I have a 96 GT with 40,000. Should I change the ATF? I have heard of transmissions going bad if they have too many miles on them and you change the fluid. It has never been changed before. THANKS!!

 

I would go with whatever the manual says. Its usally shows the best times to change fluids/maintance. I haven't looked at the mustang one cause I barely have miles on the mustang I have but I keep updated on my bike layout/maintance.

 

Well, kind of [8D]

I think Ford says 30k miles so you are close.
What happens if you don't change the fluid for say 100k miles or so on a normal use car is that debris from clutches, gaskets, varnish and all kinds of *stuff* find a home in the nooks and crannies of your tranny which is fine as long as they are not causing problems
.
When you do a flush at that high a mileage, it acts like an enema for your tranny and all that *stuff* can potentially work loose and get stuck in places that *WILL* cause problems. This typically happens when a high mileage car goes into one of the chain stores and gets a flush only to have the transmission act funny or blow up a couple of weeks/months later.

It's not a given that this will happen, but it can happen and often does.

At your mileage I would change the fluid and the filter and keep doing it every 30k or less depending upon how you drive it.
Also put a cooler on at the same time.

If you should go over say 100k and have never changed the fluid, personally if it doesn't smell burned and everything works, I would leave it alone.
There is really no right or wrong other than you should start off from the beginning changing the fluid according to the severe schedule in the owners manual. That and putting on a cooler will keep things running a good long time.

Steve

 

 

Change it, that stuff is over 11 years old [&:]Oil does gain water over time which leads to oxidation and even microscopic rust and loss of lubrication. Most service intervals are XXX miles/number of months, whichever comes first. I.E. Coolant 2 years or 36K miles, Brake Fluid 24K or 2 years, etc.

 

what about manual transmission?
how do i do a complete flush?

 

If you look on the side of the tranny (passenger side I believe) you'll see a drain plug towards the bottom of the tranny. The filler plug is above and forward a little bit. it's also bigger.

Remove the top plug first then the bottom one. Doing that will allow it to drain easier.

When it's done draining, you plug the bottom, then fill it with ATF (Mercon Dextron) until it starts coming out of the fill hole. Then plug the fill hole and call it good.

 

sweet...
i'll try that this weekend cuz my tranny has been rough lately.
mine has 49k miles.
is it still ok to change the fluid?
Thanks,

 

It's fine. I always take the OEM recommend service intervals and cut them in half.

 

thanks for the advice guys!