What a great video Craig, thank you. Did everything you did, worked out perfect. I also did the bypass delete plugs per the request of my transmission shop that said he’s seen endless problems with the check valve and springs making the transmission be in constant bypass and burning up the tranny. I ended up replacing my hydroboost because it was we leaking, replaced the pump because it was whining and did the redhead steering box. I added the magnafine to the return on the power steering cooler. I think the power steering system needs one as bad as the transmission. Thanks again! Keep the great videos coming!
Buddy; i wish i saw this 3 weeks ago. i have a 2001 7.3 4R100 truck. i went down the interstate for a 2 hour run; truck ran and shifted fine including overdrive. i stopped by home for fuel; truck would not go into gear after fueling; i left the truck running. i waited a bit and it went into drive slipping. i got home babying it gently. i dropped pan to find chocolate milk. fluid; no metal chunks, but the regular smuts on the magnet. i took the filter apart and had small non magnetic clutch particles of fiber stopping up the paper element. i drained the T converter and blew out the lines. i replaced the filter, cleaned magnet and filled her back up and added an old friend Trans -X. I am still amazed that my truck trans is working perfectly. I had new cooler lines 2 years ago, but the wrench seems to have not changed the filter. i am a believer now in 15K trans service on these 4R100; thanks for sharing the way you do iy and the measures you take.
Hey Jim, I'm glad you liked the video. I found the proceedure I do on one of the Diesel forums and have been using every since. You said you drained the Torque Converter, so did you have a drain plug on yours? Mine does not. But... I had a new re-engineered 4R100 installed on one of those used vehicle warrantees I bought with the truck. It had a couple months left on it. I scattered 2nd gear just driving down the road. I had just had Ford do the service on the trans a couple thousand miles earlier. I guess the stock 4R100s had a weak 2nd gear. My new trans which is 9 years old now and around 100,000 trouble free miles on it is working fine and I do the change every 15,000. I'm also running the Magnafine filter. Great trucks these big guys. I love mine so much. It's a work horse. Thanks for the kind words! I appreciate you.
@@usethenoodle Thanks for getting back to me. My truck has a pipe threaded drain plug at the edge of the torque converter facing forward; it is a 4x4; i don;t know if that has anything to do with it. . I removed the ring gear cover and had to move the engine over one tooth at a time with a screwdriver until the hole was at the bottom. What i read is after draining, put a pipe dope on the threads which I did. These are good rigs, but we definitely have to keep an eye on upkeep. Because of my experience, and finding clutch material in the filter, I am probably going to flush/filter change and clean it again within 1 or 2k miles. I seriously thought the trans was a goner and am amazed it came back to life. Take care friend.
@@usethenoodle I wanted to add; since viewing your video and communicating with you, I will tell you it it lets go again or what I find when i service it again.
It looks like a lot of fun. I have 2 econolines with the 4r100, each with 300,000 miles. The fluids still are good and red, but I was thinking about changing them along with the filters. Good info here.
I’ve heard Don’t change tranny fluid when the miles are that high because they will slip and need friction modifiers.. I was just wondering if u saw any problems after changing fluid since this was a yr ago.. thnx
Informative video. I picked up a 2001 F350 with a 7.3 this year and this is the first time I’m doing the transmission servicing. I appreciate the video.
Excellent video, I watched it twice and did the same service to my 97 f250 7.3L today It's now shifting much smoother, and tft Temps seem to be 10-15deg cooler. Will be towing a 2400mi trip next week. Thanks again
Hey thanks. Comments like yours is why I do this. With just under 400 subscribers, obviously I’m not monetized. But I enjoy helping people become more self sufficient and passing along useful information. Have a great trip, be safe. I just returned from a 3,800 miler towing my big toy hauler with my Indian motorcycle inside. If you don’t have a way to monitor your trans temp, I highly suggest a trans temp gauge. I have the Edge system which reads from the PCM. But an analog temp gauge is fine. The redline for trans temp is 225f. I shoot for under 200. You will find the trans runs much cooler and does shift a lot better with fresh fluid. I change mine every 15000. Engine oil every 5000. Thanks for the comment! Be safe on your trip!
@@usethenoodle yes sir, I use the edge cts3 with the added trans fluid sensor also. It's a very nice system but a bit pricey for the additional sensors needed
Love the details in you video, have a question though, could I pull magnefine barb both lines one to fresh and one to empty and run it till clean fluid came out? Also I have a pump could I use it to force fluid through system would i get same results? Come to find out my torque converter has no drain plug?
