2002 A/T fluid change

I'm changing the fluid and filter in this "sealed unit" for the first time at 94K. No problems with it at this time. I have a pump to push fluid back in though the drain plug and it works great, no problem there. It's called a transfer pump from O'Reiley's. My question is, with this system holding 12.42 qts of fluid from dry. How do I get a good majority of fluid replaced since the pan only drops 2 to 3 qts when I dropped the pan or when I pull the whole plug out? The plug is designed to only allow so much fluid to stay in after letting it drain to its level. I can drain, refill and run (on jack stands) several times. Is this the only way without having have a dealer or shop use a recirculating machine of some sort? I also need to know if the level I need to achieve is with the center (refill) plug out of the drain plug with the engine running or just operating temp, engine off? The first refill I put 4 qts in and atleast 1 full qt came back out. I ran it on jack stands for about 10 minutes in all gears and pulled the complete drain plug. The fluid looked like it had been foaming so I must have had too much in it. I pumped 3 qts back in and got some backout again. It's drained down to the plug service level now. Do I get it to operating temp, shut down, remove my service cap and let the excess fluid out or can I run it and let the overage come out while its running?

Lots of looks but no advice. My fluid is still very dark brown and stinky. Is my only good option to take it to someone with a transfusion machine. I've read somewhere you can pull one of the radiator lines to pump the fluid out somehow (engine running??). Would you have to be pumping in while it's pumping out. Sounds risky to me. Waiting patiently here. You haven't let me down yet. Opinions or actual experience is welcome.

OK, so I've answered a couple of my own questions. Running on jack stands to get fluid to temp don't cut it. (only luke warm to the touch after about 10 minutes in gear and turning) I had it serviced up to fill/drain plug level and even though it seemed to shift and work fine on jack stands, when I took it on the road for the real test it failed miserably. It wasn't too bad at the beginning but it started slipping more and more as it warmed up. (Don't get too far from home, I was worried I wouldn't make it back cuz it was slipping so bad!) I got it back to the garage and pulled the cap off the fitting I had in the drain plug, no fluid came out so I added a little and still got no fluid overflow. It almost took a qt of fluid. If I were to do it again, I would add fluid (cold) untill I got the over flow (about 2 qts or so), then put an extra 1 quart in and cap it. Drive it to get to temp and let the excess come out if there is any, if not, add till it comes out. This will help keep the slippage down to a minimum on the first test drive. Took it back out and all shifts are normal except one small detail. When I shift from neutral to drive I hear a short whistling sound as it engages. Any ideas out there on that one?? I think I'll start a new thread for the whistle if it keeps it up.

how is this turning out for you? I am just about to do this to my 2002 explorer, and was a little intimidated when my Chilton manual said procedure should only be attempted by a proffesional mechanic. How much was the transfer pump?

Changing the ATF in the sealed transmission is a pain... It takes the Mercon V. I think most DIY-ers end up making their own procedure based on what tools/equipment/jerry-rigs they come up with to pump the new fluid back into the pan. I did mine with a cheap hand-pump gizmo from autozone, that just screwed on to the top of a quart-bottle of ATF; but it took a lot of pumping while laying under the chassis with the engine running, and pulling the tubing off every so often to see if the excess fluid was going to run down my arm or not. Here's a link with lots of good info (and some not so good, I wouldn't buy the expensive hose-adapter):

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=118654&highlight=tranmission+fluid

hope this helps

Hey, it's good to see someone is looking at this. Be advised: This will not replace even half of the fluid in the trans. I drained, from the main plug on the pan, several times to get as much as I could by adding-running thru gears-draining but I still don't have good clear red fluid coming back out. The only way I can see getting all fluid replaced is a trans-fusion with a pump system of some sort. I haven't heard good things about doing that. The link on the previous thread has some great illustrations. The pump I used is from O'Reiley's called a transfer pump. Worked great and very cheap for the job it does. I had a blue AN fitting (union) setting around that happened to fit "loosely" in the hole that I stuck the hose on, the other end went into the qt bottle of fluid. The proper fitting is 1/8in. 27 NPT (National Pipe Thread). You could take the plug to the hardware store and get a fitting to match. Most important thing I found was getting the trans to temp. I tried to warm it up on jack stands and filling but on my first road test I thought I wouldn't get back because it warmed up more and started slipping alot. Putting enough in so it runs out is OK so you can road test it but expect to add more so plan to re-check and have several qts of fluid on hand. If you can fit under to add it helps, my belly wouldn't let me (2WD). My fitting alowed me to cap it off so I could leave it in till I was done.

