Shifter extremely tight after ATF change

I have heard different from a Mustang racer/builder/shop owner and have read it here and elsewhere as well. Maybe someone with a better memory or who is willing to do the research will tell you what is in the gear oil that will damage which part in I know the T-5, possible or possibly not in later transmissions.

WELL I GOT REALLY SCREWED. ( My fault for trusting idiots and not doing my homework). The shop charged me $110 for a tranny flush and I just found out that there is NO SUCH THING as a flush for a manual tranny. (OK laugh, but I'm just not a big tranny expert). I'm going back to the shop today to get my $$ back and it will get ugly probably.

A "real" mechanic that changed my clutch recently told me that all I have to do is drain, put in ATF, drive around a few days and repeat. The oil return holes in my T5 are too small for the thicker oils. Earlier T5s could take ATF and thicker oils with no problems. Too bad I found this out just now. So to recap, I paid for a "fake" flush and for wrong oil for my 2000 GT. My ass is still sore. Just hope this thread helps someone in the future.

"WindsorFox" wrote in news:gs21dv$qgl $ snipped-for-privacy@posting2.glorb.com:

The only thiing that could cause a problem is some kind of additive in the gear oil. It does have a very odd smell.

Even at that, ATF is extremely detergent in nature. Fill the tranny, drive it around enough to get hot, drain it, and refill. All traces of any former oil will be gone.

Checkout this; says gear oil too thick to get through passeges cold

WELL I GOT REALLY SCREWED. ( My fault for trusting idiots and not doing my homework). The shop charged me $110 for a tranny flush and I just found out that there is NO SUCH THING as a flush for a manual tranny. (OK laugh, but I'm just not a big tranny expert). I'm going back to the shop today to get my $$ back and it will get ugly probably.

A "real" mechanic that changed my clutch recently told me that all I have to do is drain, put in ATF, drive around a few days and repeat. The oil return holes in my T5 are too small for the thicker oils. Earlier T5s could take ATF and thicker oils with no problems. Too bad I found this out just now. So to recap, I paid for a "fake" flush and for wrong oil for my 2000 GT. My ass is still sore. Just hope this thread helps someone in the future.

checkout this link, says gear oil too thick for small passages in a T45

Take the guys to small claims court, they did not follow MFGRs requirements, screwed up you car. They have insurance for this type of stuff, no sweat off their nose.

I have about 150k miles on my 93 5.0 and have not change any fluid in manual transmission, probably orgional. Should I change it out?

I drove about 150 miles on it. Maybe the damage has not been done yet. I got some Valvoline MaxLife Dex/Merc ATF today and will swap it myself. Thanks for the input guys.

You should definitely change that fluid, but I just was wondering in what way is this "Shifter extremely tight" do you mean? Is it hard to row in between the gears? Is it hard to slide from the 1-2 position over to the 5-R? Or is it hard to push it into any certain gears? Is it grinding?

When cold, it's very hard to shift into any gear. (My wife couldn't get out of garage in reverse, but I'm a strong buck :-) . After a few minutes, everything feels ok. I did smell some burning oil as well, but I thought it was normal after a new change.

I didn't speak to the shop yet, but I'm wondering if by "flush", they meant that they put in some cleaning fluid and let it drain before putting in new oil. I just want to make sure I'm not a total a-hole when I yell at them to try get my $$ back. They have always done good work before and as far as not using the correct fluid, I think they just didn't know that newer T5s always need ATF. In fact one guy wanted to use ATF, while the other "expert" advised on gear oil since it is what he uses on his M3 Beemers. I just didn't have enough info to argue. Most of their business is from regular oil changes.

While on the topic, if I take off the shifter, can I just pour the ATF into the hole or is there another smaller opening somewhere on top I need to use? I read that this is less trouble than using the fill plug on the tranny.

T-45s have a fill hole and drain hole on the passenger? side of the transmission. It's been awhile since I was under there. Remove the plug from the fill hole first, then drain hole. That will allow the air to get in and the fluid to come out smoothly. Reinstall the drain plug and fill to the bottom of the fill hole. reinstall the fill plug. (teflon tape on the treads)

When I did it the easiest way for me was to remove the trim around the shifter and snake the tube for the funnel down that way. I'll find another way so I don't risk spilling inside the car next time.

Yes, pour it in the shifter hole. While the shifter is off, check and make sure there's nothing out of place, I think there is a rubber or plastic cup the shifter ball sits in. I'm not positive of this. If it's really that hard to get into gear though, the syncros or needle bearings may be hosed.

It's a T-45 by the way, not a T-5 or T-5od you referenced earlier, which may be what Haydens calls the V-6 T-5.

That's the phosforus which can be a problem among other things like viscosity. ATF is rather thin.

Perhaps.

It's hard not to get some on the exhaust when changing it.

That's pretty much what he did. Possibly even hose it with a little pressure.

You can, but that's not going to be as easy as you might think. It may be easier than doing it from underneath for you, but it won't be a stroll in the park. I have a pump up garden sprayer modified for the purpose.

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I just took off the shifter boot but can't get the actual base off since when I had Pro 5.0 put in, they used some heavy duty silicone :- (. I noticed there is a plug to the right of the stick base with some rubber stopper. Is this the fill hole, and can it be used with some sort of tube adapter? If not, what's the trick to pry open the base???

If you can't pull it up from in the car you might try a long blunt screwdriver from under the car and hitting it upward.

Or feed a hose to the filler hole you see on the side and route it either inside the car, (careful not to spill) or to the engine bay, and pour through a funnel.

WELL I GOT REALLY SCREWED. ( My fault for trusting idiots and not doing my homework). The shop charged me $110 for a tranny flush and I just found out that there is NO SUCH THING as a flush for a manual tranny. (OK laugh, but I'm just not a big tranny expert). I'm going back to the shop today to get my $$ back and it will get ugly probably.

A "real" mechanic that changed my clutch recently told me that all I have to do is drain, put in ATF, drive around a few days and repeat. The oil return holes in my T5 are too small for the thicker oils. Earlier T5s could take ATF and thicker oils with no problems. Too bad I found this out just now. So to recap, I paid for a "fake" flush and for wrong oil for my 2000 GT. My ass is still sore. Just hope this thread helps someone in the future.

========================================================= File a complaint with your local better business bureau and talk to an attorney, most attorneys offer free first consultion. You might also want to call your local TV station(s), most stations have reporters who investigate and publisize rip-offs like this.

Oils mix, yes, but some not so well, and some additives not at all. Not thoroughly cleaning the transmission before changing the fluid is asking for trouble sooner or later.

Draining and filling with the right fluid, then letting it mix and draining again will have removed almost all of it. Fill and drain again and it should certainly be as well or better cleaned out as it would by opening it up and cleaning it. Considering the complexity and expense of removing the trans and going into it repeated drains and refilling is much cheaper and easier and achieves the same goal, removing as much of the gear oil as possible.