changing trasmission filter/fluid

specs: 98, sohc, v6, 4.0

when changing the transmission fluid, is there anyway short of removing
the transmission & torque converter to drain the fluid in there as well? if so, how do you get fluid back in there?

Tia,

-Inet

I just know the answer to the last part of your question,lol

u get fluid back in the same way u get oil back in, which is under the hood and it says transmission fluid, take the dipstick out and pour it it

There may be a small plug in the torque converter to drain the fluid. If you don't want to drop the pan, you can go to a trans or repair shop and have the trans flushed. The torque converter holds about 8 quarts and the pan holds close to 4 quarts. DO NOT add all the fluid at one time. If you do, it will overflow from the vent. Pour in about 6 quatrs, start vehicle, run for a few seconds, shut off and ann 2 more, start vehicle and shift through all the gears, shut off. Then top off to the full mark. If you just drop the pan and change filter, you can add all 4 quarts at once. Run vehicle till it gets warm and re-check to be sure it is on the full mark.

If you can grab a helper there is a way to flush it yourself, requiring around 12-14 qts of fluid, a couple of buckets (one large one small) and several feet of hose. I learned it from an old Explorer web site. It does work and you will have clean fluid.
Assuming you have a transmission cooler, you use the return line from it to drain the tranny. Here is what was recommened and what I do.
Buy 14 qts fluid, filter, pan gasket, a 5 gal bucket and a smaller one around a 1.5 gallons, as well as a long neck funnel and around 6 feet of rubber hose (3/8 I think).
Warm up the engine for maybe 30 sec. Then drop the pan, clean it, replace filter, and attach the pan. Refill the pan with 4 qts fluid. Go to the front of the truck and unhook the return line from cooler into the 3/8 line. Run the line into the smaller bucket. Have someone start the engine and shift gears. The fluid will come out quicky so you will put 4 qts into the small bucket pretty quick. Stop the motor when you hit 1 gal. Pour the one gal bucket into the large one. Refill the pan. Do the same thing again and run the fluid out. Do this one more time to be sure all old junk is out. Fill up pan again and top off as needed. Hook up cooling line. It does work, but can be messy if you are not carefull. The total run time for the motor should only be between 1-2 minutes. You always want to run the tranny before starting this as on some tranmissions the return line lubricates a small part of the unit and you are running without fluid in these areas for a minute or so. Letting the motor run for 30 sec or so in the begining lubes these up so they are not hurt. If the thoughts of this are unappealing suggest you do the pan drop and filter change with enough fluid to fill up, then take to a tranny shop and pay 65-70 bucks for a system flush. Perhaps you are lucky also to enough to have a drain as previous poster mentioned.