I swapped out the factory trans fluid this last weekend and took a few pics of the process for any other do-it-yourselfers.
What you'll need:
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Get the transmission warm. Go for a quick drive to warm it up, but don't go beat on it...you'll be working right next to your cats and mid-pipe.
Get the car up. You want the car to be as level as possible in the air, so there isn't as much guess work with refilling the transmission later on.
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Grab your 8mm allen wrench /socket, a few shop towels, and your oil drainpan. Crawl under and look for your transmission drain plug - they look like this:
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The fill plug is on the passenger side of the transmission.
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Remove the fill plug first. I couldn't get my socket in that tight spot, so I had to use my allen wrench.
Move your drain pan under the drain plug and loosen it, too. Heads up, the ford fluids smell pretty funky - it should be a dark reddish color. It'll take about 5-10 minutes to completely drain out, depending on how warm the fluid was.
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After it's all drained out, replace the drain plug with a bit of the threadlocker. I tightened it to 20ft/lbs - not super super tight, but very snug -about as tight as you'd go with your oil drain plug.
At this point, you'll need get into your shifter assembly inside the car. This can easily be accomplished by pulling up on the cupholder liner - it should pop right up. Be careful to unplug the wires! Pull apart your shift boot so that you can see through down through the floor pan. I have an MGW shifter installed so I had to remove the NVH shield.
Inside the car:
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Bottow view of the shifter assembly:
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Feed the end of your tubing into the fill port. Get it in there snugly, you do not want fluid bleeding out of it all over your garage floor while you're in the car!
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Remember, keep the tubing as straight as possible to make it flow into the transmission easily. Fluid flows best downhill, so angle it right to make your job easier and less messy.
OK, back inside the car. The tubing should fit snugly over the cap on the synchomax. Cut off the tip and stuff it into the tubing, and slowly turn it upside down. Keep an eye out, you do NOT want to cause a mess inside your car with this stuff. I recommend you keep a handful of shop towels nearby.
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I recommend starting it for a minute, then stopping for a second to check to make sure you aren't missing the fill port underneath the car. I'm paranoid, I was checking to make sure it was all working about once every 2 minutes or so.
Once you're fairly certain it's working like it should, poke a small hole in the base of the RP bottle to get the fluid to drain easily. I used a good sharp knife. Each bottle only took about 3 minutes to empty.
Remember, you're supposed to only need 2.7quarts - only put in about 3/4 of the last bottle. Check to see how full your transmission is before putting any more in - if you stick your finger in the fill hole, the fluid level should be about half an inch below the opening. Mine must've been a bit thirsty, she took all 3 quarts with no issue.
Once you've got the fluid in, start putting the car back together. I tightened the top fill plug to the same ft/lbs as the drain plug. Replace your MGW NVH shield (if you've got one), and re-install your interior pieces. Try to avoid letting your oily tubing dump all over your interior :hide:
Some thoughts:
The car shifts very smoothly and positively. There is no vagueness with gear selection. I have had the MGW installed since last fall, I have the whiteline transmission bushing insert, and now the synchomax fluid swap. She goes into gear very easily and I never ever miss that 2-3rd WOT shift (much to the dismay of a number of the local 'maro and SRT8 guys). With the ford fluids, the transmission was a bit notchy when cold...that's completely gone. I highly recommend this fluid swap especially with a good aftermarket shifter. :thumb:
What you'll need:
- Royal Purple Synchomax off of American Muscle - $23 bucks a bottle. 2.7 quarts, so you need 3 bottles total. Some guys like redline or AMSOil, my car is an RP car.
- 8mm Allen Wrench and/or Socket. I had an 8mm allen key already, and the socket was $3 at my local Advance Auto
- Blue treadlocker. Another $5 at Advance Auto.
- 3/8' diameter rubber hose - you'll need about 3-4 feet. $4 at Ace Hardware.
- Ramps, jack, jackstands, oil drainpan, torque wrench (recommended), shop towels
- An hour...maybe two
Get the transmission warm. Go for a quick drive to warm it up, but don't go beat on it...you'll be working right next to your cats and mid-pipe.
Get the car up. You want the car to be as level as possible in the air, so there isn't as much guess work with refilling the transmission later on.
Grab your 8mm allen wrench /socket, a few shop towels, and your oil drainpan. Crawl under and look for your transmission drain plug - they look like this:
The fill plug is on the passenger side of the transmission.
Remove the fill plug first. I couldn't get my socket in that tight spot, so I had to use my allen wrench.
Move your drain pan under the drain plug and loosen it, too. Heads up, the ford fluids smell pretty funky - it should be a dark reddish color. It'll take about 5-10 minutes to completely drain out, depending on how warm the fluid was.
After it's all drained out, replace the drain plug with a bit of the threadlocker. I tightened it to 20ft/lbs - not super super tight, but very snug -about as tight as you'd go with your oil drain plug.
At this point, you'll need get into your shifter assembly inside the car. This can easily be accomplished by pulling up on the cupholder liner - it should pop right up. Be careful to unplug the wires! Pull apart your shift boot so that you can see through down through the floor pan. I have an MGW shifter installed so I had to remove the NVH shield.
Inside the car:
Bottow view of the shifter assembly:
Feed the end of your tubing into the fill port. Get it in there snugly, you do not want fluid bleeding out of it all over your garage floor while you're in the car!
Remember, keep the tubing as straight as possible to make it flow into the transmission easily. Fluid flows best downhill, so angle it right to make your job easier and less messy.
OK, back inside the car. The tubing should fit snugly over the cap on the synchomax. Cut off the tip and stuff it into the tubing, and slowly turn it upside down. Keep an eye out, you do NOT want to cause a mess inside your car with this stuff. I recommend you keep a handful of shop towels nearby.
I recommend starting it for a minute, then stopping for a second to check to make sure you aren't missing the fill port underneath the car. I'm paranoid, I was checking to make sure it was all working about once every 2 minutes or so.
Once you're fairly certain it's working like it should, poke a small hole in the base of the RP bottle to get the fluid to drain easily. I used a good sharp knife. Each bottle only took about 3 minutes to empty.
Remember, you're supposed to only need 2.7quarts - only put in about 3/4 of the last bottle. Check to see how full your transmission is before putting any more in - if you stick your finger in the fill hole, the fluid level should be about half an inch below the opening. Mine must've been a bit thirsty, she took all 3 quarts with no issue.
Once you've got the fluid in, start putting the car back together. I tightened the top fill plug to the same ft/lbs as the drain plug. Replace your MGW NVH shield (if you've got one), and re-install your interior pieces. Try to avoid letting your oily tubing dump all over your interior :hide:
Some thoughts:
The car shifts very smoothly and positively. There is no vagueness with gear selection. I have had the MGW installed since last fall, I have the whiteline transmission bushing insert, and now the synchomax fluid swap. She goes into gear very easily and I never ever miss that 2-3rd WOT shift (much to the dismay of a number of the local 'maro and SRT8 guys). With the ford fluids, the transmission was a bit notchy when cold...that's completely gone. I highly recommend this fluid swap especially with a good aftermarket shifter. :thumb:
