transmission

My old ford explorer,four wheel drive,has about one hundred and fourty thousand miles on it without trans oil change.Have been told by mechanic not to change the oil at this point as the new oil would be thinner and could be a big problem.Said I should just drive it until it blows up.Anybody have experience like this,and what did you do,drive it or change it.My fault just got careless ,otherwise a good running car.What do you think

If the tranny still works OK,drop the pan,clean out the crud from bottom of pan & install new filter,re-fill the full level.NO FLUSH!!Service it again this way in another 10,000 mi.

A flush will be a sure death for the ol' gal.

you'll be hard pressed to find a repair shop that would do a trans flush on it based on mileage and prior service. They almost always lay down after a flush in circumstances like this...
80K is usually where we draw the line.

How old is your Explorer? They changed considerably around 1996 to a 5R55E, (electronic) and then again in 2002 when they went to five gears rather than a swap shift design. The 5R55E(Electronic), 5R55N (Non-sychronized), and W (Wide-ratio) during 1996 thru 2001 were pretty robust.

Ford would like to see the oil changed every 15K to 20K miles but are afraid to recommend it because of the variety of oils available and what the customer might put in it.

Some were miserable to pull the pan on because the exhaust was routed right under the pan and it had to be removed before the pan could be removed.

If you live in an area where a lot of road salt is used the pan bolts might be fused to the case rail threaded holes.

If it is a 2002 or newer they are difficult to add new oil as the fill port is in the bottom of the transmission. If it an older style then it has a dipstick and the oil can be pumped out using a tube down the dipstick tube and then that oil can be replenished. You will probably only pull out a little over three quarts that way and the transmission holds about 12 quarts including the torque converter.

I have seen nothing but grief when the transmission is “flushed”. So if you are thinking of doing anything I would probably just pull what I could out of the dipstick tube and do it at four or five intervals over several months so that the new oil will blend with the old in greater percentage at each interval. This does not get the oil strainer changed however.

Use a high grade transmission oil of the proper type!

Many of those experienced a "reverse bump" which is a teflon seal ring energizing just as it begins to roll in reverse. You feel it as a slight bump and it doesn't harm any thing and can be ignored. Teflon seals don't have much memory and need a little oil flow and rotation to energize against the mating surfaces.

I have a 1996 Ford Explorer 4WD automatic with 145,000 miles on it. I don't believe that it has ever had the oil changed in anything besides the engine. It runs and shifts perfectly and I don't intend to change anything either. I change the motor oil about every 8,000 miles and use Mobil 1 synthetic. I pull it behind my motor home when needed and all that I have to do is put it in neutral tow. It is an ideal vehicle for me.

The tranny guy I deal with says change them regularly or don't change the at all.

Thanks for your help,it helps me make a decision.The Ford is a 97 year model.