Mine doesn’t either. I recommend fluid change every 15,000. Magnafine goes on the return line from the cooler being sure to face the arrow with the flow. No need for a pump. The trans does it. Thanks for watching!
Great write up and camera work! If a person was not towing and had "light duty" use what mileage would you recommend changing fluid? (I use Magnefine on my 2001 Ford 4R100 as well). And how would synthetic play into your schedule? (not sure if you are using synthetic?) Thx again Craig.
Hi Stephen. Gee, thanks for the kind words. So towing service change is recommended at 15,000 mile intervals. Not towing, and I’m just guessing… I can’t see why you couldn’t go an additional 10,000. But the guy on Powerstroke Help says he recommends 15,000 miles and I don’t recall if he had a light service recommendation. The Valvoline Max Life Dex/Mer Dexron V multi vehicle fluid is full synthetic. The transfer case service is now Ford recommended to be Dexron LV. They say do not use Dexron V in the transfer case. I was using the same as I use in the transmission but in view of the current recommended LV, I stopped using Max Life for the transfer case. Thanks again! Craig
Hi Craig. I did everything you did on this video... Except I attached the clear hose to the tranny side of the return line. Not up at the cooler. When I fired her up it spewed ATF out the tranny where the line goes in. (Rear line) Mine has a return by-pass line between the in and out ports at the tranny. Not sure if yours does? I assume like a fuel return it passes the extra pressurized fluid back into the tranny that does not go though the cooler. Made one hell of a mess while I watched for air in the bucket. I repeat a H&$^#LL of a mess Exxon Valdes style. Makes me think the return either at the tranny or up front should be plugged to force all fluid to the clear tube. Any thoughts? I ended up holding my thumb on the return tranny port for the 2 cycles of flush. I don't think hooking mine up in front would have changed things. It is just 5' of line and would have made the mess forward. My coolers are not plugged because fluid flowed fine through them. Also found out mine has the 6.0 cooler conversion. That is great.
Hi KCC. Wow. No, I don’t have the bypass line and try as I might, I can’t find a 4R100 diagram in the 99/03 range that has one. I hook in as you know, the solitary return line coming back from the my 6.0 cooler. Glad you found that you have that. They don’t seem to be available from ford anymore but there are lots of after market options. Anyway, gosh… I’m sorry to hear of your oil spill. But from your issue, I see how it happened. I just wish I could find a photo of a transmission so equipped. This trans is my 2nd. I bought an aftermarket 3 year used car warrantee that cost me ~$3000 when I got the truck. It only had 37,000 miles(2012) but as it was an unknown quantity I bought a warranty on a gamble. Well, two months before the warranty expired, I was just driving home from a local errand and there was a sudden bang. And then it sounded like I was dragging a large tree branch underneath. No tree branch and then a really hard 1-2 shift which was actually a 1-3 shift. Then the trans began to run hot on the Edge programmer I have. My Edge home gauge screen reads the trans temp, engine oil temp, boost in psi, exhaust gas temp, gear in use and the chip setting which is always 1 or tow mode. So…. 2nd gear exploded, which was the OEM trans hallmark failure. I had 44,000 miles on the odometer. I called the warranty company and they said I was fully covered at any shop. I took it to the stealership and they put in a brand new updated trans with engineering changes to the weak original design 2nd gear. That was summer 2014. The bill was $3,400 so I made money on the cost of the warrantee. Since then, I have 106,000 miles on the new trans and I do a fluid change every 15,000. I got that recommendation from powerstrokehelp on TH-cam. He’s a fleet maintenance shop and has limitless 7.3 experience from the 7.3’s hay days in ambulances and commercial trucks. I’m sure you have been to his channel. If not, check him out. Good information. So, here’s what I would do. Hook into a return line and perhaps take a short section of plugged line and clamp it to the return line where you had the leak to plug it. If it is a cooler bypass line, and I can’t figure out why it would be needed or wanted, at least you will prevent spillage from happening. I apologize as neither my trans nor the “ Gooch” method has it. First I’ve heard of it. I hope you didn’t stain your driveway. I wonder if someone added it???? I can’t find any mention of it and I would want all my fluid to get cooled, not sent back hot to the pan causing the trans to run hotter. The redline for the trans temp is 225. I just towed my 10,000 pound probably a bit overloaded toy hauler 3,800 miles. My trans averaged ~155 with 175 in mountain passes climbing. I notice the temps run slightly hotter as the fluid gets on toward 15,000 miles. Take a look at extra capacity air cooled oil pan I use on Amazon. It really helps keep the fluid cool by 30-50 degrees depending on load and ambient temperature. Derale, I believe is the manufacturer. Thanks for the comment, the view and I really apologize for the mess. I’ve made some messes of epic proportions too. I learned from every one. 😆
I have a question I saw in one of the video he drained from the transmission hose before the cooler, and I saw in your video you drained after the cooler right? by common sense your technique is better because you can drain also what is left inside the cooler unless they have a reason why they drain it before cooler. what is your take on that?
