any recs for my truck? i have been thinking of switching to type f for some better shifts because it always worked in my old chevy overdrives, but this is a very expensive trans unlike a 700r4 that i can get built for CHEAP. what do you guys think?
atf rec for 04 f150?
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Mercon V. Do NOT put Type F in there.
well thats what i have been running, valvoline merc V but is there a better one?
why not type f? will it tear up or what?
why not type f? will it tear up or what?
would a syn offer anything except better protection and extended drains? dont get me wrong it shifts fine, just like a stock f150, but i would like it a bit firmer
I have Valvoline Maxlife Dex/Merc in my '98 F150 with a bottle of Lubegard red.
I couldn't ask for a better shift.
Be very careful with the type F. I had a room mate in college think he was hot stuff, did his own transmission and then his transmission went out on him.
6 months later he had it towed to the shop because his transmission took a dump again.
He was doing drain and fills with type F in a transmission that took Mercon.
Talk about an expensive education.
Read the owners manual and see what it reccommends.
Mercon V is some sweet stuff from my experiences with it.
I couldn't ask for a better shift.
Be very careful with the type F. I had a room mate in college think he was hot stuff, did his own transmission and then his transmission went out on him.
6 months later he had it towed to the shop because his transmission took a dump again.
He was doing drain and fills with type F in a transmission that took Mercon.
Talk about an expensive education.
Read the owners manual and see what it reccommends.
Mercon V is some sweet stuff from my experiences with it.
yeah i might just stick to the merc V. maybe i can talk my neighbor into putting type f into his 00 f150 lol
well the only valve body i know of is from troyer and its very expensive. a good programmer will help but equally expensive.
???? i should just deal with it and keep driving for my 500k
???? i should just deal with it and keep driving for my 500k
Just deal with it and do normal maintance on your transmission.
Type F would likely kill the unit over time. Almost no FMs in it. Mercon V is a very high spec ATF and the only way to better it is to go with the high dollar boutique oils. From what I've seen, actual Mercon V spec oil (non necessarily the "suitable for" stuff, but the "meets or exceeds" stuff) is so good, the quality gap is pretty narrow between it and the boutiques.
I have a programmer on my '05 F150 and it can firm up the shifts.Which I do. Changes the shift points too. It does a lot of other things as well, from monitoring a gob of engine parameters to diagnosing and clearing trouble codes. If you are going to keep your truck for 500K miles, it's worth the money IMO. The gains in power are just icing.
I have a programmer on my '05 F150 and it can firm up the shifts.Which I do. Changes the shift points too. It does a lot of other things as well, from monitoring a gob of engine parameters to diagnosing and clearing trouble codes. If you are going to keep your truck for 500K miles, it's worth the money IMO. The gains in power are just icing.
What worries me about firming up the shifts is the additional stress it puts on the transmission components. Each shift hits harder.
On the recommendation of the tech who rebuilt it, I use Type-F in the Turbo 400 transmission in my '68 Buick GranSport, but that is a far different animal than a 4R70W. I agree that firmer shifts can be beneficial to a point, but I think using Type-F in a modern transmission with a controlled-slip lockup torque converter would be a bad idea.
Your truck. Your call.
Your truck. Your call.
Yeah, there's definitely too much of a good thing possible when it comes to shift firmness.
I played around with shift firmness a fair bit on the programmer until I had it slamming like that TH-400 probably did on Type F. Backed it off quite a bit from that. Gotta be especially careful on the 1-2 shift because of the torque multiplication... even those the engine automatic pulls back a little torque on the shifts.
Back to the OP, for the money, it's hard to do better than the Motorcraft Mercon V for your truck, changed regularly, plus an inline filter.
I played around with shift firmness a fair bit on the programmer until I had it slamming like that TH-400 probably did on Type F. Backed it off quite a bit from that. Gotta be especially careful on the 1-2 shift because of the torque multiplication... even those the engine automatic pulls back a little torque on the shifts.
Back to the OP, for the money, it's hard to do better than the Motorcraft Mercon V for your truck, changed regularly, plus an inline filter.
Originally Posted By: electrolover
yeah i might just stick to the merc V. maybe i can talk my neighbor into putting type f into his 00 f150 lol
Do not give it to your neighbor. Type F will kill his transmission too. Co-worker did that to his 99 F-150. Thought since it was a Ford, use type F. Tranny dead 10k later. The earlier F-150's used Mercon, IIRC, around 1997-1998 Mercon V came out. Mercon V will work in place of Mercon, but NOT the other way around. IIRC type F was replaced by Mercon in all Ford transmissions by 1981.
yeah i might just stick to the merc V. maybe i can talk my neighbor into putting type f into his 00 f150 lol
Do not give it to your neighbor. Type F will kill his transmission too. Co-worker did that to his 99 F-150. Thought since it was a Ford, use type F. Tranny dead 10k later. The earlier F-150's used Mercon, IIRC, around 1997-1998 Mercon V came out. Mercon V will work in place of Mercon, but NOT the other way around. IIRC type F was replaced by Mercon in all Ford transmissions by 1981.
Originally Posted By: electrolover
well thats what i have been running, valvoline merc V but is there a better one?
why not type f? will it tear up or what?
Type F is an OLD spec. Suitable for a circa 1980 C6, or PS pump, but not a modern electronically controlled transmission.
Your transmission is designed to use Mercon V, so I wouldn't use any fluid that doesn't meet those specs.
If you feel like stepping outside of the box, you could look at a full synthetic boutique oil as Jim suggested.
Personally, I've been very happy with BG full synthetic in my 5R44E transmission (Ford specs Mercon V for it). It's shifting just as good as new with 105K miles on it. It has had the BG full syn in it for about 55K miles.
well thats what i have been running, valvoline merc V but is there a better one?
why not type f? will it tear up or what?
Type F is an OLD spec. Suitable for a circa 1980 C6, or PS pump, but not a modern electronically controlled transmission.
Your transmission is designed to use Mercon V, so I wouldn't use any fluid that doesn't meet those specs.
If you feel like stepping outside of the box, you could look at a full synthetic boutique oil as Jim suggested.
Personally, I've been very happy with BG full synthetic in my 5R44E transmission (Ford specs Mercon V for it). It's shifting just as good as new with 105K miles on it. It has had the BG full syn in it for about 55K miles.
thanks for the advise fellas!
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