Transmission Fluid Capacity F150 / 1979

Mar 23, 2007 4 Replies
T

I have a 1979 F150 4WD pickup truck with a 400 engine and automatic transmission. Last night I was about a mile from home in pouring rain when I drove over a small tree in the road before I had a chance to see the damn thing. At first I didnt think anything happened except maybe a scratch on the body which I was not too worried about since this trucks body is pretty well shot anyhow. I just use this as a farm truck, but it runs fairly well despite the rough shape of the body. I think I only went 2 or 3 blocks when the transmission began to slip and after a few more blocks it would no longer move. After the rain let up I found a broken cooler line. I was able to patch it together with gas line hose and with only 4 quarts of fluid I was able to get it onto my private farm roadway, but it was jerky and I knew the fluid was still low. Once on my roadway I let it coast downhill as much as I could, but had to use the jerking transmission to get it to the garage.



Since then, I have added 6 more quarts of fluid and it seems to engage pretty well now, but I can see the fluid is still barely touching the tip of the dipstick. (I think, since the newly poured in fluid always gets on the dipstick and makes it hard to read). That means I poured in 10 quarts. I just spent an hour googling the proper amount of fluid and cant find any website that lists such an old truck. I did see a 1998 showing it needs 13.5 quarts when the converter and lines are drained.



I dont know if it totally drained the converter, but apparently it drained most everything.



My questions:


  1. What is the fluid capacity for a 79 4WD F150 pickup?
  2. Would driving it dry (about 1/2 mile total) permanently damage the transmission?
  3. I have heard that there is a special rubber hose needed for trans fluid, or is a standard gasoline fuel line OK? I'll change it if needed, and if I do change it, will all the fluid drain out of the cooler line (not running of course).

Does anyone have an old Ford book to tell me the capacity. I need to buy more fluid today, and not sure how much I will need.



I should note that I am not sure which transmission I have, but I recall some parts store guy saying the 400 engines all used the same transmission in the late 70's. Unless I got this wrong, C6 comes to mind, and I think it says "Metric" on the pan, unless I got that confused with my 89 Chevy car. I dont work on this stuff often enough to rememer all of the details.



I would have thought the web would have more useful info, but it sure dont appear to be the case.



Thanks in advance for all help.



Tim


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D
Best Answer

Not a good day. What appeared to be a simple flat tire on the left rear, turned out to be much more. Here I am, cruising along about 60 and I hear what sounds like I'm going over serations on the shoulder. About a mile later, I hear flapping, indicating something's come loose and/or a flat tire. Sure enough, I stop and I hear a loud hissing sound and the tire going down fast. Quickly, I zip into a State highway maintenance facility, so I'm off the road and I can change I tire if I need to.



Fortunately, I was with the mayor of the city, we called a city car to get us to a meeting and I left the car there. When I came back, they changed the tire and I fired up the car to leave, but heard a strange metallic sound, much like something was rubbing on a pully. And, as I was driving, every now and then, there would be an ever-so-slight reduction in power, then the engine would pick up again.



All was normal, until I stopped for gas. I shut the car off and noticed that the radio and lights were still on, despite the fact that I removed the ignition key. Hmmm. So, I restarted the car (didn't want to be stuck at a tollway oasis gas station 60 miles from home), and heard that muted metallic scraping sound again.



So, I start heading home, not going too fast - 70 mph or below, since I have one of those "space saver" spares on the right rear.



Enroute, from time-to-time, I start seeing almost all of the instrument warning lights illuminate momentarily and then extinguish. I also noticed that the temperature gauge is not working. The instrument lights start flickering on and off with greater frequency, as I keep on.



About 49 miles later, the engine loses power and starts bucking. I pull over to the side and try to keep the engine going, but it stops. Despite the ignition being turned off the radio and lights remain on. I start the engine again and it bucks and misses, then comes right back to normal power.



Now, I'm beginning to smell an alarming smell; kind of an acrid, almost sufuric acid smell. I keep going, as I'm only 10 miles from home, by now.



There's less bucking and heaving after I get off the expressway, but I'm still worried. Finally, I arrive at home, convinced I have a severe electrical problem.



I pull into the driveway, get out the tools and remove the positive battery cable from the battery. As I retrieve my items from the car, my flashlight beam cuts a swath through what is now a slightly smoke filled interior, which smells like a cross between a severe new car smell and boiling battery.



I'm not in a good mood. What gives?



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T

Thank You.

I put in 10 quarts now, so I will get at least 3 more. I originally guessed 5 quarts. I sure was off..... I never realized they have so much. No wonder it barely engaged with the first 4 quarts.

With the run down the tube, it's hard to tell if it is even touching the dipstick yet, if it is, it's just the very tip.

By the way, what happens if someone overfills them? There is no drain plug, so how does a person remove some? No, I have not done it, but just asking.

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T

Very few automatic transmissions have had an easy way to drain excess fluid. In many RWD Fords the excess can be drained through a plug in the converter. Disconnecting a cooler line and starting the vehicle will pump out the excess. One trick I've found is pulling out the speedometer adapter and letting it drain. This will usually get the level close enough to the proper level.

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F

You can usually remove the excess fluid through the transmission dipstick/fill tube using some clear plastic tubing that will fit down the dipstick tube into the pan. I have a hand pump that will draw the fluid out but I found I can usually start the syphoning action just by sucking on the end of the tube until the fluid passes over the high point. (That's why I use a clear plastic tube.) Then I put the end of the plastic tubing in a glass container (large kitchen measuring cup) that's calibrated in ounces, so I know how much fluid is being removed.

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