This truck seldom leaves pavement. If it does, it's in snow during snowmobile season. Mudding in this truck ain't my thing. I use a dirt bike for that sort of thing. The truck in that application is back at the RV park with the Toy Hauler hooked to it. But I'll say this, my trans runs a good 20 degrees or more cooler with it and the extra fluid capacity. If it gets the air tubes plugged up with mud, you can put the hose to those tubes. They pass through the pan and are open on both ends. The hardest service my trans sees is towing at pretty close to max up mountain passes in summer. On the way to the Sturgis Rally this year, it was 107 outside towing across Montana. I got up to around a max of 200 TFT while climbing. Prior to using this pan, I would have gotten up to 220 which is max.
What a great video Craig, thank you. Did everything you did, worked out perfect. I also did the bypass delete plugs per the request of my transmission shop that said he’s seen endless problems with the check valve and springs making the transmission be in constant bypass and burning up the tranny. I ended up replacing my hydroboost because it was we leaking, replaced the pump because it was whining and did the redhead steering box. I added the magnafine to the return on the power steering cooler. I think the power steering system needs one as bad as the transmission. Thanks again! Keep the great videos coming!
Hey thanks for watching!
That’s the smartest and cheapest insurance you can do to prevent expensive transmission failures.
I just did it the other night again. Every 15,000. It took me about 3 hours.I agree with you 100%
Buddy; i wish i saw this 3 weeks ago. i have a 2001 7.3 4R100 truck. i went down the interstate for a 2 hour run; truck ran and shifted fine including overdrive. i stopped by home for fuel; truck would not go into gear after fueling; i left the truck running. i waited a bit and it went into drive slipping. i got home babying it gently. i dropped pan to find chocolate milk. fluid; no metal chunks, but the regular smuts on the magnet. i took the filter apart and had small non magnetic clutch particles of fiber stopping up the paper element. i drained the T converter and blew out the lines. i replaced the filter, cleaned magnet and filled her back up and added an old friend Trans -X. I am still amazed that my truck trans is working perfectly. I had new cooler lines 2 years ago, but the wrench seems to have not changed the filter.
i am a believer now in 15K trans service on these 4R100; thanks for sharing the way you do iy and the measures you take.
Hey Jim, I'm glad you liked the video. I found the proceedure I do on one of the Diesel forums and have been using every since. You said you drained the Torque Converter, so did you have a drain plug on yours? Mine does not. But... I had a new re-engineered 4R100 installed on one of those used vehicle warrantees I bought with the truck. It had a couple months left on it. I scattered 2nd gear just driving down the road. I had just had Ford do the service on the trans a couple thousand miles earlier. I guess the stock 4R100s had a weak 2nd gear. My new trans which is 9 years old now and around 100,000 trouble free miles on it is working fine and I do the change every 15,000. I'm also running the Magnafine filter. Great trucks these big guys. I love mine so much. It's a work horse. Thanks for the kind words! I appreciate you.
@@usethenoodle Thanks for getting back to me. My truck has a pipe threaded drain plug at the edge of the torque converter facing forward; it is a 4x4; i don;t know if that has anything to do with it. . I removed the ring gear cover and had to move the engine over one tooth at a time with a screwdriver until the hole was at the bottom. What i read is after draining, put a pipe dope on the threads which I did. These are good rigs, but we definitely have to keep an eye on upkeep. Because of my experience, and finding clutch material in the filter, I am probably going to flush/filter change and clean it again within 1 or 2k miles. I seriously thought the trans was a goner and am amazed it came back to life. Take care friend.