BTW, I've got a 2002 Exp XLT 4.6L V-8 with the 5r55w trans. Yeah, just draining/pan drop will only get you 5-quarts max (out of 12.7); about three months ago I did the drain/pan drop, and planned to do it again to replace a greater percentage of the fluid. But i have also done a complete ATF fluid replacement on a Volvo S60 and a Nissan Sentra by removing one of the transmission hoses that goes to the radiator, running a see-through hose from it to a plastic jug with 1-quart-measurement marks on it, briefly starting the engine and letting it pump out ~ 2-quarts of fluid, replacing that fluid (thru the dip-stick tube in those cases) with new fluid, and repeating this process till good clear fluid is being pumped out thru the hose. In both cases I ended up running about an extra 2 quarts thru above the fluid capacity, to clear the system.
The trick is to identify which transmission hose to use, and which direction the fluid is being pumped. That said, this past weekend I finally got around to installing the Magnefine ATF filter I bought months ago, between the transmission and the radiator on my explorer. Magnefine filters have a magnet to trap metal shavings in the fluid; and they are directional in that you have to install them with the fluid flow in the right direction. Just guessing, I cut the lower transmission hose about 3" out from the radiator. I aimed the cut hose ends into a container, cranked her up, and verified that the fluid flow was from the trans to the radiator thru the lower hose. When necessary, I plugged up the radiator-side hose with a 5/16ths bolt to keep it from dripping. I cut another 3" of the hose off to make room for the filter, and installed the filter in-line. It fits in there nicely, and is protected by the frame. I have seen some folks run lengths of hose to external filters mounted on the bumper or fender-walls, I prefered a more protected place. In the process, I replaced about 3 quarts of ATF (all the Mercon V I had on hand).
I wanted to install the Magnefine since last time I dropped the pan, there was a lot of the metal-filings on the pan magnet.
Anyway, now i am set up to do the complete pump-out/flush on my Explorer; in a few months I'll take off the external filter, hook up my see-thru hose, and pump-out/replace the fluid till its good and clear. I'm going to try to hook up a line with a funnel to the radiator-side of the hose and put the new fluid in that way. In all of these cases (Volvo, Sentra, and Explorer) the trick is to measure how much fluid comes out and replace it. Then, hopefully you're in the ballpark as far as fluid level goes. I'll still have to check the level the crappy fill-it-till-it-spills Ford method; but hopefully there won't be too much hand-pumping required.
(Oh and I know about the "quick-release" connectors in the transmission lines, where the metal lines connect with the rubber hoses, but since they look an awful like the "quick-connects" on the fuel line, which were a PITA to release when I changed the fuel filter, I decided to whip out the box-cutters and go after the rubber hose).
When I figure out how to, I'll post a few pictures of the filter install.

Good to know stuff right there! Bottom hose, got it. I planned on doing the radiator line trick when I got the time now that I have a new filter in. Is there much pressure on that line? Can I cut into it and worm clamp a piece of pipe in to put it back together? I need to put a trans cooler on my Chevy Tahoe and need to figure out which hose is the pressure on that as well. Don't expect anyone on a Ford forumn to know that off the top of the head. Thanks for chiming in skeeter123!

I don't know how high the pressure is, but it didn't seem too high when it was being pumped out into the bin. I did use ordinary stainless steel worm clamps on the filter; the filter had 3/8" nipples, but I would go with 5/16ths if I was doing it again.

Speaking of trans coolers, I have the '02 XLT 4.6L 2WD with the towing package, which I was told includes the 3.73 LS rear-end and a trans cooler. I know I've got the 3.73LS, but when I bought the Exp (back in 02), I glanced under the hood and saw a bright shiny cooler-looking thing right in the middle, down low, behind the radiator. Now that I'm actually getting ready to tow something, I look under there and that appears to be a power-steering fluid cooler; I really don't see any trans cooler other than the lines to/from the radiator. Is the one in the radiator super-sized, or is the towing-package trans cooler just a myth? Anybody know?

Update: No extra trans cooler comes with towing package on the 2002 Explorers.

OK, here are before and after pics (looking up from underneath) of installing a Magnefine filter inline between the transmission and radiator on my 2002 XLT 4.6L V8:

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I cut about 3" out of the hose to make room for the filter:

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been 3 days, no leaks.

Good stuff guys! I am excited to get at this this weekend(I know I am weird that way:screwy:) Thanks for the help