Change Driveline Fluids Early!

[orion]

Thanks everyone. The front diff fluid was so easy to change, I’ll do it again sooner than everything else and see if it still has that color (and if it does, I’ll send it for analysis).

The breather of the front diff is near the firewall and driver fender, right? Is there only 1 breather there in a manual transmission vehicle? I saw a screenshot in another thread where someone had two next to each other.

I’ve never had it in water up to the axle, let alone up to the breather.

I believe so on the single breather at that location on a manual. I ran my front diff lock wires along it to the AUX wires.

Sponsored

 

[Victorsen]

When is the recommended interval to do the front, rear and transfer case fluids. The manual says over 100k but doesn’t make sense and the dealer told me that it’s too early. I have about 17k miles on it and I do off road it somewhat frequently

 

[MadMan4BamaNATL]

When is the recommended interval to do the front, rear and transfer case fluids. The manual says over 100k but doesn’t make sense and the dealer told me that it’s too early. I have about 17k miles on it and I do off road it somewhat frequently

Since you off-road it, you should change it now and all other fluids.

My intervals will likely be every 10K miles since I now have the Ford Performance diff cover with the easy drain plug. Front and t-case are easy to reach. 15K or so would likely be fine also.

 

[SierraBronco]

Since you off-road it, you should change it now and all other fluids.

My intervals will likely be every 10K miles since I now have the Ford Performance diff cover with the easy drain plug. Front and t-case are easy to reach. 15K or so would likely be fine also.

I did the Tcase at 20k simply because I had the skids off and it was easy to reach. Will probably change it everytime the skids come off as it’s easy to do.

 

[Callelk]

When is the recommended interval to do the front, rear and transfer case fluids. The manual says over 100k but doesn’t make sense and the dealer told me that it’s too early. I have about 17k miles on it and I do off road it somewhat frequently

I changed my diffs and T-Case at 1K. Will do it again at 5K and then once a year prior to hunting season, mid September-ish.........

 

[Nc211]

One of the reasons I wanted a Bronco after 10 years in an over-engineered Mercedes E350 sedan was the ease of DIY maintenance, which was non-existent in the Mercedes (at least for me/my skills). All the cars I've had in the past that lasted flawlessly for me, were the ones where I could easily replace the fluids myself (and did).

That said, I think for those planning on keeping their Bronco for a very long time, primary vehicle or not, two minor upgrades are key to being able to do just that - replace the rear differential cover with one that allows you to drain/fill without removal (I did the Ford Performance one), and replace the transmission plan with one that allows you to drain it (I did the PPE version). It's not money wasted when you consider the costs to have those services done by a shop instead. The transmission is a bit more involved obviously, you need the ford refill tube to do it easily (or at all). If you spending a few grand on other things like tires and exhaust upgrades, a few hundred on being able to easily swap out fluids is well worth it in my opinion! Even if you don't plan on doing them yourself, at least you'll have the ability to have your mechanic do it for you without the hassles of having to remove parts in the process, saving you some money on labor.

 

[gtabert]

One of the reasons I wanted a Bronco after 10 years in an over-engineered Mercedes E350 sedan was the ease of DIY maintenance, which was non-existent in the Mercedes (at least for me/my skills). All the cars I've had in the past that lasted flawlessly for me, were the ones where I could easily replace the fluids myself (and did).

That said, I think for those planning on keeping their Bronco for a very long time, primary vehicle or not, two minor upgrades are key to being able to do just that - replace the rear differential cover with one that allows you to drain/fill without removal (I did the Ford Performance one), and replace the transmission plan with one that allows you to drain it (I did the PPE version). It's not money wasted when you consider the costs to have those services done by a shop instead. The transmission is a bit more involved obviously, you need the ford refill tube to do it easily (or at all). If you spending a few grand on other things like tires and exhaust upgrades, a few hundred on being able to easily swap out fluids is well worth it in my opinion! Even if you don't plan on doing them yourself, at least you'll have the ability to have your mechanic do it for you without the hassles of having to remove parts in the process, saving you some money on labor.

Is this the one you reference?

https://ppepower.com/products/cast-...jOWxWX81JUG4NxjgYpnT6fDbDVVSBzqommyCUx66gDqkF

An added plus is the increased fluid capacity by 1.75 quarts

 

[CarbonSteel]

Is this the one you reference?

https://ppepower.com/products/cast-...jOWxWX81JUG4NxjgYpnT6fDbDVVSBzqommyCUx66gDqkF

An added plus is the increased fluid capacity by 1.75 quarts

PPE has two; the deep pan listed above and the standard pan - https://ppepower.com/collections/tr...m-transmission-pan-ford-10r80-part-hl3z7a194c

Mishimoto also makes them, but I prefer the PPE as it uses the OEM transmission pan gasket versus a proprietary version with Mishimoto.

I did a comparison of the two here:

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/ppe-mishimoto-transmission-pan-comparison.86774/

 

[gtabert]

PPE has two; the deep pan listed above and the standard pan - https://ppepower.com/collections/tr...m-transmission-pan-ford-10r80-part-hl3z7a194c

Mishimoto also makes them, but I prefer the PPE as it uses the OEM transmission pan gasket versus a proprietary version with Mishimoto.

