission fluid for a long time anyway. It's not something you can do yourself, has to go to a dealer. Dealers make it cost prohibitive and as inconvenient as possible, so people refuse the service. I think they quoted me $349 last time they tried to upsell me on it.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

Mark,
My transmission service man says 50-60k if towing.
One extra fluid change is way cheaper than a rebuild.
When are you heading South with the boat??

I didn't realize that selling a rental property would mean I don't use my truck and trailer that much anymore. One happy camper. Less work.
My truck should last me a lifetime.

 

[moresmoke]

Surprising it even has a service interval. Many are filled for life these days.

The life may be longer if it was serviced, but why worry about that.

 

[Gene Davis (Ga.)]

My 2009 F-150 does not have a dipstick. Have to remove a plug right by the exhaust pipe to check it. Changed fluid @ 100 k miles.

 

[Steve@Advance]

I don't know what they have done different, but fluid stays cleaner than it used to.

Maybe it's the locking converter keeps it cooler?

My 13 Silverado is going on 100,000, the fluid is original and still looks, smell, feels like new, so I'm leaving it alone!

 

[redforlife]

At one time (20+ years ago), it was recommended at 100,000 miles. A wise tale was going around at the same time, that if it wasn't changed at the 100,000 mile mark, don't ever change it. Don't suprize me that its 150k these days.
I doubt they are pre-tested and fluid changed before installation in new vehicle. Factory only test drives random vehicles. 1 in 10 would be a good guess. If selected, a sticker is attached to/left in vehicle to notify dealership that it was randomly selected for a test drive. It will have 20 or 30 miles on the odometer, instead of less than 5 or 10 usually seen on vehicles not selected. And those miles are from parking after built, loaded on and off carriers while being delivered to dealership. I use to prep new vehicles for customer delivery at a dealership. The dealership was suppose to test drive everyone. I likewise only test drove them randomly as the factory did. Kind of depended on how busy I was at the time. Was kind of scared to, actually. Didn't want to get in a fender bender with someones new vehicle they hadn't even gotten yet. Also, didn't see the need with factory warranty on it, if something went wrong once delivered to customer. I didn't slack on the inspection part of it though. Didn't want something coming back on me, such as no engine oil in it.

 

[Gambles]

They used to put a drain plug on Ford torque converters. They stopped doing that (too expensive!) right at 20 years ago. It was nice to drain your tranny fluid, about 99.9% of it when changing it. That feature is gone, too, at least on most Fords.

 

[jimg.allentown]

The whole reason for a test drive is to reveal any defects that came from the factory BEFORE the customer discovers them. That way, they can be resolved BEFORE the customer is inconvenienced by a return trip to the dealer and loss of use of the vehicle for as long as a repair takes.

As for something like no oil coming back on you, don't you check it before you drive it?

 

[jimg.allentown]

Clutch material is usually something that is not as critical as hydraulic function of the transmission. In my years of rebuilding transmissions, I found that clutches rarely wear out. Usually, they burn out. That is usually the result of a hydraulic malfunction like a failed seal or a broken part.

Modern transmission building is a lot different than it was in the days of powerglide, dynaflow, hydramatic, ultramatic, and others.

These days, seal materials are more robust. Seals are bonded to the hydraulic pistons. They are more tolerant of high temperatures. Bushings that used to wear have been replaced by caged needle bearings that have a much longer service life. Thrust washers have been upgraded to torrington bearings in critical locations. Oil pressures and temperatures are better controlled by computers. These things are built to last.

 

[Fordy20]

If you plan on keeping the vehicle, you'd be wise to change oil and perform required maintenance in half the time recommended.

 

[redforlife]

Well I meant, coming back on me, as in, coming back on me as a dealership employee. I checked all fluid levels of a new vehicle when they came in. Suprizingly, some fluid levels would not be full from factory. Was not uncommon to have to top something off. I can remember adding a 1/2 of quart of fluid to the rear end jugs on several occations. Another employee inspected one one time that had no automatic transmission fluid in it at all. The carrier delivery guy had to pull it on and off of his carrier. He said it wouldn't drive. Dealership had to put a new transmission in it before it could be delivered to customer.

 

[jimg.allentown]

Exactly! Those are the things that would rather be found at the dealer than by the customer later. How would you feel about buying a car with a bad transmission right off the truck? Or low on fluids? Or any of 100 other things that might be wrong that you really do not want the customer to see.

Hence, the road test.

 

[MarkB_MI]

> When are you heading South with the boat??

The boat has been in Florida since late last month. But the weather didn't coöperate, so we didn't get a chance to take it on the water before I had to fly back north a couple of weeks ago. We'll be back in Tarpon Springs in January.

> I didn't realize that selling a rental property would mean I don't use my truck and trailer that much anymore. One happy camper. Less work.

Good to hear that, George.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

Did your car pull the boat ok?

 

[Janicholson]

When I was a service technician at a Datsun Dealership I was doing PDIs Pre Delivery Inspections on all the vehicles just off the carrier. Several components were vary important, including removing 50% of the air pressure in the tires, taking out shipping protection, checking oil, coolant, brake and windshield fluid levels, and putting on decorative trim from the trunk. I also enjoyed being paid to make a 4 mile shake down cruse. Especially in 240Z through 280ZX cars. I discovered several issues that needed attention such as heater blowers not working, or radios not tuning. the worst was a 260Z with every lug nut finger tight. Jim

 

[Tractorcedric]

Yeah! that is what I was thinking.

 

[Ken Macfarlane]

If its a CVT like many modern cars, don't go poking around before the service interval. They do no tolerate any dirt or the wrong fluid.

 

[MarkB_MI]

> Did your car pull the boat ok?

The Acadia did fine. But by the time we got to Florida the torque converter shudder was fairly bad. But it was after that I added the snake oil to the tranny, which seems to have cleared it up. I may still have to take the car into a transmission shop.

 

[Jim in LA]

I bought a F150 XLT Supercab in Dec. of 2019 following the unfortunate demise of my 1998 GMC. I registered Silver on what used to be flmowners.com., now just Ford.com. I had forgotten about it and logged on tonight and was surprised my account was still active and that my last visit to the dealer(oil change) was in 2017. There is a new SYNC update download I need to perform.