@@usethenoodle I wanted to add; since viewing your video and communicating with you, I will tell you it it lets go again or what I find when i service it again.
@@jimsworthow531 you bet Jim. Good luck. I hope all goes well!
It looks like a lot of fun. I have 2 econolines with the 4r100, each with 300,000 miles. The fluids still are good and red, but I was thinking about changing them along with the filters. Good info here.
Thanks! Good luck. Let me know how it goes.
I’ve heard Don’t change tranny fluid when the miles are that high because they will slip and need friction modifiers.. I was just wondering if u saw any problems after changing fluid since this was a yr ago.. thnx
@@vincentbrugetti7254 he does this regularly so what you heard doesn't apply here.
Informative video. I picked up a 2001 F350 with a 7.3 this year and this is the first time I’m doing the transmission servicing. I appreciate the video.
I appreciate the view and the comment. Thanks for the kind words!
Excellent video, I watched it twice and did the same service to my 97 f250 7.3L today It's now shifting much smoother, and tft Temps seem to be 10-15deg cooler. Will be towing a 2400mi trip next week. Thanks again
Hey thanks. Comments like yours is why I do this. With just under 400 subscribers, obviously I’m not monetized. But I enjoy helping people become more self sufficient and passing along useful information. Have a great trip, be safe. I just returned from a 3,800 miler towing my big toy hauler with my Indian motorcycle inside. If you don’t have a way to monitor your trans temp, I highly suggest a trans temp gauge. I have the Edge system which reads from the PCM. But an analog temp gauge is fine. The redline for trans temp is 225f. I shoot for under 200. You will find the trans runs much cooler and does shift a lot better with fresh fluid. I change mine every 15000. Engine oil every 5000. Thanks for the comment! Be safe on your trip!
Sorry you told me you have trans temp. Got it. 👍
@@usethenoodle yes sir, I use the edge cts3 with the added trans fluid sensor also. It's a very nice system but a bit pricey for the additional sensors needed
@@tbeaul1 Yes, I love my Edge tuner.
Thank you for the video, answered a lot of questions! I will be getting a magnefine filter as well to install when I replace the oil cooler lines.
Happy to help Kyle!
Fantastic tips. 👍🏻
Great video! Thanks for sharing!!
Thank You!
Great vid, bud! I'm about to do the same on my 1999 with the V10. What other mods do you have? I'm guessing at least a coolant filter system.
Thanks JT!
Nice work! I felt like I had tranny fluid on my hands and face right before you mentioned it.
great video thank you
Love the details in you video, have a question though, could I pull magnefine barb both lines one to fresh and one to empty and run it till clean fluid came out?
Also I have a pump could I use it to force fluid through system would i get same results? Come to find out my torque converter has no drain plug?
Mine doesn’t either. I recommend fluid change every 15,000. Magnafine goes on the return line from the cooler being sure to face the arrow with the flow. No need for a pump. The trans does it. Thanks for watching!
thank you!
YOU! are welcome!!!!
Great write up and camera work! If a person was not towing and had "light duty" use what mileage would you recommend changing fluid? (I use Magnefine on my 2001 Ford 4R100 as well). And how would synthetic play into your schedule? (not sure if you are using synthetic?) Thx again Craig.
Hi Stephen. Gee, thanks for the kind words. So towing service change is recommended at 15,000 mile intervals. Not towing, and I’m just guessing… I can’t see why you couldn’t go an additional 10,000. But the guy on Powerstroke Help says he recommends 15,000 miles and I don’t recall if he had a light service recommendation. The Valvoline Max Life Dex/Mer Dexron V multi vehicle fluid is full synthetic. The transfer case service is now Ford recommended to be Dexron LV. They say do not use Dexron V in the transfer case. I was using the same as I use in the transmission but in view of the current recommended LV, I stopped using Max Life for the transfer case. Thanks again! Craig
Hi Craig. I did everything you did on this video... Except I attached the clear hose to the tranny side of the return line. Not up at the cooler. When I fired her up it spewed ATF out the tranny where the line goes in. (Rear line) Mine has a return by-pass line between the in and out ports at the tranny. Not sure if yours does? I assume like a fuel return it passes the extra pressurized fluid back into the tranny that does not go though the cooler. Made one hell of a mess while I watched for air in the bucket. I repeat a H&$^#LL of a mess Exxon Valdes style. Makes me think the return either at the tranny or up front should be plugged to force all fluid to the clear tube. Any thoughts? I ended up holding my thumb on the return tranny port for the 2 cycles of flush. I don't think hooking mine up in front would have changed things. It is just 5' of line and would have made the mess forward. My coolers are not plugged because fluid flowed fine through them. Also found out mine has the 6.0 cooler conversion. That is great.
