Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Duratec Maintenance Manual Transmission Fill Tip

I recently logged on to find a posting I'd read last year concerning changing oil in my 97 SE's mtx. Found it, ATX syn(Mobil 1) & Ford's friction modifier( does that stuff REEK!) It's in, smooth as, mucho gracias to that poster! I wish to add an alternative as per suggested plastic pump from your local auto/hardware store. I had new length of 10mm clear fuel line and I cut a 1 metre (39") long piece. I positioned a 1 litre container of atx oil wedged lightly in the battery/rad area. I then pushed one end of the hose into the oil(make sure it's at the bottom) and fished the other end down the engine side. I then went to the underside(vehicle on ramps with safety stands) and gently sucked on the end and when I saw the red oil coming down towards me pristine chopper, I slid the end into the fill hole and voila! Oil transfer happening. Took me about 45min to an hour. Larger hose would be faster but I was doing other things like changing engine oil whilst this was happening. Just keep topping up the original oil can (Takes 3 Litres, plus the 75ml Fricmodfr) When I finished, I washed the hose and put it back in my shop for future use... I must have Scottish blood in me...lol

Good tip. Preference seems to be split between using the pump vs. using a tube.

I went into ford (grr) to buy some friction modifyer, and they didn't know what to sell me... Can someone describe what it is, or the part number. If I can get it somewhere else that would be good too.

From the FAQ:

http://www.contour.org/mods/mods.php?s=howto&displayid=38

D'oh!!! I have that printed out... seem to have missed the part number

Last time I did this I used two funnels:

I took a funnel with an attached 2' long flexible plastic tube and shoved the tube into the fill hole, then stuck the funnel end under the battery, but visible from up top. The plastic tube was springy enough to keep it in place.

Then I used another funnel between the battery and the headlight assembly to direct the fluid into the bottom funnel as I poured transmission fluid into it. I had to be careful to not let the bottom funnel get too full as it'd fall from the weight.

Hey, I have a question about the MT fill. Is it common for the plugs to be AMAZINGLY hard to turn? I haven't used any liquid wrench yet, but I can't get the plug to turn at all using a proper sized allan wrench.

Thanks

Mine was easy to take out. Are you sure you're turning it the right way ?

+1 here for the tube & funnel crew. Running Redline MTL now after switching from the cocktail. ~20k on the cocktail and it came out clear which is a good sign I suppose.

Neither combo eliminates the notchiness I feel going into 1st though.

when you say allen wrench, do you mean one of those 3 to 4 in. long bendt ones that you only use to turn screws with... if you do then you need a piece of pipe on the end of it to give you some leverage.... its too short to turn anything.....

Right. Use either a piece of pipe or a hammer to bang it free. They are usually on there pretty snug.

What was interesesting is that I just filled mine with about 2.9 qt using the "fill-till-spill" method. Seems like it took more than normal.