I did a comparison of the two here:

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/ppe-mishimoto-transmission-pan-comparison.86774/

Thank You
Great video presentation

 

[Nc211]

Is this the one you reference?

https://ppepower.com/products/cast-...jOWxWX81JUG4NxjgYpnT6fDbDVVSBzqommyCUx66gDqkF

An added plus is the increased fluid capacity by 1.75 quarts

As Carbon noted in his response, that one is the deep pan. I went with the regular depth pan for mine. Since it will give you the drain/fill option going forward now for the transmission, I didn't really see the need for the deeper pan for my usage.

I'm also not sure how easy it would be to mount up either. I honestly don't know if it would be easier or harder. But on the regular depth pan, you will need to remove the transmission mount bolts (easy to do) and with a floor jack, lift it up about 3 to 4 inches to get the PPE pan to slide into place and then lower it back down and bolt up the mount again (easy to do). I can't remember if it's the exhaust pipe or the frame cross-member that gets in the way, but one end of the pan needs to slide in above it to fit onto the transmission. If you're doing it yourself, which does require some finesse to keep the pan gasket lined up at the same time, the deeper pan might be even more tricky to do. You're basically using one hand to bring the pan to the transmission and the other hand to get a couple of the bolts threaded in to hold it in place while you finish installing it in a cross-weave bolting pattern.

100% agree with Carbon on the Ford gasket. It's stout and have 0% concerns about it. Pretty impressive actually for a gasket!

 

[CarbonSteel]

As Carbon noted in his response, that one is the deep pan. I went with the regular depth pan for mine. Since it will give you the drain/fill option going forward now for the transmission, I didn't really see the need for the deeper pan for my usage.

I'm also not sure how easy it would be to mount up either. I honestly don't know if it would be easier or harder. But on the regular depth pan, you will need to remove the transmission mount bolts (easy to do) and with a floor jack, lift it up about 3 to 4 inches to get the PPE pan to slide into place and then lower it back down and bolt up the mount again (easy to do). I can't remember if it's the exhaust pipe or the frame cross-member that gets in the way, but one end of the pan needs to slide in above it to fit onto the transmission. If you're doing it yourself, which does require some finesse to keep the pan gasket lined up at the same time, the deeper pan might be even more tricky to do. You're basically using one hand to bring the pan to the transmission and the other hand to get a couple of the bolts threaded in to hold it in place while you finish installing it in a cross-weave bolting pattern.

100% agree with Carbon on the Ford gasket. It's stout and have 0% concerns about it. Pretty impressive actually for a gasket!

??? I did not have to lift the transmission to install the OEM pan or the PPE deep pan. This is on a 2.7L.

 

[Nc211]

??? I did not have to lift the transmission to install the OEM pan or the PPE deep pan. This is on a 2.7L.

Hmm... strange, as I had to on mine, also a 2.7. Mine is non-sas OBX though, perhaps that's the reason?

I took this picture while doing it. You can see the Ford gasket. Mine was getting snagged up on the far left, looks like the exhaust pipe wrapped in a heat shield. I had to lift it up to slide that edge of the PPE pan above it to seat correctly. When lowered back down, it's about an inch of clearance between the pan and that exhaust pipe.

Photo reference - the exhaust pipe is towards the rear of the car. Photo taken from the passenger side of the car.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Hmm... strange, as I had to on mine, also a 2.7. Mine is non-sas OBX though, perhaps that's the reason?

I took this picture while doing it. You can see the Ford gasket. Mine was getting snagged up on the far left, looks like the exhaust pipe wrapped in a heat shield. I had to lift it up to slide that edge of the PPE pan above it to seat correctly. When lowered back down, it's about an inch of clearance between the pan and that exhaust pipe.

Photo reference - the exhaust pipe is towards the rear of the car. Photo taken from the passenger side of the car.

I was able to drop it down slightly and rotate it as I took it out--both the OEM pan and the PPE pan with no issues.

 

[Nc211]

I was able to drop it down slightly and rotate it as I took it out--both the OEM pan and the PPE pan with no issues.

yeah I couldn't figure that part out like you did! I got the OEM pan out fine with no issues, but couldn't get the PPE in without it. Now granted, by this time, I had been at it for a couple of hours and my 51 year old arms and back were starting to scream at me a bit, so I may have defaulted to the "f-it" factor on ease of plan with the tools I had handy. If you have to lift it, it's really simple to do as well. The two bolts to unmount the transmission from the cross member are right there as well and easy to back out. A simple floor jack with some wood did the trick. On mine (non-sas) it was a small piece of a 4x4 block I had with plenty of lift to spare.

 

[LSW]

Did the second round on my Wildtrak at 11,000 after doing it before at 3,000. Id say about 20% as much metal on the drain plugs and the transfer case fluid still looked pretty bright. Will probably wait another 20,000 miles. I did a few ~30” water crossings and partially wanted to check for any water. Didn’t find any that was discernible. Refilled with Amsoil Severe Gear 75w-140 and T-case with Mercon LV again.

I’m still using the factory rear diff cover and original bolts with no problems or leaks after a few reassemblies.

Just need to figure out what my transmission philosophy is going to be. I’m thinking I’ll wait until 30k and hire it out, dropping the pan and the hot refill sounds tedious. Maybe I will change my mind and try it.

Rear diff plug at 11,000 mi.

vs 3,000 mi

Front plug at 11k

Front at 3k

Rear diff fluid at 11k

Rear diff fluid at 3k

Sponsored