All done and working well! It runs like it can breath again! It's a totally different diving experience it's feels like a new car! Lots of zip back into it no more sluggish driving! I did the 3 drain and fills like you suggested and when done drove around the neighborhood hills. Today I drove 40 miles to visit my mother and had NO ISSUES even in all the places I did before! What I did if anyone cares is: I first warmed up the engine. I then checked the fluid level at the side of transmission with the engine running to have a starting point to see if I had been full but nothing came out. I then added 16 oz of Sea Foam Flush and drove/idled for 20 minutes. Checked level again and had fluid running out of fill level hole. I drained it while it was warm and got 4.5 quarts out so I figure I was a half quart low originally. I filled as you said with 5 quarts and drove/let idle again for 20 minutes. Drained it and got 5 quarts back out. Filled with 5 quarts drove/idled for 20 minutes and did final drain but let it drip drain for an hour until it was a SLOW drip. Got almost 5.5 quarts out with the longer wait. I filled with 4.25 quarts and drove/idled for about 15 minutes and with engine running I checked the fill line and nothing was coming out. Kept it running with fill level bolt out and added about another quarter of a quart and watched as fluid starting running out of fill level hole. (Was a nice red color to it) Let it go until I got a slow stream coming out just over the threads then threaded on bolt. Added 2 oz of Lubegard Shudder Fix then drove around again going through all the gears (did that each time I added fluid). As I said above ALL IS GOOD! Thanks so much for the video and for all the fast response time! You save me $200 or more bucks even after buying the fluid myself. Again THANK YOU!
Great video! So I add BG quick clean and run for 20 minutes then drain. Add 5 quarts of fluid and run 20 minutes then drain. After final drain add 4 to 4.25 to 4.5 quarts and lubegard shudderfix then check fill level on side of transmission. Have I got that right? Doing mine this weekend. May do a 3rd drain and fill dependent on how dark the 2nd drain looks. Thank's again for all the information!! Your my new best friend! (:
Glad to help! Yes that's correct. I would also do a 3rd drain. And yes with the engine running and warm, the fluid should be level with the plug. Thanks for watching!
Thank you very much. I liked the video, it is very detailed and subscribed. Are we supposed to use both Conditioner and Lubegard Instant Shudder Fix? How many tubes we can use?
Hi, glad to help. The shudder fix is only for shuddering torque converters. You don't need to use anything other than just the mercon lv if you decide to do that. Hope this helps
Thank you for this video! One question: when running the engine between drain and fills, should I be putting the transmission through the gears for any amount of time? Or does simply running the engine circulate the transmission fluid sufficiently?
You're welcome. You can run it through the gears several times to work the fluid through the solenoids and valve body. I usually don't because I'm simply battling converter shudder, and let the new fluid work through the valve body on the post-road test
Hopefully last question until I do the fluid change. I cannot find the BG Quick Cleaner anywhere except online and won't get here in time. Can you suggest other types that would work that are in the auto stores? Thanks much! Will let you know how things turn out.
Lubegard transmission flush, or seafoam transmission tune can work for you. The cleaner isn't totally necessary if you're just doing a 30k interval service. But if it hasn't been serviced in over 50-70k then I'd use it
(I cleaned up my reply below) I believe I have the shudder. I'm not sure what a torque converter is but it feels like small vibrating or like going over upcoming stop sign bumps. It happens more going from 40 to 50 but sometimes at 30 to 40.. If I put the shudder fix in will it hurt the car if its not the torque converter? I have a 2013 escape titanium awd with 160,000 miles and has never been serviced for a transmission flush. I faithfully get it serviced at the dealership and I have asked about it and he of course was told to wait until 150k. I just took it in for an oil change and mentioned the vibrating and they said nothing my passenger side motor mount was bad and maybe that was it. I changed the motor mount myself and I still have the issue which led me to you. Thanks for getting back to me so fast I just did the last drain and am about ready for the final fill. I'll wait to hear from you before I add the shudder fix. I can add that at anytime correct? Again thank you! @BigBensCarsAndCycles
Yes that sounds like torque converter shudder, and you can put it in regardless if thats the issue or not. Then let the car idle for for a while and drive it hard several times on the highway to work the additive into the torque converter clutch. Or wait a couple weeks and let it work in.
So I actually need to drain the dirty fluid, then do two drain and fills with the new fluid then do a final fill and level check correct? I only bought 10 quarts of fluid then noticed you said you used 15 quarts. On my previous comment I was only draining the out the newer fluid once. This is the correct way right?
15 quarts will provide 3 drains. 10 quarts will provide 2. If you've never serviced the transmission I would do 3 drains. If you're doing a 30k drain interval, 2 is ok.
Sorry but do I need to put an additive in on my last fill? I have the lubegard shudderfix and was going to just add that but I see you also put in the additive. Because I can't seem to find the BG additive or flush I used Sea Foam for the flush. Should I use the Sea Foam additive as well and how much? Or do you have any other recommendations for an additive if I need to put some in? Again thank you!
You can just put the shudder fix in on the final fill. Don't worry about the conditioner. And you only need shudderfix if the torque converter is shuddering
I believe I have the shudder. I'm not sure what a torque converter it feels like small vibrating or going or like going over the upcoming stop sign bumps. It happens more going from 40 to 50 but sometimes at 30 to 40.. If I put it in will it hurt the car if its not the torque converter? I have a 2013 escape titanium awd with 160,000 miles and has never been serviced. I faithfully get it serviced at the dealership and I have asked aboutand he of course said wait until 150k. I just took it in for an oil change and nothing was said other than my passenger side motor mount was bad. I changed that myself and still have the issue which led me to you. Thanks for getting back to me so fast I just did the last drain and am about ready for the final fill. @@BigBensCarsAndCycles
Just want to say thank you. My Ford escape is running so much smoother. I appreciate the great care and detailed video you made. The step by step was easy to follow. ❤❤❤❤
Ok, probably last question. I successfully drained the transmission oil and added 4 1/3 quarts. The weird part is that there seemed to be ALOT of oil in the drain pan. I measured well over 6 quarts. Would this not do something harmful to the transmission? Is something leaking into it? I don't think so.. it seemed pretty clean. I had a small transmission shop in Mazatlan fix it when I didn't have any options a couple years ago. I don't drive this car much.
I asked ChatGPT to see what it would say and it says to add 6 to 7 quarts but to consult with a certified mechanic or the owners manual. I don't have the tools to check the level so I was just going to carefully measure what I put in and trust Ben's advice in this video.
Yes. If you get a converter shudder after, add the lubegard and ride it hard to work it in. If you get a firm 5-4 downshift after, that's wear on the forward clutch piston that was masked before with the old grimy fluid. Just live with that. Servicing will prolong the life of the front pump. The primary failure point on these. The fluid breaks down fast and restricts the filter which causes wear to the pump
