jsven008
Member
+1 for Motul Multi DCTF. Better than stock, the shifts are sooo buttery smooth with it. For cold climates though, I would stick with Ford XT-11-QDC since it has very low viscosity. Just remember to get a pump for refilling the transmission.
As a side note, be very careful about running thicker fluids as they can cause excess wear in cold temperatures. Ford changed to a thinner fluid XT-11-QDC for this specific reason.
A few notes on changing the manual transmission fluid since I didn't see this info in any forums. The standard way is to jack the car up on 4 jackstands so it is level and you can easily check fluid levels. But there is an alternative method using 1 jack stand.
1) You don't need to warm the car up to drain fluid. The fluid will drain quickly and perfectly fine in reasonable temperatures. Unless you are draining it in Alaska when it is 0 degrees outside, don't bother warming it up. You'll only end up potentially burning yourself on a hot exhaust or with hot fluid.
2) Putting the car in sixth gear can help refill transmission. If you are having difficulty inserting the fill line into the fill hole, putting the car in sixth gear can help. If you do decide to jack the car up in sixth gear make sure to use wheel chocks. You don't want your car rolling. The parking brake can also help.
3) You don't have to jack the entire car up with 4 jack stands. The standard way is to use 4 jack stands to check the fluid level. But, you can simply jack up the front passenger side and you will be able to reach the drain and fill plugs. The car does not need to be perfectly level. Get the car as level as possible (typically lowest jack stand height). The manual transmission should also fully drain if you start from a level surface and use the lowest jack stand height. To be certain, simply lower the car to ensure it is fully drained. Be sure to put the correct amount back in per the manual (ex. 2.7 quarts or 2.5 quarts for 2024). Do not overfill. Lower the car to perfectly level to verify this. Do not underfill.
4) Use wheel chocks. Whenever jacking the car up, engage the parking brake and use wheel chocks. While this seems like common knowledge, not all new car owners may realize this. This is especially true if you put the car in sixth gear to refill it.
5) Never rely on the car jack alone, use jack stands. While it might be tempting to skip jack stands and just rely on the floor jack, this can be very dangerous. Given all the low quality car jacks out there, instead rely on quality jack stands. You could use the car/floor jack as a backup with jack stands.
6) The correct size for the drain and fill plugs is 8mm. There was a post in a thread which mentioned 5/16" (7.95mm), which is close, but the correct size of the plugs is 8mm. If you don't have 8mm, 5/16" will suffice. As someone mentioned, you will also need an allen wrench since a socket won't fit in the tight space for the fill plug.
7) Torque to 25ft/lbs. Use a bit of blue Lotite.
Make sure you torque the fill and drain plugs to the correct value of 25ft-lb. I'd also clean the threads and add a bit of blue Loctite. Check for leaks afterwards. DO NOT STRIP THE BOLTS.
8) After changing fluid, warm up car before driving. After changing the fluid, fully warm up the car and fluid before driving it. This will allow the new transmission fluid to become less viscous (thinner) and work it's way into all the crevices. It's also good to shift through the gears 1-6 before driving. If you do not complete this step, you may notice the first few shifts are rough.
Last but not least, it's a good idea to use safety glasses and gloves.
One important note, be sure to put the correct amount of fluid back in. It is hard to check if it is underfilled if you use only 1 jack stand.
As a side note, be very careful about running thicker fluids as they can cause excess wear in cold temperatures. Ford changed to a thinner fluid XT-11-QDC for this specific reason.
A few notes on changing the manual transmission fluid since I didn't see this info in any forums. The standard way is to jack the car up on 4 jackstands so it is level and you can easily check fluid levels. But there is an alternative method using 1 jack stand.
1) You don't need to warm the car up to drain fluid. The fluid will drain quickly and perfectly fine in reasonable temperatures. Unless you are draining it in Alaska when it is 0 degrees outside, don't bother warming it up. You'll only end up potentially burning yourself on a hot exhaust or with hot fluid.
2) Putting the car in sixth gear can help refill transmission. If you are having difficulty inserting the fill line into the fill hole, putting the car in sixth gear can help. If you do decide to jack the car up in sixth gear make sure to use wheel chocks. You don't want your car rolling. The parking brake can also help.
3) You don't have to jack the entire car up with 4 jack stands. The standard way is to use 4 jack stands to check the fluid level. But, you can simply jack up the front passenger side and you will be able to reach the drain and fill plugs. The car does not need to be perfectly level. Get the car as level as possible (typically lowest jack stand height). The manual transmission should also fully drain if you start from a level surface and use the lowest jack stand height. To be certain, simply lower the car to ensure it is fully drained. Be sure to put the correct amount back in per the manual (ex. 2.7 quarts or 2.5 quarts for 2024). Do not overfill. Lower the car to perfectly level to verify this. Do not underfill.
4) Use wheel chocks. Whenever jacking the car up, engage the parking brake and use wheel chocks. While this seems like common knowledge, not all new car owners may realize this. This is especially true if you put the car in sixth gear to refill it.
5) Never rely on the car jack alone, use jack stands. While it might be tempting to skip jack stands and just rely on the floor jack, this can be very dangerous. Given all the low quality car jacks out there, instead rely on quality jack stands. You could use the car/floor jack as a backup with jack stands.
6) The correct size for the drain and fill plugs is 8mm. There was a post in a thread which mentioned 5/16" (7.95mm), which is close, but the correct size of the plugs is 8mm. If you don't have 8mm, 5/16" will suffice. As someone mentioned, you will also need an allen wrench since a socket won't fit in the tight space for the fill plug.
7) Torque to 25ft/lbs. Use a bit of blue Lotite.
Make sure you torque the fill and drain plugs to the correct value of 25ft-lb. I'd also clean the threads and add a bit of blue Loctite. Check for leaks afterwards. DO NOT STRIP THE BOLTS.
8) After changing fluid, warm up car before driving. After changing the fluid, fully warm up the car and fluid before driving it. This will allow the new transmission fluid to become less viscous (thinner) and work it's way into all the crevices. It's also good to shift through the gears 1-6 before driving. If you do not complete this step, you may notice the first few shifts are rough.
Last but not least, it's a good idea to use safety glasses and gloves.
One important note, be sure to put the correct amount of fluid back in. It is hard to check if it is underfilled if you use only 1 jack stand.
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