E4od fluid change

If you have a drain plug in the pan I would use that and skip the filter.
More important is to also drain the torque converter. 1997 should have a TC drain plug.
I think my transmission (4r70w) is similar and I use Mobil 1 synthetic. I think it is about 13 quarts for pan and TC.

Mercon V is right. If you do have a drain plug in the pan....drain it then pull the pan off. Pull the torque convertor cover off and rotate the torque convertor till you see the drain on it....remove that drain plug. Change the filter....put the plugs back in and fill. Should take about 17-18 quarts.

You will not have a drain pan plug.

I took mine in to have it done once I found out it took something like 17 quarts and the local shop only wanted $110 to do the complete job.

They left the filter in and did your basic bucket transmission fluid change. After 35K miles the fluid was still nice and pink with no burnt smell.

They put in what the dipstick told them to use.

For some reason Ford uses chicken wire grade filters - actually screens. I would go to NAPA and ask to see a filter. To me changing chicken wire is an exercise in uselessness. But I heartily endorse draining the torque converter. When dinosaurs ruled the earth and I did a stint at a Plymouth agency, I discovered torque converters drain real slow. I hope yours drains faster than the old MoPar A727 and A904 did. Ford C4 and C6 Converters drained slow as well.

17 quarts is more than four gallons. Prepare yourself! I used to see if I could leave a drain pan in llace then back the finished job away from the filled drain pan. Depends on crossmember and tie rod clearance. Dragging a pan from beneath a rig meant slopping drained oil all over. And overfilling a transmission is a no-no.

Hope this helps

Again I hired mine out on the old 460. What they did (as I remember) was disconnect a tranny line (from the cooler?) put on a clear tube then ran it into a 5 gallon bucket. One guy started the MH while another guy watched for air bubbles. When he saw them he shouted out and the other guy shut 'er down. Filled her up, and charge me that $110.

What John&Joey said. I use Schaeffer's all trans supreme myself, but the method of disconnecting the return cooling line at the rear of the trans is by far the easiest and cleanest method out there if you're a DIY type. Takes about 18 quarts total (about 2 are wasted) but it completely replaces all the trans fluid and takes little time.

I use a clear hose to a bucket sitting by the driver's door so I can watch as the fluid stops running and turn the engine off. I also cycle the gear selector through all the ranges to get fluid through the whole tranny. I then then refresh the pan through the dipstick tube with the same quantity that came out. Use a bucket with quart markings so if 5 quarts come out then you put 5 quarts back in. You know you're good when the fluid coming out of the tube is nice and bright red.

Or just take it to a service shop. Good luck.

Vince

I have done mine 3 times in 100,000 miles. The first change showed a lot of metal powder stuck to the inside magnet so cleaned that off and changed the filter then did what Jon Joey described to get the fluid out of the torque converter. I used white tissue with clean trans fluid to compare with the old trans fluid. When the fluid coming out of the line looked the same as my sample I stopped. On the second change there was less metal fillings stuck to the magnet,the third change was even less. The lessen I learned was reuse the original OEM gasket rather than the new gasket that comes in the kit. I used the new gasket and the pan leaked even when I re torqued pan bolts. I ended up putting the old one back on, it had steel bushing around each hole preventing pan distortion the new gasket was just rubber.

If you want to do it yourself here are detailed instructions. The instructions apply to both the 4R100 and E40D transmissions.

I have done this myself twice in the driveway and had no problems. A fluid change is due again before our next trip. Never bothered to drop the pan.

CloudDriver wrote:
If you want to do it yourself here are detailed instructions. The instructions apply to both the 4R100 and E40D transmissions.

I have done this myself twice in the driveway and had no problems. A fluid change is due again before our next trip. Never bothered to drop the pan.

This is the way it should be done. It is proven method on many Ford forums and the way I do my 3 OBS Fords

Thanks for all the replys! I ended up draining torque converter, dropping pan, ( I don't think I'd been satisfied not dropping it. There wasn't much metal on magnet) ( atf certainly more brown than red!) now I have about 12 quarts poured back in and it's so hard to read dipstick right now. Appears to be halfway up cold section. Not sure how many more to dump in yet.