Automatic transmission fluid ATF analysis after 45k miles, 3.73 gears, 100lb per corner 35's

[23OBX2.7]

As another member noted, Ford's recommended maintenance schedule is the ABSOLUTE BARE MINUMUM .. and honestly it barely even meets that IMO.

To quote myself from another thread..


"Ford engineers their products with the overall goal of 95% of them lasting 150k miles (this is direct from a retired Ford engineer, the man responsible for the creation of the FX4 package)

Obviously deciding what the maintenance schedule will be is part of engineering.. but the marketing department has an ever increasing amount of say in it..

With how expensive life has became in the past 20 years or so, more manufacturers are going with either extremely high mile interval or so-called "lifetime" fluids simply because 'low cost of ownership' is becoming more and more important & appealing to prospective buyers.

If an individual wants a longer than average useful life of their Ford vehicle, it's in their best interest to change all their fluids much more frequently than what Lord Henry recommends. Plain and simple."


TLDR: Ford only wants your bronco to last 150k, if you expect more.. change your fluids more.


Maintenance schedules for those of us who want to be "in it for the long haul" should be considered the same as the maintenance schedules for vehicles sold from the 90s & early 00's... Pretty much 50k miles max for drivetrain fluids and 5k-7.5k for engine oil.

Considering my trans filter was as filthy as it was at only 45k... It presumably wouldn't of taken too many more miles before the fluid started to turn just as filthy & abrasive.




The diff fluids were "VERY OBVIOUSLY used" per the tech.. but no water intrusion or anything out of the ordinary for a "break in fill" with that many miles.

When ATF is dark color it's burnt out PH / acidity levels are off the charts and the key contributor to premature AT failure. Heat is really the ATF killer more than anything.

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[2021FordBronco2]

As another member noted, Ford's recommended maintenance schedule is the ABSOLUTE BARE MINUMUM .. and honestly it barely even meets that IMO.

To quote myself from another thread..


"Ford engineers their products with the overall goal of 95% of them lasting 150k miles (this is direct from a retired Ford engineer, the man responsible for the creation of the FX4 package)

Obviously deciding what the maintenance schedule will be is part of engineering.. but the marketing department has an ever increasing amount of say in it..

With how expensive life has became in the past 20 years or so, more manufacturers are going with either extremely high mile interval or so-called "lifetime" fluids simply because 'low cost of ownership' is becoming more and more important & appealing to prospective buyers.

If an individual wants a longer than average useful life of their Ford vehicle, it's in their best interest to change all their fluids much more frequently than what Lord Henry recommends. Plain and simple."


TLDR: Ford only wants your bronco to last 150k, if you expect more.. change your fluids more.


Maintenance schedules for those of us who want to be "in it for the long haul" should be considered the same as the maintenance schedules for vehicles sold from the 90s & early 00's... Pretty much 50k miles max for drivetrain fluids and 5k-7.5k for engine oil.

Considering my trans filter was as filthy as it was at only 45k... It presumably wouldn't of taken too many more miles before the fluid started to turn just as filthy & abrasive.




The diff fluids were "VERY OBVIOUSLY used" per the tech.. but no water intrusion or anything out of the ordinary for a "break in fill" with that many miles.

So, in other words, if you change the diff fluid at every 30k you should be fine.

 

[BlueWaffle]

So, in other words, if you change the diff fluid at every 30k you should be fine.

My method is alllllll the drivetrain fluids every ~50k. Diffs, t-case, trans.

When ATF is dark color it's burnt out PH / acidity levels are off the charts and the key contributor to premature AT failure. Heat is really the ATF killer more than anything.

Mine was relatively brown, smell wasn't offensive enough to be burnt though. Just smelt like dirty ol atf.

I got some good heat into it once.. alllmost to the red line on the gauge. Forget what the temp was but yeah.. definitely too hot for comfort at the time but apparently not too hot to kill the fluid so... Worry about it less now. Probably happened within the first 10k miles.

 

[tourproto]

If there is anyone in this thread in the Portland (OR) Metro area and know of an honest and reliable shop to do the diffs and T-case fluid replacement, LMK. Manual, not automatic.

The dealership wants $700 to do it.

 

[23OBX2.7]

My method is alllllll the drivetrain fluids every ~50k. Diffs, t-case, trans.



Mine was relatively brown, smell wasn't offensive enough to be burnt though. Just smelt like dirty ol atf.

I got some good heat into it once.. alllmost to the red line on the gauge. Forget what the temp was but yeah.. definitely too hot for comfort at the time but apparently not too hot to kill the fluid so... Worry about it less now. Probably happened within the first 10k miles.

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