Hi KCC. Wow. No, I don’t have the bypass line and try as I might, I can’t find a 4R100 diagram in the 99/03 range that has one.
I hook in as you know, the solitary return line coming back from the my 6.0 cooler. Glad you found that you have that. They don’t seem to be available from ford anymore but there are lots of after market options.
Anyway, gosh… I’m sorry to hear of your oil spill. But from your issue, I see how it happened. I just wish I could find a photo of a transmission so equipped. This trans is my 2nd. I bought an aftermarket 3 year used car warrantee that cost me ~$3000 when I got the truck. It only had 37,000 miles(2012) but as it was an unknown quantity I bought a warranty on a gamble. Well, two months before the warranty expired, I was just driving home from a local errand and there was a sudden bang. And then it sounded like I was dragging a large tree branch underneath. No tree branch and then a really hard 1-2 shift which was actually a 1-3 shift. Then the trans began to run hot on the Edge programmer I have. My Edge home gauge screen reads the trans temp, engine oil temp, boost in psi, exhaust gas temp, gear in use and the chip setting which is always 1 or tow mode. So…. 2nd gear exploded, which was the OEM trans hallmark failure. I had 44,000 miles on the odometer.
I called the warranty company and they said I was fully covered at any shop. I took it to the stealership and they put in a brand new updated trans with engineering changes to the weak original design 2nd gear. That was summer 2014. The bill was $3,400 so I made money on the cost of the warrantee. Since then, I have 106,000 miles on the new trans and I do a fluid change every 15,000. I got that recommendation from powerstrokehelp on TH-cam. He’s a fleet maintenance shop and has limitless 7.3 experience from the 7.3’s hay days in ambulances and commercial trucks. I’m sure you have been to his channel. If not, check him out. Good information.
So, here’s what I would do. Hook into a return line and perhaps take a short section of plugged line and clamp it to the return line where you had the leak to plug it. If it is a cooler bypass line, and I can’t figure out why it would be needed or wanted, at least you will prevent spillage from happening. I apologize as neither my trans nor the “ Gooch” method has it. First I’ve heard of it. I hope you didn’t stain your driveway. I wonder if someone added it???? I can’t find any mention of it and I would want all my fluid to get cooled, not sent back hot to the pan causing the trans to run hotter. The redline for the trans temp is 225. I just towed my 10,000 pound probably a bit overloaded toy hauler 3,800 miles. My trans averaged ~155 with 175 in mountain passes climbing. I notice the temps run slightly hotter as the fluid gets on toward 15,000 miles. Take a look at extra capacity air cooled oil pan I use on Amazon. It really helps keep the fluid cool by 30-50 degrees depending on load and ambient temperature. Derale, I believe is the manufacturer. Thanks for the comment, the view and I really apologize for the mess. I’ve made some messes of epic proportions too. I learned from every one. 😆
I have a question I saw in one of the video he drained from the transmission hose before the cooler, and I saw in your video you drained after the cooler right? by common sense your technique is better because you can drain also what is left inside the cooler unless they have a reason why they drain it before cooler. what is your take on that?
Did you cap off the steal line going back to the trans?
No. I haven't had to.
What kind of fluid was used?
That pan would not work in mud country
This truck seldom leaves pavement. If it does, it's in snow during snowmobile season. Mudding in this truck ain't my thing. I use a dirt bike for that sort of thing. The truck in that application is back at the RV park with the Toy Hauler hooked to it. But I'll say this, my trans runs a good 20 degrees or more cooler with it and the extra fluid capacity. If it gets the air tubes plugged up with mud, you can put the hose to those tubes. They pass through the pan and are open on both ends. The hardest service my trans sees is towing at pretty close to max up mountain passes in summer. On the way to the Sturgis Rally this year, it was 107 outside towing across Montana. I got up to around a max of 200 TFT while climbing. Prior to using this pan, I would have gotten up to 220 which is max.
That bigger cooler will though.