I am still working on my 2004 Ford Taurus project, and I have to remove the transmission to get to a freeze plug that came out before I purchased the vehicle. But knowing I have this repair coming up the question that comes to my mind is what transmission fluid does my 2004 Ford Taurus use? After countless hours of research, this is what I found.
The 2004 Ford Taurus uses ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid) Valvoline Maxlife Synthetic transmission fluid will work excellent and matches the manufacturers’ requirements for their transmission. Well, now that we know that let’s dive a little deeper and find out more details about our transmission fluid and the system it maintains.
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Why is transmission fluid vital in my 2004 Ford Taurus?
Transmission fluid is much more than some people think. It is not just the fluid that your transmission uses, but it has multiple jobs in an automatic
transmission. Transmission fluid lubricates all of the transmission parts just like your engine oil. Because there is a lot of metal on metal contact and without the transmission fluid there to disperse the heat parts would get hot, and even lock up the entire transmission.
So lubrication is one thing; the next is the fluid cools the system down, so it lubricates and cools….anything else? Yes, the fluid serves as a viscous fluid that can transfer power from the engine to the transmission. Remember that
just like your engine, your transmission can overheat as well and cause significant damage to your transmission and driveline system.
So the importance of keeping the transmission fluid fresh and operational is crucial to your vehicle’s overall health and driveability.
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When should I replace the transmission fluid in my 2004 Ford Taurus?
This is one question that many people should ask, but very often they forget. People forget all about any preventive maintenance and care they could do for their transmission system. That is why they are witnessing transmission problems. A great example of this is that my wife and I owned a 2005 Dodge Durango, and it was my wife’s primary vehicle for transportation.
After years upon years of owning the vehicle, the transmission started to give us a hard time. So my wife, like any person took it to a shop. The shop then quoted us some crazy number over $4,000 for a new transmission that they were confident that was the problem. I wanted to try some preventive measures first before we jump to catastrophic failure right off the start.
Well as I said a lot of people forget about preventive maintenance and in our transmission was a transmission filter and the blackest transmission
fluid you have ever seen. So I do a flush of the transmission and reinstalled a new transmission filter and fresh fluid as well. After we got everything back together, I tested the transmission.
All of the hard shifts we were experiencing before were now gone. The vehicle was shifting like it should have been.
I know that now, and I can learn from past mistakes and save us some money in the future. So always remember that you need to take care of your transmission as well. The average mileage manufactures recommended you do a transmission flush and change the transmission filter is at 100,000 miles.
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Where should I replace my transmission fluid in my 2004 Ford Taurus?
You can replace your transmission fluid yourself, or you can take it to an automotive repair shop. They will be able to replace your transmission fluid. A transmission flush runs on average $75 to $150 depending on the shop that you take your vehicle. Draining your transmission fluid is not too bad of a task, but replacing the transmission filter can be a bit more challenging.
Yes, it is only taking the transmission fluid drain pan off, but it takes extra time. Because it takes spare time, many people will not change their transmission fluid and will pay an automotive shop the money to do it. Remember when draining the transmission that the 2004 Ford Taurus holds 13.5 quarts of transmission fluid so have an adequate drain pan on stand by.
How do I replace the transmission fluid in my 2004 Ford Taurus?
When replacing your transmission fluid, make sure you have a drain pan that can hold the 13.5 quarts of transmission fluid. Next, use a floor jack to jack the vehicle up and set your jack stands in place, no need to rush and be unsafe. Then you are going to take the ¾” drain plug out, make sure you move your hand quickly. I would suggest gloves, so you do not have ATF pouring all over your hands.
Spilling transmission fluid over your hands can make a mess of a situation if it is the summertime and you try to wipe your sweat off. Back to the repair then, if you do choose to change your transmission filter with being this far. You are just going take off the transmission drain pan to continue onto that repair. Overall this is not a difficult preventive maintenance check to remember. Keep this check-in your maintenance interval checklist, so you know when to check it.
Preventive maintenance is where we will always have the chance to catch a significant repair in time before it becomes a major repair. Changing your transmission filter and fluid at the proper interval to the 2004 Ford Taurus will keep your vehicle running for years to come. With doing proper maintenance, it will also save you hundreds and thousands of dollars on repair bills from the local auto shops.
Thanks for checking out my article and I hope it helped you with the problem you were having. I hope to see you in the next article!
