Tranny fluid change....now no drive
 

Switched out the transmission pan and filter(went with the metal pan/separate filter, 138k), ran smooth before, but now
no drive,(or barely, lots of slip), reverse works fine?? Some observations;

[1] Used Febi A/T Fluid

Sound like over filled. The transmission needs to be at around 30 degrees C before finish adding the last of the the fluid to full. Hopefully someone with direct knowledge will chime in..

Also, not sure on the oil you used. These transmissions need a very specific fluid

Are you sure the filter was well seated? If not the pump can’t suck in fluid.

I would drop it again.

Also, redline D6 ATF If an affordable substitute for ZF fluid.

Tranny fluid change...now no drive
 

Thanks for response, was thinking(hoping) this may be the case. Did measure out the old fluid removed, and had the same amount in new fluid, and it took less, but of course, the metal pan is supposed to
remove a quart of capacity. Will prolly try and drain some fluid first, before disassembly to check seating of filter, not looking forward to that.

Thanks,....Yeah, was thinking about this. the new filter did not seem to really seat positively, seemed kind of wobbly, but watched the Atlantic British video on this process, and the tech there
had the same issue, the filter almost fell out before he could get the pan on and start bolting it up.....one question remaining, is reverse worked fine, wouldn't no filter connection also stop reverse from working?
Another idea, on the connector replacement, might that cause the system to have to "relearn" or go through some kind of boot up process which would temporarily make for a no shift condition? Have read something about that, though it sounds far fetched...
am thinking of at least starting it up, and running through the gears a few times, to see if things improve, before dropping the pan again.....

Dropping the pan does not drain all the fluid from the system... with the reduced pan capacity, it would seem there's too much fluid, imo. remove fill plug, get a temp gun and warm the transmission to 30 degrees C... there will be a mess as a bit of fluid will likely come out. When fluid is no longer coming out, install plug. Hopefully this will help and you won't have to drop pan.

Just to mention again, that the fluid you used is not recommended fluid for these transmissions as far as I know. Would hate to see you do damage to the transmission using the wrong fluid.

If you remove fill plug, do so while running.

This is extremely important!

Also, I thought the theory about the metal pan taking less transmission fluid was debunked?

I would guess you have either not the right amount of fluid or not the correct fluid for the behavior you have. Recheck fluid levels as described at the right temperature (I used an infrared thermometer on the pan) and if they are correct, consider replacing fluid.

I used the Ford transmission fluid Mercon SP which is what was used in the transmissions when they were installed in Lincolns. It's far cheaper, if you can find it and a direct replacement.

https://www.ryderfleetproducts.com/m...p-p-w83-xt6qsp

Yeah, saw the mercon recommended in doing research, but the Febi I used specifically quoted the Shell Shell ATF M-1375.4 spec, which is also used for the LifeGuard(see below), so figured that would be good to go.
There appear to be lots of substitutes!.....

Well that would be good news if it's a matter of over/under fill. Had not heard of doing the fill with vehicle running, its was not mentioned by any research had done, nor by the Atlantic British tech who performed this work, he did the fill, then ran the vehicle to warm up, then came back to double check. On the fluid , did quite a bit of research, it seems the official spec is a shell fluid; also, bumped into a site that has the LifeGuard for $9/liter....https://www.carid.com/zf/automatic-t...63&url=1117772

I did a lot of research as to what in the world our mystery factory fill ATF could be, and I think I finally found it. After a lot of searching, and phone calls to shell USA I have deduced the following:

According to the australian petrolium institute: Key To Lubricants their ASP15 classification includes the following fluids:

-Ford Specification No. M2C 919D

-Mercon SP Fluid Part No. XT-6QSP

-Shell ATF M-1375.4

-ZF 6-speed Automatic Transmission Fluid, (Shell M-1375.4)

Mercon SP Fluid is a newer transmission fluid made by shell for Ford dealers. Its easy to find online, and it retails for around $4:00+/quart. Things get really interesting when you look at the specs of lifeguard 6 found in the MSDS:

http://www.tsgparts.net/images/pdf/Lifeguardfluid6.pdf and compare them to the specs of Mercon SP:

http://www.fcsdchemicalsandlubricant...ERCON%20SP.pdf and http://www.fcsdchemicalsandlubricant...us175325us.pdf

VERY similar specs, and the same color fluid.

Well you obviously did something wrong.

I bought the kit from atlantic british with the recommended fluid. Why would you change the fluid from the recommend type?

I also hired a mechanic had him watch the video before installing.

My tranny did not have to relearn, its shifts smooth as silk.

Hire a pro next time it does not cost much and they have all the equipment and the experience.