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Can this be true?

3K views 30 replies 12 participants last post by  77amc 
#1 ·
OK, I refuse to work on cars made after about 1990; totally ignorant engineering (welded together alternators, throw-away plastic radiators, etc.) but I still do fluid changes and brakes occasionally. Was too busy to service my 90,000mi 2010 For F150 pickup tranny so tool it to the oil change place to have it done. They told me they can't change the oil on those trannys since they are essentially sealed at the factory; the pan must be discarded and a new one installed every oil change. Tell me it isn't so!! I think I will go out and tune my 354 hemi and Holley 3-bbl.
 
#3 ·
lifetime fill is a for-real thing. Its all lawyer speak,and forces you to go to the dealer. There's no drain-plug.

There are some good things here from a manufacturers perspective. Joe Lunchbucket can't put the wrong lube in the box and destroy his transmission. Theres no drainplug to leak, or fall out (and thereby wreck a transmission). Please understand that the vast majority of the customers are NOT you guys, and that the Jiffy-Lube mentioned above is also tying their own hands due to the perception of the skills of their labor force. My brother was the service writer for a chain store and it astounded him that the worst tech they had...was the guy doing oil changes and brake jobs. After the SECOND oil drain plug wasn't installed properly, requiring a new engine...corporate let them fire the guy.
 
#9 ·
I had a 2005 Dodge Magnum wit a Hemi and automatic. When it was just out of warranty I noticed a spot of trans fluid on the floor. Investigation finds a service bulletin to replace the trans electrical connector. After noting the instructions called for a special ATF only available through the dealer and it was a fortune per quart and they only sold Gallons. When I read about NO dipstick it pissed me off big time.

I read the procedure about temperature and height of oil level and promptly made my own dip stick by measuring and marking a long dipstick. I added a temp sensor thermocouple that plugs into my DVM. I got the temp nailed and set the fluid height as spelled out in the factory manual.

What a royal pain in the A**. All this crap to make you take it to the dealer for just checking the fluid..

My 08 Econoline has dipsticks in everything!
 
#10 ·
Thanx I guess! People have been successfully changing tranny fluid for 100 years. Trannys have not had drain plugs for decades. The lube guy told me the filter is now built into the pan and the pan had to be discarded and replaced. They just want us going to the dealer and spending $300. This makes as much sense as welding alternators together so you can't restore it with a $12 kit and an hour of time.
 
#12 ·
Was too busy to service my 90,000mi 2010 For F150 pickup tranny so tool it to the oil change place to have it done. They told me they can't change the oil on those trannys since they are essentially sealed at the factory; the pan must be discarded and a new one installed every oil change. Tell me it isn't so!!
Which trans do you have? RockAuto shows filters and pan gaskets for a 2010 F150 with either the 4R75E or the 6R80 transmissions, about $30 each.

:confused:
 
#14 ·
Don't know. I haven't checked it out yet, just going by what the lube guy told me. Couldn't believe it is true. And I have tried a couple times to get thru the Rock Auto web site and was unsuccessful. Seems overly complicated and not worth the effort. I buy most of my stuff on ebaY!
 
#16 ·
So we are saying that the manufactures are finding it's less expensive to farm out assemblies to other companies and put the car together at the manufacture like a plastic model or something? I could see that....

Dave Ramsey says the profits on new cars are very low to negligible. Car repairs and parts, leases, and interest is where the money is made.
 
#17 ·
The biggest obstacle is the fact that there is no longer a filler tube...If it's the ford 4 or 6 speed trans,after you undo the fill plug to release pressure,the pan gets dropped,cleaned, and a new filter gets put in.The pan gasket is re-usable. If its the ZF with the plastic pan w/built in filter,then the pan gets thrown away,and a new one put on.They are around 90 bucks.When it comes to filling it back up,thats where having it on a lift becomes mandatory..You have to fill it thru a hole in the case.With someone else in the car with the motor running,you then top it off after the initial re-fill,trying not to torch your wrist on the exhaust,and re-install the plug....Bottom line,they don't want you to DIY.And as Willys36 will attest,they are even scaring non-dealer shops from doing it.
 
#23 ·
Well, for all the crapping on automakers in this thread, I can't find one photo of this plastic trans pan with the built-in filter on line. Everything I can find for a 2010 truck with either the 4R75E or the 6R80 transmission shows a metal pan and traditional filter that you can buy from any auto parts store. What am I missing? Yeah, there is no traditional fill tube, just the stubby level indicator on the side of the trans, but while inconvenient, that doesn't dramatically increase servicing cost.
 
#24 ·
So you are a hot rodders, cool, most of us here are too. But sometimes, you may have to stop thinking like a hot rodder: a 2010 F150 is no hot rod (not like an early hemi, anyway), so do not look at it as such. A sealed-for-life (or for a looonnng time) trans is a cool thing, no need to think about it, enjoy! Someone else here mentions that your trans only needs fluid change every 150,000 miles, if so, you have plenty of time left enjoying your maintenance-free truck!
Progress can really be great, and this is such a situation!
 
#26 ·
OK, I decided to end the speculation and went out in the parking lot of my office, crawled on the ground and took this picture. For sure I have a metal pan with a strange bulge which I assume s the filter. All I know is my lube guy says my tranny is due for a service and he can't do it because the pan has to be thrown away and there is a sensor that gets broken 90% of the time during the procedure and it costs him $100 to replace it.

Regardless I will just drive the truck 'til it causes problems then trade it in. It is a really nice vehicle, just not something a gearhead would buy for fun.

 
#29 ·
Waaaay back on Page 1, actually... :embarrass

Sorry I missed that. It was a very short post and unfortunately easy to overlook while skimming the thread.

Amazing that we had to have two more pages after that of *****ing about the trans without any real facts. Thanks anyway.
 
#31 ·
It would be interesting to see some of these "fill for life" items have their fluids tested in an independen t"lab"..
Like when said makers warranty is about 7000-10,000mi to end, take a sample and send it in.
I wonder how many shop mgrs would RUN and call lega/Corporate if it came back with a BAD prognosis, and _____ would need to be replaced/fixed.

I had a jeep that had a leaking injector (didn't know until I did an analysis and it showed high fuel dilution) and they replaced it under warranty. (You should've seen the faces of the shop guys at the stealership when I provided the paper..)

Just a thought.
E
 
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